Dal Faculty, Staff, And Students Call For Mandatory Vaccines On Campus
HALIFAX — A growing collection of staff, students, and members of the Dalhousie community are demanding the university implement mandatory vaccine requirements for people returning to campus this fall.
Pressure on the university has ramped up in recent days as both the Dalhousie Faculty Association and the Dalhousie Health Law Institute made explicit calls for mandatory vaccines on campus.
Three universities in New Brunswick have already introduced mandatory vaccination and testing policies – Mt. Allison University, St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick.
The Dalhousie Faculty Association represents about 1,000 teaching, research, librarian, and counselling staff at the university.
This week, its executive committee demanded the university implement mandatory vaccines, masks, and social distancing for all staff and students—as well as proper ventilation across campus.
Tara Perrot is the president of the DFA executive committee. She says her members have told her for months they’re worried about coming back to campus.
Last week, the DFA polled its members and 70 percent of respondents were in favour of mandatory vaccines.
Perrot points out that younger people, who make up a big swath of the student body, are among the least likely to be vaccinated. Many Dal students also come from places where vaccination rates are lower than Nova Scotia.
“You can imagine going back into the classroom where potentially a third of the students aren’t vaccinated, and it’s scary for a lot of our members,” she says.
“Some people might say, ‘oh you guys are being paranoid.’ And maybe we are, but, honestly, would you want to walk into a classroom with 500 people you don’t know in close proximity to one another? These are legitimate concerns.”
The push for mandatory vaccines on campus isn’t limited to the Faculty Association.
An open letter written by the university’s Health Law Institute and signed by hundreds of students, staff, and members of the Dal community says the university’s Covid-19 plan is “grossly inadequate.”
The group says it’s concerned about “the lack of sufficient, evidence-based measures taken by the university administration to protect against Covid-19 transmission and outbreaks on our campuses.”
It demands the university create a Covid protection plan that forces students and staff to provide proof of vaccination, or proof of a negative Covid test twice a week, to come on campus.
It also wants vaccines and tests to be free and easily accessible on campus.
Some universities in Canada, including Mount Allison University, Trent University, and Western University, have already implemented mandatory vaccine policies.
Dalhousie administration did not agree to be interviewed for this story. Its vaccination policy states that “vaccination is encouraged, promoted, and available.” It is not required to be on campus and no change is planned for September.
In an emailed statement, university representative Janet Bryson said the school “continues to plan for the fall while adhering to the latest Nova Scotia Public Health guidelines.”
Bryson wrote that the university’s conversations with public health bodies and “key stakeholders across Dalhousie” are ongoing and that the university will adjust its approach “as needed.”
That’s not good enough for the DFA.
Perrot says Dal faculty have been “shut out of all the decision making around this pandemic right from the start.”
The DFA has been asking about things like ventilation and mask mandates, but Perrot says the university has been dodging questions or not giving complete answers.
The university says, for example, it’s reviewing ventilation across its buildings and making changes where necessary. But Perrot says there’s no information about where those changes are happening, or what they are.
“It’s one thing to say ‘we’re in the middle of looking at it,’ it’s another thing to give us specific information,” she says.
She’s also still not sure exactly what the university’s stance on masks is.
Dal says it will ask students to wear masks in indoor common spaces until Sept. 30. Perrot says the language in that policy doesn’t specify if professors will be allowed to demand students wear masks, or merely suggest it. She says Dal has never cleared that up for nervous faculty.
As of August 19, she said the DFA still hadn’t heard from administration about its latest demands. She wasn’t confident they would be addressed, even when the university responds.
“When you’re dealing with people that are not transparent, have not been transparent or consulted the whole time, it doesn’t leave you feeling very positive that’s going to change any time soon,” she says.