The State University of New York (SUNY) system has now become part of the debate over mandatory vaccinations for students.
The SUNY Chancellor’s plan to implement mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations was approved by the SUNY Board of Trustees. This action is consistent with guidance from the Office of the Governor, which supports vaccinating all SUNY students.
Critics of the SUNY proposal argue that while they are not calling it a mandate until it receives FDA approval, the vaccine recommendations have amounted to such. Students complain that housing and athletic scholarships are being tied to the vaccine before it has received approval. There are also some that argue that given the novelty of the vaccine, the position of SUNY should be one of neutrality, not recommendation. On the other side of this debate, the Board of Trustees of the SUNY system and the Chancellor feel that a mandate is the best way to prevent outbreaks on their campuses this Fall that interrupted in-person learning last Fall.
This decision caused Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R,C,I- Riverhead) to spearhead the opposition to mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations in SUNY schools at a press conference on Friday, July 16. She was joined by Senator Alexis Weik (R,C-Islip) as well as Assemblymen Doug Smith (R,C-Holbrook) and Jarett Gandolfo (R,C[1]Sayville). They were supported by parents and advocates who worry about side effects linked to the vaccine or have moral disputes with medical mandates.
“Attending New York state colleges and universities this Fall should not be predicated on the Covid-19 vaccination for their enrollment until it is FDA approved,” said Giglio. “The Chancellor can only mandate vaccines when [they are] FDA approved. With what we know about the virus and the necessity of vaccinating young people, children should not have to choose between getting the shots or attending college. The vaccines are still considered experimental.”
Currently, there is some inconsistency in the SUNY system, with Giglio complaining that “Websites are being changed on a daily basis.”
There are some Universities in the system, such as Binghamton, that are recommending the vaccine and mandating it pending FDA approval with the opportunity to apply for a religious or moral exemption. There are those colleges, like Suffolk County Community College, that are recommending and have no plans on requiring the vaccine. These rules change, however, depending on whether you are living on or off-campus or attending other institutions throughout the state.
In conversations with the Admissions Office at Stony Brook University, a representative of the admissions office did say the vaccine was “required,” not recommended for attendance. However, officials from the department of communications stressed that it was just recommended. Instances such as these add to the confusion students face.
According to various university officials throughout the SUNY system, unvaccinated students may either be isolated to share spaces with only other unvaccinated students or not be able to attend classes in-person classes in the Fall.
With some universities placing students in difficult situations, Smith added that “they [the students] should be making this choice between themselves and their doctors.”
Smith noted that “Assemblywoman Giglio and I got vaccinated together. We were at the same site. We made that personal choice. That is a personal medical choice that every student, their families, and their doctors should be a part of that decision, not the SUNY Board of Trustees.”
According to Giglio, the state’s inoculation plan exempts professors, administrators, and staff from required vaccinations. Attendees pointed to this as hypocrisy by individual SUNY schools for generally permitting older and therefore more at-risk college staff to be unvaccinated while forcing it upon a low-risk population.
The speakers from the Assembly and Senate made sure to firmly note that they are not anti-vaccine, as Smith additionally stated, “We have made sure that every person that wants this vaccine has access to it.” Assemblywoman Giglio also stressed that once the FDA approved the vaccine, then the SUNY system could legally mandate it, but this de facto mandate was worrisome.
Two of the Assemblymembers shared anecdotes from soon-to-be college students from their districts who received the shot and later had a health complication.
Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo shared a story of a single mother and her son, a football player attending a SUNY school in the Fall. He just played football in the Spring without a vaccine and is “scared that the vaccine will give him heart complications.”
Without the vaccine, it looks as though he might have to forfeit his football scholarship.
Assemblywoman Giglio then shared the story of a soccer player who received a Covid-19 vaccination. According to Giglio, he complained to his father about his heart. He then was rushed to the doctor’s office, where they ran blood tests on him and revealed that it was as though he suffered a heart attack. He is now in a condition where he cannot perform any strenuous activity.
It is important to note how rare these instances are. That is why Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra fiercely advocates that those aged twelve and over receive the vaccination as soon as possible. Becerra stressed that younger people are making up a more significant portion of those now sick with Covid-19.
There has been a modest uptick in Covid-19 infection rates, with doctors noting that many of these new patients have not received any inoculations. There are also concerns surrounding the new, more contagious delta variant, which is quickly becoming the predominant strand of the virus.
With new infection numbers and firmly entrenched opposition, this issue is unlikely to unwind anytime soon. Many activists that are opposed to the mandate are ready to take legal action if need be. While it is impossible to predict such cases’ outcomes, they will most definitely serve as flashpoints in the communities they take place.
Rally at the Stony Brook Train Station
The feelings that animated this press conference drove activists to converge on the Stony Brook station on Monday, July 19. Giglio, along with Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta, encouraged the activists to continue the fight against covid-19 mandates on SUNY students.
However, this protest focused more on the “discrimination” that activists say unvaccinated students will face this Fall at the hands of SUNY. This alleged discrimination, protestors claim, will result in limited housing opportunities, being “segregated” in unvaccinated areas, and an inability to attend in-person classes.
One activist, Cait Corrigan, who also spoke at the press conference on July 16, told the audience how such policies adopted by SUNY and her alma mater in Indiana served to violate the “constitutional rights” and “bodily autonomy” of student.
Corrigan was able to overturn her previous university’s policy on unvaccinated individuals being barred from the graduation ceremony. She is currently in a dispute with Boston College, where she has been accepted for their Master of Divinity program this Fall.
Adam Brower, the emcee of the event, read a story from the Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS) database, which according to him, contains over 10,000 people who have died after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, a clear shot at the efficacy of the vaccine.
Dr. Feintuch also spoke to this end and asked participants to sign up to read all the causes of death on the VAERS database so that one day families will be able to claim their loved ones and eventually have their loved one’s names read. He also said that they are currently using blockchain technology, the same used in popular cryptocurrencies, to store the database on thousands of computers so that the government could never alter it.
The skepticism around the vaccine also stemmed from the reputation of the companies manufacturing them, with Pamira Bezmen asking the crowd why they should trust a company that couldn’t make “baby powder” and “baby shampoo” without using “toxic chemicals.” She also called into question the profit motive of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.
Tricia Lindsay, a civil rights attorney and member of The George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, said, “…they don’t care if you’re black, white or purple, they don’t care where you come from, they just want to push this agenda.”
“…if the FDA approves this vaccine, now they can say it’s a law. Now in the interest of public welfare, they can mandate these vaccines, and if you don’t take them, you are breaking the law.”
Lindsay used this to outline her perspective on the grave potential for civil rights abuses at the hands of the government for refusing this medical treatment.
Eventually, a group of five student activists took to the stage. One voiced their ongoing complication while trying to receive a medical exemption from her university. The student, Brandi Clark, told the audience that despite being allergic to the contents of the vaccine, her doctor refused to write a note that her university would accept. The doctor, despite giving her the diagnosis, she claimed, wrote the note in the third person. Clark then faced trouble from a school administrator claiming that she was merely “dragging out” the process. She is not a student of Stony Brook or any SUNY-affiliated university.
The groups present, including Moms for Liberty, Long Island Loud Majority, Students Against Mandates, NJ Freedom Connect, the Constitutional Coalition of New York, the Inalienable Rights Alliance, and We the People PAC USA all either stated or implied that this would be the first of many events if the Governor and SUNY system stayed on their current course.
In response to this protest, Stony Brook University issue the following statement:
“As a public research institution, Stony Brook affirms and strongly supports freedom of expression and the use of science and data to make informed decisions. The safety and efficacy of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA were demonstrated by many carefully monitored clinical trials, including some that Stony Brook helped to lead. As with other immunizations that are required to enroll at Stony Brook, the COVID vaccines are important tools to protect our community’s public health and ensure student’s optimal learning experience. We maintain the same process as for other required immunizations, to consider exceptions for religious or health reasons. We will follow the State’s and SUNY Chancellor’s public health guidance (attached) for students and employees and are very pleased at the high rates of self-reported vaccination that we are already seeing in surveys of employees and students conducted earlier this summer.”
