Board to vote on COVID vaccine or weekly testing mandate at Modesto JC, Columbia College
The Yosemite Community College District board will vote next week on requiring students, staff and faculty who use campus facilities to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or test weekly.
The district includes Modesto Junior College and Columbia College. The vote on the mandate is set for Oct. 20, according to a draft resolution.
MJC President Santanu Bandyopadhyay said during a September meeting that he supports the vaccination or testing requirement to safely open campuses to as many students as possible.
“Interruption of instructional activities will be reduced significantly,” he said.
Although other California higher education institutions already have adopted vaccine or testing requirements, YCCD’s community is weighing the mandate as an issue of educational access.
About half of students surveyed by MJC in mid-September said they would like a vaccine mandate for spring 2021, according to spokeswoman Jeanette Fontana. Of 6,188 responses, 63% of students indicated that they preferred a testing mandate.
Around 40% of students surveyed said they may leave the college if a vaccine mandate were implemented, according to Fontana.
Bandyopadhyay said offering online classes would satisfy the student population and would affect access to education only if unvaccinated students wish to attend on-campus classes.
Instructors weigh in
In a Sept. 20 listening session, those in favor of the requirement argued that higher vaccination rates would expand classroom capacities to provide more face-to-face instruction and curtail the number of positive cases and quarantines that cause students to miss class.
Those opposing the mandate argued it would serve as another hurdle for students to complete their education, noting that the testing requirement in particular would be hard for students to fulfill if tests aren’t provided on campus.
Ahead of the YCCD meeting, trustees received 22 written comments opposing the mandate and 42 in favor, board chair Margie Bulkin said.
Vickie Mulvaney-Trask, MJC dean of workforce development and lifelong learning, said leadership overwhelmingly supports vaccination mandates for students and employees.
MJC microbiology professor Erynn Lucas said the college is failing students by not providing a safe learning environment. If students attend the college to learn about immunology and infectious diseases, she said, “shouldn’t they also lean on us for guidance on vaccine mandates?”
By contrast, Michael Torok, a microbiology professor at Columbia College, said he doesn’t think a vaccine mandate is in the best interest of the campus community. Torok said it could be discriminatory if applied unequally and will promote fear of the virus.
Michael Sundquist, MJC dean of arts, humanities and communications, urged the trustees to “act soon so that access to educational opportunities is not thwarted by the fear of COVID exposure on campus.”
He noted that creative arts students especially need face-to-face instruction to collaborate and carry out their studies fully. Without a mandate, he said, the return to campus will be slower and fewer students will attain their educational goals.
Columbia College professor Katryn Weston said she worries the weekly testing requirement for students who do not choose to be vaccinated will serve as “the final straw” that keeps students from attending classes.
The college should provide in-person instruction without barriers, she said. A policy that discriminates against unvaccinated students does not live up to the college’s ideals of inclusion and diversity, Weston said.
Vaccine mandates already in effect
Some people pointed to vaccine mandates by the University of California, California State University and other community college districts as reasons for YCCD to follow suit.
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office said in a July statement that it “does not have the legal authority to require vaccinations for students and employees system-wide” but has “urged all local districts to exercise their authority to adopt vaccination mandates.”
Out of 73 districts, 49 have vaccine mandates in place, California Community Colleges spokesman Rafael Chávez said in an email Tuesday. Some mandates will take effect over the coming months.
YCCD trustees reviewed a draft resolution at a Sept. 29 special board meeting. The mandate would include exceptions for religious and medical reasons.
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
