When students return to campus in September, they will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to access certain parts of campus, although not to attend classes. As well, masks are now again required in all indoor public spaces in British Columbia, which includes common areas of post-secondary institutions, such as classrooms, stairwells, libraries, and elevators. They do not need to be worn when sitting to eat or while working out in a gym.
The new provincial vaccine passport, which comes into effect on September 13, will be required to access campus recreation centres, Dunlop House Restaurant pub nights, indoor sporting events on campus, and the Helmet Huber classroom restaurant. The college is awaiting clarification around whether or not the vaccine passport will be required to enter cafeterias on campus.
Camosun College executive director of communications and marketing Rodney Porter says the new provincial measures serve to emphasize the importance of everyone who is able to get vaccinated doing so for the health and safety of the college community; Porter says that the college cannot put a vaccine mandate in place for students to attend class.
“The public health officer was very clear that the [vaccine] mandate was not required for educational activities, which are considered essential service[s]. She said institutions can bring their own regulations that go further than the provincial rules such as requiring proof of vaccination for staff and faculty, but public post-secondary institutions cannot require proof of vaccination for students to attend classes.”
Porter says the college is following the direction of public health, but while some students have told Nexus that they don’t feel comfortable attending class unless everyone is vaccinated, the college posted a statement on its site on Friday, August 27 about updated safety protocols, and a vaccine mandate was not one of them. (The statement clarified that, unlike universities, colleges in BC are considered agents of government under the College and Institute Act and must follow the direction of the provincial health officer; UVic recently announced that students must be vaccinated to take classes in the fall.) On Monday, August 30, the college posted another statement on its site which read in part that while the college “strongly encourage vaccines against COVID-19, Camosun will not be implementing any requirement to disclose your vaccination status or testing.”
“Our priority is health and safety,” says Porter. “One of the things that we’re doing that we committed to from day one is to follow the guidance and directions of public health.”
On Tuesday, August 24, after the college announced masks were again mandatory on campus, a Camosun student commented on a college Instagram post saying they were “absolutely devastated” and had to withdraw from their program because of this.
“What we’re implementing is no different than anywhere else,” says Porter. “If they dropped out of their class because they have to wear a mask, they’re going to have to to wear a mask in all indoor situations. It’s not as if post-secondary is a different environment. That comment, we should reach out, just follow up with that individual and just see what the challenges are, and if they can’t be accommodated within the specific program or class.”
Porter says the college wants to ensure students and employees that it is doing everything it can to ensure a a safe return to campus.
An Island Health mobile vaccination van will be at both campuses during the first week back on campus providing vaccines to anyone who wants one. The van will be at Lansdowne from 10 am to 4 pm on September 8 and at Interurban from 10 am to 4 pm on September 9.