LITTLE ROCK, Ark — For the 2021 fall semester, Philander Smith College is requiring that all students be vaccinated for added protection against COVID-19.
In a press release to current students, faculty and staff, the college states:
In the continuing face of threats posed by COVID-19, Philander Smith College remains committed to fostering living, learning and working spaces that mitigate the spread of the virus and its variants to the fullest extent possible.
Philander Smith College president, Roderick Smothers said the priority of educational leaders should be the safety of their students who come to them to be educated.
"It was important to have some measures in place that made sure when my students arrive and they enter the gates of Philander: when their parents drop them off and I wave bye to those parents they can leave knowing that their child is safe with me," Smothers said.
He said the delta variant is affecting everyone regardless or race, gender, religion or background. The historically black college's stance on the vaccine comes at a time when African Americans are reported among the groups who exhibit vaccine hesitancy.
All residential students should either have at least one dose of any two-dose COVID-19 vaccination or the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine by August 11, 2021. Proof of an appointment for the second dose will be acceptable for those who are not yet fully vaccinated.
Students who live off-campus should have their first dose of the vaccination by the first day of classes and should be able to provide confirmation of an appointment for the second dose.
Dr. Rhonda Lovelace is the associate VP of student affairs and said that the vaccination requirement has gone over well with faculty, staff and students for the most part.
"You still might have a couple of people that go 'I don't want to do that' but Philander Smith is just like a family. If you're in the house with your family it doesn't make sense for one person in the house to be vaccinated and everyone else is not," Lovelace said.
She said it's not fair for students on campus to be required to be vaccinated, while those who may commute and live off campus are allowed to attend campus unvaccinated.
There are some exemptions to the vaccination requirement.
"We have an exemption for pregnancy, for medical and for religion. So when they submit that, they have to have the right documentation to be approved, but the caveat is that student has to be tested weekly," Lovelace said.
Students who are not fully vaccinated or who have requested accommodations will be required to wear face coverings at all-times and submit to weekly COVID-19 testing: providing validation of such to the campus nurse.
There's a current mask mandate for public spaces on campus.
Freshmen Amayia Jefferson and Jermesia Bankston were vaccinated at the health center on campus just before school started. They wanted to be able to live on campus.
"You know, I was scared, but I read up on it and the different vaccinations and I decided to get the vaccine, because I really wanted to be here," Jefferson said.
"I just got it to stay on campus and to be able to be in classes because I kind of struggled with online classes. Sometimes I don't want to wear the mask, but I make sure I always got it on to protect myself, especially since I'm wanting to socialize," Bankston said.
Smothers said if the school would have had a 10% infection rate or higher last school year, they would have moved to virtual learning.
During the pandemic, there's usually 250-300 students on campus and about 100 faculty and staff members who are on and off the campus at any given time.
If a student contracts COVID, Lovelace said there's designated housing that they can use to isolate., where they will be delivered three meals per day.