It should be remembered in Michigan that the Republican legislature effectively stripped Whitmer of emergency COVID powers. At this point the responsibility for the re-infection of the state entirely rests on the shoulders of Republicans. All Governor Whitmer can do is beg people and organizations to take proper public health measures -- of course nearly all of the Republican led organizations refuse -- including the one in charge of keeping student athletes safe. Michigan HS sports group says no to Whitmer call for 2-week break: ‘We’re going to play https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mi...tmer-call-for-2-week-break-were-going-to-play
Add another university to the lengthy list of those requiring vaccines for fall semester... Duke University requiring proof of vaccination before fall semester enrollment https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-ne...-vaccination-before-fall-semester-enrollment/
I see another state that's soon going to argue about the reasons why their infections / deaths continue rising after they've been recently ignoring CDC health guidelines when the variants of Covid hit their state... Face Mask Wearing don't work or restrictions don't work. Michigan shot themselves in their own foot when they removed Whitmer emergency Covid Powers. Just as bad, shame on the residences of Michigan for not doing their part in the global effort to kick Covid to the curb. wrbtrader
Duke on solid legal ground to require students be vaccinated https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/du...d-to-require-students-be-vaccinated/19622976/ Duke University can legally require that students be vaccinated against coronavirus to be on campus, two lawyers said Monday. Duke officials announced on Friday that all undergraduate, graduate and professional students need to present present proof of vaccination before they can enroll for the fall semester. Documented medical and religious exemptions would be accommodated, officials said. "We and every other college and university has a long record of requiring a number of immunizations and vaccinations," said Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's chief communications and government relations officer. "The bottom line is the vaccine is safe, [and] it is effective." Duke is among a small number of private universities nationwide to announce such requirements, joining the likes of the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, Brown University and Syracuse University. "We would not have made this decision if, and would not have announced and implemented this policy, if we did not have the ability to do so," Schoenfeld said. "The decision about whether to get a vaccination is a matter of personal choice. It’s also a matter of personal choice about whether you choose to attend Duke." WRAL News checked with more than two dozen public and private universities across North Carolina on Monday, and Duke is the only one requiring students to be vaccinated. Several did say they are considering their options and expect to make a decision in the coming weeks. University of North Carolina System officials consider a vaccine requirement "premature," UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz told members of an advisory committee last week. He noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn't mandated vaccinations for students and that such a requirement might necessitate a change to state law. Campbell University Vice President for Institutional Advancement Britt Davis said "the law does not seem to allow us to require 'emergency vaccines,'" so he doesn't expect many to do so "until the law is modified or the courts say it's OK." But Scott Holmes, a law professor at North Carolina Central University, and Durham attorney Daniel Meier said Monday that universities are well within their rights to mandate them. Some universities across the U.S. said they cannot require vaccinations because none of the available vaccines has been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All are being administered under emergency authorizations. Holmes said people might raise that in a legal challenge, but he doesn't think that argument holds much water. "State laws already require some vaccines for public schools and universities," Holmes said. "Even with respect to employment law, particularly private employers have the right to make these kind of requirements under these kinds of circumstances as long as there is a business necessity." Duke isn't yet requiring vaccinations for faculty or staff, Schoenfeld said. "In general, if there are opposing medical views about the risks, employers and local governments and state governments are entitled to choose which opinion they think is correct," Holmes said. "This is an issue of public safety, and as long as state and local governments are acting reasonably and not arbitrarily and based upon some medical opinion, then it’s likely to be constitutional."
It is a private university so they certainly can set up a vaccination rule and for those who don't want to get the vaccine, an online option (ha!). if they tell the students now, it gives them time react.
Previously Tsing Tao tried to blame schools being closed in Texas for COVID for the suicide of a student. Despite the fact the Aledo School District in Texas having the highest level of students in-school during the pandemic. Of course this all played into his narrative that "lockdowns" would cause high rates of suicides despite the actual facts at the close of 2020 showing a decrease in suicides and the lowest suicide rate in years for the U.S. Let's take a look at what the students in the Aledo school district have been up to recently and ask if bullying causes suicides. Maybe people need to stop blaming "COVID lockdowns" for suicides in Texas. Students of Color ‘Slave Traded' by Other Students in Online Game at Aledo School Parents say districts response to the incident, and word choices fall significantly short https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/c...dents-in-online-game-at-aledo-school/2603399/ Aledo ISD parents say the district has not done enough after an online game was discovered, in which ninth-grade students were "slave-trading" students of color and labeling the group chat "Slave trade," "N" Farm, and "N" auction. Students at the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus were communicating on Snapchat, and playing a "game" that put prices on children of color at the school and "trading" them. "It makes me sick from the standpoint, 'Who do they think they are? What gives them the right to think they can do that to someone else?,'" said Mark Grubbs, a father of three former Aledo ISD students. In the game, one student was worth $100, while another was worth just $1, because students didn't like his hair. "I was not shocked honestly because of the community we live in," Aledo ISD parent Ella Bullock said. It hurt one student enough to tell school leaders, and even post about it online. District leaders sent a note home to all parents, explaining that the students were disciplined. However, some parents were upset with how the note was written, as it didn't once use the word racism, but "cyberbullying." "Calling it cyberbullying rather than calling it racism... that is the piece that really gets under my skin," Grubbs said. "It softens the blow for those that may be uncomfortable with the conversation of racism," said Amber Leeper, a former middle school teacher who saw screenshots of the game. Online, someone told school board member Forrest Collins it was a hate crime, not boys being boys. He wrote back that he agreed 100%. Superintendent Susan Bohn issued a new statement that said racism and hatred had no place in the district, and they were making sure students of color feel loved. "I'm still a bit disappointed with the email, it stops short of calling it hate speech," said Bullock, who added she loves Aledo ISD but major changes need to happen regarding racism. Grubbs said the problem's bigger than this one instance. He pulled his three kids from the district. "A lot of racism. My son being called out of his name and what not and it got to the point he didn't mind fighting and that didn't sit right with me and my wife," he said. "My son was never a fighter." Parents are already planning to show up in force at the Aledo school board meeting next Monday to demand a stronger plan to address racism.
Another University added to the ever expanding list of universities which will require students to be vaccinated to attend in the fall. Columbia University will require students to get COVID-19 vaccines https://nypost.com/2021/04/19/columbia-university-will-require-students-to-get-covid-vaccines/