Yesterday, CCSU posted a frankly concerning set of policies for the Fall 2021 semester. Full details available here: https://www.ccsu.edu/blueprint/index.html

Some highlights include:

• All students who participate in any on-campus activities (including living on campus) must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before the first day of classes, unless granted approval for exemption.
• Wearing of face masks will be required in campus buildings and outdoors at locations where social distancing isn’t possible
• The mass online/hybrid options for regular courses we had in Fall ‘20 and Spring ‘21 for students who weren’t comfortable coming to a restricted campus have been nearly eliminated 
• Required COVID testing for vaccinated students, with a random selection of vaccinated commuters, residents, and athletes being tested every single week.

This all comes after CCSU spent the better part of a year promising a normal Fall semester and an easing of restrictions on vaccinated students. The administration was very proud to announce "Many more students will be living in our residence halls this fall compared to the past spring". However, this was accomplished under the promise of a regular semester, and this announcement of restrictions comes well after Housing Cancellation, Tuition Payment, and Financial Aid Application deadlines have all passed.

Vaccinated students were also promised with exemptions from testing, but these promises have also been revoked. The University dangled a carrot in front of its students to get vaccinated and come back and live on campus as if Fall '21 would be a normal semester. Instead, within a month of the semester starting, the university has now revealed that Fall '21 is in essence a replica of Spring '21, only with the downgrade of classes being less convenient to schedule given they're in-person without the mass online alternatives comparable to the prior Spring and Fall semesters. 

It should be noted that other CT state schools in the CSCU have announced a more normal fall semester without a mandate of masks or testing on vaccinated students. This petition is to show the CCSU administration that the student body rejects these restrictions and demands reform.