Dear recipients,

I am writing this letter because I feel that there are some pretty big injustices going on that are not being recognized. 

I have been debating whether or not to write this letter. With the state of our world and how chaotic everything has been, I recognize that you, the recipients of this letter, have had a lot on your plates, and I respect that. However, this issue is something that I feel very strongly about, and I ask that you hear and consider the following:

As I’m sure you know, Saddleback will be requiring students to either A) be fully vaccinated, or B) receive a vaccine exemption (religious/medical) and test twice weekly. I truly appreciate that you guys are accepting exemptions, because a lot of colleges are trying to take that right away, which I believe is just horribly wrong and a violation of people’s medical and religious freedoms. However, I do feel that forcing those with exemptions to test twice weekly is extremely excessive and beyond unnecessary. Students were informed not long ago that 98% of the students attending Saddleback Campus in person will be vaccinated, and that the remaining 2% of students will be, in Dr. Elliot Stern’s words, “testing twice weekly to help keep everybody safe.” My question here is, why is an extreme minority having practically all of the pressure placed on them to keep everyone safe? Especially considering the fact that the vaccinated can indeed catch COVID-19, as exemplified by this last Omicron wave, the responsibility to maintain the health and wellbeing of Saddleback’s student body being placed on 2% of the students is absurd. Here is the scenario which I see going down while this indefinite testing mandate is in place:

The unvaccinated students (with exemptions) testing twice weekly will not be the ones infecting other students, seeing as they are testing twice weekly and will know almost immediately that they have COVID-19, forcing them to stay home. The rest of the 98% of students that are vaccinated will be the ones infecting each other, because they won't be tested nor will they be forced to stay home. 

This scenario is the first of many reasons why I believe your twice-weekly testing mandate is excessive, nonsensical, and unfair. 

Secondly, testing once a week is hard enough as it is. My mother, a teacher another university, has to test once a week by spit test. In theory it sounds easy, but that is multiple days that my mother has to worry about having to test so that she can go out and earn money: making sure she orders the test, making sure she receives her test and drops it off at the mailbox, and making sure that her test is received and processed. As I’m sure you can tell, it’s not a fun process. Expecting your students to do that process, but double? That is excessive. Students should be given the choice to symptom screen rather than test. 

Lastly, I believe forcing students to test is irrational because we are in an age group that is barely affected by COVID. These last two years have given us a lot of data, and that data has shown that over 99% of people who contract COVID survive. That includes ALL age groups. The survivability rate of people my age is practically 100%. From my perspective, your testing mandate would be the equivalent of forcing students to get tested for illnesses such as the flu. Obviously that doesn't happen, so why are we doing this for COVID? 

I want you to know the emotional toll this testing mandate has subjected me to. I am a soon-to-be college student, and I have spent all of my K-12 schooling years looking forward to and wondering what my college years would be like. I imagined moving into a dorm, making lots of new friends, developing relationships and learning from my professors. Never once did I imagine that I would have to test twice a week for an illness that is very survivable just to attend in person. I feel extremely discouraged from even trying to attend in person and just submitting to a fate where my college years are online, which is insanely sad and disheartening. I feel as though a very crucial part of my college experience is being taken away from me. I want to make memories, I want to have fun, to have stories to tell to my children when I’m older. I want to meet people and make friends. And I feel that in the process of keeping everyone “safe”, you are overlooking the lives and experiences of a lot of your students, who are likely in the same boat as me and feeling overlooked. 

We are transitioning into a period where we recognize COVID-19 to be endemic. We, your student body, need normalcy. Getting sick from time to time is a natural part of life. I am sick of being told that the government and my school have jurisdiction over what I put into my body. I am my own person and I alone am in charge of the vaccines I put in my body. I should not have to jump through hoops to attend college in person. The rest of my peers don’t have to do so, so why should I? 

I humbly ask that you consider what I’ve written. I hope even a fraction of my letter resonates with you enough to consider making a change. My mental health these past two years has been beaten and destroyed. I need normalcy. My peers need normalcy. I want the college experience I've been dreaming of all these years. Please help me do so in getting rid of your testing mandate.

Sincerely,

Student of SOCCCD