On August 11, 2021, an email was sent to the students, staff, and faculty of Calvin University from President Michael LeRoy stating, "Effective at noon on Thursday, August 12, 2021, we will require all faculty, staff, students, and visitors—both vaccinated and unvaccinated—to wear masks in indoor campus spaces." Furthermore, the email provided one of two options: "Option 1: Provide proof of completion or evidence of planned completion of the COVID vaccine series by Monday, August 23," or "Option 2: Complete the “Acknowledgement of COVID Non-Vaccination" form no later than Monday, August 30. Individuals who opt not to complete the COVID vaccine must sign this form to document their reason(s) for declining the COVID vaccine. The person signing the form must also indicate agreement to weekly COVID testing in lieu of being vaccinated and acknowledgement of potential costs, which may be borne by the individual choosing Option 2. After the first week of classes, we will have weekly testing for anyone in our community who is not fully vaccinated. Details of this fall testing program are being finalized and will be communicated to all employees and students listed in our system as unvaccinated on August 23. Students should note that, with the exception of those whose underlying medical conditions are prohibitive for vaccination, testing will be at the personal expense of the person who chooses Option 2, as would other potential costs related to COVID mitigation, including quarantine and food delivery. In the event of rising caseloads and positivity rates on campus, people who chose Option 2 may be asked to leave campus or be required to wear masks in indoor campus spaces even if the current mask mandate for all students and employees is lifted." 

Option 2 is a clear violation of students' health privacy and their basic human right to make the medical decision that is best for them and their health profile. It is discriminatory against students who are uncomfortable with getting or unable to get the vaccine, whether that be for medical, religious, and/or personal reasons.

Some deeply concerning information about the vaccine is as follows: The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received 6,490 reports of death following the vaccine, in addition to having "received 1,249 reports of myocarditis or pericarditis among people ages 30 and younger who received COVID-19 vaccine." If any student who received the vaccine had adverse side effects, under the PREP Act, Pfizer and Moderna are immune from any legal action from patients experiencing side effects, including death. Additionally, the vaccine is experimental in nature (referred to as an "experimental coronavirus vaccine" in an National Institute of Health (NIH) website published article on January 12). This vaccine is based on mRNA technology which transports mRNA into cells via the vaccine nano-particles of lipid/fat composition. This has never been used in human trials before and the long-term health effects have not been determined, including those affecting fertility. There are also legitimate concerns related to repeated chemical exposure in the weekly COVID tests and any harm, known or unknown, that repeated testing could cause to students, staff, and faculty. 

Due to medical, religious, and personal concerns regarding Calvin University’s COVID requirements and the inability for Calvin University to guarantee that the vaccine and testing will not cause harm to students, we the students of Calvin University stand against the conditioning of our education based upon participation in an incentivized medical experiment. We stand against the weekly mandated testing of healthy, asymptomatic, unvaccinated individuals and we will not comply with this directive. We also stand against the disclosure of personal medical information and discrimination based on medical status, which may create liability under federal and state laws, including HIPAA, FMLA, and GINA, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. We stand against discriminatory policy which aims to segregate and discriminate against students, staff, and faculty on the basis of vaccination status and will not stand for any action which treats unvaccinated individuals on Calvin’s campus differently than vaccinated individuals. These prejudicial actions include, but are not limited to, requiring unvaccinated individuals to wear a mask when it is not required for vaccinated individuals, requiring testing for healthy unvaccinated students while not requiring testing for healthy vaccinated students, and asking unvaccinated individuals to leave campus if vaccinated individuals are not also asked to leave.  For these reasons, we call on Calvin to rectify its discriminatory policy in favor of one which promotes unity and nondiscrimination on campus.