We are urging the President of LMU--Timothy Law Snyder and Vice President Thomas Poon  to hear the voices of many families concerned about the covid vaccine "requirement" at LMU.  "LMU will require that all students coming to our campuses be vaccinated against COVID-19 for the fall semester."  We call on Mr. Snyder to change the COVID vaccine requirements, laid out by him and Mr. Poon in a recent email to the families of LMU. Not only are students required to receive the COVID vaccine in order to return to campus, the students who have medical or religious exemptions will be restricted from activities and additional limitations will be imposed.

Requiring the vaccine under the EUA is unlawful, speculative and an infringement on personal rights.  These requirements deny students who choose not to vaccinate the right to equal education and opportunities at LMU.  Additionally, the restrictions are a foul form of discrimination & without equal opportunity to educational opportunities based on personal health choices.  It is a form of segregation for the students who will be excluded, separated, and limited to the full offerings of the school.  The requirements and restrictions also overstep the right to medical privacy.

UNLAWFUL AND SPECULATIVE Under the law, Title 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(I-III) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that the person to whom an EUA vaccine is administered be advised, 'of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product'.

EUA products are by definition experimental and thus require the right to refuse. Under the Nuremberg Code, the foundation of ethical medicine, no one may be coerced to participate in a medical experiment. "Protect the Pride: Get Vaxxed! Demonstrating our solidarity is motivated by our values, not mandates: get vaxxed and be an LMU Lion for and with others." Be a Lion and get Vaxxed!  Otherwise, are you no longer a Lion? This messaging from LMU is coercion.

Mr. Snyder states in his email that one of the considerations was their "understanding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expediting formal vaccine approval".  This is presumptuous. The decision to require vaccinations has come before the COVID vaccines have been FDA approved.

EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY A recent study was done by Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at the very school President Snyder presides—Loyola Marymount University—that showed 51% of Los Angeles residents OPPOSED a vaccine mandate.  Mr. Snyder seems to not consider this poll and a recent poll by  NBCLX/Morning Consult that revealed 26% of GenZ are not getting the vaccine and 19% are undecided.  This should be a consideration. People should be autonomous when making decisions about personal health without the threat of their right to attend class at stake.  They should not be strong-armed into making a decision that will decide how and if they will have the opportunity to finish out their college years at LMU.  They should not be coerced into making a decision that could ultimately change the course of their life. Snyder writes, "we are confident that vaccinations are essential to our community’s health."  This is an experimental product that has not had the time for testing the long-term effects, injury and even death.  We are learning these things as we go.  It should be the decision of the individual to choose to be part of this experiment or not, without consequence enforced by their educational institution.

In an open letter to Rutgers, Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, a surgeon and patient safety advocate, wrote: "you must also remain 100% cognizant of a potential danger of indiscriminate vaccination to some of your students. This potential danger is not only a safety risk, it would also pose a risk of liability to your university.”  The students who choose not to get the vaccine should be respected and considered.  We are a community of free-thinking individuals from many backgrounds, beliefs and life experiences that affect personal choices.  Not one should be valued over another.

DISCRIMINATION, SEGREGATION & RIGHT TO MEDICAL PRIVACY Imagine the injustice of a student being singled out for exercising their fundamental rights to do as they choose with their bodies.  Stated in the LMU email from Mr. Snyder and Mr. Poon, "Where exceptions are granted, the university may require additional COVID-19 testing, social and access restrictions, quarantining, and other requirements or limitations."  In other words, students with medical/religious exemptions will be separated from all others while opportunities and experiences on campus will be restricted.   

It is our plea to Mr. Snyder to consider the entire community and the points that have been outlined here. We as students, parents, family and friends of LMU want to see the most recent policies surrounding the COVID vaccine rewritten.  With the right protocols and safety measures, it is possible to safely return to campus without mandates that impede on civil liberties and bodily autonomy.

The schools mission is to encourage learning, educate the whole person and the service of faith and the promotion of justice.  It is just for Mr. Snyder to implement policy that serves all individuals of the LMU community and not just a select group.