As COVID-19 cases rise around Canada and the world during a Delta variant-fueled fourth wave, access to public university campuses must come with a shared responsibility to protect unvaccinated children, immunocompromised people, and anyone else susceptible to serious illness or death in this ongoing pandemic. The University of New Brunswick (UNB) already had a Delta outbreak in Magee House residence during the winter term of 2021, during a period of highly regulated campus access prior to vaccine distribution. Now that we have the capacity to vaccinate the majority of our over-12 population, we must ensure that UNB campus is protected from once again becoming a site of constant outbreak and exposure with an open campus. We cannot leave public health measures such as masking and social distancing in the hands of staff, students, and faculty to enforce and we cannot leave campus communities to negotiate asking about vaccine status in meetings, classrooms, and shared facilities. Mandating vaccines for everyone who is able to receive them for campus access will take the guesswork out of shared risk assessment, and protect the 18-21 demographic that is currently the center of Provincial outbreaks. For many, a mandatory vaccine requirement for campus access will move them past being “encouraged” to get vaccinated because the university will establish vaccination as a social responsibility and a norm backed by the most up-to-date science. For the majority who are already vaccinated, a mandatory vaccine order will help improve mental health and reduce stress of a campus reopening because they will feel safer and protected.