Although COVID-19 is still affecting thousands of people in New Jersey every day, including younger people, college students have been returning to face-to-face learning this fall. Making things complicated, every college has created different plans for safety, includng MCCC which began the fall term on September 7.
Mercer’s current reopening plan requires mask wearing and focuses on motivating staff and students to get vaccinated and upload their vaccine cards online as proof. If they aren’t vaccinated students and staff are asked to fill out a daily symptom tracker form online to indicate that they aren’t sick before coming on campus.
However, there is no guarantee that students are complying.
Even students who are trying to make an effort can run into issues. When asked about students filling out the symptom tracker Biology Professor Ellen Genovesi said, “I don’t know if they’re filling it out or not and I think it’s an easy thing to forget.”
One professor who asked to remain anonymous added, “Plenty of my students admit they aren’t filling the form out, and it’s not because they are trying to break rules. A lot of them are completely confused by the whole thing. Some thought they only had to fill it out once at the beginning of the semester even though it says they must do it ‘daily.’”
Other state institutions are avoiding this type of problem by requiring all students to be vaccinated before coming to campus. This includes big universities like Rutgers, but also community colleges like Essex County College which says on its website: “All eligible students, faculty, and staff are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved by the College.”
The County College of Morris, which, like Mercer, doesn’t have a vaccine mandate, has chosen to hold the majority of classes in online format until October 26, giving students and staff more time to get vaccinated and submit vaccination cards. If they don’t, they will have to submit negative PCR test results weekly once school goes back to face to face learning.
Mercer’s President Dr. Jianping Wang says, “Vaccination is the only way out of the pandemic we all know, but a mandate is a simple requirement to make in theory but a very sophisticated and complex to implement…So if you are not vaccinated as a student you can still go to class in person. No one stops you.”
Mercer’s current policy for non-compliance is that after three documented offences the “Student jeopardizes enrollment, up to and including suspension from classes and campus for the balance of the academic year and/or expulsion from the college,” but it is not clear how this is being enforced.
Director of Athletics and Assistant Dean of Student, John Simone, who was a chair of the college’s committee that came up with the policies for reopening this year says, “In regards to why Mercer did not mandate vaccinations, it was because the State did not mandate it. When they did mandate it, it was only for state colleges, it wasn’t for community colleges. We were hoping it was for all colleges. They were saying that in the community colleges, each county has to make their own decision about it. Our county has not made a decision yet.”
As to why those who are unvaccinated are required to fill out the Symptom Tracker form versus those who are vaccinated Mr. Simone said, “We’re hopefully doing it as a way to reward people who got vaccinated, with hope that those who did not will say ‘I’m tired of filling out the symptom tracker. I’m going to go get vaccinated.’”
When students were asked their opinion about the safety procedures in place on campus, they gave different perspectives.
Second year student Kendrick Barrera who is a Liberal Arts major says, “I have mixed feelings about being on campus…I enjoy the atmosphere of having in person classes and the environment Mercer has to offer, after being cooped up in my house for the past year and a half. But the Delta variant is something that worries me and others as well.But I feel if we all work together to get vaccinated and mask up, the threat itself will start to minimize.”
First year student Gregory Johnson Jr who is a Video Game Design major says, “I mean I think it’s alright. I just hope that no one actually does get it where it affects the whole campus”.
Assistant Professor of Nursing Education Florence Lee says, “I know that many of the protocols are built off of the CDC recommendations and it’s a win-win if you’re following what the experts are telling you to do for infection control and prevention…Therefore I would have to trust the process.”
Professor Lee adds, “We’re already concerned about enrollment and that bottom line is really driving all the decisions for the community colleges.”
As reported in The VOICE last year the college’s enrollment was down by more than 16% in 2020-2021. This year enrollment is down by 5%.
Between the different community colleges there are different cleaning and distancing policies as well.
Sussex County Community College, which, like Mercer, doesn’t require students to be fully vaccinated, has required the 6 foot social distancing rule both in and out of classrooms. By contrast Mercer classes are running at full capacity and many rooms do not allow for 6 foot distancing.
Sussex has also taken extreme measures in cleaning their classrooms taking 45-60 minute breaks to do 15 minutes of cleaning after a certain number of students have passed through.
President Wang explains MCCC has implemented many hygeine policies but says deep cleaning between classes is more difficult because there is only so much that can be accomplished in 15 minutes.
Understanding the concerns of students, Dr. Wang explains how she and other New Jersey community college presidents meet ever Fridayat 5pm to share notes on what each of the campuses is doing in terms of cleaning or keeping their students safe.
When asked if there have been any issues with people not complying with masking requirements, Commanding Officer of College Safety and Security Michael Flaherty said, “In my interactions with the students, everybody’s been very cooperative…So far so good.”
When asked how comfortable they were with returning to in person classes, second year Music Technology student, Bria Moscetti said, “Yeah, I think I [am] because it had been a whole summer of experimenting and feeling comfortable…and being here experiencing it has been a pretty good experience. I’ve never really felt unsafe, except for a couple of incidents, but so far it’s pretty good.”
Dr. Wang says, “Our choice is always focus on students. Whatever students’ needs are, we try to do our best to meet your needs.”
