Opinion Essay Sample on Colleges Vaccine Mandate

College campuses around the country are mandating the CoVid vaccine. Students should be freely able to choose to be vaccinated or not, because being American, it is a right protected by the Constitution, that they are not required to get it. However, private colleges have the right to mandate what they want. As of now, some colleges have even taken actions by cancelling unvaccinated students. They are implementing a reward/punishment system to try and get as many people to get the vaccine as possible. People are split about 50/50 with a topic of this significance, with statements circulating around like, “I shouldn’t have to worry about the person next to me being vaccinated or not,” or “I worry about my health, not others. That is their business, and their right.” With such a controversial topic at hand, where does the line get drawn? Whether someone decides to get the vaccine, should be dependent on their choice, not which college they want to get into.

Some students have given their opinion on the mandate for the vaccine. Sara Razi states, “I am not anti-vax. I am extremely anti-mandate” (Schnell). On the other end of this spectrum Bianca Garcia expresses her view, “I’m looking forward to just being able to expand my social circles and explore this place disease-free, guilt-free” (Schnell). With two opposing points of view, these statements can reflect on how one educates oneself, relating back to woke-ism. With this split going on throughout the country, how well do people keep up with the ever so changing topic, and how aware are they of the news? With the mandate going around colleges there are also some states that are allowing exemptions from vaccines. Some concerns that come along with that are, how does one know if they are a carrier or not, along with vaccinated people that don’t want any risk by being around unvaccinated people. In contrast there is concern for people’s rights and how ethical it is to require a vaccine. Now with colleges already having a list of required vaccines, some say that mandating another one is okay, including asking for the “vaccine passports”. Others will say by asking to see that medical information violates the HIPAA Law, and puts people's right to having confidential information at risk. 

What am I willing to do for education, is the question that many young adults are asking themselves now. People say requiring papers that ask about medical information for education can go against amendment IV, “the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” For others it’s a question of how far is too far?

Works Cited

"The Bill of Rights." National Archives, James Madison, 1791, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript.

Schnell, Lindsay. "COVID-19 vaccine or college?" USA Today, 26 Aug. 2021, p. 04A. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673300696/OVIC?u=wausauwhs&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0487719b. Accessed 18 Sept. 2021.

"Vaccine mandates: Colleges juggle ethics and enrollment dilemmas." Christian Science Monitor, 13 Apr. 2021, p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A658431902/OVIC?u=wausauwhs&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=107cb5e3. Accessed 18 Sept. 2021.