UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –- Penn State has recently decided to require all federal employees at University Park to show proof of vaccination by Dec. 8. 

The university issued this because of President Joe Biden’s executive order that required this for all federal employees and will put Penn State in the company of many other colleges who have done the same with their own faculty and staff.

This will be the first real vaccine mandate that the university has pursued for university faculty and students alike, and as such it will be subject to a plethora of opinions.

However, responses from university faculty regarding this mandate seem to be positive and encouraging. Steve Sampsell, the Bellisario College Director of Strategic Communications, stated that this idea was very logical.

“...it’s interesting to see how people are complying or not, so hopefully it will be beneficial,” Sampsell said.

College of Liberal Arts Associate Teaching Professor of Spanish Alejandro Ramírez-Arballo also complemented this mandate and how it seemed like an incredibly wise decision.

"...I think everyone here on campus should get vaccinated...that’s the best way we can have right now to protect ourselves and to protect other people,” Arballo said.

Whether one is against it or not, it is hard to argue that such a mandate on at least university faculty and staff was imminent. Now the only question is whether Penn State’s students will eventually join the faculty with a COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
 

James Garcia is a first-year majoring in advertising. To contact him, email jag7112@psu.edu.