OPINION: Civil Liberties Chatroom — ACLU responds to vaccine mandate at Ohio University amidst student debate
This is a submitted column. Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.
Leaders at Ohio University have created mask and vaccine mandates for individuals on campus to combat the deadly and ever-growing threat of COVID-19 and the spread of its highly contagious and infectious delta variant. Unfortunately, these mandates have received inappropriate and disrespectful responses from some within our student body in the form of harmful petitions. We at the ACLU-OU, along with Ohio U students, staff and faculty, are working to prioritize the health and safety of our community members. These petitions defy this overall mission and misuse the fundamental concepts of rights and civil liberties.
The ACLU is not shy about defending civil liberties, even when these encompass unpopular public debates. COVID-19 is highly transmissible and often lethal. Vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective and the best protection against the disease. The ACLU further posits that vaccine mandates “actually further civil liberties. They protect the most vulnerable among us, including people with disabilities and fragile immune systems, children too young to be vaccinated and communities of color hit hard by the disease,” David Cole and Daniel March said in an opinion essay for The New York Times. Herd immunity achieved through mass vaccination will restore everyone’s right to basic liberties, such as a safe return to schools, fair housing, worship practices and political association. Additionally, this will permit us to safely gather with friends and family.
Though the ACLU recognizes that vaccines may constitute a technical intrusion on bodily autonomy and integrity, the rights to such fundamental autonomy does not include the right to inflict harm on others. Given that the vaccine treats a novel, devastating disease, these mandates are comparable to those institutionalized by other U.S. institutions (such as the military and educational institutions) to combat less deadly diseases (such as mumps or measles).
Mask mandates have been put in place as a necessary public safety measure to protect people from severe illness and death, especially as many U.S. citizens still elect to not receive the vaccination. In settings where the unvaccinated create a risk to others, these mask mandates are a necessary precaution, and have always included appropriate exemptions for those who have medical or religious exemptions. Refusing to get vaccinated or to wear a mask without such exemptions creates a direct threat to the health, safety and wellbeing of others in the workplace and constitutes unnecessary complications for employers. Avoiding a deadly public health threat has always and typically outweighed personal autonomy and individual freedom. Furthermore, as there are no criminal or civil punishments for choosing not to receive a vaccine, these mandates in no way propose any limitation to actual civil rights or liberties.
As the ACLU-OU, we stand by and will follow the COVID-19 protocols that the university has put in place to make campus a safe place for all our students, faculty and staff. We hope that this effort will allow us all to continue growing and learning together despite the devastating pandemic that continues to rage around us. We understand that some may have strong feelings against the university’s policy, but the ableism, anti-Semitism, misinformation and disrespect that is circulating via these online platforms is unacceptable and must be condemned. As a student body, we must stand together and denounce the use of hatred and ignorance as rhetorical devices to express discontent.
It is especially important that regardless of one’s views on these policies, we all maintain our commitment to the inclusion and respect of all those around us. It is absolutely and unequivocally disrespectful, ignorant and shameful to compare public mandates created to protect our community in a time of global crisis to the devastation and inhumanity of the Holocaust and its resulting generational trauma. It is an insult to those who have endured persecution due to their identities, and who have had their true rights to life and liberty compromised by genocidal powers
The assertion that the university is mainly composed of “healthy young adults'' who would not be impacted by COVID-19 is not only factually inaccurate but demonstrates a blatant ignorance for the large population of vulnerable students, staff and faculty who deserve the right to health and safety on our campus. Additionally, Ohio University is part of the larger, vulnerable Athens community, which is one that should be considered and respected by the students who inhabit it. It is deeply upsetting to see the ways in which privilege is being asserted by folk who prioritize their own personal convenience over international, national and local health emergencies. It is our responsibility as community members to protect the health and safety of those who we share this space with, which includes not only making conscious decisions about how we act, but being mindful and respectful with the materials we produce. The ACLU-OU stands with those who have been negatively impacted by the damaging and harmful assertions emanating from our Bobcat community.