Rutgers University Blocking Unvaccinated Students From Attending Remote Classes: Report

A Rutgers University student has been barred from taking online classes from the college because he is unvaccinated, even though his courses are completely remote.

“After submitting the survey, I got no pop-up indication that I still needed the vaccine — like I had seen in the past — and since I was online and the survey said I was all set, I assumed the emails in my inbox pertaining to (the vaccine) must apply to in-person students,” 22-year-old Logan Hollar told NJ.com.

“This turned out not to be the case,” he said.

Hollar was scheduled to attend classes starting Sept. 1. He has now been locked out of his university account and has been told that if he applies for an exemption from the vaccine mandate and his exemption is approved, it could take two to four weeks before he’d be reinstated, according to the report.

Hollar said he will likely be forced to transfer to a different school to continue his education.

“I believe in science, I believe in vaccines, but I am highly confident that COVID-19 and variants do not travel through computer monitors by taking online classes,” Keith Williams, Hollar’s stepfather, told NJ.com.

“He chose to remove himself from an on-campus experience so he would not need to be vaccinated,” Williams added.

University spokeswoman Dory Devlin said Rutgers has “provided comprehensive information and direction to students to meet vaccine requirements through several communications channels,” according to the New York Post.

She added there was a distinction between a “fully online degree-granting program” and “classes that are fully remote” but are considered on-campus students.