You can’t make this shit up. From Around the O:
The University of Oregon is offering a total of $50,000 in prizes to students who complete compliance with the UO’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements earlier than the prescribed deadlines.
Any student who has completed the policy requirement will be eligible for the drawing. Compliance is either uploading proof of vaccination or applying for an exemption. Students who have uploaded their vaccination requirements by Friday, Sept. 10, at noon are eligible to win. Prizes range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Oh come on, your headline (which I assume was written by you or your Editor-in-Chief!) is misleading. Anyway, if they’re going to offer a philosophical exemption — I don’t see why not, why “valorize” religious or medical exemption? — and if they’re going to offer prizes — then why not a prize for the “philosophers”? It seems to me the main thing is to get as many students on board with vaccination as possible, and then getting them on board with stopping covid by other means. I’ll be very happy if we’re not from one of those states where the students don’t wear masks indoors, and whoop it up outside at football games (along with the non-student louts), and where students are at best advised to get vaxxed. I hope our students will take covid seriously. Whether they’re 95% or 100% vaxxed, will the number really matter?
Meanwhile, Lane Community College is giving out $150K in prizes, but they insist prove they got the vaccine to win. https://www.lanecc.edu/covid19
But they suspended the vaxx reporting requirement — while keeping the vaxx requirement in effect, how confusing is that? And now, they have gone “mostly remote.” I guess LCC is leading the way, albeit confusedly. Meanwhile, will UO be able to collect enough tuition before going remote? Or will they go ahead with the superspreader program, with all the bells and whistles — large crowded classes, unknown ventilation, probably unenforceable mask requirements in class? Will the kids demand refunds if we go remote mid-term? We wait with bated breath.
IMO, if you don’t get the vaccination and are physically able to, you do not deserve a prize.
Really, is there no one with common sense working at my alma mater these days? What is the goal — to encourage vaccination or not?? If not, excellent — UO has just met that goal.
The goal apparently is to let the administration know a couple of weeks before classes start just how screwed we’re going to be. So they can prepare or something.
I don’t mind this, actually. I want an honest count of the vaxxed and unvaxxed on campus. To maximize reporting, we need to guarantee that the lottery is available to everyone. Simple. And FWIW so far it still seems that we are not screwed–reports keep coming in and vast majority are vaccinated.
I guess we’ll see in a few days. Any takers on an over-under of 82% for undergraduate students?
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Which, as we know from Provincetown, is way too low.