Trenton, NJ – Senator Declan O’Scanlon sharply criticized the administration at Rutgers University, calling it an embarrassment, and demanded the resignation of the University’s President and leadership cabinet after they doubled down on their COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“It has been days since the national humiliation of Rutgers commenced over their anti-science, oppressive COVID vaccine policy,” said O’Scanlon. “If this is the quality of leadership at Rutgers, it’s time to make a change. These people have no business being in charge of, and destroying, the credibility of what should be the esteemed, pre-eminent public New Jersey university.”
Rutgers’s ongoing COVID vaccine mandate requires students to provide proof of immunization to attend classes, with the possibility of disenrollment for non-compliance. The University was the first in the nation to make COVID vaccination mandatory and continued to require students to be boosted until May 16 of this year.
Antonio Calcado, Chief Operating Officer at Rutgers University, defended the policy, saying, “If [a student’s] choice is that they cannot be here under these conditions, we understand that. We wanted to give them that…opportunity, though, to make that choice and not be rushed into that choice.”
O’Scanlon lambasted the administration for their continued stance on the vaccine policy, calling it “callous arrogance, on top of the stupidity.”
“The arrogance of school administrators to tell their students to uproot their college plans and go somewhere else is absurd,” O’Scanlon added. “It’s unfathomable that we’re still talking about how to control people’s personal health decisions that impact no one else. The madness needs to stop, and these administrators need to step down…or simply admit that the policy is foolish, rescind it, and let all of their students partake in a world-class education.”
This strong condemnation by Senator O’Scanlon underscores the growing tension between government officials and educational institutions over COVID-19 policies, as public health considerations continue to intersect with personal freedoms and institutional autonomy. The situation at Rutgers may serve as a focal point for larger national debates around vaccination mandates and individual rights.