Norfolk State University (NSU) has announced that it is paying students, faculty and staff to take the COVID-19 vaccine after it imposed a September 20 deadline for vaccination.
“All validated students who are fully vaccinated and have provided proper proof of vaccination by September 20, 2021, will receive a $500 incentive,” the school said on its website. “All Faculty/Staff who are fully vaccinated and have provided proper proof of vaccination by September 20, 2021, will receive a $1000 incentive.”
Not only is the school offering the cash incentive, but it is threatening punishment for students, faculty and staff who do not take the vaccine by the deadline.
The school said the following on its site:
Students who fail to comply with the vaccination/testing mandate will be referred to the Dean of Students Office for Student Conduct. This may lead to removal from on-campus housing and face-to face courses. In addition, students will not be permitted to participate in extracurricular activities. Students may request an exception to this policy for medical and religious reasons through the office of Student Affairs.
Faculty/staff who fail to comply with the vaccination mandate per the Governor’s Executive Directive Number Eighteen (2021) and who do not meet the exemption requirements may be subject to disciplinary action.
Students, faculty and staff may request a religious exemption from taking the shot.
“NSU will recognize those who are in compliance and offer an incentive for those who have yet to be vaccinated. We also will extend our ‘culture of care’ by acknowledging the hardship that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on our community,” NSU President Javaune Adams-Gaston said.
The school is following Gov. Ralph Northam’s Executive Directive Number Eighteen, which requires a COVID-19 vaccination for all students and employees of institutions of higher learning in the Commonwealth, and says that those “who are not fully vaccinated or who refuse to disclose their current vaccine status … must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and disclose weekly the results of those tests.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
