Unvaccinated College Student Says He's Barred From Taking Virtual Classes
A New Jersey college student claims to have been stopped from taking virtual classes after he chose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking with NJ.com, Logan Hollar, 22, said he transferred to Rutgers University in 2020 and had spent a year taking virtual classes from his home in Sandyston, Sussex County, New Jersey.
He continued to tell the outlet that he had signed up for all his virtual classes as a psychology major while the COVID-19 pandemic raged across the country.
Rutgers later became the first university in the U.S. to mandate vaccines for students at all of its campuses.
It did not, however, require them for those students who had been studying remotely or focusing on online-only education programs.
The arrangement suited Hollar, who told NJ.com he had not been jabbed and did not want the COVID-19 vaccine.
He told the outlet: "I'm not in an at-risk age group. I'm healthy and I work out. I don't find COVID to be scary. If someone wants to be vaccinated, that's fine with me, but I don't think they should be pushed."
In March, Rutgers updated its vaccine mandate information for students and said anyone who wanted to attend classes had to be jabbed, with exemptions allowed on medical and religious grounds.
It also added students studying remotely did not need to prove they had been vaccinated against COVID.
The statement read: "Students enrolled in fully online degree programs (typically defined as having no access to on-campus facilities), as well as individuals participating in fully online or off-campus Continuing Education programs, will not need to provide proof of vaccination."
Despite the guidance, Hollar said he was locked out of his Rutgers email and related accounts.
He told NJ.com he was last able to access his email on August 6 and started to have issues after he took a survey about the vaccine where he checked a box that said the mandate did not apply to him as a distance-learning student.
Hollar added: "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."
He continued: "This turned out not to be the case."
On August 27, Hollar said he tried to pay his tuition but was locked out of his Rutgers email and student accounts.
In a statement sent to Newsweek, a Rutgers University spokesperson said registering for classes that were fully remote was not the same as being enrolled in a fully online degree-granting program.
It added: "In March, Rutgers was among the first universities to require the COVID-19 vaccine for Rutgers students. To support the health and safety for all members of the Rutgers community, the university updated its existing immunization requirements for students to include the COVID-19 vaccine.
"As noted since this initial university message on March 25, 2021, about the vaccine requirement for students, only students enrolled in fully online degree programs, as well as individuals participating in fully online or off-campus Continuing Education programs, will not need to provide proof of vaccination.
"Note: Registering for classes that are fully remote (synchronous/asynchronous) is not the same as being enrolled in a fully online degree-granting program. Students enrolled in classes are allowed into campus buildings, can attend in-person recitations, labs and office hours, and other activities."
