Pres. Bresciani's recent email to the campus community was precipitated by the 4 January deadline for vaccinating employees of federal contractors. In order to comply by the deadline, employees need to get first shots right away - no more time to wait. Exceptions are allowed, providing those availing themselves submit to other protocols--masking, social distancing, testing. No one need lose his or her job on account of the mandate.
Irrespective of the deadline, this action by NDSU is long overdue. The truth is, voluntary compliance with the university's recommendations to be vaccinated and to mask up when not distanced has been good in some parts of campus, poor in others. Oddly, there has been resistance in the area one would think most important - dining services. Management of DS has been reluctant to endorse the university's recommendations for public health - a really odd position for the department in charge of providing food and drink. Now at least employees will have to be vaccinated or observe protocols. In the meantime, I would hope that Bison athletes are cautioned to stay away from coffee shops and dining centers on campus, as they look like spreaders.
Classes are pretty good, although there are surly people who pretend that their masks have accidentally slipped off their noses. Just because you're college age doesn't necessarily mean you're grown up. Although still relatively safe compared to the communities around, people on campus have noted some uptick in infections and in persons going into quarantine.
