A vaccinated education

It’s a Friday night, but unlike the Friday nights of the last year and a half, I’m at… a social gathering (cue gasp). Of course, everyone in attendance is fully vaccinated and there are even fewer people inside than the government-regulated maximum of 25 people. But still, it’s a party—the first one I have been able to attend in a while. Standing nervously with a couple of people I barely know, I try to make rusty small talk when my greatest fear comes to light.

“Is it okay that I’m here and I’m not vaccinated, like, at all?” asks one of the girls I’ve been chatting with.

A nervous pause takes hold over our conversation.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, that’s fine!” replies the evening’s host, Angie, already starting to inch away from the other girl. It’s in that moment that the supposed anti-vaxxer cracks a smile.

“Got you! I’m double vaccinated!” she says, laughing. 

Angie and I exchange looks of relief and I feel my heart rate returning to normal. This short interaction is a testament to the climate University of Toronto students should anticipate entering this academic year: one in which the dichotomy between The Vaccinated and The Unvaccinated is etched into stone. 

With the University of Toronto requiring proof of vaccination in order to attend classes, the matter of who is willing to receive doses of Pfizer/Moderna—and who isn’t—will be at the forefront of conversations taking place across campus. 

Of course, mandating vaccines in order to attend university classes is an unprecedented policy, meaning it’s difficult to predict how things will play out this year. Regardless, when I peer into my crystal ball for the 2021–2022 academic year, I anticipate that things will go smoothly—for the most part. The most substantial factor playing into my confidence that campus life will go on relatively undisturbed is a little theory by the name of the Bandwagon Effect. Defined as “a cognitive bias that causes people to think or act a certain way if they believe that others are doing the same,” the Bandwagon Effect is often at the centre of any individual’s actions. Scary stuff, I know. 

The Bandwagon Effect is why everyone goes quiet in a library. The Bandwagon Effect is why all the people in a car put on their seat belts—even that friend who finds them unnecessary. Lastly, the Bandwagon Effect is why most people will put on their mask if they walk into a room in which everyone else is already wearing one. No one likes to be the odd one out. 

It’s the existence of the Bandwagon Effect that is lending me some peace of mind as I think about heading into the upcoming academic year. Sure, some people won’t be thrilled about the mask and vaccine requirements, but they’re likely to sit back and comply if that’s what the majority of the student population is doing. Especially given that UTSG is located in the heart of a progressive city, I am optimistic that most students will not take issue with this year’s COVID-related mandates. Though my circle of friends certainly occupies a demographic that is inclined to be vaccinated, I’ve yet to learn of a single peer who is refusing the vaccine or has raised concerns over UofT’s setup for this school year.

The thing is, my friends and I are representative of Toronto’s generally progressive—and vaccine-inclined—student population. However, we are certainly not its entirety. Though most people attending the University of Toronto are likely to comply with the COVID-19-related regulations (whether by will or thanks to the Bandwagon Effect), there is bound to be some backlash. Though many Canadian universities, including Western University and the University of British Columbia, are implementing mandatory vaccine requirements as rigid as UofT’s, McGill University presents a slightly different story. 

With regards to McGill, vaccinations are not required for specific on-campus activities, including the attendance of classes and use of libraries. However, a COVID-19 immunization record is mandatory in order to participate in extracurricular activities, from intramural sports to scavenger hunts. Though this approach is only slightly more lenient than that of UofT, it can nonetheless be used as leverage against UofT by those who oppose its stringent vaccine requirements. 

This leverage, combined with the current debate over whether mandating COVID-19 immunization threatens freedom of choice within Canadian universities, is enough to convince me that there will be some moments of tension throughout the upcoming academic year.   

To be perfectly frank, though, after making it through one and a half years of a pandemic, what’s a little tension? Both UofT staff and students alike should prepare for the fact that there will be extra moments of stress during this year. But if the world has navigated waves one through four of the COVID-19 pandemic, then the University of Toronto can certainly handle some more sternly worded emails than usual and above average numbers of disgruntled staff and students.