By Alora Peters, Editor-in-Chief
While Saint Leo University has outlined within its “Advancing the Pride” framework that they “may not compel employees or students to become vaccinated” against COVID-19, the university has nonetheless made it very clear that they encourage reception of the vaccine. Saint Leo stated in the “Advancing the Pride” framework that they “assume everyone who can be vaccinated will be vaccinated and operate accordingly,” and introduced vaccine incentives at the beginning of the semester with the aim of “reward[ing]those who do” receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Though the opinion of Saint Leo’s administration is easily discernible, the opinion of the student body is less so. To gain an insight into the thoughts of the student body on the COVID-19 vaccine, The Lions’ Pride Media Group conducted an anonymous survey and found that student opinion was not as black and white as one might suspect.
Of the survey respondents, the majority —57.1 percent–have received the COVID-19 vaccine, with another 11.7 percent of respondents who have either received a partial dosage or are planning on being vaccinated. 31.2 percent of respondents do not plan on receiving the vaccine.
There are a variety of reasons that students gave for receiving the vaccine. The majority of vaccinated students explained that they wanted to get the vaccine to protect family members or friends who were most at-risk.
“I want to keep my family, especially my mother, as safe as possible and if the vaccine helps even a little bit I’ll take it,” said one student.
Other students were vaccinated in hopes of returning to normalcy.
“I want things to go back to normal,” said one respondent. “I’d like to give handshakes again, see people’s smiles again.”
Not all students who received the vaccine, however, are happy with their decision.
“I received part of the vaccine because I wanted to be protected from the virus, but then I did not get the second dose because the first one caused me to have a seizure right after I got it,” said one student respondent.
Some students also indicated that they felt coerced into receiving the vaccine, or had no other options.
“I didn’t want it, but I was tired of getting tested three times a week,” said a student. “I just caved.”
As for those who elected not to receive the vaccine, concern over possible side effects and the lack of data and literature on the long-term effects is one of the main reasons behind the decision to abstain.
“All [things]considered, we don’t have long-term data, and the short-term data we do have has been mired in politics,” said one student. “I am not confident that we are being given enough information to make an informed consent to many of the current shots.”
Other non-vaccinated students simply do not believe the vaccine is medically necessary for them.
“I am naturally immune to COVID-19 through getting it in the past, and I believe that should be recognized,” one student stated.
A strong majority of students who took the survey—74 percent–have never been diagnosed with COVID-19. However, most students—75.3 percent–do know a family member or close friend who has been diagnosed with the illness. Most students responded that their decision to receive or not receive the vaccine was not influenced by knowing someone with COVID-19. Several students were persuaded against receiving the vaccine by seeing that vaccinated individuals could still contract the virus.
“My friend who is vaccinated just got COVID-19, and had it worse than I did,” said one student.
The survey also revealed the majority of student respondents—76.6 percent—do not feel pressured by Saint Leo to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and most students said that they do not feel any less welcome on campus because of their vaccination status.
“Everyone is super kind here,” said one student.
Similarly, 76.6 percent of students feel comfortable disclosing their vaccination status to peers, professors, and staff at Saint Leo. Those who do not feel comfortable discussing their vaccination status cite fear of being shamed and rejected as the main reason.
“I think there is still a lot of judgement in the air,” said one student. “I wish I didn’t have to worry about what others thought.”
This is especially true for unvaccinated individuals who worry that they will be considered selfish for not receiving the vaccine.
“I do not feel comfortable publicly disclosing my vaccination status to professors or staff because I fear that I will be shamed or looked down upon for being unvaccinated,” said one student.
“I feel as though saying I’m not vaccinated causes others to look at me differently or judge me for not caring about the greater community,” another added.
“I have witnessed, firsthand, someone get bullied and harassed for not having it or for not wanting to take it,” said a third student.
Unvaccinated individuals are not the only ones to worry about discrimination.
“While I did post a photo of my vaccination sticker on social media, I feel reluctant to really speak publicly about being pro-vaccine due to the political orientation of many people I know,” said one student.
A final issue that students were polled on is whether Saint Leo should mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for students. 28.6 percent of respondents believe that the university should mandate the vaccine.
“There are other vaccines that are already required to live on campus, so I think it’s fair to require this vaccine, especially during a pandemic,” said one student.
Most students who support a vaccine mandate think that mandated vaccination would be the best way to support public health and limit the spread of COVID-19.
“Keep the virus under control and not out of control,” said one respondent.
Many students encourage vaccination for everyone simply because they are tired of wearing facemasks.
“The more students who are vaccinated, the closer we get to ditching masks at school,” said one student.
“I think it would be nice just to look people in the face,” said another. “I don’t even know what most of my classmates look like.”
The majority of students—54.5 percent–believe that the university should not mandate the vaccine.
“HELL NO,” said one student. “If they do, I’m outta here.”
“Part of the reason I came here was because I didn’t need the vaccine,” added another student.
Many respondents think that mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for students would infringe upon an individual’s freedom of choice.
“As a religious institution, I would hope [Saint Leo] would honour the students’ right to choose what they allow to enter their body,” said one student.
“While I am pro-vaccine, I feel people should have bodily autonomy in deciding to get it,” said another.
“The matter of my medical conditions or my medical information should have zero affect as to my work ethic and performance as a student,” said a third student.
Many students wish that the issue of vaccination was not so heavily polarized and divisive.
“I think it is sad that people cannot mature up in order to have a decent conversation with other people,” said one student.
“I just wish people would not rush or pressure others to do something they do not wish to do, and that they would listen not only to reason, but also to what and why they are choosing the actions they are choosing,” added another student.
In conclusion, this anonymous survey reveals that the opinions of Saint Leo’s student population on the COVID-19 vaccine are very diverse. These opinions, however, are also all valid opinions made by educated persons who were truly trying to do what they thought was right.
I find it both sad and disheartening that I have seen numerous friends—both vaccinated and unvaccinated—rejected and excluded by others simply because of their vaccination status. We as students need to remember that, even if our classmates, roommates, or co-workers have different opinions from ours, those students are still deserving of our respect and understanding, and ought to be treated with dignity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stressful and trying time for everyone. Discriminating against and judging people based on their vaccination status is unnecessary, unhelpful, and is only driving people further apart when we need to, more than ever, be working together.
Following are some notes on the survey respondent demographics and the survey methodology:
This survey was conducted completely anonymously through Google Forms, via a survey created by the author. The survey would generally follow a format in which the survey-taker would be presented with a multiple-choice question (Ex. Have you been vaccinated against COVID-19?), which would be followed up with an open-ended short-answer question (Ex. Why or why not?). All of the questions asks in the survey are addressed in either the text or in the graphs.
It is important to note, however, that the data conclusions of this survey are not necessarily representative of Saint Leo’s campus, simply due to the student demographics that the survey was able to reach. The closing graphs give insight to the characteristics of the students who took the survey. However, it is also important to note that the purpose of the survey was less scientific analysis than it was an opportunity for students to voice opinions that they may not have felt comfortable sharing in a non-anonymous environment.
As a closing note, thank you to all of the students who participated in the survey and to the professors who shared the survey with their classes!
The majority of student respondents are juniors, as evidenced by this graph. Many freshmen students are in favor of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for students, while most upper-level students are more skeptical.
The Pfizer vaccine was the most popular—at 29.9 percent–vaccine received by respondents. Several students stated that they took advantage of the vaccine clinics offered on university campus, where the Moderna vaccine was used. “I am grateful that [Saint Leo] offered the vaccine,” said one student.
Survey respondents hailed from a diverse selection of political backgrounds, as evidenced by this graph. Political opinion was rarely mentioned by students in their reasonings and survey responses. This indicates that, for Saint Leo students, the decision to receive or not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is not a politically-motivated decision.
As shown in the graph, the majority of respondents hail from Florida, while 22.1 percent came from out-of-state and 13 percent from outside the United States. For some students who are travelling internationally, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a requirement. “[I wanted] to be able to travel back to my home country during breaks,” one student listed as a reason for being vaccinated.
