The UBC’s Alma Mater Community is urging the university to impose tighter COVID-19 measures in preparation for the university’s return to in-person studying in the fall.
Currently, students who have on-campus accommodation are not required to be immunized, and masks are not mandatory in all indoor spaces, including lecture halls.
The AMS’ leadership, whose UBC members includes 56000 students, have written to the University and its board, asking them to step up measures.
In their letter, the AMS’ president, Cole Evans, and its vice president, Eshana Bhangu, are asking the UBC to impose measures beyond what is stipulated in the provincial guidelines.
Last year, the University made masks mandatory on campus before health officials had reached the same decision, but now, the institution says, it will align its guidelines with those of the province going forward.
During a recent interview with local media, Bhangu noted that it is quite discouraging to see the UBC, an institution that was a leader in COVID-19 management measures, acting lax.
She added that a recent survey on its membership found that 82 percent of all student living in campus residences would want to see immunization made mandatory, a measure that other institution have in place already.
