***Editor’s note: This article has been edited following a correction made by the Department of Marketing and Communications at St. John Fisher College, the college has not made a statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination requirements as of May 10.***

The days have gotten longer and the weather has gotten warmer as college campuses begin to wind down their spring semesters. Students and faculty are hopeful for the future despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting communities globally. 

Announcements made to SUNY Oswego students from current administration have indicated that a full capacity semester will be in the books for fall of 2021. This comes after two semesters of restrictions and limitations across campus. Implementing weekly testing and offering four vaccination clinics for students, SUNY Oswego has proved that it will do what it can in order to offer a safe college experience for students living both on and off campus. 

With this in mind, it is important to consider what “full capacity” may mean in the future. 

While vaccinations have become more accessible and new Centers for Disease Control guidelines for fully vaccinated people indicate less restrictions, it is impossible to ignore the patterns of ignorance and opposition that have come with COVID-19. The societal pushback against restrictions and limitations is a huge hurdle to jump over, and it has the potential to seriously mess with the plans for normalcy.

This past week, the CDC released guidelines saying that fully vaccinated individuals would be able to go outside without wearing a mask, so long as they are not in a large group. Fully vaccinated individuals would still have to wear masks indoors. The issue with this is that people have not been wearing masks outdoors, or indoors for that matter, since the beginning of the pandemic. Although statistics show that the rate of transmission in outdoor settings is significantly low, it is concerning to see rules beginning to loosen when so many are still being negatively impacted by COVID-19. Is it realistic to expect that people will be more inclined to get vaccinated with this new guideline? I cannot imagine so. 

Additionally, despite the fact that SUNY and CUNY campuses have been hosting vaccination clinics during the spring semester, without a vaccine requirement, there are still possibilities for outbreaks in the fall semester. Private schools like Cornell University, along with a few public schools such as Rutgers University, have already announced that they will require the vaccine for students wishing to return to on-campus instruction. Leaders from the SUNY and CUNY systems have urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make vaccinations mandatory for students within their systems so that a return to normal may actually be a possibility. 

SUNY Oswego has been exemplary in COVID-19 precautionary measures and a return to normalcy is entirely possible when the fall semester comes around. It now comes down to the students and community members to make this return possible. The end of COVID-19 restrictions are in sight but forgetting about them now will prolong them. 

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