The following article has been authored by a non-clinician.
In May of 2020, just a few months into the pandemic, I wrote an opinion piece encouraging President Trump to appoint a higher education task force for reopening colleges and universities for that Fall school year.
And although the request for a task force didn't lead to anything, shortly after the piece was published, Vice President Mike Pence did convene a meeting with a select group of university presidents to discuss how to safely reopen college campuses.
In the end, colleges and universities forged their unique paths to reopening, and for the vast majority of institutions we have done so safely — and successfully.
But today, even as states and local governments are discontinuing mask mandates and vaccination mandates are facing renewed scrutiny, the concern about mandates returning in the future remains a real possibility.
So, my urgent request to President Biden’s administration is to follow the evidence in regard to the success higher education has had in creating safe, healthy communities.
Please, no more mandates.
Whether it pertains to masking, vaccinations or testing, mandates have been more of a frustration than benefit.
When it comes to vaccinations, business leaders have decided to forgo mandates, and instead developed other methods to incentivize or compel their employees to either be vaccinated or submit to regular testing.
The state of Texas has now filed suit against the Biden administration to end mask mandates associated with airline travel.
What's remarkable about the policies and procedures implemented across American higher education, to include navigating the impact of the aforementioned mandates, is how different and diverse the responses have been from college-to-college, and region-to-region.
Advocacy media coverage seemed obsessed by highlighting mostly the negative stories regarding campus health and safety. Instead, higher education has become an amazing experiment in the effectiveness of varied COVID-19 responses based upon geography, evidence-based response measures, and flexible policies.
A recent article in The Atlantic details how the handwringing about “super spreader events” and exposure to K-12 teachers and staff because of schools reopening never came to be. "Then classes began, and . . . widespread doom never really came — or, if it did, it didn’t come from schools."
From the CDC to Fox News, research and articles showing the diversity of responses in schools to even mask policies show a complex but effective overall response to keeping schools, employees and the community safe.
There is no such evidence for mandates.
What has been grossly underreported by the advocacy media and purposefully avoided from a policy perspective in political circles is the devastating emotional and social toll of lockdowns, mandates, shifting public policy and political discord.
We have all suffered during this pandemic.
However, we will be nurturing wounded spirits of a generation of young people for decades to come because of ineffective policies, especially mandates.
Previous generations also encountered their share of similar challenges such as world wars, diseases and political unrest.
However, societal progress does make this moment in history very unique.
If we are to mandate anything then let’s dedicate funding and support for expanded mental health services, programs to rebuild our communities, and even more access to college as well as certificate and vocational programs.
As this moment in time is studied in the years to come, higher education will be viewed as a leader in health and safety of the communities it was charged with shepherding.
Recent court decisions are trending towards governmental mandates being unconstitutional. Research is also starting to clearly show those mandates as ineffective.
Let’s use the clear evidence provided by educational institutions of how to effectively keep communities safe by forgoing mandates and instead provide effective guidelines and flexibility to ensure successful responses to crises in the days and years ahead.
Gene Crume is president of Judson University. He is on the board of the Associated Colleges of Illinois and the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities.
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