St. Bonaventure Requiring Students To Have COVID-19 Vaccine Before Fall Return

ST. BONAVENTURE – St. Bonaventure University is the newest institute to join a long list of New York schools requiring students to have the COVID-19 vaccine prior to returning this fall.

The school says the decision was not made lightly, however, they are striving to get back to regular functions on campus.

In a message released from acting President Joseph E. Zimmer, he says, “The truth is, though, the Bonaventure of the last 15 months wasn’t the Bonaventure that generations of students have come to love, the Bonaventure that our new and current students want to attend. This is a community built on relationships — on personal, academic and civic engagement that couldn’t be fully realized under the restrictive clutches of a pandemic.”

The policy will require all commuters, off-campus, and residential students alike to get vaccinated. Only off-campus fully online graduate students will not be required to provide proof of vaccinations, the university says.

For students who are not looking to get vaccinated, but still want to return to in person classes in the fall, the school says they can submit an exemption form online.

The school says that “limited religious and medical exemptions will be granted, and reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with guidance from public health authorities, St. Bonaventure policy and applicable law.”