California State University Chancellor Joseph I. Castro outlined his top priority for the school year during his first visit to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) yesterday—the health and safety of everyone in the CSU system.
“The continued health and safety of everybody in the CSU is of paramount importance,” Castro said during the Tuesday, Aug. 31 visit. “It’s been a guiding light.”
The CSU system announced its vaccination policy in early 2021—requiring vaccines for all students, faculty and staff who participate in in-person activities, with some religious and medical exemptions.
“That policy has been critical to our success,” Castro said, noting that the policy is coupled with masking in classrooms, social distancing, and testing on a regular basis for the unvaccinated.
Vaccination self-certification must be fulfilled by Thursday, Sept. 30, as reported by CSULB’s independent student newspaper. Students who fail to comply with campus policy will be subject to a hold placed on their record.
Other health measures available on-campus include testing and vaccinations. Approximately 97% of students who are on campus have reported being vaccinated, CSULB’s President Jane Conoley said.
The university president pointed to the high vaccination rates in Long Beach as an advantage. As of Monday, Aug. 30, about 76.8% of those over 18 had at least one dose of the vaccine.
As of the same date, five faculty members had an active unresolved COVID-19 case, according to the university dashboard, while the number for students stood at 31—a combined total of on and off-campus infections.
“We expected some cases,” Castro said of CSULB. “But they appear to be at a manageable level, and the high vaccination rate coupled with the testing and the masking I think has served us very well so far.”
Conoley said that the university is not looking for a specific number of positive cases on-campus that would trigger concern, but the “fallout of those cases.”
“Public Health will tell us ‘It’s time to pivot’, or they’ll say ‘You’re doing okay and you’re managing,’” the president said. “I think what we all have to accept now is that there is no perfect COVID moment, but we can manage and keep the majority of people safe.”
However, Conoley noted that the university is prepared to go fully virtual if the need arises.
Despite pandemic setbacks, the chancellor emphasized the university system’s need to move its educational goals forward, which include the progress of Graduation Initiative 2025.
The CSU initiative intends to increase graduation rates for all CSU students while removing equity gaps for underrepresented students.
“We need to meet our mission, which is to educate almost 500,000 incredibly talented and diverse students, including about 39,000 here in Long Beach,” Castro said.
