State Sen. Edward Durr (R-Logan) and his running mates are asking Rutgers University to lift a Covid vaccination mandate that continues even though Gov. Phil Murphy has closed out executive orders that require vaccines.
“If Rutgers leadership had any sense of what was happening in the real world around them, they would learn how radical it is to hold a COVID vaccine policy and accept the fact that the world is moving on,” said Durr, along with Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-Mannington) and Assembly candidate Tom Tedesco. “We are calling on them to update their policy immediately and disband any Covid vaccine mandate.”
The three Republicans pledged to fight any new lockdown measures that might accompany new Covid variants.
For Durr, there’s a possible tie-in to the Rutgers mandate and his re-election campaign against Democrat John Burzichelli, a former assemblyman in office during the pandemic.
“We must double down on our fight to stand up to the weak politicians like John Burzichelli who laid down and enabled Phil Murphy’s tyranny,” Durr and his running mates stated. “We are your frontline defense if Governor Murphy tries to overstep his authority with another round of overreaching regulations in a misguided attempt to combat COVID. We watched our communities suffer, and we will not sit on the sidelines.”
Durr wants to assure voters that “we will not let it happen again.”
“The lockdown was a huge factor in why we all decided to get involved in public office and a wakeup call for just how dangerous Trenton liberals can be,” the Republicans said.
But Burzichelli pushed back on Durr’s statement.
“Durr must be confused yet again and needs a history lesson. At the height of the pandemic, I authored legislation calling on a regional approach by county to be monitored on a weekly rolling basis of how best to approach operating in our state to protect businesses, universities, and many public institutions from unnecessary locks downs based on real-time evidence,” said Burzichelli. “This legislation was vetoed by Governor Murphy and I’m proud to have fought for a commonsense approach in an unprecedented time.”
Instead, Burzichelli thinks the Republicans should “fast forward to 2023.”
“Senator Durr should direct his concerns about Rutgers University policy at the President and Board of Trustees, rather than trying to ignite a pathetic disinformation campaign to attempt to find some political relevancy,” he said.
Another GOP senator, Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver), called on Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and other administrators to resign for demanding students to provide vaccination documentation before attending classes.
“Not only has the policy not been rescinded, but high-level, uninformed bureaucratic administrators are actually doubling down and reasserting their mandates. It’s incredible,” said O’Scanlon. “If this is the quality of leadership at Rutgers, it’s time to make a change.”
The Monmouth County Republican took issue with comments made by Rutgers COO Antonio Calcado suggesting that students who don’t like the vaccination policy are free to attend another school.
“The arrogance of school administrators to tell their students to uproot their college plans and go somewhere else is absurd,” O’Scanlon said. “To essentially say to these kids ‘screw you, completely uproot your college plans and go somewhere else if you don’t like our monumentally irrational policy’ is callous arrogance, on top of the stupidity.”
To be clear, Rutgers’ updated policy does not include masks.
“Face coverings are not required at the university,” the Rutgers website notes.
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