A couple geniuses who commented here seemed not to have read the article before giving their opinion. Let’s not do that people, be better.

According to the article, Phoebe followed the procedures outlined by the school for a vaccine exemption and adhered to what she signed. The school then changed the “recommended” weekly testing to “mandatory” after she agreed and signed off on the initial terms of the exemption. I’m not sure the legality of that change or even if the school had the power to change the terms after an agreement was signed, but that seems to be the main problem here. Phoebe eventually conceited to a mandatory test only to find out the testing kit was actually a DNA research kit that said it would not be used for diagnosis. She refused to consent to DNA research on her body which is a fair choice to make, and as such lost her scholarships and was unable to register for classes. It appears there were other testing options offered which she gave reasons for declining, such as carcinogenic substances on a nose swab.

This isn’t a case of someone blatantly refusing to comply or follow procedures. Phoebe seems to have taken the right steps for an exemption as was UConn policy, but ultimately lost her education when the policy was changed after she agreed to it and was then asked to take a suspicious DNA research test. A woman’s access to education was restricted because of this, and barely a year later you can go out in public and see 0 people wearing masks with 0 covid restrictions in most areas.

Vaccine politics aside, it’s worth questioning UConn’s changing policies and the effect on students, the test that said it was for research purposes and not for any medical diagnosis, and the severe consequences of trying to push back against a system that seems to have completely moved on from Covid not even a year later.