The University of Michigan is 

planning to hold a fall semester 
mostly 
featuring 
a 
return 
to 

normalcy, 
including 
in-person 

instruction for small and medium 
size classes, on-campus housing and 
large crowds at sports games. This is 
largely due to the state of Michigan’s 
and the University’s progress in 
COVID-19 vaccinations.

In a previous interview with 

The Michigan Daily, University 
President 
Mark 
Schlissel 
said 

vaccinations against COVID-19 are 
crucial to the University’s plans to 
open in the fall.

“The greater fraction of people 

who are vaccinated, the more likely 
we are to have a semester in the 
fall that feels as close to normal as 
possible,” Schlissel said. “The best 
case scenario is that 95 or 98% of 
students and an overwhelming 
majority of faculty and staff are 
vaccinated.”

Vaccination Updates
Everybody over the age of 12 

in Michigan is currently eligible 
to get vaccinated. At the time 
of publication, 58.1% of eligible 
Michigan residents have received 
at least one shot of a COVID-19 
vaccine. Washtenaw County has 
one of the highest rates of COVID-19 
vaccination in Michigan, with 62.4% 
of those eligible receiving at least 
one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Anybody 12 years or older can 

receive a COVID-19 vaccine at 
Michigan Medicine. The University 
urges 
vaccinated 
students 
to 

report their vaccination status to 
Wolverine Access. This information 
will be used to inform plans for the 
fall semester and will allow students 
to opt out of regular COVID-19 
testing in the fall. 

LSA sophomore Ava Ben-David 

was impressed with how easy it is 
to access COVID-19 vaccines in Ann 
Arbor. 

“(I) think that vaccinations are 

very accessible, and that people 
are getting them,” Ben-David said. 
“Every single one of my friends is 
vaccinated, and I don’t really know 
anyone that isn’t vaccinated.”

In an email to The Daily, 

University 
spokesperson 
Kim 

Broekhuizen said the University 
expects many students to get a 
COVID-19 vaccine without making 
it mandatory.

“We remain confident that … 

we will have a sufficiently high 
percentage 
of 
our 
community 

vaccinated,” Broekhuizen wrote. 
“Encouragement may be more 
effective than a mandate to achieve 
the goal of maximizing vaccinations 
against COVID-19 in the months 
ahead. Any student who is in 
need of vaccination will have the 
opportunity to be vaccinated when 
they arrive in Ann Arbor.”

Some 
faculty 
have 
grown 

frustrated with the lack of a vaccine 
mandate for students living on 
campus 
and 
attending 
classes 

during the upcoming fall semester. 
In early May, over 700 instructors 
signed on to a petition calling for 
a vaccine mandate. In the event 
that the administration refused 
to institute a mandate, the faculty 
members requested that instructors 

2

Thursday, June 3, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

Vaccines are here. Here’s 

what you need to know 

about U-M’s fall semester

The 
Ann 
Arbor 
Art 
Fair 

will be held after all this July, 
leaders of all three Ann Arbor 
Art Fairs (Ann Arbor Original 
Art Fair, The State Street Art 
Fair and the Summer Art Fair) 
announced in a joint statement 
released on Thursday. The move 
comes after the Art Fair was 
initially canceled on May 12 due 
to COVID-19 safety concerns 
and protocols limiting outdoor 
gatherings. In the statement, 
Art Fair Leaders wrote that Gov. 
Gretchen Whitmer’s May 20 
announcement that all outdoor 
gathering 
restrictions 
would 

expire on June 1 paved the way 
for the Ann Arbor Art Fair to 
return in full swing. 

“In 
light 
of 
the 
recent 

announcement 
lifting 
the 

restrictions on outdoor events, 
the Fair Directors met with city 
officials and the local health 
department and decided that 
a safe and successful event 
could be achieved after all,” the 
organizers wrote. 

Due to the late timing of the 

decision, the Art Fair has been 
condensed from four to three days 
— July 15, 16 and 17. Additionally, 
the 
fair 
will 
be 
instituting 

stronger safety measures and 
protocols, organizers said.

“This year’s event will include 

more 
space 
between 
booths 

to allow for social distancing, 
masks will be encouraged and 
hand sanitizing stations will 
be throughout the fair,” the 
organizers wrote. “Fair staff will 
also continue working closely 
with the health department to 
ensure the safety of the artists, 
fairgoers, staff and everyone 
involved.”

Ann Arbor Art Fair Back on 

After Cancellation

 JUSTIN O’BEIRNE

Daily Staff Reporter

CHRISTIAN JULIANO

Summer Managing News Editor

420 Maynard St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327

www.michigandaily.com

CALDER LEWIS

Editor in Chief

eic@michigandaily.com

KATIE LYNGKLIP

Business Manager

business@michigandaily.com

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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday 

through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students 

at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free 

of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked 

up at the Daily’s office for $2 per issue. Subscriptions for 

September - April are $250, and year-long subscriptions 

are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced 

subscription rate. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 

Design by Maggie Wiebe

uncomfortable 
with 
teaching 

unvaccinated students be able to opt 
out of in person instruction.

Studnts who are not vaccinated 

against COVID-19 will be required 
to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. 
However, as of May 20, Broekhuizen 
said the University has verified more 
than 13,300 vaccinated students. 

In December 2020, shortly after the 

first Emergency Use Authorization 
of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United 
States, Michigan Medicine released 
the “Blue Queue Questionnaire.” 
All U-M and Michigan Medicine 
students, faculty, staff and employees 
were encouraged to fill out the 
Questionnaire. The Questionnaire 
asked participants about certain 
criteria, such as age and occupation, 
as well as interest level in getting a 
COVID-19 vaccine. Participants were 
emailed when they became eligible 
for a vaccine.

On Tuesday, May 18, the Blue 

Queue sent an email writing that 
everybody 
who 
demonstrated 

interest in receiving a COVID-19 
vaccine through the Blue Queue 
have been officially told that they are 
eligible for vaccination.

“We have at this point been able 

to clear the ‘Queue,’” the email said. 
“All U-M Personnel who completed 
the Blue Queue questionnaire and 
indicated an interest in the COVID-
19 vaccine have been invited to 
schedule an appointment or received 
the vaccine elsewhere.”

Residence Halls
Residence halls are planning to 

open this fall at no more than 80% 
capacity. Students planning to live 
in on-campus housing are required 
to be vaccinated against COVID-
19 and need to report receiving 
the vaccine to Wolverine Access 
by 5 p.m. on July 16. The Michigan 
Housing website says any students 
unable to meet this deadline should 
contact MHousing. The University 
will accept any vaccines approved 
by the United States Food and Drug 
Administration 
(FDA), 
including 

the 
Pfizer-BioNTech, 
Moderna 

and Johnson & Johnson/Jannsen 
vaccines, or the World Health 
Organization 
(WHO), 
including 

the AstraZeneca (Covishield) and 
Sinopharm vaccines.

The University said it will help 

students get a vaccine if they arrive 
on campus unvaccinated, which has 
been of particular concern for some 
international students who come 
from countries that have not received 
many doses of the vaccine.

According 
to 
the 
MHousing 

website, limited exceptions to the 
vaccination requirement will be 
allowed. Students may apply for a 
vaccine waiver no later than July 
16. Students who receive a vaccine 
waiver will be required to undergo 
regular COVID-19 testing to live 
on-campus. 

Read more at michigandaily.com

