Trying to get extra college students vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, Slippery Rock College (SRU) President William Behre is providing to let the campus group design a tattoo for him if vaccination charges improve.
The vaccination marketing campaign, “Rock the Shot, Ink the President,” goals to supply incentives to undergraduate college students who add their proof of vaccination to the coed well being portal. If the coed vaccination fee reaches 75% by Dec. 3, Behre will get an SRU-themed tattoo, the college introduced in a Monday morning e-mail to campus stakeholders.
“Whereas I’ve to confess that getting a tattoo hasn’t precisely been a lifelong want of mine, it could be a memorable – and everlasting – method of constructing clear simply how vital I feel it’s for our college students to get totally vaccinated,” Behre stated in e-mail assertion. “If getting a tattoo needle in my arm will encourage others to get a vaccine needle in theirs, then it could be properly value it.”
The college will maintain a contest to assemble tattoo designs from college students, college and employees with Behre selecting which design to ink his physique with from the pool.
“Because it’s going to be on my physique ceaselessly, I ought to no less than have a say within the design, proper?” Behre stated.
The college will start selling the marketing campaign and tattoo design contest on Monday with posters and different supplies round campus. Together with inking the president, college students will probably be eligible for different prizes if the vaccination charges attain completely different milestones by subsequent month.
5 college students will probably be chosen to have their very own assigned parking spot, in a number of their selecting, for the spring 2022 semester if scholar vaccination charges attain 65% by Nov. 1.
If 70% of the coed inhabitants uploads their vaccination document by Nov. 17, SRU will maintain a drawing to pick one scholar to win free tuition for the spring 2022 semester.
All undergraduate college students with an uploaded vaccination document exhibiting proof of the ultimate dose of their vaccine will probably be mechanically entered into their drawing. All college students who’ve beforehand uploaded their COVID-19 vaccination document are eligible as properly.
In line with Kris Benkeser, director of scholar well being and wellness, over 3,700 college students have uploaded proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or 51% of scholars attending courses in-person. As a part of Healthfest, the college will host one other COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Aebersold Pupil Recreation Middle (ARC).
“One of the simplest ways to stay in good well being is to get vaccinated,” stated Behre. “I can’t require our college students to get vaccinated, however I can definitely urge everybody to take action.
“With ‘Rock the Shot, Ink the President,’ I feel we are able to have some enjoyable and lift consciousness whereas serving to to guard these on our campus and within the surrounding communities by growing our scholar vaccination fee.”