In a review of Cass Sunstein’s book “Why Nudge,” the magazine Behavioral Scientist points out that people often make mistakes—like refusing vaccines. These mistakes can have life-altering consequences, yet they can also be significantly mitigated if institutions like the university take an active role in doing so.
“Nudging” refers to the process of changing small factors in people’s lives to get to a bigger goal. For example, in its push to vaccinate students, the university could learn some tips on nudging from Sunstein.
People don’t act without clear incentives. Nothing about a vaccine mandate with a widely publicized opt-out clause is persuasive. It’s a PR maneuver with no real consequence for non-compliance.
It’s akin to a mandatory homework assignment that won’t be graded—there is no incentive for students to do the homework.
The university has yet to begin surveillance testing, and we are already three weeks into the semester.
I applaud the university for implementing a vaccine mandate; however, far too many students are allowed to fall between the cracks in the mandate’s current form. In addition, the university’s decision to prominently promote the option to opt out of the vaccine requirement will undoubtedly lead to a significant portion of our community remaining unvaccinated, further delaying our return to normal campus operations.
The unvaccinated few are harming the entire university community. They need to be nudged.
There are plenty of existing ideas on how to nudge them:

• Colleges have opted to charge unvaccinated students for their regular testing.
• Delta Airlines has increased health insurance premiums on the unvaccinated.
• The University of Virginia unenrolled over 200 students for not complying with its vaccination requirement.
• Quinnipiac University is removing Wi-Fi access for students that refuse to get vaccinated.
• Rutgers University is not allowing unvaccinated students to enter campus housing.

There needs to be a cost for putting the campus community and our sense of normalcy at risk. Monthly testing is not burdensome, but a $100 weekly testing fee might be. I don’t want my tuition fees to continue paying for COVID testing the students who have disregarded my community’s health.
The vaccine remains free and widely available on campus to those who say we shouldn’t burden students with additional fees.
It has yet to be seen how the university will enforce its vaccine mandate, but the deadline is quickly approaching. We will soon know how serious the university is about protecting its community. I want to be hopeful, but I also don’t want to be disappointed yet again.
The university needs to take an active role in nudging the student body to become inoculated. It would be a disservice to those of us that yearn for a typical school year to allow unvaccinated persons to continue roaming the university unburdened.
Charlie Stephens is a 20-year-old political communication junior from Baton Rouge.