OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It was opening day at the University of Oshkosh Tuesday morning.
UW System president Tommy Thompson was there to greet students and to stress the need to get vaccinated.
Heading into the fall semester, System schools recently put in place a range of protocols, including mandates for wearing a mask and testing.
And, despite Republicans claiming campuses need their permission to implement COVID-19 policies, Thompson has refused to give lawmakers control.
Thompson, a former Republican governor, is going against his own party by promising that the UW System would act independently to keep campuses open.
FOX 11 asked Thompson Tuesday, “why are you challenging the guidance of your party when it comes to COVID protocols at state UW campuses?”
To which Thompson replied, “You know, people have different views, and I don’t want to fight with the Legislature,” he said. “I made a decision, and the l Legislature, I think, is just wrong – I think they’re wrong on policy, I think they’re wrong on the law!”
As a response to putting the mask and testing mandates in place, Republican lawmakers voted to block the system from implementing any COVID-19 policies without the approval from the Legislature’s GOP-controlled rules committee.
Sen. Steve Nass, co-chair of the Legislature’s rules committee, officially asked GOP leaders to sue the UW System Tuesday, after Thompson refused to submit UW’s COVID-19 plans to the committee.
And, although Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke says he may not agree with all of the measures the system is taking, he believes, at least for now, a lawsuit is not warranted.
“I think it’s a fine line to walk, but I think what Tommy Thompson is doing currently is his best to keep the doors open and kids in class,” Steineke, R-Kaukauna said. “As long as it doesn’t go further than what they’re doing right now, I’m pretty comfortable that he is not overstepping his authority.”
While several other campuses are requiring vaccinations, Thompson says he believes that getting vaccinated on a voluntary basis is more effective.
Steineke tells FOX 11 he encourages everyone who can get vaccinated to do so, but making it mandatory on school campuses is where the line should be drawn.
“That’s where we would run into more significant problems with the university system. If they started mandating personal health decisions by their students.”
Thompson says, “We knew that we were gonna get sued if we required to be vaccinated, and I don’t want anything to stop us from going to school.”
UW has a goal to fully vaccinate 70% of the population. So far, UWO has not reached that mark.
