Gov. John Bel Edwards visited campus last Tuesday to give $100 gift cards to students and community members receiving their first dose of the COVID vaccine. This is part of the Shot for $100 program which aims to encourage students to get vaccinated.

Edwards met with President Berry and congratulated him on his investiture earlier this month.

“We are honored to host the governor and thank him for his leadership during these challenging times with COVID-19,” Berry said. “Gov. Edwards is a strong supporter of higher education and has provided us one of the best budgets in years.” 

 Students, faculty and staff got the opportunity to meet Edwards in the Hangar as people got vaccinated.

 Caitlyn Cullen, a junior political science major, said that she’d like to see more students getting vaccinated on campus.

 “Herd immunity is the safest way to protect our fellow humans,” Cullen said. “This will allow students who are online for health reasons to be able to enjoy their college experience like everyone else.”

 Ryan Petersen, who is Mr. ULM and a senior political science major, said that Edwards’ visit to campus helped show how important the on-campus vaccine opportunity is.

 “Like everyone else, I am tired of facing limitations when it comes to many aspects of daily life,” Petersen said. “So I urge students to seriously consider taking the vaccine so that we may return back to normalcy.”

 Michael Crenshaw, a junior accounting major, met the governor and complimented Edwards on his TikTok account.

 “It’s really cool to see that level of engagement,” Crenshaw said. “The governor uses TikTok to promote vaccines. To meet him was an opportunity I could not pass up.”

 The Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana National guard offers free COVID vaccines and testing on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the Hangar.