If Slippery Rock Students Get Vaccinated, President Gets Tattooed

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA —William Behre is taking a stand to increase Slippery Rock University student COVID-19 vaccination rates. He's doing it by being willing to sit and get a permanent tattoo on his arm if students meet a vaccination threshold by December.

The university on Tuesday launched a "Rock the Shot, Ink the President" campaign to increase students vaccination that includes prize drawings for rising inoculation percentages. Currently, about 51 percent of the school's students have reported being vaccinated to the school.

Should that percentage rise to 75 percent by Dec. 3, Behre will get a Slippery Rock-themed tattoo on his upper arm during an on-campus event. He admits that getting one has not been a lifelong desire.

However, Behre said, "It would be a memorable - and permanent - way of making clear just how important I think it is for our students to get fully vaccinated. If getting a tattoo needle in my arm will inspire others to get the vaccine needle in theirs, then it would be well worth it."

Students, faculty and staff have been invited to submit tattoo designs between now and the December deadline. Students and alumni then will choose the winner by voting on several finalists Behre will select.

"It's going to be on my body forever, so I should at least have a say in the design, right?" he said.

The university, located about an hour north of Pittsburgh, also will award five students with assigned parking spots for the spring semester if student vaccination rates reach 65 percent by Nov. 1. Should the rate climb to 70 percent by Nov. 17, a drawing will be held for one student to receive free tuition for the spring semester.

All undergraduate students who submit proof of receiving a final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine into the university's student health portal will automatically be entered into the vaccination prize drawings. Those who already have uploaded their proof of vaccination already are eligible.

While the student prizes are generous rewards, they likely won't stoke the same interest as the tattoo challenge. Behre believes he would be the first college president in the country to display a commitment to increasing campus vaccination rates by offering to get a tattoo.

“Schools across the country are offering all kinds of incentive programs to get students vaccinated," he said. "But how many presidents are putting their arms on the line?”

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