As of September 1, teachers and staff at Italian schools and universities, as well as adult students, are obliged to present a green pass in order to be on school property.
Italy’s green pass shows that the carrier has been vaccinated, tested negative for COVID-19 in the previous 48 hours or recovered from the virus.
The 20-year-old student, who has been identified by local media as Silvia, was asked to leave the class when she failed to present a green pass.
She refused to leave, forcing the teacher to cancel the lesson and send some 50 students home.
The girl’s move angered her peers, some of whom reportedly shouted insults at her and demanded she cover the cost of their travel to and from the university for the day.
“We got vaccinated so that we could return to university after a year and a half of remote learning all to be sent home, while she could very well have attended the lesson by distance,” one student told Italian daily La Repubblica.
“Our right to study is at stake.”
Speaking before dozens of people in a square after the event, Silva said the “infamous green card” is and an “instrument of discrimination”.
The student claimed she was threatened by a group of peers when she left the class with phrases such as: “If you weren’t a girl we would’ve already beaten you up.”
“They push us to hate one another,” she said.
“I’m treated like a sick person without being one.”
Italian schools and universities are not the only places where the country’s green pass is complulsory.
It is also legally required for employees in all workplaces – private or public – across the country, as well as for indoor dining in restaurants, long-distance domestic travel and many cultural activities.
