So you have opted to not get vaccinated and participate in weekly testing instead. Well, Monday Nov. 8, testing is set to start. Here is an unvaccinated student’s guide to being allowed back on campus!

Students who have not yet received the full COVID-19 vaccine, or have not gotten it at all, can participate in the free weekly SHIELD Illinois testing. At home testing will not be accepted by the college, so it is suggested to take advantage of this opportunity.

You can learn more about all of this by going to the college’s homepage and clicking the link at the top of the page that reads “Pandemic Responses Safety Guidelines.”

After clicking this link, it will take you to Lake Land’s page covering all their COVID guidelines. In giant writing, all caps and highlighted, it says “CLICK HERE FOR TESTING INFORMATION.” This page will be your best friend for the time being.

For now, here is a how-to guide for all that we know so far:

In order to participate in the free program, you will need to first register for testing. You can do this by going to your Laker Hub. There should be a black bar that has SHIELD Illinois on it, and you should click on that.After clicking, it will take you to a page where you can register with your Laker email address, as well as your first and last name. This will assign you an “Agency Code” that will allow you to make an account with the SHIELD Illinois website.

While making this account, you will need more specific personal information like your home address and date of birth. After filling these fields out, you will create your password and, like magic, you now have your account created. It is a good idea to write this password down, you will need it later!

Once you have your account set up, next you will want to schedule an appointment to get tested. This is also a simple process. Just click “set up or cancel an appointment,” then select a date and location. Different testing sites are open on different days, so make sure to take note of this.

The Mattoon testing site is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The testing site is at the West Building, in the Farm Credit Room, room 123.

The Kluthe Center in Effingham is open Monday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 12 p.m to 6 p.m. The testing site is in room 225.

For the Eastern Region Center in Marshall, the testing site is only open Monday 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. The testing room is in office 002.

The Western Region Center in Pana is open on Tuesday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the Commons Area 060.

The test the college is using is a saliva test, but other tests will be accepted. Walgreens’s test is accepted, which is a nasal test. However, no at-home tests will be accepted.

Tests taken elsewhere must be submitted by Wednesday Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Some quick advice for those who are testing: 

Try to schedule your test as soon as possible, before your classes.

Do NOT eat or drink anything for an hour before your test–they will know and will turn your test away. Don’t even chew gum!

Lastly, Stay positive and be nice to the people testing you or enforcing it, because no one wants to be in this situation.

The following link will take you to a Youtube tutorial on how to register and schedule a testing appointment: How to Schedule Your Testing Appointment