MUN censors more posters

December 15, 2021

1 minute

On December 14, 2021, the MUN Students’ Union took to social media to call out the university for removal of their posters on campus.

They stated “Late last week, MUNSU put up over 100 of these posters around campus. We placed them primarily with other posters on cork boards. Some were placed on walls, but this was also almost exclusively in places where other non-MUNSU posters already were. Today, these are among the last few posters left up, two posters outside the MUNSU office. Nearly all of the posters have been removed from around campus even though other posters of a non-political nature remain, including in places that violate the university’s postering policy. Tell us again that the right to organize and peacefully protest is not under attack by the Dr. Timmons administration.”

Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.

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One response to “MUN censors more posters”

Dwayne Thompson

December 16, 2021 at 6:02 am

As a Memorial Alumni (B. A. ’91; B. Ed. ’91; B. Spec. Ed. ’99 and M. Ed. ’01), a retired educator of 30 years and proud father of a very intelligent daughter who is now attending MUN for the very first time, in her very first term, I have deliberately refrained from commenting on this issue and instead have chosen to stay on the high ground and carefully listen and observe this ceaseless and bizarre situation in the hopes that it would somehow rectify itself, or that those on both sides of this controversy would eventually come to some mutual agreement and respect, whereby intelligent and sober thought would ultimately prevail. Unfortunately, I am very discouraged, disappointed and saddened by the latest performance of Senior staff at MUN, as it appears that their behavior and mode of thinking has regressed from being representatives of free and open speech, to forcibly restricting the very basics of an institution of higher learning and critical thinking. To say that I am in a state of disbelief would be an understatement. I cannot believe that so-called ‘professional’ individuals who are an integral part of the intelligentsia would descend into such abhorrent conduct. I am both baffled and awestruck that those in management roles at MUN would even begin to try and strip away the very fabric in which this institution has been erected, specifically through the blood, sweat, tears of our ancestors and sadly, life and limb, of those who valiantly fought for the basic freedoms that we enjoy and are part and parcel of the basic foundation of the ‘Memorial’ we have created in their honor. To, in essence, rob the students of the autonomy to congregate and to frankly, candidly, openly and unreservedly express their thoughts and feelings, without fear of any type of retribution, or punishment whatsoever, is not only a major set-back for those who have gone forward but it is also a very sad commentary of MUN, in general, and its view, treatment, development and preservation of forward thinking and forward thinkers. My question is, who permitted this ‘gap’ between the students (our future leaders and thinkers), and the Senior Staff/Management of MUN to occur and to become so prodigious to the point that it is obviously disjointed? Are we witnessing blatant examples of the ‘Peter- Principle’, or remnants of nepotism here at MUN? What ever happened to settling our differences of opinions, or in just expressing our opinions, through on-going face-to-face dialogue and discussion? Isn’t this the most ‘intelligent’ and ‘educated’ method of resolution? In summary, I cannot help but quote a friend of mine who has since passed when he said to me, and I quote, “The problem today is that most people in positions of authority and power are ‘educated’ beyond their ‘intelligence”.

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Matt Barter