On January 20, 2022, VOCM Open Line host Paddy Daly spoke with MUN student Matt Barter on the university’s partial lifting of his campus ban.

Matt Barter: I’m phoning in about MUN lifting part of the campus ban they imposed on me.

Paddy Daly: What’s the update?

MB: So, they sent me a letter that it’s been modified and that they are removing the ban from two buildings from the University Centre and the library, but they initially told my lawyer that the ban would be removed fully, but then over the weekend the administration didn’t like articles I posted and my tweets on Twitter of the articles.

PD: Okay, so when the students and staff, most of going back on campus for in-person learning on the 31st of January, so you’ll be able to go wherever you need to go for your classes and what have you, right?

MB: Yes, but I’m still not allowed to access all the services that I’m paying for. For example, I paid $60 for a membership for The Works, and there’s also The Writing Centre in the Science building, and there’s a number of services that I still don’t have access to.

PD: Well, if you paid for something, you should get it, and if not, you should get the money back. One or the other.

MB: Yes, so I don’t understand why MUN is going against the advice of their own legal counsel. It seems like MUN’s legal counsel has an unreasonable client.

PD: So, you say this was communication that you got simply between the lawyers, not that anyone from Memorial University spoke to you directly; these are the legal representatives talking, is that right?

MB: Yes.

PD: Yeah, I mean the bans on university campuses for whether it be a poster or what you said or what you wrote seems to be going an awful long way down an unnecessarily heavy-handed road. I agree with you on that front in full.

MB: So, the whole situation of them banning me has caused students on campus to be terrified to speak out, like as recently as yesterday, there was a petition students want online options for the classes for the Winter with going back in person, but the petition is anonymous like the student didn’t use their name to create it and there’s a lot of students who are afraid to voice their opinions to MUN.

PD: Well, I guess that would be an individual case-by-case basis as to whether or not you’re afraid to put your name on a petition. I don’t know if there’s going to be any retribution for signing a petition that you would like to have online learning options, unlikely, but hard to say given some decisions made in the past.

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.

On January 23, 2022, MUN Faculty Association President, Josh Lepawsky, stated to the media, “It’s on the instructor to figure it out, we have been told again largely through the media to expect almost daily communications from administration on how things are to be rolled out. There’s been no clear guidance given to how instructors are to handle their own requirements for self isolation if that becomes an issue. There is no plan in place for exposure notifications, there’s no plan in place for what to do when exposures happen. We’ve been advocating again since the pandemic started almost two years ago to be brought directly into the decision-making process and we have every time been rebuffed which is deeply unfortunate. Administration should be consulting with the front-line workers. It’s you know one thing to make a plan that talks about nice big numbers like above 100 and below 100, that is not getting into the linguistics of actually delivering a lab course in an actual room where people may need to move around to access different equipment. It’s not a plan for you know the linguistics of getting masks to people. Any of these kinds of nitty-gritty details which we could have easily been part of that conversation and help plan.”

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.

On January 20, 2022, the MUN Students’ Union issued a statement to their members that they were “shocked, disheartened, and extremely concerned” with the decision of Memorial University’s senior administration to resume in-person classes on January 31, 2022.

Then on January 23, 2022, MUNSU Executive Director of External Affairs, Communications, and Research, Hilary Hennessey, stated to the media, “We are working hard alongside the university administration to try and get this decision reviewed and hopefully amended to accommodate all students on St. John’s campus so that those who are wanting to pursue an education can do it in a way that also protects their health and safety as well.”

In their January 20 release, they stated that “The MUNSU Board of Directors feel very strongly that this decision forces all members of the university community to jeopardize their own health, and the health of their loved ones, to meet the unsafe and exploitative academic and professional expectations handed down to them by MUNL upper administration. University leadership is not prioritizing the health and safety of those within the university community, nor are they considering the concerns of students, staff, and faculty in their decision-making.”

Furthermore, MUNSU stated that they represent hundreds of immunocompromised students or have vulnerable family members and student parents who have children under the age of 12 and have not had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated. “These families are now at risk of exposure due to this decision.”

MUNSU then took issue with MUN’s limitations in providing accommodations and the fact that they can only provide accommodations to those who have documented needs. MUNSU states, “Currently, about one in every five people in Newfoundland and Labrador are without a family doctor, limiting their ability to obtain the necessary documentation needed to avail of accommodations at this university.”

“The decision to return to on-campus learning and activities is an ableist decision that does not accommodate students who identify this transition as a considerably high risk. The university has not communicated a clear or consistent plan for providing accommodations to students or faculty at this time,” stated MUNSU.

Additionally, MUNSU raises the issue of students having to adapt to online learning again if another outbreak was to occur and that this will only create further disruption for everyone.

MUNSU stated that they “will not be following the dangerous timeline set out by university administration.” To ensure the safety of their members, “the MUNSU office, CHMR Radio, and The Attic will continue with remote operations until it is safe to return back to in-person work. Safe Drive and the grocery shuttle will not be offered until it is safe to return these services to our membership.”

MUNSU ends with, “We want to assure you that we are working hard to advocate for this decision to be reviewed in order to protect members within this university and the community. We are asking the university to listen to student concerns and enact clear guidelines for how they are going to accommodate students, faculty, and staff.”

MUNSU is encouraging students to share their concerns or experience regarding this decision by contacting the Executive Director of External Affairs, Communications, and Research, Hilary Hennessey, at external@munsu.ca or for advocacy support, the Executive Director of Advocacy, John Mweemba, at advocacy@munsu.ca.

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.

On January 24, 2022, MUN Faculty Association (MUNFA) sent an information bulletin to their members with the subject “MUNFA Requests to Postpone the Return to In-Person Teaching.”

MUNFA states that since January 19th, 2022, when the university administration announced their decision that all classes with an enrollment of 99 or fewer students would return to in-person teaching on January 31, an overwhelming number of Academic Staff Members (ASMs) contacted the MUNFA Office with concerns.

According to MUNFA, they have received a clear message that “ASMs do not support the blanket mandate for students and ASMs to return on January 31, especially given the lack of clear information from the administration on necessary health and safety measures, plans for communicating on-campus COVID exposures, and the inevitable disruptions caused to learning when students/instructors are required to self-isolate.”

On January 24, 2022, the MUNFA Executive contacted the senior administration to request that the return to in-person teaching be delayed until after the Winter break on February 28. Alternatively, MUNFA states that giving instructors the flexibility to decide to continue to deliver their courses remotely would also be an acceptable option.

MUNFA states that the delay in the return to in-person classes would allow more students, faculty, and staff to receive their vaccination and/or booster shot and to obtain the increased immunity, enable ASMs to obtain medical advice for their specific situations, allow students to return and abide by self-isolation requirements which is of particular concern for students living outside of province or country, and for clear pandemic guidelines to be developed with meaningful input from students, faculty, and staff.

On January 20, 2022, MUNFA sent an information bulletin to their members with the subject “Concerns Regarding the Return to In-Person Teaching.” They state that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Faculty have expressed concerns over the senior administrations’ pandemic response due to a lack of adequate health and safety information, unclear/confusing rationale for decisions being made, and an unwillingness to meaningfully consider input from members of the university community.

MUNFA provided the following list of concerns that they heard from ASMs and communicated to the administration:

• The impact on students and instructors of quickly shifting course delivery methods and evaluations, and a lack of supports for the effective delivery of evaluations.

• The possibility of on-campus exposures, specifically the short and long-term health risks for those exposed, and the impact of disruptions in learning when students or instructors are required to self-isolate.

• The lack of clear guidelines/protocols on how on-campus exposures will be communicated to the University community. Given the changes to testing requirement for the province, we fear the administration will not communicate if/when there are on-campus exposures.

• The inability to maintain required social distancing in classrooms, labs, and common spaces on campus. Given Memorial’s current infrastructure, we question whether it is possible to adhere to even the minimum density requirements in all spaces as outlined in the current public health guidelines.

• The need for proper assessment of our ventilation systems. Faculty concerns about ventilation have been dismissed by administration throughout the pandemic, frequently being told that ventilation is one of the least important controls to prevent the spread of COVID. MUNFA was informed on January 19th, 2022 that the administration is only now conducting a proper assessment of ventilation in classrooms on the St. John’s campus and that 7 spaces have been deemed unusable until ventilation upgrades can occur.

• The need for the University to provide effective masks to all students, faculty, and staff required to be on campus, and clear communication on the proper use of these masks.

• A lack of compassionate accommodations for faculty who are high-risk, or have family members who are high-risk.

MUNFA is encouraging ASMs to communicate their support for this request to President Vianne Timmons (president@mun.ca), Provost Florentine Strzelczyk (vpacad@mun.ca), Chief Risk Officer Greg McDougall (cro@mun.ca), and their administrative head, and to copy munfa@mun.ca.

MUNFA also states that additional questions/concerns can be directed to munfa@mun.ca and they will provide further updates as information becomes available.

See MUNFA’s information bulletins below:

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.

A recently obtained ATIPP request reveals the number of students de-registered by Memorial University due to their COVID-19 vaccination status or refusal to disclose their status. On January 9, 2022, 49 students were de-registered from at least one on-campus course.

Additionally, 22 students had a hold put on their account to prevent them from registering for any on-campus courses.

As of January 17, 2022, 25 students are still de-registered.

See ATIPP file below:

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.

Memorial University Director of Student Life and Student Code of Conduct Officer Jennifer Browne has been served with a notice of complaint for the inappropriate use of interim measures under the Student Code of Conduct to punish a student (me) for publishing critical articles on the senior administration.

My attorney has requested that Jennifer Browne remove all interim conditions and provide a written public apology from both herself and the conduct office by Tuesday, January 25th, 2022. Otherwise, we will regard it as a refusal to solve the matter informally, leaving us no option but to file a formal complaint.

See below the letter from my attorney for more details:

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.

On January 20th, 2022, 3rd year Memorial University History student Charlie Cottreau penned an open letter to university president Vianne Timmons and posted it to social media. He outlines the concerns that members of the university have with the administration’s decision to return to campus.

Cottreat agrees with the recent statement made by Timmons that kindness and communication are important values but does not feel that the university’s administration has shown these values. He states that there is no clear direction to how the university will deal with absences due to COVID-19 infection, adequate contract tracking, or accommodations for those that require them.

Furthermore, he also takes issue with Timmons’s privilege. He states, “While the notion that we are all in this together has been used literally throughout the pandemic, it is false.” He then states that the risks of COVID-19 are significantly higher for the immunocompromised and those who live with them.

Next, he states that the risk posed by COVID-19 are not all medical. He states to Timmons, “While you enjoy a reported salary of $450,000, many students are lucky to make 5 percent of this.” Cottreau states that a week without pay due to isolation could mean no groceries for a week for these students.

Cottreau ends by stating that the administration made a “reckless and short-sighted” decision, and he calls on them to “review and rectify it to accommodate the needs of the entire community, not just those who can afford to take risks.”

See letter below:

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.

On January 19th, 2022, Memorial University announced that all in-person courses that are currently taught remotely will return to campus effective January 31st, except for classes with over 100 students. A petition was started within hours of MUN’s announcement, and as of 8:15 PM, it has 896 signatures.

The creator(s) of the petition states that “Many students have concerns around this announcement and are worried about their health and safety, as well as the health and safety of their close contacts… This petition is for MUN to offer a completely remote option for all courses that have been completely remote in previous semesters due to COVID.”

They have a list of concerns. Firstly, they mention is that MUN is risking the health and safety of over 20,000 students, faculty, and staff and the close contacts of these people. They state that the only option is for students to drop in-person courses. This could even lead to some students having in a delay in their graduate date. Secondly, MUN has no plan for student absences due to COVIDZ-19 isolation requirements. They do not think that it is adequate that it is left up the professor of each course to decide what to do with students in this situation. Thirdly, the impossibility of always enforcing social distancing and the mask mandate on campus. Fourthly, students are not provided with N95 masks and face shields by the university. Fifthly, Newfoundland and Labrador is in alert level 4 with 18 people in hospital.

Further, they state that the concerns of students are not being addressed, and MUN did not consult students. There were no form, survey, or questionnaire sent out to let students voice their concerns.

Hilaree Glavine states that “this is an irresponsible and ABLEIST decision that puts immunocompromised people at a HUGE risk. The number of cases are so high right now it makes zero sense to be on campus. plus, how are we supposed to social distance in classes with 99 people??!!”

Kira Whittaker says, “I’m signing because, despite multiple opportunities to provide answers to students with concerns, they continue to refuse to provide answers.”

Andrew Taylor states, “I don’t think the university is making a rational decision for these points: Some students are not physically here yet, they’re in other provinces, the uncertainty around flights to get students here is an issue given what’s happening, they haven’t held the parking lottery yet, so students are without parking permit and risk parking at a fine to attend class, students who have to now take public transport to class to attend put themselves and others at risk, what is in place for an outbreak? Will that specific class go online? Will the whole university go online? This would significantly impact the delivery of education, will students be notified if a classmate has tested positive in order to allow for contact tracing? If multiple students are contacts of an infected student, how will they get their lectures? If the professor is only lecturing in person and not recording, all the students will have access to are slides, which isn’t fair. The university is making the wrong decision at the worst time possible. There’s no financial loss to the university for keeping students online till May. Most students haven’t had their booster either. Whatever the rationale behind this decision, it is flawed.”

Makenna Taylor states, “I personally do not feel comfortable attending in-person classes while watching the case numbers, along with hospitalizations and deaths, rising. Of course, in-person learning is valuable but is it worth risking the health of students, staff, and all of their close contacts? For immunocompromised individuals, this is an even more serious concern, one that may cause students to defer their graduation date due to being unable to attend in-person classes. This is very unfair, especially when there is a solution. It is also very worrisome that there are no protocols in place that help students who do contract COVID and cannot attend classes. It is very, very easy to fall behind and missing an entire week or more of lectures could be detrimental to students’ success.”

Becca Chaulk says, “I think this decision is ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing online lectures. It’s not like you’re doing hands-on stuff like in a lab. If anything, online classes are awesome because some of them will be asynchronous, so if you have assessments you have to work on, you can always wait to watch your lecture later that day. But that’s not the main point of staying online, safety is the top priority. I think it’s obvious that MUN does not care about what is in our best interest, and it’s like they want us to get COVID-19.”

Katie Little says, “I had to isolate due to illness for two weeks last September and spent the rest of the semester trying (and failing) to catch up. My mental health tanked from the stress. None of my classrooms had adequate distancing or ventilation, despite what the administration keeps saying. It’s one thing to announce that you’re taking safety measures and accommodating students who need to stay home, it’s another to actually do them.”

Emma Dove states, “There are many reasons why MUN should support hybrid learning during our current situation of the pandemic. I am personally not in the province and am unable to get back at this time, due to uncertainties regarding flights, not having a safe place to isolate properly, and also living with immunocompromised people. Like a lot of students, I rely on public transportation, which is another possible site of exposure that could lead me to pass COVID-19 onto a vulnerable member of my household, my peers who may be vulnerable, or my instructors. I did not experience adequate distancing that met provincial guidelines in my courses during the Fall 2021 semester, so I have reason to believe that this semester would be much the same. With the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, I cannot risk in-person learning this semester (even though I would rather learn in a face-to-face classroom setting). I also feel that it is unfair that the university is not changing the drop date for undergraduate courses, as their announcement is coming quite late considering that courses must be dropped by January 20th (tomorrow) for a full refund. I think that students and instructors deserve a choice, as it is their safety being put at risk.”

Cady Cumby states, “This is the worst possible decision to be made at this point. It seems that the university has little regard or consideration for public health, and has not thought this out at all. This was announced a DAY before the due date for full refunds for the semester. Also, international students are not being given an appropriate amount of time with self-isolation. In fact, it goes against the guidelines of Newfoundland gov’s travel restrictions (from the site: All travellers entering Newfoundland and Labrador are required to submit the Travel Form within 30 days of their expected travel date). Why is it that the student body was given no opportunity for input on such an important matter which can affect the health of our family members and immunocompromised students… This new variant spreads easier, and I can guarantee you that most classrooms will not have the space to social distance (which was not possible in my fall classes at all).”

Jorden Cooney-Callahan states, “They’re also not taking into consideration that if for any future circumstance that the province goes into another lockdown, students who live off-campus are then forced to stay put in their living accommodations in town, making rent payments a risky cost of paying for living arrangements when most students (including myself) could be living at home with their parents to be in a comfortable environment, as well as saving extra money to contribute to other necessities.”

Elisabeth de Mariaffi says, “As an instructor, I’d rather teach my students online for a few more weeks — we’re already in rhythm, and I think they will be more productive and creative if we can relieve the anxiety around COVID exposure.”

Daniel states, “As an immunocompromised student, I now need to choose between my health and my education. In-person learning is very important, but not at the risk of exposure to COVID. In the previous fall semester, I had exams in person that required a significant number of people to gather in a small classroom for around 2 hours. It was impossible to social distance, and I do not think MUN is capable of doing this properly for all courses if they were unable to do it for a single, in-person exam when the rest of the semester was online. I was a bit concerned with in-person labs but felt the hybrid approach was a much sensible balance than this.”

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.

Today, I received a letter from Memorial University regarding my lawyer’s request to lift the draconian ban placed on me on December 3rd, 2021 for a silent protest. MUN’s legal counsel notified my lawyer that the administration had not liked recent articles published on my website that were critical of the university’s senior administration. It is wholly inappropriate that they continue to use the code of conduct to punish me for speaking out. Last week, MUN’s General Counsel told my lawyer, Kyle Rees, that the unnecessary ban would be fully lifted except for the no-contact order with Dr. Timmons. I was pleased with this and posted an update to my website and on social media about it. They have since backtracked and have decided only to lift the ban to two buildings, QEII Library and University Centre. From my perspective, it seems they are using this process, which has already dragged out for more than a month, to punish me for writing critical articles. It is noteworthy that the articles that they disliked had nothing to do with the case they have brought against me.

I call on the perpetrators of this injustice to resign, including President Vianne Timmons, Director of Student Life Jennifer Browne, Chief Risk Officer Greg McDougall and all involved. Such egregious breaches of fundamental rights are not acceptable in our institutions of higher learning and cannot be tolerated in our community.

There is no reason to prevent me from accessing The Works, Tim Hortons, a mixer at the Political Science department, a church meeting on campus, an after-hours public lecture at the Bruneau Centre, or visiting a friend in residence. If the university does not remove the ban completely, an injunction will be filed at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

See letter below:

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.