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.
Matt Barter 