MUN’s Communications plan for student protester

A recently obtained ATIPP reveals Memorial University’s communications plan regarding a student protester banned from campus. See full 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.

Talks with Jinesh featuring Matt Barter

On December 15, 2021, on Talks with Jinesh, Youtuber Jinesh Modi spoke with student protester Matt Barter on his ban from Memorial University campus. See the transcript below:

Jinesh Modi: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Talks with Jinesh. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about a student who has been banned from attending the Memorial University campus. Matt Barter is a fourth-year Political Science and Sociology student, and now he’s banned from attending the campus. If he even steps foot on campus without checking in with security first, the RCMP, which is the police, can even be involved. Why is he banned? What were his actions that led him to be banned? Let’s see.

Matt, as a person, he’s a really nice guy. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times, and he has a really warm approach to his things. He’s really friendly as well. Very easy to socialize and hang out with. He’s been protesting against the university’s leadership since a long time. He has his own website, mattbarter.ca, where he puts out articles against the university administration. Recently an event took place that crossed the limits and boundaries of protesting. It all started as a normal news conference where they were announcing an initiative to help keep international students in the province, and then this happened. Matt Barter was protesting against Vianne Timmons as the president started her speech. Matt went up, stuck a sign on the podium and had another in his hand, which read, “Stop Vianne: no to tuition hikes and out of control spending.”

JM: What happened after the media conference?

Matt Barter: So, I stood up with the sign, nobody told me to leave, and then after Dr. Timmons was finished speaking, I sat down and then I listened to the next speaker and even after that part of the event was over, nobody from the university confronted me about it. Like nobody took issue with it. It wasn’t until a day or so later that they sent me an email.

JM: Matt later received an email saying that he’s banned from the campus, and he’s not allowed to have any direct or indirect contact with the president. The university later released a statement saying that they support the right to protest but not the right to harass or intimidate any staff member, including the president.

JM: So, Jennifer Browne, who’s the Director of Student Life, said you’re banned from the campuses, including the one here in St. John’s and that your behaviour has been interpreted to be harassing and intimidating towards Dr. Timmons. Do you think you may have gone a little too far with your protest against her?

MB: No, I think given the circumstances with them having my posters taken down, they really imposed limitations and restrictions on how I can express my views. So, not being allowed to put up the posters I want reduces what I can do. So, I need to be more creative in my approach.

JM: You also interrupted an event and video tapped while asking Dr. Timmons questions earlier this September. You’re also pretty close to her while taking a picture like a selfie with the stop Timmons sign. Do you think that was crossing the line? Do you see how she may think you’re attacking her personally?

MB: So, back in September, that was at a conference on the economic future of the province, and Dr. Timmons was one of the many presenters, and after she spoke, they asked if anybody had any questions, and there was no one at the mic, so I went and stood at the mic, and I asked her questions about why did she increase tuition and why were the posters ordered down. So, I was well within my right to do that, and I was within my right to video record it because the conference was actually being live streamed, and it’s up online now for anyone who wants to see it.

JM: And what did she say after you asked her about why she was taking down the posters?

MB: So, she finally answered that after ignoring it. So, she finally said that the posters were taken down because they do not honour the respectful workplace policy. So, she finally provided a reason.

JM: A lot of people have come out in your support as well, right, the CFS and the MUN Student Union.

MB: I’m using every resource at my disposal, so I’m glad that both the CFS and MUNSU that they recognize that it’s a larger issue than just my situation and that the ramifications are for the entire student body.

JM: So, I believe you also put out your interest of wanting to sit down with Dr. Timmons and have a conversation. Has anybody from MUN followed up on that with you?

MB: Nope, nobody from MUN has contacted me about that, which is unfortunate. It represents the pattern by the MUN administration of not wanting to meet with students on issues of tuition or their lavish expenses.

JM: So, now that you’re banned from campus and have to check in with security every time you are there. What do you plan to do? This is the exam time also, right? So, how is your preparation and everything? Is it going to be hindered because of that?

MB: So, because of the ban, I’m not allowed on campus except to go to class, for exams, or medical services, so I don’t have access to the library; I don’t have access to their resources. And they’re isolating me from the campus community and isolating me from my fellow students

JM: True, and also all the services you’re paying for with your tuition.

MB: Yes, so I paid tuition, but I also paid fees on top of that, like I pay a fee for The Works Recreation Centre.

JM: Exactly. All this is part of the tuition that you’re paying. The library, the services, the student services, and everything. But now, this ban is preventing you from utilizing them.

MB: Yes.

JM: Well, Matt, I’m very sorry to hear you’re going through all of this, but it’s a solid case.

JM: This is the aftermath of the fee increase at MUN. What do you think about this? Was Matt Barter right in his ways of protesting? Or was the campus ban too strict an action from the university?

NTV Evening Newshour with Lawyer Kyle Rees

On December 16, 2021, on NTV Evening Newshour, journalist Ben Cleary spoke with Lawyer Kyle Rees on student Matt Barter’s ban from Memorial University campus. See the transcript below:

Glen Carter: Now there are lawyers involved. That student we told you about, banned from MUN’s campus, except for classes, is fighting back. NTV’s Ben Cleary has more on that tonight.

Ben Cleary: It was an awkward scene. Memorial University President Vianne Timmons was giving a speech. Matt Barter, a student protester, was standing right beside her. And since that protest in early December Political Science student Mat Barter has been banned from attending Memorial University for anything other than classes, and his lawyer is saying that punishment is too harsh.

Kyle Rees: He’s allowed to attend the university to go to classes, but even then, he must be escorted by campus enforcement, campus police. And he’s not allowed to, you know, go to the library, go to the gym, go to the cafeteria, he’s not allowed to go volunteer, or participate in campus media. God forbid attend a press conference with the president.

BC: Kyle Rees is Matt Barter’s lawyer. Yesterday he sent this letter to the office at MUN that deals with student conduct condemning the university’s action against his client.

KR: The student code of conduct and the ability to sort of, on an interim basis, ban a student from campus is designed to be used in the most serious cases where there’s like a public safety concern or some sexual harassment has occurred. Those sorts of things. Matt Barter falls under none of those categories.

BC: Now, Rees hopes Barter will be allowed back on campus as soon as possible. He said this isn’t about one individual student; it’s about all students who hope to raise their voice and criticize the university without fear of punitive measures.

KR: What I am worried about is the chilling effect that the university administration simply by imposing these measures and charging somebody under their code of conduct would make any student afraid to protest.

CBC Here & Now with Lawyer Kyle Rees

On December 16, 2021, on CBC News: Here and Now, journalist Anthony Germain spoke with Lawyer Kyle Rees on why student Matt Barter was banned from campus. See the transcript below:

Anthony Germain: The lawyer for a student who’s in a dispute with Memorial University and its president Vianne Timmons says MUN has overreacted. Matt Barter has restrictions from setting foot on campus because of posting photos like this one, and the university is also investigating his actions as well. Kyle Rees with the law firm O’Dea Earle says instead of tolerating legitimate protest, MUN is treating Barter like a criminal without any justification.

Anthony Germain: Tell me about the dispute that Mr. Barter’s facing right now.

Kyle Rees: Well, Matt Barter is, I think, has been publicly notorious at this point, has been banned from attending on campus at Memorial University, with the exception of going to his classes and even when he goes to classes, he has to be escorted by campus security when he attends those classes. That is in response to a silent protest that Matt conducted on December 2nd of this year and, in our view, is completely inappropriate and a misuse of the student code of conduct process.

AG: But what’s inappropriate about it because I think he has a certain intensity, he’s been on Here & Now quite a few times, he’s a very intense person, sometimes he does get a bit close, or he has gotten a little close to the president, even though there was no contact. Can you see how some people are upset by his methods?

KR: Sure, and I would suggest that anybody has a right to be upset by any methods employed by any student in the form of protest. In fact, I’d also argue that upsetting people is sort of part of the point of protest. I don’t think it is cause for safety concern that a student gets in a subjective view too close to the university president. You know they’re not the president of the United States where their well-being is an issue. A student’s ability to protest to get close enough to their president to be able to ensure that their message, which was a silent protest, by the way, is seen and captured by cameras and viewed by people within the audience. I would submit is something that is important to do, and whether or not the university likes his methods or not I would suggest that when you’re are a university, when your a center for activist thought as a university ought to be, you should be prepared to deal with uncomfortable situations, and that’s what occurred here.

AG: Now, in taking up his cause as his legal representative, you said in a fairly succinct letter that he’s being treated as a criminal as if he’s a dangerous criminal.

KR: That’s right, I’m not aware of cases where an individual attends class and has to be escorted by campus security to and from class. All the kinds of cases that I’ve seen where the student code of conduct gets used, where interim measures get imposed against somebody, there cases where there was like a public safety threat, a person has assaulted somebody or made a serious obvious threat towards a person and that’s not the case for Matt.

AG: Last question for you, what does, I don’t want to be too dramatic, not what justice looks like, but what a remedy looks like in this case or what does Matt Barter want?

KR: Well, the first thing is he wants to be able to go back on campus. It should be acknowledged that I mean going to Memorial University is more than simply attending classes and getting grades. You can do that at any university in the world. Going to Memorial University is about, you know, being on campus, being part of clubs and societies. Hell, there are court of appeal cases in this province that says that being able to have a beer at The Breezeway is part of the important educational experience of going to Memorial University. Matt Barter can’t do any of those things. The university needs to understand that damage has been done, and a public perception problem has occurred as a result of banning Matt Barter from campus less than 24 hours after he protested decisions made by the administration.

AG: Alright, appreciate your time. I suspect we’ll be speaking again. Thank you very much.

KR: Take care.

CBC Here & Now with MUNSU Director Hilary Hennessey

On December 6, 2021, CBC News: Here and Now spoke with Memorial University of Newfoundland Students’ Union Executive Director of External Affairs Hilary Hennessey regarding the administration banning a student protestor. See the transcript below:

Carolyn Stokes: The university’s student union says MUN and the office of Vianne Timmons are overreacting. An executive director with MUNSU says that all students have the right to voice their concerns and protest.

Hilary Hennessey: MUNSU has always been in support of students harnessing their freedom of expression, no matter if that is towards people in positions of power or not. So, we encourage students to go ahead and do so as we always are encouraging dissent and speaking up against decisions made that may impact students. We don’t believe that the student code of conduct should be harnessed in a way against student activism that is banning. We believe that if students are facing injustice in that way, please contact the Director of Advocacy.

CBC Here & Now with MUN student Matt Barter

On December 6, 2021, on CBC News: Here and Now, journalist Anthony Germain spoke with Memorial University of Newfoundland student Matt Barter on why he was banned from campus. See the transcript below:

Anthony Germain: Matt Barter is a student protestor who has a problem with the president of Memorial University and her policies, and now she has a problem with him. He’s banned from going on campus. So Matt, what happened?

Matt Barter: I received an email from the university on Friday at 5 PM that says I’m banned from campus immediately.

AG: What was the problem?

MB: So, they referenced two different events: one event was back in September at a conference when I asked her (Timmons) questions about tuition fees and why she took down my posters and the second event is when I stood up with a protest sign during her talk at an event.

AG: Jennifer Browne, the Director of Student Life, says you’re banned from all campuses, not just the one here in St. John’s and quote, “your behaviour has been interpreted to be harassing and intimidating towards Dr. Timmons. Do you think you have maybe gone a little too far?

MB: I don’t understand how any of my actions can be perceived as harassing and intimidating to anyone. I have an issue with the decisions that Dr. Timmons has made as the President of Memorial; I don’t have an issue with her personally. I don’t know her as a person. I’ve only ever been in her presence two times at public events, so I’m not sure why she’s taking it personally.

AG: But you know, in one event, you did kind of interrupt, and you video tapped while you were asking her (Timmons) questions, and in the other one, your kind of pretty close to her, and you’re taking a selfie. Do you see how she might think that you crossed a line? You’re a little too much in her face?

MB: No, I think if someone’s a president of a university, or an elected politician, or a head of a large corporation, they should be able to handle protests. They should be able to handle freedom of speech, and they should be able to handle criticism.

AG: Now they say that they have no problem with protest. They just don’t like the way you kind of hang around and going to her events. University students have protested for ages, so you’re claiming that this is still a legitimate kind of protest?

MB: In the past, at MUN, students have ever taken over offices of administrators and occupied them. Students have taken over the president’s office. Students have disrupted Board of Regents meetings in the past. Actually, one time a couple of years ago in 2017, a group of students went in and stormed a Board of Regents meeting, and the university didn’t say anything about it.

AG: Right, so if you’re banned, what does that mean? I mean, classes are over, so I guess in some ways it’s not that bad. You can go take your exams and all that, right?

MB: But the issue is that I paid my tuition fees and not being allowed on campus; I’m not getting what I paid for, I’m not getting the full university experience. I don’t have access to the library, so I don’t have access to materials to finish my final assignments, and the university is putting this ban on me at the very end of the semester when students are entering a period of preparing for exams and finishing assignments, so instead of doing my school work, they have me doing media interviews.

AG: So, you’re banned, you can’t go to school, it’s the end of the year, what are you going to do?

MB: I’m going to use every resource at my disposal. The MUN Faculty Association has written two letters to Dr. Timmons in the past about freedom of expression. There’s another freedom of expression organization, a national one, who wrote her (Timmons) another letter today. I was also talking to the student union today as well, so I’m going to be using every resource that I possibly can, including possible legal action if they don’t reverse the ban.

AG: Alright, Matt, obviously, this is not over. Thank you for your time, and we’ll see what happens.

MB: Thank you.