During the Student Day of Action on October 3, 2024, several students carried protest signs that mentioned Memorial University’s president by name. Similar signs naming the president appeared on campus over the summer and during protests last year.
When I protested against former President Vianne Timmons on December 2, 2021, Memorial University Chief Risk Officer Gregory McDougall filed a complaint under the Student Code of Conduct. Memorial engaged the services of St. John’s lawyer, Kimberley Horwood, to conduct an investigation at a cost of $9,113.75.
When I raised the issue of my Charter rights during the investigation, Horwood couldn’t have been less interested. She claimed it was “outside the scope” of her work. She admitted to having no experience with protests, flatly dismissed the need to consult civil liberties experts, and arrogantly declared that she would base her report solely on her limited understanding of the law.
Horwood concluded that my protest sign was unnecessarily personal and violated section 5(a)(5) of the Student Code of Conduct and recommended “a direction to refrain from personal attacks in his protests.”
However, Conduct Officer Jennifer Browne decided a letter of reprimand, order to attend a bullying seminar, and a one-year non-academic probation sentence was warranted.
In January 2023, Professor Robin Whitaker highlighted Memorial’s mishandling of the situation in a letter in The Independent. She said that there was a “sense that all proportion was lost in response to student protestor Matt Barter” and that “2022 was a rough year on the public relations front for Memorial University.”
Based on the analysis applied to determine if I violated the Student Code of Conduct, it appears that the actions of students on June 17 and October 2 also violated the Student Code of Conduct.
Memorial did not activate the Student Code of Conduct for the June 17 incident, signaling its unwillingness to apply the Student Code equally. It is unlikely they will activate it for the October 2 protest signs either—and to be clear, it shouldn’t be. But this selective enforcement underscores the fundamental unfairness with which my protest was treated.
Former president Timmons and her loyalists orchestrated a targeted operation to silence one of the university’s most vocal and effective critics.
When will Horwood, McDougall, and Browne acknowledge that their logic was absolutely cracked and that they were off their rockers?
Matt Barter is a graduate of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, holding a degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, taking walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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