I’ve always thought of universities as the last bastion of freedom. Protectors of our precious rights as individuals in society. Throughout history, universities have been front and center in the struggle for human rights, the freedoms of assembly, critical thinking, speech. I don’t think such anymore. Our universities have been railroaded, gagged, and hogtied.
I’ve seen this coming for quite some time. Student university life has become less and less about the future of the world around us and more about “facts” and “getting a job”. Skills, training etc … The idea of a liberal education, the university as a place where conventional ideas are challenged, tested, debated has steadily eroded as society at large has turned towards more practical matters. Allan Bloom in his seminal work - The Closing Of The American Mind saw this coming years ago but in recent years we’ve seen universities deny so many groups the freedom of assembly, of voice. No matter what side of an issue you are on, this is wrong. I’ve watched the growing removal of public space for debate in Canadian society and I’m troubled by this.
Now to what I want to share. Canada, my home and native land. Canadian universities. I taught in higher education in Canada and have some perspective.
Canadian universities are mandating vaccination. Totally. No option of testing. Online classes. No debate. Vaccinate or you can’t attend, finish your program. End of the line. Oh yeah, and no refund of the money you’ve paid in.
See this brave professor at Wilfred Laurier. He gets so much bang on. I’m on the other ideological spectrum from him but agree totally with his accusations, summary, and call to action. Universities can’t close down our minds, our rights and our freedoms. People fought and died for these. See this presentation from U. of Guelph students about how draconian and unjust this action by universities is.
What is troubling is not just the actions, the illegal actions of the universities. So troubling is how so few in the academic community are standing up, so few professors are speaking out against these mandates and the actions of the university administrations. I can only think it is fear, how so much fear has penetrated the social body. (same here in dictator land where I live - people go about their daily business, heads down because of latent fear).
Now you may be saying to yourself. Hey, it’s just a quick jab. We’ve been vaccinating for years for other things. Get in line kids! But you’d be wrong.
The vaccine is STILL experimental. The vaccine is now shown to not stop transmission and furthermore not work - data is from the CDC itself. Further, covid never required vaccination of a total population like other previous vaccination campaigns given as examples (polio, smallpox). Why? Because the level of risk is not there - unlike these other illnesses, the majority of the population is not at risk. Fact.
What’s at issue is the erosion of our cherished individual rights as free and valuable beings - each and every one of us. Enshrined in our charters, our constitutions, in our governments that used to be about this and not enforcement, policing, control, pitting segments of society against each other.
We need another reformation, a “re-enlightenment” that once again puts the basis of all law and order, all governance back at work protecting individual rights - NOT enforcing the views of the majority. Otherwise, you’ll be next.
Signing off, feeling sad.