University of Waterloo Faculty call on school to re-instate mask mandates

By Brandon Maher

At least a dozen faculty members attached their name to a memo that was sent to the University of Waterloo President's office and the Dean of Arts.

The letter states that the University 'owes a legal and moral duty to enact reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of community members'.

The memo was spearheaded by Anna Drake, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science with the University.

She initially drafted the memo in the hopes of getting unanimous support from her department, but she said there were several people who wouldn't sign on.

“I was very frustrated with that,” Drake explained. “Given that there is significant support though, I sent it around to everybody in our department and asked if people would be supportive of signing on as individuals.”

Drake received a brief response from the President's office, that said they would send a more formal response in the near future. 

Emmett McFarlane, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, helped to draft the memo.

He accused the University of looking weak and pointing to non-existent guidelines to justify their choices.

“The public health entities in this province have been absolute failures. In fact this is the worst ongoing governance failure of our time.” McFarlane stated.

In a statement provided to CityNews 570, the University of Waterloo said they encourage everyone to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces and will not hesitate to reimpose any measures if they become necessary to reduce risk in the community.

 

 

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