Dear Colleagues,
We write this morning to express our frustration with the lack of decisive action on the part of Trent’s administration with regard to our call for a vaccine policy. Virtually every other university in Ontario acted prior to yesterday’s provincial announcement to adopt vaccination requirements in light of the evolving Covid-19 pandemic. Although we remain confident that Trent will follow suit and increase protections for the health of staff, students, and the community, we are disappointed that the opportunity for Trent to display sound judgement and leadership has passed.
Since our last communication, CUPE 3908 has issued its own call for a vaccine mandate and both CUPE and TUFA have been contacted by media outlets for interviews. Trent’s non-action is becoming a news story in itself, but this is decidedly NOT the kind of media attention that helps draw students or inspire loyalty, and these are points that we will press at our full Joint Committee meeting tomorrow morning.
TUFA members can expect a further communication from us before the weekend outlining what we learn tomorrow and potentially calling on you to take a more active role in TUFA’s advocacy efforts. We have no intention of permitting Trent faculty, staff, or students to face health and safety risks that other academic institutions in Ontario will have mitigated prior to the start of the fall term.
In Solidarity
Moira and Marcus
—
Moira Howes,
President
Marcus Harvey,
Executive Director