Why is McGill's handling of the pandemic so bad?

legaleaseatckut

Compared to 16 other law faculties across the country (all outside of QC), McGill stands out as having the least stringent measures in place to ensure the safety of their student and faculty body. This is not solely as a result of the absence of a mandatory vaccination policy; in fact, there is a spectrum of measures that have been implemented by other Canadian Universities so that students and staff can manage their exposure, and be protected while learning on campus. For example, several universities chose to conduct mandatory vaccination declarations so that they could provide students data with the percentage of school population who are vaccinated. This information has been used to inform subsequent health protocols and transparently inform students of the risks engaged with being on campus. Another measure seen is the use of rapid antigen testing programs for those who are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated. University of Saskatoon, University of Calgary, University of New a Brunswick, Dalhousie, and Western all require rapid tests to be conducted twice weekly, and for the results to be submitted onto a secured portal set up by the university. In UBC and UVic the requirements are of a weekly test. So why is McGill so bad at handling the pandemic? We discuss the matter with prof Richard Gold-- you'll hear about the measures that in fact could be implemented, unrepresentative university governance, legal-ish things assessing McGill's credibility when it claims it is Québec's laws that prevents it from doing what must be done, and prof Gold will also beautifully deconstruct (some) anti-vaxxers' comparisons between their situation and segregation. You'll also hear from Emily Black, a fellow CKUT pal. We dive into what this means for immunocompromised folks like herself to evolve in McGill during this pandemic and what McGill had to say to immunocompromised folks (hint: it is bad). We'll also cover SSMU's demands regarding covid safety on campus, and how they were dodged.