EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Guelph recently announced that any student who is registered for in-person learning and has not submitted proof of vaccination or an approved exemption by Oct. 15 will be de-registered from their courses.
To the University of Guelph community,
Coming back to Guelph was a shock to the system.
The amount of people I’ve come across on campus who are unvaccinated is astounding. Even here in Guelph, people are trying to forge proof of vaccination forms and are bragging about it openly in places such as the campus Starbucks. I understand I have no right to judge what one chooses to put or not put in their body, as long as they’re not bringing harm to anyone. However, when their choice could potentially impact the wellness of our student population, it becomes personal. Case in point, a friend’s brother recently stated that he was unvaccinated and still goes to all his classes in person because “who’s going to stop him.”
That got me thinking. Is anybody going to stop him? Is anybody going to do anything about this?
I was taught never to stop shouting about what I believe in, and I believe disobeying a rule of this nature, and publicly boasting about it, is downright disrespectful. Disrespectful to every person in that lecture hall who might not have wanted to get the jab and did anyways.
I know we are young people; sometimes we behave recklessly and selfishly. But I can finally see a semblance of normalcy in the distance and I am so afraid that light will burn out before we reach it.
I tried for a long time to convince myself I was making a mountain out of a molehill, creating conflict for the sake of getting my point across. But now I am just tired because there are kids bragging about how they are getting away with breaking the rules and nobody seems to care. Is there anything to be done? If not, please tell me what I should do, because I’m tired of biting my tongue and pretending that the people who surround me actually care about one another. I thought we were all in this together. Now I’m not so sure.
Sincerely,
A desperate girl who, like so many others, is begging for her life back.
— Cali Gallagher