Former Western University ethics professor and the Democracy Fund (TDF) ethics scholar Julie Ponesse has condemned her ex-employer for enacting a COVID-19 booster policy and mask mandate, calling it “unscientific.” .“If they did intend to do it all along, they should have been very clear to students all along, so that students were able to make a fully informed choice whether or not enrolling in the fall was something they wanted to do,” said Ponesse in a Thursday interview. .Western announced on Monday it will require students and staff to have taken a COVID-19 booster shot to come to campus, and they will need to be masked in classrooms and seminar rooms. .READ MORE: Ontario university enacts COVID-19 booster mandate, reinstates mask requirement.“While we can’t predict when the next wave of COVID-19 might come, we believe these measures will help us protect the in-person experience that Western is known for,” said Western provost and vice president, academic Florentine Strzelczyk. .“We want to do everything we can to offer our students a great on-campus experience throughout the academic year.” .Ponesse said these COVID-19 restrictions are “an ambush on the students.” Many students have paid their tuition, made living arrangements, and bought textbooks. .Western has claimed it is making this decision based on science, but she said many other nearby universities have taken a different approach. She suspects pressures from the university’s faculty association on administration has driven these mandates. .Ponesse said students are pushing back because they see other universities not have mandates and are feeling coerced. She added Western has been one of the most draconian universities in Canada with COVID-19 restrictions. .If the administration succeeds in defusing the energy students protesting the mandates have, she said many other universities will follow through. Administration might cave if students protest, de-enroll, and call the president. .She said she is opposed to healthcare mandates because it should be up to people to make their own choices. .Under the rare circumstances healthcare mandates are appropriate, Ponesse said there should be a high threshold for safety and lethality. She said COVID-19 has not met this threshold. .She said TDF has sent a letter to the university objecting to the booster mandate, saying it is unconstitutional and requesting it be modified or rescinded. TDF will be offering legal information to post-secondary students and staff facing these mandates..About one year has passed since she was fired from Western. She said her termination was scary at first, but it was worth it. .“When you have the opportunity to stand up for what you believe in and actually to make a commitment to that belief and to figure out how much confidence you have to overcome your fears, that’s really a gift,” she said. .“I lost a lot of relationships, but I’ve gained some very valuable relationships.” .Ponesse was fired from Western after 20 years of working for the university because she was unvaccinated. .READ MORE: WATCH: Ethics prof turfed after 20 years because of vaccine refusal.“I hold a Ph.D. in ethics and ancient philosophy and I’m here to tell you, it’s ethically wrong to coerce someone to take a vaccine,” she said. .“But that’s not the approach of the University of Western Ontario, which has suddenly required that I be vaccinated immediately, or not report for work.”
