My first impression of the VR universe was that it was wholesome and inviting. While still isolated in the real world, I was happy to find a community of people that I could gather with.
After the federal government legislated the use of the Emergencies Act — legislation that allows the government to have significant temporary powers to freeze the bank accounts and credit cards of protesters or arrest them — on Feb. 14, the protests were on track to end. Despite Conservative pushback on Parliament Hill, “freedom” protests in Ottawa were rapidly cleared and the use of such temporary powers came to an end on Feb. 23. But Winnipeg protesters were one of the exceptions. After receiving a lenient police deadline to end their occupation across the street of the Manitoba Legislative Building, protesters moved to a nearby location in Memorial Park. This lack of dedicated action from the police department suggests the “freedom convoy” extends beyond unvaccinated individuals and appeals to public servants like Winnipeg’s police force.
Comparing the past year or two to the end of a world war is distasteful. The conclusion, however, of the 1919 editorial excerpted below may fall on ears in which it rings true. Given the opportunities for the eventual return to classrooms, lecture theatres, buildings and spaces, it remains a timely call for the administration and the government to take responsibility and accountability “in developing a greater and finer University of Manitoba — Floreat.” The alternative: commarceat. The U of M must choose to bloom or wither.