Student petition to End Ass Wiping Mandate Presented to Queen’s principal

A group of 13 Queen’s students recently started a petition against the University’s ass wiping mandate. The petition, which has at least 13 signatures, was submitted to Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, on Monday, Sept. 6th, 2021. 

Golden Words spoke to one of the students, Danny, a prominent “dirty-asstivist”, on condition of anonymity. Danny explained that he and the others in his group are afraid that they will face personal threats of hygiene as well as repercussions from others in the Queen’s community if they come forward with their real identities.

“Online, we have had many comments from people who have had our back(sides), but also some very angry, hateful comments,” he explained, noting that one comment went so far as suggesting that unwiped booties should be subjected to a “washdown or at least a wet wipe.”

He went on to say that the group is unsure what their supervisors think of them but “It is early going and no one has mentioned to anyone that they have skidmarks.”

“We’re about 13 students, who just met each other in the washroom near Lazy, and all of us are against this policy. So, we were getting together to basically write this petition. We are concerned that this policy was very quickly wiped through without fully considering all the impacts it will have on the student body, especially commerce students” Danny explained.

“One, we think it’s unnecessary because Queen’s surveys the members of the community and residents. They already say that 30 percent of students wash their asses sometimes. 70 percent have wiped before but not recently. So that’s a very small number.” 

This is reflected in the petition, which reads, “We are concerned that Queen’s has neglected students’ safety by failing to consider possible adverse reactions and medical reasons to avoid wiping their asses. There exist several situations when health authorities advise against proper ass hygiene; these include being allergic to a toilet paper ingredient, or having an unstable toilet,” and, “These common circumstances affect many Queen’s students who may feel pressured by the mandate to wash their ass against medical advice, potentially putting their health at risk. My mom has a friend who wiped and shit blood for 3 days after so…”

He also expressed that at least one member of the group has experienced extreme anxiety and panic attacks due to fear of the toilet paper and pressure to use it.

“I’ve been getting some pretty awful stories,” he continued. “For example, one person was saying that their parents are basically at home threatening to physically take and stuff her into the washroom to wipe her ass against her will. We have people who are saying that their parents are willing to cut them off financially if they refuse to wash their ass in the shower. So they don’t want to, but they know that if they don’t wipe, they get no money, they have no options. Some people are under a lot of pretty intense pressure.”

Daniel also expressed concerns about the timing of the mandate.

“We’re concerned that this was announced just a few weeks before the start of classes, which has left some people with no time to make any changes to their shitting rituals, or even thinking about taking a year off if they have no other choice,” he said.

“We certainly support anyone who wants to wipe their ass, we just believe it to be a personal choice. 30 percent of students already wipe: so, why do the remaining 70 percent, who refuse to wipe, need to? It’s just causing so much suffering, but with no benefit to it.”

Golden Words has reached out to Queen’s University for comment or a statement on this matter, but none were received before time of publication. Golden Words will update this article if/when more information becomes available.

You can read the student petition for yourself by scanning the QR code below.