My conversation with residential school denialists at the University of Calgary, September 29, 2026

On September 29, 2026, the day before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the University of Calgary permitted Thomas Flanagan, rebel news, and the Alberta separatist party to set up a residential school denialism booth that was under the name "students for free speech" (note that the only students at the booth were the ones filming. Neither hosts were students). The booth filmed all of the interactions, including mine, but only posted the interaction that supported their perspective on social media. The video of the student pouring water and allegedly "assaulting" Flanagan has been shared to drive the division, saying that "deranged liberal" students are violent. As I say in my argument, the booth was there to rage bait people and create a media spectacle, and it worked. Obviously the rage was anticipated, which is why they brought their own security guards in cowboy hats. These "cowboys" were not affiliated with university security, yet still were filmed forcefully apprehending a student. Do students at the University have no protection? Listening back to this conversation, I wish I had worded some things differently. I was not expecting to see this on campus, and this was my off the cuff reaction while trying to maintain composure. This video is proof that they lack the logic in their argument. They had time to prepare their talking points, I did not, and yet they were not able to logically debate the points I brought up.