When Somnolence Becomes a Life Sentence: What a Small Community Survey Reveals About Responsibility, Warnings, and Justice
At Waterloo STEAM Academy, we teach our students to think critically about evidence, ethics, and the systems that shape people’s lives. Sometimes, the most powerful lessons come not from textbooks, but from real human experiences, especially when those experiences expose gaps in how society protects its most vulnerable.
Recently, we conducted a small but revealing survey of 57 community members in the Waterloo Region. The topic was somnolence. The survey defined somnolence for participants as “a state of strong drowsiness, lethargy, or an overwhelming desire to fall asleep.” The question was simple:
If a medication is shown in a study to cause somnolence in 54% of users, should that be considered serious enough to require a “serious warning” on the package label?
Every single respondent. 100% of respondents said yes.
Two participants asked whether research could quantify how many hours per day a person might experience somnolence. When told that available research does not provide a reliable answer, they still maintained their position: a 54% rate is unquestionably serious.
This unanimity is rare in public opinion research. It reflects something intuitive and deeply human: When a condition can strip a person of alertness, reliability, and the ability to function, it is not a minor side effect. It is a threat to livelihood, dignity, and safety.
When Somnolence Derails a Life
The follow‑up question in the survey was even more sobering:
If an individual experiences severe somnolence from the medication. So severe that they cannot continue working should a judge consider their motion to sue the manufacturer as urgent, to prevent insolvency?
Again, 100% of respondents said yes.
This is not surprising. Severe somnolence can make employment impossible. It can destabilize families. It can push people into homelessness. When a person is denied basic support and faces financial collapse, the justice system is supposed to act as a safeguard.
Urgency is not a luxury in such cases it is a moral necessity.
When the Justice System Fails Its Duty
Yet in the real case that inspired this survey, the motion was dismissed. Not just dismissed as “frivolous or vexatious.”
Those words carry weight. They imply that the person’s suffering is imaginary, exaggerated, or manipulative. They suggest that the individual’s attempt to seek justice is an abuse of the court system rather than a plea for survival.
To call a motion “frivolous” when a person is facing homelessness due to a medically‑induced condition is not merely a legal misstep. It is gross misfeasance, a failure to exercise judicial responsibility with even the minimum level of care and humanity.
To call it “vexatious” is worse. It is inhumane language, that degrades the individual and erases the reality of their suffering. It is language that tells a vulnerable person: Your life‑altering condition is not real enough for us to care.
This kind of dismissal does not simply deny justice. It inflicts harm, it causes DEATH.
Why This Matters for STEAM Education
At Waterloo STEAM Academy, we teach students that data matters. Evidence matters. We challenge our students to be free and use their own creativity to design and build. For many children it is difficult. I had a conversation with a 6 year old child. He said it was hard and it made him feel like crying. I told him he should cry and when he feels better and is ready he should let me know. He smiled, he asked to get a snack, then came and asked for help. His implementation would not be considered correct by standard methods. It was correct and beautiful.
Human impact matters. When 57 out of 57 people agree that somnolence warrants a serious warning, that consensus tells us something important:
People understand risk. People understand fairness. People understand urgency.
What they do not understand and what they should never have to accept is a system that refuses to acknowledge suffering simply because it is inconvenient, complex, or uncomfortable.
Our students learn to build technologies, analyze data, and solve problems. But they also learn something deeper: Science and justice must work together. When they don’t, people get hurt.
At the Academy Kindness is Currency.
A Call for Accountability and Humanity
This survey is not a scientific study, but it is a powerful snapshot of public conscience. It shows that ordinary people recognize the seriousness of somnolence and the urgency of protecting those affected by it.
It also shows that when institutions fail, communities still know what is right.
The judge’s dismissal is cold, dismissive, and disconnected from reality. It stands in stark contrast to the compassion shown by every survey respondent.
We hope this article encourages readers, policymakers, and educators to reflect on the responsibilities we all share:
- To demand accurate and honest medication warnings.
- To ensure social assistance systems do not abandon people in medical crisis.
- To insist that courts treat vulnerable individuals with dignity, not disdain.
- To teach future generations that justice is not optional, it is foundational.
- To create a world where the only currency is Kindness.
At Waterloo STEAM Academy, we believe that education is not just about knowledge. It is about building society.
We know that no one’s suffering is frivolous. We know that urgency is real especially when a life is at risk.
