LANGLEY, British Columbia, December 6, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Facing a lawsuit for denying club status to the campus pro-life group, the student union at Kwantlen Polytechnic University has backed down.
The Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) chose to grant full club status to the club, Protectores Vitae, at a two-hour in-camera session on December 5, reports the university’s student newspaper, The Runner.
The KSA rejected the club’s application for status on November 9 on the grounds that the group’s purpose violated the student union’s official pro-abortion stance.
After the union refused to rescind the decision, Protectores Vitae announced December 3 that they were filing a lawsuit.
“I am relieved that the issue has been resolved,” said club president Oliver Capko. “After working towards this all semester, it is great to finally be accepted and treated like other clubs on campus.”
Capko noted that a member of KSA’s executive contacted him last night to inform them of the decision, but specific motions from the meeting have not been made available.
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The group’s lawyer, John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, said he was “happy” to avoid court action despite the investment of time in preparing the lawsuit.
“This has not been the first time such discrimination against pro-life groups has happened on university campuses,” said Anastasia Pearse, western campus coordinator for the National Campus Life Network. “We hope that other student associations will learn from Kwantlen’s example so that this won’t happen again.”
The students of Protectores Vitae, who are currently in the midst of exam season, plan to begin club activities on campus in the New Year.
“Now that we no longer have to fight against discrimination, we can actually focus on why we wanted to start this club in the first place,” said Oliver. “It’s important that bioethical issues, like abortion, are raised on campus and we look forward to being part of that conversation here at Kwantlen.”
Contact:
Dr. Alan Davis, President and Vice-Chancellor
12666 72nd Avenue, Surrey, B.C.
Phone: 604.599.2078
Fax: 604.599.2235
Email: [email protected]
KSA Director of Student Services: Cristopher Girodat – [email protected]
KSA Director of Student Life: Amrit Mahil — [email protected]
KSA Director of Finance: Tony Chiao — [email protected]
KSA Director of External Affairs: Arzo Ansary — [email protected]