Updated: 07/19/2010, 15:14
CALGARY, June 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The University of Calgary Students’ Union* has formally withdrawn its complaint against the Campus Pro-Life (CPL) student group in relation to a pro-life display held on campus each semester. On February 10, 2009, the Students’ Union Clubs Committee had resolved that Campus Pro-Life lose its status as a sanctioned club.
The Students’ Union Clubs Committee decision was appealed by CPL and discussions between the student group and the Students’ Union had been ongoing.
Earlier this year the University of Calgary administration, separate from the Students’ Union, found eight members of CPL guilty of a major violation of the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy, which they are now appealing. Both of the conflicts originate from the group’s display, the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), which compares abortion to past historical atrocities, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
“From the start, we always questioned which policy or bylaw we broke and never received an answer,” stated new CPL president Alanna Campbell. “Through this decision, the current executive of the Students’ Union has finally demonstrated a commitment to quality and intellectual freedom.”
“While we’re satisfied with the withdrawal, this is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Peter Csillag, CPL’s Vice-President, “we still have an ongoing battle with the University administration as long as they, despite being a public university, continue to engage in blatant viewpoint discrimination.”
The group's display has been held on the University of Calgary grounds without incident nine times since 2006. In 2009, the University charged six students with trespassing in relation to the display, but the Crown Prosecutor stayed these charges prior to a trial scheduled for November of 2009. Since then, members of Campus Pro-Life have been threatened with Non-Academic Misconduct upon each display, but only now has the University carried out its threats.
“If something is too terrible to look at then perhaps we should not be tolerating it,” said CPL’s Vice-President (External) Cameron Wilson. “We’re going to continue this coming year as we have before.”
*Correction: LSN had previously reporting that the University of Calgary Students' Union Review Board had withdrwan the complaint. In fact, it ws the Students' Union, and not the review board, that withdrew the complaint.