This is how the SFUO Board of administration thinks about students who actually care about student politics. It is absolutely shameful! Every single board member who supported the banning of concerned students/student media from the meeting should first, apologize and then swiftly resign!
It is "safe" to say that outside of the university bubble, there is no such thing as a "safe space". Some people may get the shock of their lives once they figure this out! Hiding behind the cloak of a "safe space" is absolutely ridiculous, especially when the student media are denied access. Some of the most disturbing cases that go before Canadian courts even allow for the media's presence (albeit in some very particular instances, the journalists cannot have their BlackBerry or laptops on their person when entering the courtroom).
The Supreme Court of Canada's policy pertaining to the media can be found here
The Ontario courts' policy can be found here.
Arguing that it was accessible because there was a guy rolling around on a squeaky office chair holding a video camera to board members' faces when they spoke is also a sham. Having watched this sad excuse for a livefeed, I can attest to the extremely poor sound quality which persisted throughout the proceedings. Most of the time, people could not hear because of the background noise, technical glitches and, at times, complete blackouts. This is absolutely unacceptable as the meeting proceedings were not made accessible to students as explicitly outlined in the motion.
Of course, as usual, any and all comments are welcomed and encouraged.
Great Post.
ReplyDeleteFrom a more legal standpoint, I'd like to point your attention at Part III of the Corporations Act (Ontario), the legal statute which governs the "Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, Inc.":
No such by-law shall prohibit members from attending meetings of delegates and participating in the discussions at such meetings.
- R.S.O. 1990, c. C.38, s. 130 (3).