CALGARY The trespassing charges laid against six members of Campus Pro-Life at the University of Calgary have been stayed by the Crown Prosecutor, effectively meaning that the charges have ended.In my opinion, it would be a lot better if those charges were dismissed outright, rather than merely "stayed". But, if the Crown Prosecutor is unwilling to make it clear for the university officials that students can't really be trespassers in a university in which they are legally enrolled, at least he's not going to proceed with the charges. That too is a small victory for freedom of speech on campuses.
The group’s display held on the University of Calgary campus every semester since 2006, termed the Genocide Awareness Project, precipitated the charges. The display compares abortion to past historical atrocities, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
Club President Leah Hallman stated, “We are relieved by this decision on the part of the Crown Prosecutor; Campus Pro-Life has consistently maintained that all of our actions were in full compliance under the law.”
The charges were initially delivered to the homes of several students by members of the Calgary Police Service in February of 2009. On March 16th, all charged members pleaded not guilty. At the time, Hallman argued "We have asked the university several times which of its by-laws, policies, regulations or other authority it relies on for censoring our viewpoint, and have received no answer to date.”
The staying of the charges takes place nearly one year after the November 2008 display on campus that was the catalyst for the charges being laid.
“Campus Pro-Life will continue being a voice for the voiceless,” states Club Treasurer Alanna Campbell, “we hope to continue our activities on campus and raise awareness among the next generation of community leaders.”
Too bad that this small victory has been overshadowed by the Lakehead University "student union" decision to ban the campus pro-lifer club. This is a typical situation, which is familiar to pro-life students from coast to coast. In Lakehead University, the "student union" had been trying to prevent Lakehead University Life Support from obtaining a club status for two years, so once the status was finally granted, they used the first excuse they could come up with to ban LULS again.
The club is going to appeal this decision. That's a good start, but what we need is an organized campaign from coast to coast to put an end to the censorship, imposed on pro-life students by the self-proclaimed "student governments". Either they stop silencing students simply because they don't agree with what they say, or they should allow pro-life students to leave the unions and to form their own representative organizations on campuses.
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