University of Calgary Pro-Life Group May Now Lose Funding After Censorship
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 5, 2009
Calgary, Canada (LifeNews.com) — A University of Calgary pro-life group that was taken to court by college officials after they refused to give into censorship now may face funding cuts from the student government. Three students who attend the University were charged earlier this week with trespassing on their own campus by setting up a pro-life display.
When UC officials warned members of Campus Pro-Life that they had to restrict their own pro-life display, the students refused to comply.
Pro-life advocates at the school have feuded with UC officials for some time about a display that includes graphic pictures.
UC authorities don’t want students, faculty and others exposed to the abortion pictures, so it has instructed members of Campus Pro-Life to turn the pictures inward, which makes them not visible to people walking along the college grounds.
When three students wouldn’t comply on Monday, they were served with legal papers charges them with trespassing.
Now, the University of Calgary Students’ Union plans to hold a meeting on Tuesday to determine whether it will take any actions against Campus Pro-Life for refusing to give in to the anti-free speech demands of the college.
"The university issued a written warning to the organization some time ago," student government president Dalmy Baez told Canwest News Service. "We issued our own warning [at the time that] if they were to violate any university policy, we would not be defending them and would be putting in some sort of sanctions."
"We don’t tolerate any club that will violate university policy," he added.
Campus Pro-Life president Leah Hallman told the Canadian Press after the censorship that her group wasn’t shocked by it.
"We had been warned beforehand that if we put up the protest we could be subject to fines, to arrest, to suspension or expulsion under non-academic misconduct," she said. "We had been warned beforehand that if we put up the protest we could be subject to fines, to arrest, to suspension or expulsion under non-academic misconduct."
The students will make a court appearance in late February and they intend to plead not guilty to the charges.
Related web sites:
Campus Pro-Life – https://www.myasoftware.com/~cpl
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