Court initiating legal proceedings against their student union, the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS). The students are members of the campus club Youth Protecting Youth (YPY) and have dealt with years of discrimination against them because of their beliefs about abortion.
The lawsuit deals specifically with the UVSS denying the club funding for two years. The conflict began in September 2008, when the club was given status, but not the regular funding that all other clubs receive. In the school term before, the club had been given $196 from the UVSS. The club has been appealing this decision, but with no success.
The UVSS then decided to not ratify YPY on Feb. 9, 2010 until amendments to the Clubs Policy were made. These amendments were accepted this past April and specifically targeted YPY and pro-life advocacy. When the amendments were accepted by the UVSS, the pro-life club was given status with only two weeks remaining in this past school year.
Of most concern in the new amendments are the changes to the Club Harassment and Complaint policies. The amendments promote censorship as a means to discipline clubs that don’t necessarily “intend for the conduct to produce feelings of fear or intimidation, only that the club or club representative reasonably ought to have known that the conduct would cause such feelings.” This means that regardless of whether YPY intended to cause such feelings, it would be held accountable.
The UVSS’s actions of denying funds came after YPY did a Feminists for Life poster campaign that was accused of causing “ambient violence.”
Anastasia Pearse, president of YPY, commented: “Our aims are to promote choices that protect unborn human beings and their mothers from the harm of abortion. We should be granted equal opportunity to share our message.”
Working with YPY is the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. Lawyer Joseph Arvay is representing the group.
