Quote:
Originally Posted by Phaneuf3
Is it? Here's my understanding of the situation and anyone more versed in law and the finer points of this story can correct me:
1) The pro-life group was essentially given a choice - take down the signs that are causing a disturbance or the university is asking you to leave
2) The pro-life group ignored the warning
3) They were asked to leave campus
4) They refused - this is now legally considered trespassing
5) They were charged with trespassing
Now - how is this illegal? Maybe I missed some of the story.
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The university is a public facility and the individuals asked to leave were paying students.
We also have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 2 guarantees the right to freedom of expression. In Canada, this right has only been restricted in the case of peddling illegal pornography (extreme S/M and child) and the spreading of anti-semitic hate speech, specifically in regards to the Keegstra case where this was taking place in a grade school.
What the university has done is a violation of these students freedom of expression. I will never be donating to my alma mater ever again as a consequence of the university's actions. It's that simple.
University is a place of ideas. We are there to challenge ourselves, make ourselves feel uncomfortable and hopefully, take some steps towards some fundamental truths. It's not a place where you try to avoid as much offense as possible.