Legal notices filed by pro-Israel lawyers targeted a student newspaper and prevented an association from amending its own bylaws.
Threats of legal action caused the Vanier College Student Association to back down from its plan to allow its student clubs to engage in political discussions. At Dawson College, a cease-and-desist letter targeted a student newspaper that published an issue on Palestine. In each case, these actions were taken on behalf of anonymous students by lawyers known for their Zionist positions.
Last May, the Vanier College Student Association (VCSA) received a cease-and-desist letter. It was filed on behalf of two anonymous students and aimed to prevent a vote from being held at an upcoming general meeting.
The student association wanted to propose amendments to one of its bylaws, which requires its executive council and student clubs and committees to maintain a position of “political neutrality.”
The amendment was intended to clarify this obligation, considered to be broad and vague by members of the executive council. Its primary aim was to free clubs from their duty of political neutrality on issues relevant to college student affairs and in the context of political discussions that are “educational in nature.”
However, the principle of political neutrality would have continued to apply to other entities of the association, such as the executive council, explicitly including neutrality in the context of “geopolitical conflicts.” (more...)
Threats of “SLAPP Suits” Undermine Student Democracy at Vanier and Dawson
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