The Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) constitutional board voted unanimously Dec. 16 to deny the constitutional challenge submitted by the president of a pro-life student group.

Ruth Lobo, the president of the group, Carleton Lifeline, challenged CUSA’s decision to deny Lifeline club status Nov. 11.

Alex Sirois, CUSA president, said CUSA was not in violation of its constitution and that its discrimination on campus policy still stands.

Sirois, speaking on behalf of the board, reasoned that Lifeline relied on the wrong provisions of the relevant bylaws, saying that the group failed to take into account the bylaw as a whole, but rather focused on a specific section of CUSA’s clubs and societies bylaw.

Furthermore, Sirois said "CUSA did not fail to follow proper decertification process since Lifeline was never certified in the first place."
The constitutional board spent over an hour in deliberation before coming up with a unanimous vote against the constitutional challenge.
 

Lobo was accompanied by her lawyer, Albertos Polizogopoulos, who was denied speaking rights at the start of the meeting because the meetings are "only open to fee paying members of CUSA," Sirois said.

Polizogopoulus said he was not asking for speaking rights, but rather was acting as Lobo's legal counsel. He also said that nowhere in the bylaw was it stated that these meetings were exclusive to students, nor was there a provision denying a student's right to legal counsel. Sirois said he had already sent an email to Polizogopoulus dated Nov. 29 regarding the matter.
A motion was brought forth to the board by Sirois on behalf of Polizogopoulus to grant him speaking rights, which was also unanimously denied.
 

Lobo’s request to reconvene the meeting since they were being "denied legal counsel" was denied without going to motion as it violated the provisions in the bylaws of the constitutional board, Sirois said.
 

According to Polizogopoulus, Sirois had sent him an email Nov. 29 regarding the matter, saying that he could not submit the challenge on behalf of Lobo nor could he be present at the meeting Dec. 16. Polizogopoulus said he had submitted a constitutional challenge on behalf of Lobo and Carleton Lifeline Nov. 23, but in the interests of expediency advised Lobo to submit the challenge under her name, which she did Nov. 29.
 

He also asked Sirois via fax and mail why he was being denied access to the meeting, stating that CUSA's Comity Rules "allows for non-CUSA members to not only be present at council meetings but also to address them so long as at least 24-hours notice is given."


Polizogopoulus said Lobo had also notified Sirois separately Dec. 14, stating she was bringing legal representation to the board meeting Dec. 16.
 

According to Lobo, she received an email 11 a.m. Dec. 16 from Sirois saying that her legal representation would not be permitted to present in the meeting.


Polizogopoulus said he received a similar email two minutes before the meeting. Sirois apologized for the delay in answering their emails during the meeting, saying he had not been in the office until 11 a.m. Dec. 16.