Councillors approved a motion to recognize the importance of free speech as a union at the final Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council meeting of the 2014-15 academic year April 8.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) sent the motion to student unions across Canada. It is designed to protect and foster free speech on university campuses, according to CUSA president Folarin Odunayo, who presented the motion.
“The Student Union recognizes that within the unique university context the most crucial of all human rights are freedom of speech, academic freedom, and freedom of research,” the motion reads. “The Student Union affirms that these freedoms are meaningless unless they include the right to raise disturbing questions and pose provocative challenges to the values raised by society at large and even by the university itself.”
Odunayo said this motion addresses a gap in formal CUSA policies.
“When a third party clicks onto the CUSA website and looks through our policies, there is nothing there that says [we support free speech],” Odunayo said.
CUSA councillor Genesse Walker-Scace said the last-minute nature of the presentation was “unfair.”
“I don’t feel that any of the councillors were very prepared to review or vote on this motion, especially considering we were told it would be a short meeting,” she said.
Several councillors moved to amend the motion to better suit Carleton. One amendment, put forward by Walker-Scace, stated the motion should not contravene CUSA’s anti-discrimination policy.
The policy states CUSA should not ban, but instead work to condemn all groups that commit hate crimes.
Several councillors raised concerns about passing the motion because of the JCCF’s past.
Some have considered the JCCF controversial because they disagree with the organization’s Campus Freedom Index, a rating system for free speech on university campuses.
Councillor Roy Sengupta voted in favour of the motion because of a long history of problems with free speech on campuses.
Councillor Brett Parnell voted in favour because he said he believes the motion is another step forward for Carleton’s already good free speech status.
“When I started helping out on council, our rating on freedom of speech was horrendous,” he said.
Walker-Scace said she abstained from the vote because the motion was presented last minute.
“I was surprised that this motion was brought forward on the table, because I think that motions like this are something of great interest to the general student body,” Walker-Scace said.
Originally presented as a resolution, which would expire April 30, councillor John Mesman moved to make the motion into a policy. The motion was passed.
Sengupta said although he supports the motion, more could have been done about the issue.
“I think it’s a symptom of the laziness of the association, ” he said. “We could have done a better job with making a made-in-Carleton policy, rather than taking someone’s one-size-fits-all policy.”
