York Federation of Students launches attack on free speech, assumes what needs to be proven

The York Federation of Students (YFS) is putting forth a motion at a semi-annual Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) meeting to ban “anti-choice” groups from operating on campus. If successful, groups would be refused access to student space and campus resources.

Gilary Massa, YFS vice-president external, defends the motion by saying that pro-life organizations seek to deny women of their basic human right to choose.
“Anti-choice groups come onto campuses and take away the right a woman has to her own body, to determine what she can do… They don’t create safe spaces for women and we don’t think that there is a space for students’ money, for resources that the students put into the students’ union, to be given to a group that is sexist.”

Yet the YFS seems to have no hesitation using student dollars to fund anti-Israel campaigns.

Who elects these people? And how do they stay in power? Massa’s ignorant comments are self-refuting. The fact that he assumes there is only one body involved in the abortion question supports the need for debate on the subject! Clearly, from a medical and scientific perspective, there is a second body involved in a pregnancy. Why can’t we have open discussion about that on ethical grounds?

Who is the YFS to make a blanket generalization as to which student groups are sexist? This comes just a week after a complaint filed with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal by a pro-life in Vancouver led to a settlement protecting their club status.

Is anyone else sickened when these so-called student leaders spend “students’ money” to fund their own political ideology? Does anyone on the YFS executive believe in or have any understanding of free speech?

I’m ashamed and embarrassed for them.