[Advisors] Request for action: The Student Press Freedom Act...an amazing initiative from a new generation of activists

Mon Jan 24 00:11:53 PST 2022

I wish these students well Marita, and I’ll support their initiative personally, but I don’t think it aligns well with TC’s mission.

James

Mission Statement

To ensure that all Canadians are able to participate in community-based communications and electronic information services by promoting and supporting local community network initiatives.
To represent and promote the Canadian community networking movement at the national and international level.

> On Jan 22, 2022, at 12:49 PM, Marita Moll <mmoll at ca.inter.net> wrote:
> 
> Hello advisors. I have received a note from one our members, Darrell Evans (Canadian Institute for Information and Privacy Studies), regarding a need for endorsements from individuals and organizations to support an initiative by two student journalists in B.C. petitioning the province for legal protection for student journalists following various incidents of censorship of student newspapers. (see details below). The students have been working closely with various public interest legal organizations and have drafted some legislation that would address the issue.
> 
> I am seeking your input on whether it would be appropriate for TC, as an organization, to support this. I have no problem supporting it personally and would urge others to consider such action. This kind of grass roots activity is important and should be encouraged.
> 
> Marita  
> 
> 
> -------- Forwarded Message --------
> Subject:	Re: The Student Press Freedom Act...an amazing initiative from a new generation of activists
> Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2022 18:45:23 -0800
> From:	SPFA Campaign <spfacampaign at gmail.com> <mailto:spfacampaign at gmail.com>
> To:	mmoll at ca.inter.net <mailto:mmoll at ca.inter.net>
> CC:	Darrell Evans <darrellevans.ciips at gmail.com> <mailto:darrellevans.ciips at gmail.com>
> 
> Hello Marita,
> 
> Thank you for your time with this matter, we truly appreciate it. 
> 
> As Darrell mentioned, we are a pair of high school student journalists from Vancouver, BC. We are respectively the Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief of The Griffins’ Nest, a student newspaper operating out of Eric Hamber Secondary School. 
> 
> Last spring, for our final issue, The Nest wrote an editorial on the way in which our school district makes decisions. As a result of writing this article, we faced censorship and challenges from our school’s administration and the District. After reaching out to several different organizations, and the assistance of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, the newspaper was published in its uncensored entirety. This dispute was one of many challenges school officials posed in effort to prevent the publication of The Nest's articles throughout the year. 
> 
> Following a year of attempted censorship, we decided to write the Student Press Freedom, (“SPFA”), to uphold our Charter rights and protect student journalism in BC. 
> 
> The SPFA's necessity has been proven by the ongoing press freedom obstructions from our school district since returning to school in September. Other student publications have also affirmed the need for protection of specifically student journalists.
> 
> We’ve worked with several lawyers who volunteered their time to review, revise, and comment on the SPFA concept until a solid draft was complete. 
> 
> The SPFA takes some legislative inspiration from the Student Press Law Center’s New Voices Act, passed in 15 US states as of this year. 
> 
> To date, the Student Press Freedom Act has been endorsed by some of the biggest names in law and journalism, including the X-University (formerly Ryerson) Centre for Free Expression, BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, Canadian Institute for Information and Privacy Studies, Canadian University Press, Student Press Law Center (United States), BC Youth Council, Youth Political Assembly, as well as several student newspapers, including the Tupper Times, Britannia Bruin, NWSS Student Press, Daily Wale, and our own Griffins’ Nest. 
> 
> An endorsement from you would greatly strengthen our campaign’s ability to be taken seriously, and ability to fulfill our goal: to implement the SPFA into law. 
> 
> Please find two PDFs attached to this email, one plain text and one annotated version of the SPFA for your reading. More information can be found on our website at www.spfacampaign.org <http://www.spfacampaign.org/>.
> 
> We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have for us, or even have a general conversation regarding the SPFA and our experiences, either over email or we can set up a time for a call.   
> 
> Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
> 
> Best, 
> Spencer Izen & Jessica Kim
> 
> 
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