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size=2 face=Arial></FONT><A
href="http://saiayork.org/saia-blog/2014/3/23/faculty-students-civil-society-groups-condemn-york-university-for-rights-violations">http://saiayork.org/saia-blog/2014/3/23/faculty-students-civil-society-groups-condemn-york-university-for-rights-violations</A></SPAN>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 24px"><SPAN
style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Media
release </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Toronto
– At 11 AM on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, civil rights organizations, student
groups, and faculty members will speak out against violations of civil
rights by the York University administration. They will condemn administrative
suppression of the rights of student groups to free speech and free assembly.
Speakers will also protest a no-trespass order against York alumnus, Hammam
Farah, for his participation in peaceful protest actions at York. The press
conference will convene on the ground floor of the York University Student
Centre .</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">"As
a queer filmmaker and activist,” says York faculty member <STRONG
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">John Greyson</STRONG>, “I'm sadly
all too familiar with regimes that seek to silence and censor -- starting with
the Canadian government -- and I'm proud to teach in a university that has such
a vigourous tradition of activism and free speech. York must stop banning
students and student groups – period."</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">“Of
all the university's values, freedom of speech is among the most precious,”
adds <STRONG style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">Penni
Stewart</STRONG>, an Executive Board member of the Canadian Association of
University Teachers, and a faculty member in York’s Sociology department.
“Banning students, curtailing student organizing and constraining speech with
civility codes threatens these cherished values and the integrity of the
institution."</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Mr.
Farah, who graduated in 2007 with a degree in psychology and political science,
has worked with many York groups, including Amnesty International, the Student
Christian Movement, and the York University Choir. In April 2013, the York
administration issued a no-trespass order against Mr. Farah for his
participation in peaceful rallies organized by Students Against Israeli
Apartheid (SAIA). The administration has issued warning letters against numerous
SAIA members and rescinded the group’s rights as a student club for six
months.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">“Our
Charter Rights are under attack on our campuses,” says <STRONG
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">Hammam Farah</STRONG>. “It's time to
ask ourselves where post-secondary education is headed in Canada as our
universities become increasingly run like businesses.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Speakers at the March 25 press conference
include Tyler Willis, member of the Advisory Board of the Ontario Civil
Liberties Association; Safiyah Husein, Vice-President Equity with the York
Federation of Students; Hammam Farah; and York professors John Greyson and Penni
Stewart.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"> </SPAN>- End -</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Contact:<BR
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">David McNally</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 24px 0px 0px"><SPAN
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto">Professor
of Political Science, York<BR style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px"><A
style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="tel:416-735-5684">416-735-5684</A><BR
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><A
href="mailto:davidmcnally@sympatico.ca">davidmcnally@sympatico.ca</A></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
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