Discrimination by Student Union Overturned

An eight year ban on pro-life clubs has been successfully overturned at Auckland University this week.

“Between 2002 and 2010 the AUSA (Auckland University Students Association) has banned any pro-life club affiliating. The AUSA had a special rule on their policy books that applied only to people who want to start a pro-life club on campus,” says Simeon Brown, an AUSA member aiming to start a pro-life club. “This special rule dictated that pro-life clubs can only apply to become an official club at an AGM – but those meetings happen only once every year.”

“But anyone who wants to start any other club can apply to become an official club at a Student Forum. These meetings happen weekly.”

In effect this rule meant that anyone wanting to start a pro-life club on campus has had only one opportunity every 365 days to try and gain official club status, but any other club simply has to wait seven days to try their hand and chance the odds. This has been clearly discriminatory and designed to shut down debate on abortion.

An Agenda item was submitted by Simeon Brown and Seconded by AUSA Vice President Joe McCrory at yesterday’s AUSA annual general meeting. McCrory explained the purpose of the motion, saying that it was to allow for freedom of speech and equality of views rather than whether abortion is right or wrong, and a vote was taken.

Out of the several hundred AUSA members present, only 3 opposed the motion and 1 abstained leading to near unanimous support and the discriminatory rule being overturned.

Pro-life clubs are now able to affiliate with the AUSA like any other club, with no discrimination against their point of view. With the ban now overturned, the proposed pro-life club can now affiliate through the normal process at a Student forum.

ENDS

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