The Student Union at UBC Okanagan has refused to approve a Conservative Party club for students.聽
Student Union leaders were concerned the 鈥減olitical stance鈥 of the party, and the views they believe are held by some Conservative Party members, would make Black and LGBTQ+ students 鈥渇eel excluded or unwelcome鈥.聽
Conservative students who wish to start a club at UBCO should consider taking a "more neutral stance," the student union leaders say.聽
Tracy Gray, the Conservative MP for sa国际传媒, says the decision of the UBCO Student Union to reject ratification of a Conservative Party club is 鈥渄isturbing鈥.聽
鈥淭here are other political clubs at UBCO and UBC,鈥 Gray wrote Wednesday on X. 鈥淯niversities should be a place of open discussion of ideas for students, not censorship. I hope this decision is reversed.鈥
Students who support the Conservative Party had sought to be formally ratified as an on-campus club, alongside the dozens of others that exist at the university. The application was denied, with reasons outlined in an email sent by Rajat Arora, the Student Union Vice-President Internal.
鈥淭o clarify the boardsa国际传媒 decision, there were differing opinions among directors. Some were in favour of ratifying the club, considering sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 conservative presence and the opportunity for political debates featuring various perspectives,鈥 Arora wrote in the email.聽
鈥淗owever, concerns were raised regarding the political stance of the party your club would represent, rather than the club itself. Specifically, some directors were concerned that certain views associated with the party - particularly those regarding the Black and LGBTQ+ communities - could make students from these groups feel excluded or unwelcome,鈥 Arora wrote.聽
鈥淎dditionally, some directors suggested that the club take a more neutral stance to ensure inclusivity and encourage open political dialogue without unintentionally alienating any student communities,鈥 Arora wrote.聽
The decision is final, Arora said, and 鈥渢here is no appeal process for club ratification at this time鈥.聽
However, in a statement posted to Instagram, the UBC Student Union board of directors said they had called an 鈥渆mergency meeting (to) carefully consider its position on the matter.鈥澛
The meeting was to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday.
鈥淭he SUO remains committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse campus environment where all students feel respected and heard,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淲e take this matter seriously and will provide an official update following the boardsa国际传媒 deliberations.鈥
For their part, the student Conservatives say they are surprised their application for club status was rejected by the Student Union.聽
鈥淭here are ratified Conservative clubs, just like other political clubs, all across the country at universities. This is all very confusing to us and unfair that our students are being left out,鈥 Christian van Mook Smith of the campus Conservative association wrote in an email to The sa国际传媒 Courier.聽
鈥淣either myself nor other club members have heard of a similar situation to ours,鈥 Smith said, adding the Conservative Club at the UBC campus in Vancouver has lent its support to efforts to get the UBCO chapter recognized at the sa国际传媒 campus.聽
In a statement to The sa国际传媒 Courier, UBC Okanagan said the student union 鈥渃an make independent decisions with respect to student club ratification and allocation of student union resources鈥.聽
But the statement added: 鈥淯BC Okanagan stands firmly behind its responsibility to uphold principles of free, lawful, and respectful expression of all views and opinions, even those with which some may disagree鈥.聽
John Rustad, Leader of the BC Conservatives, wrote on X: 鈥淭his is the inevitable result of out of control radical leftist activism in BCsa国际传媒 academia. No woke, activist student council should be allowed to determine which political parties students can join or associate with. UBCO students must be allowed to opt-out of union dues for their broken, woke union.鈥
Twenty-per cent of all UBC Okanagan students are from the Okanagan, with 33 per cent from other parts of sa国际传媒, 25 per cent from other Canadian provinces, and 22 per cent from other countries.聽
