Newsgroups: uw.grad,uw.general,ont.general,tor.general,can.general,alt.censorship,alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk From: broberts@kingcong.uwaterloo.ca (Brent Robertson) Subject: UW Newsgroup Banning Petition Message-ID: Sender: news@watserv2.uwaterloo.ca Organization: University of Waterloo Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 22:08:43 GMT Lines: 81 Attached is the University of Waterloo Graduate Student Association's petition against the University of Waterloo's banning of five newsgroups on February 1, 1994. We need real signatures on this, so you'll have to print this out. Please distribute this as widely as possible. This will also hopefully be available on the Electronic Frontier Canada gopher. Any questions can be directed to myself. Start signing!!! -- Brent Robertson :) UW GSA VP Communications -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- broberts@kingcong.uwaterloo.ca University of Waterloo Electrical and Computer Engineering DC 3590A (519) 885-1211 ext. 5167 ################################ NEWSGROUP BANNING PETITION ################################ We, the undersigned individuals, call upon the University of Waterloo to reinstate the five newsgroups that were banned on February 1, 1994. The University should, as one of its primary mandates, uphold academic freedom. One of the purposes of an academic institution is to ensure and protect the freedom to express one's views. The censorship sets a dangerous precedent as the University is no longer allowing for all exchanges of ideas and opinions which are an essential part of the education process. This petition is not a condonation of the material in the newsgroups; rather, the petition objects to the method by which the five newsgroups were cancelled. The cancellation occurred without the University community's and newsgroup users' input. The criteria which the University used in the decision to cancel the five newsgroups was not open to the University community, nor will the University administration disclose this information. This lack of accountability is unacceptable. The University administration must take steps to ensure that any action that could affect the free exchange of ideas and opinions within the University community be made in full consultation with the members. Finally, the action taken by the University does not provide an effective solution to the original complaint. The newsgroup ban has not prevented the public display of banned newsgroup material. Everyone has a right to a safe environment, and as such, the University community members should not have any newsgroup material inflicted on them. However this does not mean that individuals should not have the right to contribute to and participate in the newsgroups of their choice. Banning newsgroups does not deal with the issue of harassment and has diverted attention from the original concern. Please return signed petitions to: Brent Robertson or on UW campus: Brent Robertson GSA VP Communications GSA VP Communications Grad House GH University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Name Signature Faculty/Staff/Undergraduate/Graduate/Alumni (printed) (F/S/U/G/A) ============================================================================== ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________