UBCO bars students from creating Conservative club — Liberal club a-ok

Students at the University of British Columbia Okanagan have been barred from setting up a Conservative club on campus.

The Liberal club, meanwhile, has been allowed to operate freely.

"There were differing opinions among directors," Student's Union Vice-President Internal Rajat Arora wrote to the applicant after their request was denied.

"Some were in favour of ratifying the club, considering Kelowna's conservative presence and the opportunity for political debates featuring various perspectives. However, concerns were raised regarding the political stance of the party your club would represent, rather than the club itself."

He cited directors' concerns related to black and LGBTQ+ communities, arguing the party's alleged views "could make students from these groups feel excluded or unwelcome," and suggested the club could "take a more neutral stance to ensure inclusivity and encourage open political dialogue without unintentionally alienating any student communities."

Arora concluded by noting that there was "no appeal process," and thus the board's decision was final.

Amid backlash from students, community members, and politicians alike, however, the board announced that it would be holding an "emergency meeting" at 6 p.m. on March 13 to "carefully consider its position on the matter."

The UBC Conservatives, who have operated on the main Vancouver campus for years, said they were "deeply disappointed" by the initial decision to bar the group from their sister campus, calling it a "blatant disregard for the fundamental academic freedoms that have long been welcomed at UBC."

"As young conservatives," they said, "we stand wholeheartedly against this decision and call for it to be reversed immediately."

Kelowna-Lake Country MP Tracy Gray called the decision "disturbing," and called for it to be reversed.

"There are other political clubs at UBCO and UBC," she said. "Universities should be a place of open discussion of ideas for students, not censorship."

BC Conservative leader John Rustad said this was "the inevitable result of out of control radical leftist activism in BC's academia," stating that "no woke, activist student council should be allowed to determine which political parties students can join or associate with."

He added that as things stand, "students must be allowed to opt-out of union dues for their broken, woke union."