U of O's Rock actuates a complete exile of math student Marc Kelly

Hemlock or exile?

Those were the only two choices provided by former Minister of Justice now university president Allan Rock.

Rock's conflict with student Marc Kelly has been described HERE and recently in a detailed report by Stephen Lendman HERE. The Ottawa corporate media have also recently reported Kelly's banishment HERE and HERE (today).

Allan Rock's recorded November 3rd 2008 verbal abuse and intimidation of Kelly was made public HERE and by mass email:


But now exile - a complete ban on associating or communicating with all 50,000 members of the university community.

The Student Appeal Centre (SAC) of the student union is leading Kelly's defense and has put out this press release:

U of O’s Rock administration exiles student from all communications

OTTAWA, April 14, 2010 – Following Monday’s arrest of University of Ottawa math student Marc Kelly and a 24 hour detention in jail, Ottawa Police have imposed an unprecedented restriction:

Under the threat of immediate jailing until trial, Kelly is required to abstain from communication or associating directly, indirectly, or electronically, with all students and staff of the university.

The arrest was for an alleged violation of unjustified trespass from the public institution, contested by the student unions, and was intended to keep Kelly from speaking at a university Senate meeting where university president Allan Rock spoke to defend U of O’s freedom of expression practices in the wake of the Coulter fiasco:
http://web5.uottawa.ca/admingov/committee-video.html?id=2&vid=305

Kelly had sent a mass email to students inviting them to attend Senate using this striking video link:
http://www.marckelly.tv/monday/

The arrest was only days after Kelly was freely allowed into the same building to speak and to introduce free speech legal expert Doug Christie.

“Marc is being treated like a terrorist and exiled from the community so that Rock can have his damage-control media show uninterrupted” said university student Senate member elect Joseph Hickey.

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For more information please contact:

Mireille Gervais LL.L
Director, Student Appeal Centre (SFUO)

Joseph Hickey, university Senate member elect

Liam Kennedy-Slaney, student

Student chalkers to U of O president Allan Rock: Play fair please

From: Joseph Hickey
Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Subject: Upgrade to Freedom of Expression Walls
To: Allan Rock , allan.rock@uottawa.ca
Cc: student media

Dear Mr. Rock,

Immediately following the Chalking Day festivities of last Wednesday, Feb. 3, the Student Chalkers of the University of Ottawa (SCUO) invited you to read the messages left by students on the freedom of expression walls at Morisset Library. We also invited you to contribute your own message, in the spirit of freedom of expression.

We did not ask you to take over the entire area with posters portraying your own self-serving messages and in the process cover up and negate all of the ideas put forward by the student community.

The morning following Chalking Day, we and other participants were shocked to discover that you had unilaterally decided to bolt high-tech anti-graffiti posters over all of the freedom of expression walls. [see PHOTOS BELOW] These aluminum-backed laminated posters are held up by about 160 screws drilled into and thereby degrading the concrete. You will notice, as you walk past the posters, that you will want to keep yourself well away from the surface of the walls to prevent injury from the screw heads that protrude. Be especially careful at times when the passageway becomes crowded, such as during class changeovers.

These facts considered, we understand from conversations with the external company hired to install the posters, Bungee Banner, that the new anti-graffiti coating allows paint and paste to be easily cleaned off without damaging the poster surface. This fortunate upgrade to the freedom of expression walls will now allow student message sharing to be much more dynamic and up-to-date. Like whiteboards or blackboards in the classroom, students will now have access to an effective communication forum on the walls of the library. This will surely enrich the mental landscape of our campus.

Thank you for this new investment in student freedom of expression. We look forward to communicating with you on the library walls, but in the future please do not bolt or fasten coverings over top of our expression in any way, and consider consulting us before spending our tuition money on control technology.

Sincerely,

Student Chalkers of the University of Ottawa (SCUO)

Joseph Hickey (Physics, master's)
Liam Kennedy-Slaney (Biology, 2nd year)
Mireille Gervais (Law, master's)
Erika Yerly (Psychology, 1st year)
Anne-Marie Dubois (Environmental Studies, 3rd year)
Robyn Dalgleish (Undergrad, University of Guelph)

Students call on President Allan Rock to disarm and chalkon

From: Joseph Hickey
Date: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Subject: Protect student rights: call off Protection Services
To: allan.rock@uottawa.ca, Allan Rock
Cc: "Claude J. Giroux", "Rédacteur en chef, La Rotonde", "Chef de pupitre Actualités, La Rotonde", "Chef de pupitre Web, La Rotonde", Charlotte Barrie , Fulcrum News Editor, Fulcrum Editor-in-Chief

Mr. Rock,

Members of the same U of O "Protection" force that yesterday facilitated an illegal police intrusion into the Student Appeals Centre (SAC) office and the violent arrests of student Marc Kelly and SFUO President Seamus Wolfe [today] came uninvited and disrupted the student-organized Chalking Day event at the Morisset cement poster backing walls.


Please back off Mr. Rock.

There was absolutely no "Protection" need that required a muscular intervention and disruption of our event. Student participants were harassed by Protection agents and their pictures were taken without their permission.

Despite your unfortunate intervention, the event was a success. Over 30 students contributed to filling the backing walls with colourful political messages of all types. We recommend that you read these messages Mr. Rock.

The "Protection" officers displayed disturbing unprofessional behaviour. They openly threatened the ludicrous criminal charge of "damaging University property" but then proceeded to watch and not even warn most students who contributed to the chalking. They threatened criminal charges backed by their photos but did not intervene or call Ottawa Police to stop the alleged dreadful "damage to property".

Political and informative messages in chalk on a campus wall is not a criminal offence. Drop the guns and handcuffs, Mr. Rock. Send your "Protection" agents to actually protect. For example, they could protect freedom of expression.

We ask you not to remove any of the student participants' messages, and to respect Chalking Day. The "Protection" officers did explain your logic of hiring an expensive removal crew in order to demonstrate "damage" and assign it a monetary value, but don't go there Mr. Rock. Don't go there. Don't spend our tuition money to remove our free expression. Your officers and lawyers have better things to do.

Consider instead adding your own message to the wall, about one of your human rights projects in Africa, say.

Also, we welcome your suggestions about parts of the chalking that could be removed. In this case we would do [it] ourselves (using water and a brush).

Sincerely,

Student Chalkers of the University of Ottawa (SCUO)

Joseph Hickey
Mireille Gervais
Liam Kennedy-Slaney

cc: Claude J. Giroux, Director of Protection Services
cc: media