A Canadian student newspaper is facing eviction from its campus office that it has held for almost four decades, sparking a social media outcry and a conversation about student press rights in Canada.
Two Canadian student newspapers are fighting back after threats of censorship this month. At one, a student government group wants to kick the newspaper out of its offices, and at another, campus administrators seek a ruling that would allow them to ignore the students' current and future requests for public records.The editor of The Gazette, the University of Western Ontario’s independent student newspaper, learned a few weeks ago that the newspaper's editorial office would be turned into a prayer room. The proposal came after the University Students’ Council began an extensive review of The Gazette’s practices. According to the newspaper's reports, it was after this review that the paper learned that its editorial office of 40 years would be converted into a new multi-faith room in response to what the committee referenced as concerns from those who use the current prayer room.The proposed move would put Gazette staff members in a space that is more than 700 square feet smaller than the current office.
TorStar, the company that owns the Toronto Star, launched its free newspaper program to increase readership among students, a reading habit that the company hopes will continue beyond graduation.