According to an update from Barbara Kay, writing for the Canadian publication the National Post:

Ryerson administration has confirmed that the university will be absorbing the cost of the additional security for the February 6 CAFÉ event. According to a staffer, Ryerson president Sheldon Levy felt the cost was a barrier to freedom of expression.

Well done, Mr. Levy. Not to mention everyone who urged the administration to reconsider.

As I mentioned in a recent post, Ryerson U decided to fine the Canadian Association for Equality a $1,600 “security fee” for sponsoring a lecture by men’s advocate Karen Straughan (aka GirlWritesWhat). This was due to the string of criminal activity on the part of Feminist protesters who attempted to shut down and silence the speakers CAFE had sponsored at the University of Toronto.

The decision by Ryerson U administrators was met with resistance on the part of men’s advocates:

• CAFE itself published a notice about it on their website and began talking with the university about it.
• A Voice for Men published several pieces criticizing the university’s decision (see here and here).
• I wrote a letter directly to administrators, talked to The Eye Opener (an independent Ryerson student publication) about it, and encouraged others on Reddit and social media to write to the administration (and some of them did).
• Other men’s advocates talked about it on various blogs.
• And Barbara Kay wrote her article about it.

Remember, folks: the proper way to oppose bad speech is by exercising better speech, not censorship. Censorship tends to work out contrary to the intentions of the censors. This is true in this case as well; Ryerson itself has contributed to the controversy of the event. Now more people will be interested in attending and seeing what the message of men’s human rights is about.

The event will be held on the sixth of this month, exactly two days from now. You can watch a live stream of the event on YouTube here when it happens.