OUSU will be debating an emergency motion today in support of
the two OxStu journalists who are facing a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction for serious breaches of the University IT
regulations. Patrick Foster and Roger Waite have been called before the
proctors after they violated the University regulations by
exposing flaws in the University IT security system in an OxStu
article published on 27 May. They face punishments up to and
including a £500 fine and rustication. Their hearings are set
for sometime between Tenth and Twelth Week, but may be as late as
September. Waite is said to have consulted a media lawyer with
regard to this matter. The OxStu said in a statement that although the two had
violated the regulations, it was not done with malicious intent.
“Foster and Waite were clearly acting in the public
interest”, they added. They hope the University will bear
this in mind when bringing charges against them. Foster told
Cherwell that he and Waite were “both distressed and annoyed
that the University is seeking to heavily punish us for actions
that we feel are beneficial to both students and staff
alike.” The OUSU motion includes a statement that the council
“believes that student journalists should be supported in
pursuit of issues that affect the lives of students” and
that the “editorial content of student newspapers should not
be subject to pressures from the University”. It also called
for the President of OUSU to write to the editors of Cherwell and
OxStu stating their support for student journalism, and to write
to the Chancellor and Proctors expressing their views. It was also confirmed to Cherwell that OUSU, as the publisher
of the newspaper, is responsible for any breaches of the law that
occur. However, the University is dealing with the matter as one
of student discipline and no legal action has been brought
against OUSU as of now. Waite also told Cherwell that he finds it ironic that
“the only evidence that the University has against us is the
evidence that we ourselves have provided” and that they were
not “caught in the act” but were being prosecuted for
“telling the University that they had broken ICTC
regulations to show them shortcomings in the system.”
Rodrigo Davies, the publisher for OxStu, affirmed that Foster and
Waite were both “outstanding young journalists and have been
a great asset to the newspaper over the past year”. The
University office said that as this was an ongoing investigation,
they were unable to comment on the matter.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004
OUSU support Stu Two
