Vancouver School Board denies student journalist access to online meeting 

The Vancouver School Board denied a journalist from the student newspaper The Griffins’ Nest access to a public meeting about the proposed closure of a school in Vancouver. 

When Stephen Kosar, a journalist and editor at the newspaper, registered to attend an online meeting about the school closure, described as a “community dialogue session,” a VSB employee responded, noting that Kosar was a journalist with the Griffins’ Nest and asking if he intended to attend the meeting “as media or a community member,” according to screenshots posted by the newspaper on Twitter. 

When Kosar confirmed he would be working as a journalist in the meeting, the school board responded to say that media were not allowed to attend the meeting in order to ensure participants “have a safe space to give their feedback.” 

A VSB communications employee later told Griffins’ Nest in an email that they could visit the project’s website and read the FAQ section to find information about the proposed closure.