BCIT Student Assocation publication manager, Dan Post, issued the following written statement in the wake of media reports of student journalists being put on administrative leave from the student-owned magazine:

The morning of February 3rd, 2016 was the first time the Student Association (SA), LINK Magazine and myself learned of a sexual offence that took place on campus months before. BCIT Administration chose to not notify the students or the Student Association of this event at the time of its happening. Shortly after this news broke, the SA sent a message to all staff indicating that BCIT student safety and security is paramount and therefore the SA was asking that all staff defer to official word from student council President Dylan Smith when responding to reporters’ questions.

Immediately following this, I sent an email to all seven members of my LINK Magazine editorial board, which was in addition to the SA’s internal message regarding how to discuss this matter as employees of the Student Association. This is important, as it provides the context to my words. I indicated that since Dylan was handling the official statement from the SA, my LINK Magazine editors could also point to some of the amazing, positive work that they do at this school. My staff are free to report however they choose under the direction of the BCIT Broadcast News department. I acknowledged the likelihood that they would be reporting on BCIT’s mishandling of information on their student radio station and broadcast television show, both of which I have no affiliation with, and in addition to this, they could also use it as an opportunity to highlight the achievements of exceptional BCIT students that LINK Magazine promotes. At no point did I ask my staff not to report on the BCIT voyeur incident. I did not attempt to censor my writers. I did not attempt to encourage them to downplay or spin this very serious matter. I did however encourage them to promote positivity whenever possible, something I believe the world desperately needs more of. I stand by this message.

I acknowledge the potential for my words to have come across as an attempt to influence how my staff report on news outside of their LINK editorial capacities. However, I assure you that my words were taken out of context to indicate that I and the SA had something to gain from taking focus off of BCIT Administration’s wrongdoing. I have never been asked to cover up anything for BCIT and I have never asked my staff to cover up anything for BCIT. To be clear, LINK Magazine has every intention of investigating and reporting on BCIT’s misconduct. However, we will be approaching this topic from an editorial standpoint of ethical responsibility, meticulous fact-checking, and responsible journalism before we publish any story. I encourage my staff to investigate the ways in which BCIT communicates crucial information to their students, and I’m deeply concerned that we weren’t notified about the incident at the time it transpired.

It’s regrettable that the message to my staff was construed, shaped and reported as fact that I attempted to censor my writers and influence the way they report for media outlets other than LINK Magazine. My staff are free to report on behalf of any other media outlets that employ them. I encourage my staff, as journalists, to i investigate the matter pertaining to how BCIT administration handled the release of this information, because I think it is a very important story for our readership.

I encourage my writers, as I always do when they write for LINK Magazine, to research these matters with respect to the victims, and with careful fact-checking and a responsible journalistic approach. What I meant in my message to them, was that in the absence of any details they could offer as SA staff, they could also report on the positive stories within the BCIT community. This pertains to my belief that the students at BCIT suffer insignificance when the actions of misguided individuals and administrative decisions, overshadows the rest of the student body who are doing amazing things. When we, as members of the media, fail to gather all the facts before we report, there is great potential for misinterpretation, and for the parties responsible for the wrongdoing to get off the hook.

It is unfortunate that due to the ongoing internal investigation by the Student Association, and out of respect for all staff involved, I have been unable to comment until this point and thusly have left the door open for media outlets to report on this matter in absence of key facts. The articles and stories now circulating in mainstream media that do not include my side of the story is a continuation of my reasons why I encourage my writers to carefully research a story before putting forth the most well-rounded piece that is fair to all parties. When this type of thing happens, it takes the focus off of the real victims and the real issues at hand, which is the mishandling of information by BCIT Administration.

There are a lot of pieces still missing from this voyeur story, and plenty more facts to come. Two facts remain: I am not in the business of looking out for BCIT’s reputation and I would never attempt to censor my writers. I am not upset with Lindsay Howe or Jessica Fedigan and I am deeply sympathetic to their involvement in this situation. At this time Ms. Fedigan and Ms. Howe remain staff of LINK magazine, and LINK Magazine intends to pursue the BCIT voyeur story to its eventual conclusion.

Dan Post

Publications Manager

BCIT Student Association