Student Mike Mazurek said Rose suggested anyone game could write a proposal to the city and collect signatures to support it, noting it was a good time with the municipal election coming up.
“He said Laurier has a voice, we have pull in this situation, but did anyone want to lead a campaign?” Mazurek said. “I sat at the front, so I said I’ll do it. We needed everyone on the same page to write up a draft. We sent it to (Mayor Chris) Friel, but first we needed everyone’s support….”
Mazurek believes promoting the concept of restorative, instead of punitive, justice is a worthwhile endeavour….
Sara Petrie is another student who helped spread the word about the proclamation and increase support for it.
“It’s nice to see we are spreading awareness of restorative justice,” Petrie said, “It is a positive approach instead of throwing people in jail. I really like it because the victim gets answers.”
Petrie is aiming to attend law school after completing her criminology degree….
Rose was happy to say the proclamation happened thanks to the students’ own initiative.
“Well, I’m pleased enough students took an interest in the project and were willing to get on board, especially when you consider we hadn’t taken any classes prior to launching the proclamation initiative,” Rose said. “In general, anything that draws attention to Canada’s approach to mainly criminal justice is always welcome. Even if you can’t get your head around all the applications of restorative justice, at least it helps the community begin thinking about justice in general….”
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