The Silence of the Universities By James Reed
Severe crackdowns of the little remaining free speech are rapidly occurring on most West university campuses, due to the culture of political correctness, and the new wave of communism sweeping the world, under the influence of China.
“More than a third of British universities are imposing 'severe' restrictions on freedom of speech including Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews, a report claims.
The situation is so bad in 48 universities – 35 per cent – that it warrants legislation to stop campus censorship, the study says.
Another 70 institutions (51 per cent) have seen some failures which should be examined by watchdog the Office for Students. Only 19, representing 14 per cent, do not warrant external attention, says the report by think-tank Civitas.
Before the pandemic hit, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said protecting free speech on university campuses – and stamping out 'no-platforming', where speakers are denied the chance to outline their beliefs because students think these are unacceptable – was one of his priorities. He has threatened to introduce new laws against censorship if the situation does not improve.
The report, published today, was collated before the latest free speech row at Cambridge, when academics rejected guidelines from the university requiring opinions to be 'respectful', after warnings that this could crush freedom of expression.
Lead researcher Jim McConalogue said: 'Our findings suggest that 86 per cent of universities faced either severe or moderate free speech restrictions which need to be addressed.
'The fundamental issue must be dealt with because students and academics find themselves in educational institutions in which they cannot speak freely of the leading subjects of their day including on race, gender, the outcomes of elections, their views on religion, or on discrimination itself for fear of judgements that lead to eventual penalty or censorship.'”
As I always conclude in these anti-university pieces, the sooner these institutions are closed, or fall apart, the better.
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