¡°Quietude¡±, self-censorship and ¡°right-on¡± lecturers were among the threats to ¡°academic freedom in illiberal times¡± identified in a debate organised by online magazine spiked (in association with Academics for Academic Freedom and ̽»¨ÊÓƵ) at the House of Commons on 11 November.

Introducing the event, chair Joanna Williams, lecturer in higher education and academic practice at the University of Kent, noted how ¡°students are quick to ban everything from pop songs to ¡®lads¡¯ mags¡±. Along with speech codes and no-platform policies, this had led to a notable ¡°trend for academics to self-censor¡±.

Bill Rammell, vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, declared himself an instinctive enemy of boycotts, blanket bans and no-platform policies, since ¡°open democratic debate is the best way of marginalising violent extremism¡±.

Yet for Dennis Hayes, professor of education at the University of Derby, ¡°academic freedom doesn¡¯t really exist today, since we have lost the idea of free speech as a foundational value¡­We don¡¯t even know what our own opinions mean if they are not tested¡­Quietude now dominates the academy ¨C I want universities more like bags of ferrets, as they used to be.¡±

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Terence Kealey, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, argued that ¡°it is important that universities have different governance structures, as this is likely to lead to greater plurality of thought¡±.

Certain forms of self-censorship were probably inevitable, given that ¡°researchers tend to produce the data which funders want, so they can gain the next grant¡±, but plurality would at least create a more balanced environment through ¡°different forms of censorship in different places¡±.

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Munira Mirza, London¡¯s deputy mayor for education and culture, spoke of ¡°a general rush to curtail what people can say¡±, which led to the risk of ¡°freezing out controversial views on racial genetics or environmentalism¡±.

She was opposed to ¡°a culture where some ideas are just too offensive¡±, noting how it was now common to see ¡°orchestrated campaigns¡± in response to someone at a freshers¡¯ fair wearing a T-shirt some religious students found offensive.

Yet in reality, Ms Mirza went on, ¡°young people are used to being insulted and offended, and know how to cope with it¡±.

Today¡¯s universities, however, were often about ¡°training individuals to feel vulnerable and sorry for themselves¡±, as in the case of a ¡°right-on¡± tutor at Oxford who had said to her: ¡°As a woman, do you find Shakespeare offensive?¡±

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matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com