Tag: Liberty

Free Speech Part 27

A previous Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: Free speech underpins our democratic society and our universities have a long and proud history of being places where students and academics can express themselves freely, challenge views and cultivate an open mind. But I am deeply worried about the chilling effect on campuses of unacceptable silencing and… Continue reading Free Speech Part 27

Free Speech Part 26

Tougher legal measures to strengthen free speech and academic freedom at universities in England would also extend to Students Unions, which for the first time would have to take steps to ensure that lawful free speech is secured for their members and others, including visiting speakers. In addition, a new legal measure would enable individuals… Continue reading Free Speech Part 26

Free Speech Part 24

Tougher legal measures to strengthen free speech and academic freedom at universities in England have been announced by the Education Secretary to stamp out unlawful ‘silencing’ on campuses. Following an increasing number of cases of individuals being silenced, the Education Secretary has warned of a ‘chilling effect’ where students and staff feel they cannot express… Continue reading Free Speech Part 24

Free Speech Part 23

When considering speech that could ‘harm’, there is a gender disparity here, with women being particularly pro-emotional safety and therefore censorious – important when the majority of social work students are women. This censorious tendency appears to be based on an underpinning assumption that offending ideas cause actual ‘harm’. This assumption is a contested idea… Continue reading Free Speech Part 23

Free Speech Part 22

Recent research has demonstrated that, in general, a minimum of only 30% of students would choose a free speech position on, for example, inviting controversial speakers to come to campus. Furthermore, a minimum of 20% would choose no-platforming in the interests of the emotional safety of minority groups. There is, therefore, a significant malleable ‘undecided’… Continue reading Free Speech Part 22

Free Speech Part 21

Several articles have also tried to address the problem of social work students being reluctant to ‘speak up’. Social work educators have noticed the reluctance of students to speak out in classroom, and have probably also noticed a marked difference from, say, 10 years ago. This appears to go hand-in-hand with a comfort in following… Continue reading Free Speech Part 21

Free Speech Part20

It’s been proposed that new measures to strengthen free speech in universities is needed in that there have been recent attempts to censor speech and quell diverse or controversial opinions. There may be some features of the current cohort of social work students that lend themselves to a potential difficulty with free academic enquiry and… Continue reading Free Speech Part20

Free Speech Part 19

The Government has vowed to tackle extremism ‘in all its forms’. But who are ‘extremists’? Terrorists? Of course. But what about political activists? Religious groups? Anti-religious groups? Trade unionists? Environmental campaigners? Are these people extremists too? The Government must tackle terrorism and criminal behaviour. But defining extremism too widely risks harming free speech. https://vk.com/video677203037_456239335