The student union at Oxford University has ‘reached the pinnacle of censorship based on political correctness’, according to some worried faculty, as they finalized their motion on banning ‘ableist, classist and misogynist’ book reading lists.
The faculty is at odds with the motion, lashing out at the decision with the most vehement of their choice vocabulary. The passed motion basically bans any reading lists which contains thematic relationship or resemblance with the three topics, citing the reason that they have a right to not engage themselves with ‘harmful material’. They went further to say that students have a right to not partake in lectures, tutorials, seminars, exams that need knowledge or reading insight into these ‘hate speech’ materials.
point 0 |
The Oxford Student reports of one committee member who seconded this notion, giving out the following statement for his notion: “The SU Disabilities Campaign is very pleased about the support from students for the Academic Hate Speech motion.point 315 |
The University’s current policy towards such issues falls short of protecting many students who are particularly vulnerable to hate speech due to the shortfall in legal protection – the examples given in the motion are particularly concerning for student wellbeing.point 230 |
Hopefully, this motion’s success and the subsequent actions of VPs [Student Union Vice Presidents] will help in moving towards a more robust policy that is fair to all students.point 151 | ”point 154 | 1
The student union has now reached to the university, asking them to make faculties reconsider their reading list which ‘amounts to hate speech’.point 413 |
The policy is titled ‘Protection of Transgender, Non-binary, Disabled, Working Class and Women Students from Hatred in University Contexts’, spearheaded by one Alex Illsley, co-chairman of Oxford’s LGBTQ+ campaign.point 204 |
Mr Illsley has consistently said that these surely contain ‘ableist, transphobic, classist and misogynistic content’ and there should be an exception clause for the current status quo of the Oxford University promoting “freedom of speech”, allowing all books for their reading materials.point 270 | 1
Richard Dawkins, a professor at Oxford and well-known atheistic proponent, said: ‘So history students can’t read up on women’s suffrage, or the rise of Nazism or Apartheid, theology students can’t read [the] Bible or Koran? The racism of just about everyone who ever lived before these privileged juveniles were born? ‘If you don’t know what a university is for, please leave Oxford and make way for those who do.point 508 | 1
An Oxford spokesperson has explicitly put that the university have made no plans to censor free speech.
If you liked this article, please LIKE SHARE AND COMMENT below! And don’t forget to check our other articles along the way!
Replaced!