At a turning point in the so-called “cultural wars” for freedom of speech, the Universities of the United Kingdom (UUK) confronted Education Minister Michel Donnelly after warning them to reconsider participating in a charitable equality charter run by the charity Advance HE. The program – which makes up the majority of Russell Group universities among its members – aims to identify barriers to success for blacks, Asians and minority students. But in a letter to vice-chancellors this week, Donelan claimed that the charter membership was “intense” with the university’s duties promoting freedom of speech. In a response on Thursday, UK universities said: “An important line has been crossed with the letter that seems to guide universities to take a specific approach” to equality. In a subsequent statement, UUK confirmed that it intended to ignore Donelan’s request and remain affiliated with Advance HE. A UUK spokesman said: “Universities take their responsibilities very seriously in promoting and protecting freedom of speech. We have not yet seen evidence of how this voluntary, non-binding system works against it. “The program is voluntary and provides a means by which universities can address racial inequality in the field and we will continue to work with Advance HE to support this goal.” The controversy comes as the bill on freedom of speech for higher education is being debated in the Lords, where it has come under fire from Conservatives, Labor and its peers. He has been criticized for imposing a new freedom of speech regulator with new powers to fine universities for failing to comply with freedom of speech provisions. Vice-rectors said Donelan’s letter was a creepy harbinger of how a regulator could intervene in the university’s internal affairs if the bill were passed in its current form, with one describing it as “a clear attack on university autonomy. ». “I want to see protection for freedom of speech, but it is very strange to protect freedom of speech at the same time as further intervention,” said David Wheelets, a Conservative and former university minister. “I think one of the reasons why universities in Britain are so respected internationally is their autonomy. “I do not think it is so much the crossing of a line as a slippery slope on which we are, on which the autonomy of our universities is gradually eroding.” The letter to Donelan, signed by Professor Steve West, vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England, reminded the minister that racism remained “a pervasive social issue” affecting students from ethnic minorities. But he added: “Universities, as autonomous institutions, must also be free to decide how to better promote coherence and tackle social issues such as racism that have a serious and detrimental impact on staff and students.” The letter continued: “We do not believe that the frameworks of freedom of speech and voluntary external assurances contradict each other – rather they can help address power imbalances and ensure that a more diverse range of voices is empowered to speak. “We understand from our members in the UK that many will respond promptly, both to reiterate their commitment to ensuring freedom of speech and to highlight how external safeguards play an important role in addressing serious issues such as harassment and the diploma award gaps. ” While Donelan’s letter noted that universities were autonomous and free to participate in programs such as the racial equality charter, she went on to say that they should “think carefully” about participation. While the Advance HE map of racial equality was the only example cited by name, Donelan went on to say that “there are of course a number of other, similar, plans, and this letter requires careful consideration of all of them.” Advance HE also manages the Athena Swan Charter, which seeks to improve gender equality in higher education and research. Donelan has previously described the plan as “at worst a dangerous initiative that undermines the scholarship”. “Given the significant amounts invested by the taxpayer in higher education, I would ask you to consider whether participating in these systems; the initiatives that result from them; and the creation of new, highly paid, “Good value for money for taxpayers or students,” Donelan said. Criticizing the higher education freedom bill when debated this week, Labor MP Shami Chakrabarti, a former Liberty leader, said: “How can it be a matter of protecting academic freedom to give more and more power to independent institutions? the government’s Student Office and the new director for freedom of speech? ‘ Willetts said the current bill was cumbersome and questioned how the regulatory freedom of speech bill could balance the government’s demands not to allow certain forms of legal discourse, such as Holocaust denial, on campus. “They expect the regulator to be more restrictive than just legal, free speech. “We need to know exactly what things it is not going to protect despite the fact that they are legal,” Willetts said. Willetts said he hoped the government would make “significant” changes to the bill, noting that universities could be punished for suppressing certain forms of speech at a time when technology platforms were being punished under the government’s new security bill. on the Internet to transmit the same views.
