Debate over policy to contest speakers
By Imogen Blake
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| Gilad Atzmon visted Exeter last year. Photo - Richard Kaby. |
Potentially offensive speakers could be contested and excluded from the University if a widely debated contentious speakers policy, proposed by the Students’ Guild last week, passes.
A member of Guild staff drew up the policy after a student raised concerns about the existing open platform for speakers, which allowed controversial speaker Gilad Atzmon to give a talk at the University in November.
The policy would enforce a panel review of a speaker who is invited to the University if a student feels threatened by the speaker’s presence on campus and issues a formal complaint to the Students’ Guild.
A Safe Space Judgement Panel would then recommend the speaker is either excluded from or allowed at the University. Their recommendation would then be subject to a democratic voting process.
If enough people vote on the decision, the result of the vote would not be subject to appeal.
Jewish Society President Ben Salamon was quick to dispel rumours the contentious speakers policy was drawn up by J Soc after their protest against Gilad Atzmon.
Ben is, however, in favour of the policy. He said: “I fully support the policy but I want to distance myself from the ‘yes’ campaign – this isn’t a J Soc policy.”
James Eales, VP Academic Affairs, said: “Whilst a student may not have physically written [the policy], it was written off the back of their concerns and written with the final approval of students who asked for assistance in the first instance”.
Heated debate on Facebook has divided opinion of the policy. A ‘No to Contentious Speakers Policy’ Facebook group was set up last week and currently has 1,274 members. The group’s ‘wall’ is regularly updated with intense debate between students against and for the policy.
Third year Mathematics student, Matt Hardwick, is against the policy. He wrote on Facebook: “Nobody has a right to decide who should speak and who shouldn't - as human beings we all have a right to speak and discuss our ideas.
“In my experience Exeter students are strong, opinionated, passionate individuals who relish the chance to discuss ideas with people who threaten the ideologies on which they base their very existence”.
Guild President, Nick Davis, wanted students to express their views. He said: “How the ‘have your say’ system works is for students to engage with it actively. We have seen a great start to this so far and the coverage of the contentious speakers policy will hopefully lead to real student engagement”.
What do you think?
The policy to contest speakers did not go through.
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