Take a hike Robo-Reid
Delegates at the annual conference of the University and College Union (the ’super-union’ formed by the merger of the AUT and NATFHE) have voted unanimously to reject the government’s call for lecturers to inform on students expressing undesirable political views. For this order request to have been made in the first place was disgraceful, but congratulations to the UCU for standing up to Robo-Reid’s plans. Aside from the very serious human rights issues surrounding the security services investigating people solely for their political views, this proposal if agreed to would have stifled the very atmosphere of academic debate on which universities and colleges depend:
UCU delegates in Bournemouth have made it clear this morning that they will oppose government attempts to restrict academic freedom or free speech on campus. Lecturers want to teach students, if they wanted to police them they would have joined the force. (…) Universities must remain safe spaces for lecturers and students to discuss and debate all sorts of ideas
- UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt
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