Linda Bellos is on Newsnight

[ftw]

Talking about being no platformed.

(The piece is about free speech/safe spaces.)

Relevant to this, in The Times today, Jo Johnson is going to do something about 'no platforming':

Here's the shareable link to the full piece:

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-ordered-to-guarantee-free-speech-wxzcr32hh?shareToken=2e12b14c846e9999dc280838fb947049" target="_blank">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-ordered-to-guarantee-free-speech-wxzcr32hh?shareToken=2e12b14c846e9999dc280838fb947049

And comment on it:

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-challenged-cmhl3bmkq?shareToken=c5bc27f47b3d4a09111fb3522992c482" target="_blank">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-challenged-cmhl3bmkq?shareToken=c5bc27f47b3d4a09111fb3522992c482

I hope this is backed up by more than rhetoric. Encouraging though.

So universities that no platform speakers will be no platforned?

I’m sure there’s a get out in that it’s often the union doing the no platform which is a separate entity to the institution itself.

I thought the student who said something like "I'm paying £9.5K a year and for that I expect not to be confronted with anything I feel uncomfortable about" (I'm paraphrasing, I can't make myself watch it again) would be shortchanged of that is really how universities teach now. It's such a different view of what I think a university education is for.

I work with universities and the change in student attitudes since I was a student (90s) is phenomenal. They’re paying, therefore they’re clients, therefore...

It’s to do with the way it is funded, I believe.

‘Student satisfaction’ leads directly to a grading system which leads directly to funding.

The league tables are partly based on the student satisfaction tick box.

Which could mean anything. It could mean that the beer is cheap at the students union. Although, I believe there are specific subdivisions like how often you get to see your tutor.

But it’s a system where students are now consumers. And therefore they can dictate the product.

I can see that the introduction of student fees is the biggest factor in that but you can see the same trend in the US Universities as well and they have always had fees, or didn't they? I actually don't know that.
I wonder how the situation is in countries with free education. I have two nieces who went to German universities but I don't see or talk to them much.

"Paris always comes across badly. I don't think Paris perceives that."

No Paris doesn't. I wonder if Paris would be on telly or be a journalist if they weren't trans and attractive trans.

no platforming and debate based around faux-psychology jargon.
intersectionality and the like is just all nonsense talk. no wonder people don't take many of the humanities graduates seriously.

i have full respect for many psychologists, but they need to clean up their act and start talking about facts.

Paris appeared to be intent on delivering a smart arsed Twitter-style smackdown to Kate Smurthwaite in what seemed to be a continuation of an argument started elsewhere instead of actually discussing the subject that was on the table in front of an audience that was probably largely new to this subject.