'Open letter: Freedom of speech at the University of Bristol
University professors oppose the slanderous allegations against A Woman’s Place UK and support upholding the principles of freedom of speech and assembly in relation to the right of A Woman’s Place UK to hold meetings without participants being intimidated.'
Letter starts:
We are a group of academics who are very concerned about the misrepresentations contained in the recent open letter to you about the disciplinary proceedings which have been initiated by the University of Bristol against one of your students, Nic Shall. The letter misrepresents both the nature of these proceedings, and the nature of the group, A Woman’s Place UK.
We do not think it appropriate for us to comment on the potential outcome of disciplinary proceedings, but we think it is important to correct the impression given in the previous open letter that this student is facing disciplinary proceedings merely for writing a petition. In fact, one of the allegations to which these proceedings relate is that the student concerned intimidated another student because she chaired a meeting held by A Woman’s Place UK.
The letter describes A Woman’s Place UK as “discriminatory,” and as an “anti-trans campaign group.” It states that it is not “false information” to say that A Woman’s Place UK “provides a platform for hate speech.” It also states that the group was set up to campaign against trans rights “as enshrined in legislation such as the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010.” All these statements completely misrepresent the nature of A Woman’s Place UK, and what it seeks to do.(continues)
www.feministcurrent.com/2018/06/07/open-letter-freedom-speech-university-bristol/
Signatories:
Dr Katie Alcock, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Lancaster University
Dr Sophie Allen, Lecturer in Philosophy, Keele University
Dr Michael Biggs, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Oxford
Dr Heather Brunskell-Evans, Senior Research Fellow, King’s College London
John Collins, Professor of Philosophy, University of East Anglia
Debbie Epstein, Professor of Cultural Studies in Education, Roehampton University
John Gardner, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Oxford
Dr Mary Leng, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of York
Dr Susan Matthews, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Department of English and Creative Writing, University of Roehampton
Professor Michele Moore, Nuffield Department of Surgical Services, University of Oxford
Maureen O’Hara, Senior Lecturer in Law, Coventry University
Kathleen Richardson, Professor of Ethics and Culture of Robots and AI, De Montfort University
Dr Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Sheffield
Dr Kathleen Stock, Reader in Philosophy, University of Sussex
Dr Jo Waugh, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, York St John University
www.feministcurrent.com/2018/06/07/open-letter-freedom-speech-university-bristol/
As the letter says, Its very important to be mindful that this is an ongoing disciplinary matter