Nearly 2 years of strain and stress for Jonny Best.
“In these free speech cases, the process is the punishment - getting through the process is grindingly difficult and stressful. It wears you down,” he said. “It makes you wonder if speaking and writing honestly is worth it.”
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The OIA ruled last month: “We are not satisfied that the University has adequately apologised for the delay and the impact of the procedural failings on Mr Best. We consider that distress and inconvenience was caused to Mr Best, which has not been recognised by the University.”
I wondered why the University didn't dismiss the complaint at the outset. When you're aware of the well-evidenced prevalence of sexual harassment and disparity at every level of universities, it feels astonishing that this complaint was treated with such comparative reverence - as it it were a set of Papal Bulls - that scrutinising or validating its basis was considered superfluous.