Chilling decade on the front line of university culture wars

[IwantToRetire]

For a couple of hours, Cambridge academics and administrators discussed the recent Supreme Court ruling on biological sex. The people around the table were from a wide range of backgrounds and views, and it was a “polite but vigorous” debate. Exactly what you’d hope for in a university.

But at the end of the dinner, one of the participants said, wistfully, that it was a discussion that couldn’t be held in their college.

Why not?

“Because it would tear the place apart.”

Full article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/26/cambridge-universities-britain-free-speech/ and at https://archive.is/uAjrT

Not sure there is anything new in this quite long article for those on FWR.

But it made me think things aren't much better in universities, which is gloomy.

I suppose partly because new students now arrived fully on board the trans rainbow ride. And having grown up with the TRA agenda they see it as the norm.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/26/cambridge-universities-britain-free-speech/

I don’t know, I thought the article was more positive. Sounds as if things are changing for the better. At least in some colleges in Cambridge…

Well I hope you are right.

I suppose it was the comment I quoted showing that in fact the right to discuss women's sex based rights in public at universities doesn't exist.

Sounds like things are different at different unis. I hope that the tide is now turning…

It's so important now that universities begin to reclaim intellectual freedom and the right to challenge group think. Friends in academia are absolutely demoralised by the degradation of their institutes. See also the obsessive championing of blatant grifters capitalising on a 'protected characteristic'.

I agree @SquirrelosaurusSoShiny
I fear it's going to be a long, slow process though.

But I do remember being pleasantly surprised earlier this year when the Master of Balliol College Oxford said, in response to protests re a talk by Helen Joyce:

“The event has been organised by a student society. As an academic institution within the University, the College saw no grounds to refuse permission for the talk to take place. Freedom of speech allows views expressed to be tested through argument and debate. The same would apply to a similar event with a speaker of a different view."

Typically, he's only speaking out because he's about to retire. Our institutions are as weak as each of the individuals they're made up of. Each individual wants to avoid adverse consequences in their personal life. The threat of personal consequences is all it takes to bring down the integrity of universities, doctors, Parliament and the rest. This is how the bad guys win.

Apologies if necessary for reviving this thread. I was looking to add this to a thread about the fine issued to the UoS but I couldn't find one. I was reduced to manually going through the old threads. Having to to page 11, lonely, cold and scared, I thought this would do

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-scholars-being-pushed-out-academia-researchers-warn

https://archive.ph/oYqXS

The assertions made in this article contrast nicely imo with the original subject of the thread.

Or they could, oh, I don't know, let the work stand or fall on its academic excellence alone..?