Universities overtaken by trans propaganda

[happydappy2]

As its graduation time, many parents will be visiting their kids Unis and be able to see 1st hand what flags are flying....I was not surprised to see lots of huge trans flags flying at NTU (Nottingham Trent Uni) Trans/pride colours painted on road crossings, local shops decorated with trans flags etc etc. Please share your Uni sightings here-any not supporting this current fad? No wonder our youth are so confused.

That's a real shame as I'd also heard that Reading was being sensible about things. To be honest I'm not Muslim and I'd also have felt uncomfortable about sharing a campus with people like that who think it appropriate to do this on an open day.

I think though they'd at least be supported by the university if they did come against any of these students. It's mad to me how many university institutions have fallen for gender ideology. I hope it will change in future for the sake of this next generation of youngsters otherwise it will never go away if they just keep indoctrinating them into the belief.

That’s good. I hope that other places will follow the law.

I'm a lecturer and our uni has loads of "Progress" Pride lanyards but they have run out of money so no more lanyards

Am I so out of touch?
No. It's the children who are wrong.

Which children? The OP has said most of the applicants looked really uncomfortable. From what I’ve seen at my university, the tide has really shifted in the last few years and a lot of students are fed up with the aggressive and solipsistic demands of the “genderqueer” movement.

You might want to reconsider that - they are protesting because they are NOT getting what they want. The Reading academics who are GC have been supported, Jo Pheonix has moved there.

Appalling! Surely this is against the law?

Between the unis I know through work and the ones we’ve visited this year with DS2 you’ll be hard pressed to find one with no TRAs.

Indeed. Most universities have tens of thousands of staff and students. You are going to find TRAs everywhere. Universities also can't stop them protesting - we are required to not just allow, but promote, freedom of speech within the law (and that includes, explicitly, not just words, but banners and symbols). So apologising (as suggesting upthread) for the disruption would put the management on dodgy ground. I am emphatically opposed to gender ideology, but anyone going to a university - on either side of this debate - should be prepared to hear views that make them uncomfortable. It's when things tip over into harassment or denial of other people's rights that there is a problem.

My DD is 14 and I honestly think the tide is turning on all this stuff, it is among her friend circle anyway.
Hoping in another 4 years universities will be less ridiculous!

I don't mind freedom of speech but when their dei policies don't even mention sex and they clearly state you can use whatever toilets you like, it's a bit annoying. This is one uni I have looked at recently.

This kind of post reminds me of how, not so long ago, any mention of being gay was met with fear that it would somehow “encourage” others to become gay. As if visibility equals recruitment. It’s a deeply oppressive mindset — one that shuts down expression rather than seeking to understand it.

Universities are full of bright, thinking young adults who aren’t blank slates waiting to be “confused” by flags. They’re individuals who, quite rightly, expect to see their identities reflected and supported in their environment. The presence of pride or trans flags isn’t about forcing an agenda — it’s about saying, “You’re welcome here. You matter.”

The idea that this is a “fad” undermines real people’s lives and struggles. It’s perfectly possible to be curious, to disagree, or to ask questions — but let’s not dress up disdain as concern. Supporting marginalised groups is not what’s confusing young people — it’s the hostility toward that support that often is

This was said last October - if we visit again as DS has asked, I’ll be listening carefully.

Students are fickle. Trans is passe at DS university. It's Gaza this year.

Students have always had passions, they just adapt.

I would imagine universities are some of the safest places on Earth for men in dresses to use the men's toilets. Nobody is realistically stopping these guys from peeing.

blimey - just glad i am not at uni today and son out of it a few years ago
so sad that real stuff is being sidelined by faux politics

Time is going to show it is exactly a fad. Where were the transitioners when I was at uni in the 80s? Or the 90's or 00's? Why do we see lots of young women transitioning and not so many young men? It's the new anorexia.

At no point have I suggested that the uni should apologise. I stated that an explanation or acknowledgement from the Uni would have been welcome. They had collected email addresses for all attendees. By not explaining the situation, Reading have allowed uncertainty and confusion to grow. Protesters hijacking an Open Day does appear to be an unusual event and some factual explanation would have been appreciated.

Universities should most definitely be a hot bed of protest and critical thinking. In my uni days in London, I spent a lot of time protesting against the BNP, on rallies in memory of Stephen Lawrence, leafleting against certain individuals standing on racist platforms in council elections in East London.

Ignoring the situation does not make it go away. There were many young people, under the age of 18, who looked visibly uncomfortable. Yes, they should expect to be challenged in a university setting. But not on an Open Day with no explanation of the other side of the argument. The timing was off. And there were a number of parents who were muttering the same words.

I am not looking for a uni for my dc with no TRAs. But what I saw at Reading and the way in which the students were protesting has absolutely put us off.

Wouldn't it be interesting if you had to include your sex and class and colour e.g. white middle class man, after your name? I'd love to see that after Owen Jones's name in the Guardian when he's on a rant.

I agree and - as you can probably tell from my username - I work there.

Our VC has been very clear on the right of free speech and a few years ago there was quite a big protest as a result of a talk that was given. Complaints were made but the upshot was a statement from the University that freedom of speech will be upheld and no-one has the right not to be offended.

The VC also attended and gave the opening speech at a talk by Jo Phoenix about her case against the OU.

University of Reading stated that they would adhere to the SC ruling and it has been made very clear that single sex spaces will be just that, single SEX. There has been a fair bit of blow-back on that (including attempts by protesters to disrupt open days and put people off coming to Reading) but the University has not shifted its stance. And for that I am not only bloody grateful but bloody proud to work where I do.

That’s great to hear @Readingtonian It really is. Was there any discussion amongst staff, including senior staff, after the Open Day protest about the impact that it may have had on the visiting under 18s? And the even younger siblings who were also visitors that day?

@CagneyNYPD1 I’m not involved in Open Days I’m afraid! I wouldn’t presume to speak on behalf of the University, but if you wanted more information the best place to start (even if they direct you to another dept) might be the VC’s Office?

https://www.reading.ac.uk/about/governance/key-people/professor-robert-van-de-noort

What embarrassing big babies these students sound.

I wouldn’t touch Sussex with a bargepole after they gave Edie Izzard an honorary degree for wearing lipstick and claiming to be a woman, and doubly so after the dreadful way Prof Kathleen Stock was treated by the students and staff body there.

When we went to a Reading open day we were protested at by a bunch of middle aged men upset about them selling off farmland for housing.

I suppose it's good community engagement that everyone knows when they are having open days so they can organise a protest 😁

I went with my child to an offer holder day at Edinburgh. It was for arts and humanities so I’d say 80% of attendees were female.
While there wasn’t any overt flag waving, we did have a talk from a man about making the most of your university experience, during which he told us a story about how Katherine Grainger had attended Edinburgh, and that was where she got into rowing and look where that had led her. Except, when describing this absolute hero of women’s sport he did not use the word “she” once. In fact, he referred to KG as “they” throughout. I did check, afterwards, whether KG has preferred pronouns, and couldn’t find any evidence that she is now a “they”. Quite possibly she herself, like most sensible people, does not care how she is described when she isn’t even there. But I did think that it was a real shame that the chap representing the university either thought it was good to erase women’s achievements, or that the word “she” was unsayable, or that he needed to kowtow to a silly ideology. I wasn’t sure which it was.

I have to say that I have students with me at the moment. I require them to use the words ‘man’ and ‘woman’ due to the nature of the work I do and that they are training for (I would also accept ‘male’ and ‘female’. They’re very good students, but so far they have not been able to utter these controversial words in my presence, they are visibly uncomfortable doing so.