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An English university is to receive a fine of £ 585,000 for allegations, in which she was unable to maintain any freedom of speech and academic freedom in a pioneering judgment in the debate about the rights of students on campus.
England’s university regulatory authority found “significant and serious violations” against freedom of speech and governance questions of the University of SussexAccording to a press release of the financial times of the financial times.
The press release of the Office for Students, which is to be published on Wednesday, said guidelines to prevent abuse or harassment from certain groups on campus, had created “a terrifying effect” that could cause the staff and the students to be “self -censor”.
The decision, after the US Vice President JD Vance, made Sir Keir Starrer, Great Britain Prime Minister last month, taught the need to defend freedom of speech during an encounter in the Oval Office. Elon Musk, the Tech billionaire, advisor and donor from President Donald Trump, also claimed that Britain suffocates the free expression.
The OFS report marks the end of an investigation that started more than three years ago. It was produced by that Case of Kathleen Stock, a professor of philosophy who said she was forced by a three -year campaign of bullying and character in 2021.
Shares were the focus of a series on the identification of gender and the transgender rights and claimed that there was a “toxic” environment in the universitywhose “trans- and non-binary equality policy” was criticized by the regulator.
Some students were through the participation of Stock in the LGB Alliance, an Advocacy organization, the “the idea that gender, the way they feel or attract themselves, were more important than biological sex”.
After she was appointed OBE in the New Year Ehren list in 2021, shares were accused of using her status in an open letter, which protested by several hundred philosopher academics against the prize.
Stock announced the FT in 2021 that students, external activists and even some of their own colleagues accused them of transthobia and excited that they were fired. Shares refused to comment on the knowledge of the OFS.
The decision of the decision founded in 2017 will send a strong message to university institutions that try to prevent “hate speeches” on campus and defend freedom of speech.
The university, which rated a joint 26th of 104 British institutions in Great Britain in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, reacted angry. Sasha Roeneil, the university’s Vice Chancellor, said the regulatory authority had prescribed “absolutism of freedom of speech as a basic principle” for universities.
Roeneil claimed that the supervisory authority “refused to speak to us” and that the imposed fine was “completely disproportionate”. She said that the university had defended the right of shares to pursue its academic work and to express its “rightful beliefs”.
She added that the judgment now made it “practically impossible for universities to prevent abuse, harassment or bullying, to protect groups that are subject to harmful propaganda, or that stereotypical assumptions should not be supported in the university’s curriculum”.
The decision of the university authority to punish Sussex takes place after the previous conservative government has passed the law on university formation (freedom of speech) in order to tighten the laws on freedom of expression.
In January, however said Not many of the planned measures of the conservatives would introduce and argue that the law was already sufficiently robust.
The OFS found that the political explanation of Sussex about “trans- and non-binary equality” could not claim the principles of freedom of speech and academic freedom, which creates a “terrifying effect” on campus.
It also said that the university has no “effective and reasonable administrative and governance agreements”.
The OFS examination focused more on compliance with the university’s regulations than on the special case of shares. Nevertheless, it found “no evidence that Professor Stock’s speech was illegal during her employment at the University”. The work of the academic comprised questions of gender, gender and individual rights.
Sussex argues that the universities are now exposed to the regulatory risk if they have guidelines that protect employees and students from racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim or other abuse.
At the center of the OFS examination was Arif Ahmed, the first director of freedom and academic freedom of the supervisory authority, which was appointed role in 2023 and was praised by the conservatives for his robust attitude on this topic.
“Arif is a professor of philosophy, who passionately wrote in the defense of freedom of speech in the media,” said Claire Coutinho, then Minister of Education, at that time. “In view of the attempts to close his own speaking events, he stood firmly.”
Ahmed, who has remained under Labor, said in an explanation that the fine imposed on Sussex was “significantly reduced” because this was the first case of this kind, and added that the OFs had decided to publish their results in order to enable other universities to comply with their speech.
The educational department said it would not comment on “Lecks”.
