Too offensive for students

Union Council is set to discuss how SUSU should manage external speakers, particularly in the event of a student group inviting someone with extreme views to speak on campus. The real question is what views are too extreme for students to be allowed to hear?

Following the Lee Rigby murder, local EDL members planned a demonstration at Southampton’s cenotaph. Trade unions, socialist groups and local immigrant community leaders got wind of this and organised their own counter demonstration which, in the event, far outnumbered the EDL, who retreated to the Frog and Parrot, after being turned away at all the other pubs in the area. They proceeded to stand in the street shouting at anyone who looked vaguely foreign.

The interesting part was when those leading the anti-fascist groups invited anyone who wanted to speak in favour of the EDL to do so. The reasoning is clear – give these people the chance to put their case and allow them to make fools of themselves. On this particular occasion no-one did step up and speak for the EDL, but it was important to give them the opportunity. I was also pleased to see Chloe Green, then SUSU’s VP Welfare, representing Southampton students in speaking against racism and Islamophobia.

It was this same reasoning that justified BNP leader Nick Griffin being invited to BBC Question Time. Griffin was given the opportunity to make a fool of himself and predictably did so, in one of the best anti-racism TV adverts ever seen.

You might be getting the idea that I don’t believe SUSU should restrict people with extreme views from speaking, in which case you would be right. Students are adults, with their own minds and opinions, and doubtless aware that racist, homophobic and otherwise bigoted views are out there in the world. Should we mute these voices and ignore them or expose them and challenge them?

Last year several student union newspapers fell victim of the infamous NUS No Platform policy, prevented from printing interviews with extremist political leaders. SUSU’s own Wessex Scene published an open letter arguing that Southampton does not want or need this sort of censorship, saying

there are those of us who want our Holocaust deniers, racists and homophobes in plain sight and not given the comfort of policies that allow them to keep their bigotries ambiguous.

Despite this being a key reason many voted to keep SUSU out of the NUS, just one year later the Union will be looking at No Platform and other ways of restricting freedom of speech on campus. Let’s hope the union’s councillors decide to treat students as adults.

David Gilani, Union President said:

At the moment, SUSU (and the University) have no stance on the ‘safe campus vs freedom of speech’ debate. There is no proposal at Union Council tomorrow, but a chance to discuss where students’ priorities are, with the intention of then creating a policy. Any student is welcome to come along to Union Council at 6pm to join that discussion.

Details of the proposed discussion can be viewed here.