10 Things Journalists Appear to have Forgotten (or never knew) about Universities
Universities are the place in society where we challenge, and debate difficult, sometimes uncomfortable, ideas. We are here to foster critical thinking and discussion which necessitates particular forms and types of intellectual engagement.
Universities are one of the few places where such debate can take place. We host, on any day, many hundreds of meetings, discussions, talks and lectures involving people from across society. We do not control this, we allow it to happen.
Our campuses are largely open. Members of the public are encouraged to come and to attend events.
Sometimes people want confrontation. Sometimes confrontation is created to politicise, debates have many audiences. People who do not want open debate and argument do not belong in a university.
Our students are adults. They are encouraged to organise their own activities and are allowed their independence. They are part of a community of scholars and we try to treat them with dignity and respect, the same way they are expected to treat each other.
Students are learners. They make mistakes organisational, technical, political and we allow that as part of the process of growing up.
Universities have changed since you went to university. They are much larger and more complex. The relationships between a university and students have changed. Students have changed too.
Universities are diverse, reflecting a diverse society. Universities are global institutions. A large proportion of students and staff come from outside the UK.
Universities have policies, but like all policies in large and complex organisations they are not always complied with. We are bound by law, but the law can be difficult to interpret in particular situations, we do not always get the judgment right and managerially we do not always succeed in implementing our best intentions.
Deliberately causing offence does not serve open debate and critical discussion, it is the tool of those who wish to shut it down. It is contemptible and can come close to fostering hatred (or what otherwise is the motivation) or be effectively indistinguishable from it. Equally, to claim offence when ideas are challenged, however cherished, within the framework of critical debate, is illegitimate and cannot be tolerated within a university. Universities should not be required to arbitrate between these two unreasonable positions, or if they are cannot be expected to arrive at a conclusion satisfactory to all concerned.