Ministers warned that students were showing “shocking growth in support of censorship” after a survey found that many preferred safety and non-discrimination to unrestricted freedom of speech.
A study by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (HEPI) found that current students are more likely to support measures that restrict freedom of speech or expression on campus and approve the removal of offensive materials and monuments than their predecessors six years ago. when the study was last conducted.
Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said the study showed a “very clear model” for most students who preferred interventions such as warnings to trigger course content and restrictions on speakers.
“In 2016, we found significant ambivalence and confusion over freedom of speech. It’s clear now that most students want more restrictions than they’ve been willing to … in the past, “Hillman said.
“This may be mainly due to compassion to protect other students, but it may also reflect a lack of resilience among the cohort, which faces unprecedented challenges.
But Michel Donelan, England’s higher education minister, said the report “shows a shocking increase in support for censorship on a wide range of indicators”. “University leaders can no longer afford to stand aside, but they must take active steps to combat these intolerant attitudes on campus by promoting and defending freedom of speech,” she said.
“We cannot allow our young people – the future of this great country – to feel that their freedom of speech has been stifled and that they must bow to the views of the majority at the university.
Of the 1,000 students surveyed, 61% said they wanted to “ensure that all students are protected from discrimination instead of allowing unrestricted freedom of speech”, compared to 37% in 2016. Only 17% of students support “ensuring unrestricted freedom of speech on campus, although violations can sometimes be committed “- less than 27% who agreed in 2016.
The results also found that many students felt that universities were “becoming less tolerant of a wide range of perspectives”, with 38% agreeing and 27% disagreeing. But there was a clear division between men and women, with 51% of men agreeing and 28% of women.
The use of trigger warnings for inconvenient course content seems to be strongly endorsed by the students themselves, with 86% agreeing that it should be used sometimes or always, and only 14% opposing it. In 2016, 32% of students opposed their use.
Many more students now support counseling for religious or special interest groups on campus events – 64%, compared to 40% in 2016 – while 77% agree that staff should receive mandatory cultural awareness training.
There was less but growing support for more direct restrictions, including 36%, who agreed that researchers should be fired for using materials that “strongly offend” students – more than twice as many as 15% who agreed in 2016
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A growing minority also supported the removal of Holocaust denial or racist literature from university libraries, although more than a third of students wanted all the material to remain.
Only 20% said they support the cancellation of events that are legal but make some students unhappy. About a third supported protests outside the event.
The survey revealed little interest in banning political parties or organizations from campus. Only 26% wanted a ban on the far-right British Defense League, while 19% wanted to ban the British National Party and 12% wanted to ban the British Communist Party.
There was little support for a ban on the main political parties, with 11% demanding a ban on the Conservatives, 5% a ban on Labor and another 5% a ban on the Liberal Democrats.
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