Cardiff University’s Illiberal Problem
In a university whose students dismiss open discussion, pro-life protestors and ardent feminists have more in common than you might think
Having spent three years of my life at Cardiff University, it’s hard to find the descent of some of its students into the realm of intolerance surprising. The institution, and a vocal minority of students, have been actively embracing a hostile environment towards freedom of speech for years. Sadly, matters only appear to be getting worse.
The tail end of 2019 was emblematic of the underlying troubles when a provocative, yet peaceful, pro-life demonstration took place at the heart of Cardiff University’s campus, opposite the Students’ Union building. In a somewhat bombastic fashion, the agitators, who were from the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, put up large banners with pictures of a dead ten-week-old foetus[1].
Now, this is unquestionably a shocking sight which may well cause genuine offence and hurt, but the censorious reaction which followed was way over the top, pointing to an immaturity of some of the more paternalistic students.
The spark which ignited the protests could be traced back to the decision of the Students’ Union to take a pro-choice stance following a vote last November. The very fact a students’ union feels the need to politicise itself in such a way is, frankly, bizarre. Some kind of pushback was inevitable.
In many ways I cannot blame the reaction of the Students’ Union leaders. I remember my own political awakening while in the halls of the Talybont North student accommodation. During that time I learned about the joys (indeed, necessity) of Marxism, became a part of the Socialist Students Society and joined in the relentless singing of the ‘Oh, Jeremy Corbyn’ chants while leaving the Students’ Union nightclub on Sunday mornings. Okay, looking back on it, it is slightly embarrassing. Not so much for joining these societies and attempting to further my political outlook, but for harbouring the crazy, censorious views that inevitably come with left-wing orthodoxy — seemingly now held by a minority of heavily politicised students.
As I once believed, isn’t it a good thing to protect marginalised groups from potentially upsetting views? As with the case of the pro-life protestors, shouldn’t we guard vulnerable women who may themselves have had an abortion in their lifetime? Perhaps the protests were made in a rather distasteful fashion, but no longer can we insist it is progressive to wish to silence the more controversial opinions on campus — as well as society more broadly. You never know, they may be more popular than you think.
Surely the experimentation of ideas that go against societal norms is precisely what makes the university experience really worthwhile. A privileged opportunity, in fact, to delve deep into a discipline, turn over the rocks of the past and face head-on what they have to offer in all its brilliance and ugliness. Cardiff University is struggling to defend this line of thought and is having to hold strong against succumbing to the brashest of thought police students on campus. From Israeli ambassadors[2] to critics of LGBT school lessons[3], dissenters against contemporary left-wing thought will be outcast from polite society, and Cardiff’s minority of censorious students will have them petitioned against or banned from speaking. It is true that the problems the university may face are nowhere near those of Washington’s Evergreen State College[4], but comparisons of that horror show can and must be cast.
Students flooded onto social media to express their disdain at the pro-life group via an unofficial university forum used by many at Cardiff. The comments did not aim to challenge the arguments displayed and quickly descended into ad hominem attacks. Some members even advocated an “egging”. One person dared say these protests are part of university life before being duly informed that “free speech doesn’t guarantee freedom from consequences”, which was subsequently met with a rapturous amount of praise. Of course, this is quite a reasonable statement if what follows is more speech, or protests, or even ridicule. But this old chestnut increasingly has other, more sinister, ramifications.
Indeed, what should alarm everyone at the university who values freedom of speech is the fact that Cardiff University Students’ Union President, Jackie Yip, told her Facebook followers that “[Students’ Union officials] are speaking to the local council, the university and the police to build a case that these actions are causing undue stress and trauma”. That’s right, tell the world a less-than-holy (or even holy) opinion near Cardiff University and before you know it the self-righteous Students’ Union will attempt to get the police involved. The cheek that Yip showed by stating “this is not about freedom of speech” either demonstrates her total lack of knowledge on such a matter or is an outright lie to push the Union’s political agenda forward. Since the Union had actually formed a politicised position on abortion, it seems the latter may well be the case. Ah, see why that might be a problem now?
Abortion has always been an extremely sensitive topic. Even a civil discussion of the issues involved can make people feel uneasy. The problem is there are limited civil discussions nowadays, and anyone who disagrees with the homodox thinking of the times is labelled pig-ignorant, despite a plethora of scientific and moral justifications one could use to form pro-life points. Some modern-day students don’t seem to understand that and instead want to hide behind the curtain of victimhood. If someone is made to feel upset or uneasy by an opposition to the prevailing discourse, then we should back them up or else be on the wrong side of history. For a long time now certain students have pushed this agenda, which reminds me of a speaker who came to Cardiff in my first semester at university.
This (perhaps unintentional) provocateur who succeeded in making modern-day students feel uneasy was the renowned feminist Germaine Greer. Back in late 2015 she was set to give a lecture at Cardiff entitled ‘Women and Power: The Lessons of the 20th Century’, until her opinions on trans people were earthed up. Among other comments, Greer had proclaimed “I don’t believe a woman is a man without a cock”[5]. All of this should have seemed to be what one would expect to be the case; a feminist making an eminently pro-woman argument. Yet there was a public outcry and petitioning, which demanded that Greer not be allowed to give her lecture, ensued. Despite the petition itself only amassing 3,000 signatures, Greer came out of the ordeal just about unscathed, but only due a high security presence ensuring the 76 year old was not assaulted. This was another testing moment for Cardiff University which it barely passed. Would it do so now?
It comes down to the fact that these ‘liberal’, if not ‘hyper-liberal’, environments, such as a university campus or a public sector institution, have opted to cherish dogmatic ideas which are to be protected at all costs. Yet it is not just ideas which are totally antithetical to their warped worldview that must be brushed under the carpet, but that critical discussion, itself, must remain well out of view— even if evidence may call their ideas and beliefs into question. As the pro-life protestors and Greer found out, what may be considered acceptable is diminishing and any efforts to change this are met with scorn. Student-kind is shielded from aspects of counter-cultural thought with vocal ‘progressives’ harbouring no such desire to reignite these ‘dangerous’ disputes. After all, they may be proven wrong, and who would want that inconvenience bestowed upon them?
In 2015, the online political magazine Spiked created the Free Speech University Rankings[6] with the aim of being able to rank universities based on their level of censoriousness. Unsurprisingly, Cardiff University didn’t fare well at all — with the university itself being coloured ‘red’ (the worst possible category). Spiked highlighted a plethora of reasons for this which I haven’t even touched on in this article. These include restrictive worker policies on jokes you’re allowed to make, as well as the enforcement of “trans equality” into the curriculum. Somewhat surprisingly, the Students’ Union was only given an ‘amber’ score. On closer inspection, these scorings were last updated in 2018 (before the pro-life debacle) so I think it’s safe to predict they would be a ‘red’ now.
What remains most striking in these instances was not the lack of support for the beliefs the pro-life campaigners, or Germaine Greer, held, but the lack of support for their right to be there. The importance of defending the right to protest or speak out cannot be understated, regardless of whether you agree with the sentiments on show or not. Furthermore, the importance of criticising those who would “chuck paint all over [the protestors]”, as one student suggested, is equally essential but, in reality, non-existent. At this time, I ask where are the lecturers — the intellectuals who should be teaching their students the values of freedom of speech and expression in society? They are nowhere to be seen and it’s fair to say the age of the university being an institution that champions liberty is wavering at best, and has been throughout the last decade.
It is such a bitter disappointment to see what my old university has shown signs of becoming. The incredible research put into cancer therapy, amongst other feats, has rekindled a great deal of admiration which should never have been lost. In times of Covid-19 and the lockdown, we are forced into reassessing what is important to us as a society. Great medical research surely must be near top of the list — Cardiff has the ability to contribute more than its fair share. This research may only go so far without free debate to accompany it. It is the tool which helps guide us through the myriad of ethical and practical discussions about how such research should be conducted. Indeed, what hope does the humanities have where far greater subtleties exist and far more discussion is required?
Now into the 2020s, it seems as though higher education is at a crossroad. The university, not just Cardiff but the very concept itself, will either choose to double down on safeguarding certain ideas or it will save itself by once again promoting free and open discussion. The long-term consequences of not being encouraged to speak truthfully and honestly should not be understated. For now, we must watch on as Wales’ top university wrestles with its illiberal problem.
[1] https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/abortion-cardiff-university-cbr-protest-17355146
[2] https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180228-cardiff-university-students-protest-visit-of-israel-ambassador-mark-regev/
[3] https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/cardiff-university-bans-speaker-who-16109176
[4] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4546704/Professor-called-racist-asked-resign-students.html
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/18/transgender-activists-protest-germaine-greer-lecture-cardiff-university
[6] https://www.spiked-online.com/free-speech-university-rankings/
