“It was Like the Stasi had Come to my Door”

The Mail reports today that an Exeter University philosophy student was threatened with expulsion in 2018 after he was overheard through the wall of his room by a neighbour who took exception to his views:

A philosophy student overheard through the wall of his room saying “veganism is wrong” and “gender fluidity is stupid” was threatened with expulsion by his university, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Robert Ivinson said he was disciplined after a student next door in halls of residence at Exeter University heard the comments then complained he had been offensive and “transphobic”.

Mr. Ivinson, who expressed the views in a phone call to a friend, was hauled before university officials and put on a ‘behavioural contract’ for the rest of his studies.

It seems, according to the Mail’s description, that the university authorities are effectively sentencing students in absentia:

He was warned he could be expelled if the university thought he had done anything else wrong, and told by letter he had been found guilty of harassment.

Edward Skidelsky – director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, academics fighting to maintain free expression on campuses – said: “It’s extraordinary that in 21st Century Britain eavesdroppers can be rewarded, and a student punished for remarks made to a friend in the privacy of his room.

“Robert’s case once again underlines the insidious erosion of the freedom to express opinions and ideas which is playing out at our universities.”

Although Mr. Ivinson, who is still studying at Exeter, experienced the University’s disciplinary system several years ago he has only recently felt able to talk about the incident, thanks to support from the Committee for Academic Freedom.

When an officer from the University’s estate patrol banged on his door to tell him his female neighbour had complained, the mature student was shaken.

“It was like the Stasi had come to my door,” he said. “He stuck his foot in my door and said you’ve been saying some very offensive things.“

Mr. Ivinson was called to a disciplinary hearing and grilled by university officials.

It’s not clear what the most remarkable aspect of this story is: the eavesdropping neighbour who dobbed him in; the University employee who enthusiastically went round to Mr. Ivinson’s room to threaten him for daring to criticise Veganism; or Exeter for punishing him for holding non-conformist views. Whichever it was, the comparison with the Stasi and East Germany seems uncomfortably appropriate.

Worth reading in full.