Kathleen Stock’s former university, the University of Sussex, has been fined a record £585,000 after it was found to have “failed to uphold” freedom of speech and academic freedom as a result of its transgender policy. The Telegraph has more.
The Office for Students (OfS) found “a chilling effect arose” from the University of Sussex’s transgender policy that left staff and students feeling “self-censored” and unable to express “lawful views”.
The higher education regulator said an investigation found “significant and serious breaches” of free speech and governance issues at the institution.
The probe was prompted by the resignation of Prof Stock, an expert in analytic philosophy, from the University of Sussex in October 2021 after she faced death threats for her gender-critical beliefs.
At the time, students erected posters around campus and called on the university to dismiss her.
An investigation was launched following protests at Prof Stock’s dismissal. On Wednesday, it found there was “no evidence to suggest that Prof Stock’s speech during her employment at the university was unlawful”.
The OfS said: “Staff and students may have self-censored as a result of the policy because they were concerned about being in breach of the policy and potentially facing disciplinary action for expressing lawful views.
“An example of this chilling effect materialising in practice is the experience of Professor Stock while at the university,” an OfS statement said.
“Prof Stock said that she became more cautious in her expression of gender critical views as a result of the policy.
“There were some views she did not feel able to express, and therefore teach, despite those views being lawful. Other staff and students may have felt similarly unable to express these, or other, lawful views.”
But on Wednesday morning, the University of Sussex hit back, saying it will legally challenge the decision, which it claimed would “leave universities unable to have policies to prevent abusive, bullying and harassing speech and that will perpetuate the culture wars”.
In a statement, the institution claimed the OfS “refused to meet or speak with anyone from the university” and only interviewed one person during the course of its three-and-a-half-year investigation.
“The implications of the OfS’ findings are that universities could be powerless to remove offensive propaganda or to discipline those who engage in abuse, harassment or bullying, unless the propaganda or speech is unlawful,” it said.
“Universities may be unable to set expectations of behaviour or issue guidelines to protect staff and students from abusive, bullying and harassing speech which is not unlawful.”
Worth reading in full.
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I do hope that the University’s appeal fails and that they are hit with excoriating criticism, damages and punishment for their clearly dreadful and unlawful behaviour.
How about sacking the management team?
I think that’s included in the ‘punishment’ part of my comment.
“Unable to…remove offensive propaganda or to discipline those who engage in abuse, harassment or bullying, unless the propaganda or speech is unlawful,”
yep. That right there is free speech.
There wasn’t any effective discipline for those that bullied, harassed, and abused prof Stock out of her job was there?
I had a dialogue with Ms. Stock, when she was still at Sussex.
Suggested to her that the only way to stop the Woke virus in its tracks in academia was to pull the funding for such courses.
No, no – she responded – academia cam and will sort this out.
Three months later she was gone.
Nor did she reply to my notes to her suggesting I was right…
By long-repute, another institution marched through, captured and abjectly surrendered decades ago, before the first students had even arrived on campus.
And despite this high-profile ruling, the current VC will carry on drawing the fat salary ripped off by her predecessors.
Look her up and draw your own conclusions.
“Professor Roseneil has an international reputation for her research on intimate relationships, citizenship, and social movements. Originally trained as a sociologist, …”
“I don’t need to read any further”, I said to myself. But I did, and sure enough …:
“….and later as a group analyst and psychotherapist, she has played a leading role in establishing the interdisciplinary fields of Gender Studies and Psychosocial Studies.”
Christ Almighty.
Looks like she has a wife as well by the haircut. No surprise in Brighton – weirdo central.
You can be a carpet-muncher and a very nice person.
I’ll take your word for it????
The perfect CV for sticking a large snout in the taxpayer trough. (Also probably hasn’t done a proper day’s work in her life).
The haircut tells you all you need to know.
Ben Habib….Rupert Lowe exposed Farage for what he is
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVqVJpo6ArQ&t=4s
Some good news to show that common sense has finally prevailed regarding this gender ideology nonsense is that World Athletics are introducing sex testing via cheek swabs at long last. I think all the athletes that have been proven to be biological males should be made to give their trophies/medals that rightfully belong to the female competitors to the relevant women. They were awarded medals due to authority-sanctioned cheating, it’s as simple as that, and they are therefore not the rightful owners of said prizes;
‘Common sense has finally prevailed!’
Sharron Davies tells Michelle Dewberry she’s ‘delighted’ World Athletics will reintroduce sex testing:
‘It’s a 10-second cheek swab. We’re protecting 50% of the population — our girls and women.’
https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/1904612894030909703
I am glad they have used the correct word – sex.
There has been a college in the USA that treated a local business badly, refused to apologise and continued its campaign. They were successfully sued, but still refused to modify their actions. They appealed, and lost.
Perhaps the University of Sussex will continue to complain too? I guess when you are convinced you are on the side of the angels no contrary findings can be entertained.
The fine ought to have been ten times larger.
As my son said when he visited Glastonbury town centre “I suppose it’s useful to have all the nutters in one place.”
Why anyone “normal” would pay to attend Sussex Uni is beyond me.
“Expressing lawful views”
“Despite those views being lawful”
Very revealing Freudian slip there from the OfS. They actually think that it is the State’s job to police views (opinions) and not even just to police speech.