Research by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (Hepi) has 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 material and monuments, compared to their predecessors. years, when he last conducted the research. Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said the survey showed “a very clear pattern” of the majority of students preferring interventions such as activation warnings about course content and restrictions on speakers. “In 2016, we saw significant ambiguity and confusion over issues of freedom of speech. “It’s clear now that most students want more restrictions than they used to,” Hillman said. “This may be mainly due to compassion, in order to protect other students, but it could also reflect the lack of resilience in a group that has faced unprecedented challenges.” However, Michel Donnelan, the UK’s Minister for Higher Education, said the report “shows a shocking increase in support for censorship across a wide range of indicators”. “University leaders can no longer afford to step aside, but they must take active steps to combat these intolerant behaviors on campus, promoting and protecting freedom of speech,” he said. “We can not allow our young people – the future of this great country – to feel that their freedom of speech is being stifled and that they must submit to the views of the majority on campus.” 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 with 37% in 2016. Only 17% of students argued for “ensuring unrestricted freedom of speech on campus, although insults may occasionally be allowed” – less than the 27% agreed in 2016. The results also revealed that many students felt that universities “became less tolerant of a wide range of views”, with 38% agreeing and 27% disagreeing. But there was a clear separation between men and women, with 51% of men agreeing compared to 28% of women. The use of activation warnings for inconvenient course content seems to be strongly supported by the students themselves, with 86% agreeing that they should be used sometimes or always and only 14% opposing them. In 2016, 32% of students opposed their use. Many more students now support religious or special interest groups on campus – 64%, up from 40% in 2016 – while 77% agreed that staff should receive mandatory cultural awareness training. There was less but growing support for more immediate restrictions, including 36% agreeing that academics should be fired for using material that “severely offends” students – more than double the 15% agreed in 2016. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST 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 left. Only 20% said they supported the cancellation of events that were legal but made some students unhappy. About a third supported the demonstrations outside the event itself. The investigation revealed little interest in banning political parties or organizations from the campus. Only 26% wanted to ban the far-right English Defense League, while 19% wanted to ban the British National Party and 12% wanted to ban the Communist Party of Great Britain. There was little support for the ban on the ruling political parties, with 11% wanting the ban on the Conservatives, 5% on the Labor ban and an additional 5% on the Liberal Democrat ban.
