New row breaks out over sacked academic
THE university accused of forcing a Nobel Prize-winning scientist to resign over sexist comments is at the centre of a new freedom of expression row.
University College London (UCL) already stands accused of being heavy-handed and pandering to a “baying witch-hunt” on social media in its handling of the resignation of Sir Tim Hunt as a professor in its life sci- ences department, following remarks he made about women scientists.
Now further allegations have emerged after UCL shut down an exhibition highlighting the problems of sexual harassment and sexual violence suffered by its female students.
The two incidents have led to fears that UCL is more concerned about protecting its own reputation than allowing freedom of expression.
UCL last November
shut down the WriteBack! exhibition, organised by its women’s network to encourage female students to write down their experiences on pieces of paper and pin them to the walls of a special room on the campus.
When one former student posted an allegation that she had been sexually assaulted by a UCL academic – in which the academic was not named – the university authorities reacted by shutting the exhibition down by locking the room.
Students offered to edit a part of the alleged victim’s posting, removing any possibility that the academic could be identified, but the university refused.
Meanwhile, the mystery of how Hunt was forced to resign from UCL deepened at the weekend, with one ally insisting the university should overturn the decision to accept his resignation and launch instead a proper inquiry to look at the context in which the remarks were made. – The Telegraph