Don who led calls to axe Rhodes statue helps write Oxford’s guide to free speech
A prominent radical race campaigner is helping to draw up guidance on free speech for oxford University.
Simukai Chigudu, co-founder of the rhodes must Fall movement, has been contributing to a ‘framework’ for colleges to adopt.
the associate professor of African politics has previously called for decolonising the curriculum and tearing down the statue of the imperialist Cecil rhodes at oriel College.
in a meeting, he claimed that free speech arguments are abused to ‘ preserve existing power structures’. the framework is being created by an oxford Free Speech Forum, understood to involve five colleges, including Brasenose, Somerville, magdalen and mansfield.
its chairman is David isaac, provost of Worcester College, who recently came under fire over the cancellation of a Christian conference.
the forum aims to provide advice on how academics and students should interpret and act upon the Government’s Free Speech Bill, currently going through parliament.
the Bill aims to crack down on censorship and ‘cancel culture’ on campuses.
the forum wants to ‘respectfully tackle difficult decisions about issues like race, disability, and trans rights’, according to organisers.
the guidance will be adopted by colleges on a voluntary basis and will not replace the official university policy on free speech.
However, one student who attended forum meetings called them ‘sinister’ and ‘backwards’.
they said at the weekend: ‘this project has not been created transparently or democratically ... Guidance is a by-word for restrictions, even if unintended.’
in a recording of a meeting leaked to the Sunday telegraph, mr isaac can be heard telling attendees that he did not ‘recognise’ the description of ‘Left-leaning’ universities as places where people are no-platformed and difficult discussions avoided. ‘i don’t believe, speaking very personally, that freedom of speech needs to be imposed upon universities,’ he added in apparent reference to the new legislation.
meanwhile, professor Chigudu told the forum in march that free speech can be ‘Janus-faced’ and ‘can often act to preserve existing power structures’.
mr isaac was previously chairman of the equality and Human rights Commission (eHrC), and of LGBt rights group Stonewall.
He left Stonewall in 2012, three years before the charity became ‘trans inclusive’, and before it began to be accused of shutting down debate on that issue.
Upon taking his role at Worcester, he was criticised for apologising to students for ‘distress’ caused by hosting a Christian Concern summer camp and cancelling a provisional booking for this year.
Helen mountfield, president of mansfield College, said: ‘the aim of the event held in march, and student-led initiatives thereafter, was to promote free speech, and to encourage confident and courteous discussion of controversial and sensitive ideas.’
professor Chigudu and mr isaac did not respond to requests for comment last night.