Students fear being marked down for pro-Brexit views in essays
Undergraduates say they self-censor their work to pander to pro-Remain opinions of some lecturers
UNIVERSITY students have claimed they feel pressured into writing essays which pander to the “anti-Brexit bias” of lecturers amid fears they will otherwise be marked down, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Students from across the country have alleged that free debate on Brexit is being “shut down” by pro-Remain lecturers at some of Britain’s top universities.
They include undergraduates studying law, politics, and philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) degrees, who claim their faculties have created a “hostile” environment which is deterring some with dissenting views from speaking out.
The disclosures have prompted concern among MPs and university leaders, who are concerned that pervasive anti-Brexit views may be limiting freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The Sunday Telegraph understands that the new Office for Students (OfS), a regulator with powers to strip universities of their degree-awarding status, will now monitor the issue as part of its duty to uphold free speech on university campuses.
Last night, Sir Michael Barber, chairman of the OfS, said that freedom of speech on university campuses was a “fundamental issue”.
In a veiled warning, he added that “the duty to protect freedom of speech also applies to academics, and diverse views should be encouraged”.
Echoing his comments, Jo Johnson, the universities minister, said that universities “must open minds not close them”. He added the OfS would defend “rigorous debate” and ensure that universities are advancing rather than hindering “understanding of controversial subjects”.
It comes after this newspaper revealed last year that academics at lead- ing universities including Oxford, Warwick and Exeter had breached impartiality guidelines by imploring their students to vote Remain during the referendum campaign.
Despite clear guidance from the Charity Commission forbidding the practice, a number were found to have used private lectures and emails to pressure students ahead of polling day.
This week, students have revealed the extent of anti-Brexit bias at universities across the country.
Some said they had been handed pro-EU leaflets after lectures, while others claimed academics have used events such as graduations to air their views.
Last night, students enrolled at universities including UCL, Durham, York Plymouth and Cardiff admitted they were concerned about “Brexit bias”.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, some students said they were so worried that they were self-censoring their views in academic work in a bid to appease their tutors.
Jamie Hollywood, a PPE student at Goldsmiths, University of London, claimed that a philosophy lecturer had denounced Brexit as a “nationalist enterprise” during a seminar at the beginning of the academic year.
“I’ve experienced incredible Brexit bias,” he said. “In my first lecture in philosophy, the lecturer, who is European, told the class that Brexit was a nationalist enterprise.
“He also said that he would be kicked out of the country, which was clearly inappropriate – and absurd.
“When considering how to write essays I have to determine its tone and content based on who is marking it. I shouldn’t feel as though I need to cloak my views in order to receive a grade reflective of the essay’s quality.”
When approached, a spokesman for Goldsmiths said that the lecturer had been attempting to “stimulate discussion” and their comments about leaving the UK following Brexit were due to personal “financial circumstances”.
They added that the university “remains committed to the values of freedom of speech” and that the lecturer concerned was not involved in the marking of course assignments.
Meanwhile, a law and politics graduate at Cardiff University claimed that his tutor had instructed him not to lend support to Eurosceptic ideas.
“There was a genuine culture of contempt in our faculty for Brexit,” he added. “I was told explicitly by my tutor, and I quote: ‘ do not advance Eurosceptic arguments in your essays, because you will irk the examiner’.
“Universities like to champion the idea of academic freedom, but what that really boils down to is freedom within their set parameters.”
A Cardiff spokesman said they had been unaware of the allegations, adding that the university encouraged students with concerns to report them. They said that the university employed a number of outspoken academics who support Brexit.
At the University of the West of England (UWE), William Bates, a politics and international relations student, said he had noticed a difference in marks after deliberately submitting essays with a Left-wing slant.
“Our essays are often marked based on how receptive lecturers are to your arguments,” he said. “You can take a Left-wing of centrist stance, but you’d be mad to write anything Eurosceptic. I’ve deliberately submitted essays of a Left-wing slant during my studies, and I have noticed the difference in marks.”
UWE said it was “very surprised” by the allegations, adding that it would “never expect” students to “self-censor assignments”. “The university advocates freedom of opinion. All assignments are marked on academic merit,” a spokesman added.
The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to a number of other students who claimed they had experienced similar problems, but refused to speak on the record for fear of potential repercussions. Others claimed that lecturers had actively censored debate on Brexit.
One law student at the University of Strathclyde alleged online that his EU law lecturer had “removed Article 50 discussion from the class because she didn’t want to talk about it”. The University of Strathclyde denied the claim.
Meanwhile, Lucy Harris, a UCL graduate and founder of London Leavers, a pro-Brexit group, said that an anthropology lecturer had “publicly refused” to shake her hand when she attended an anti-Brexit talk named “the state we’re in”.
Polls released earlier this year suggested that just eight per cent of lecturers voted to leave the EU.
Research published by the Adam Smith Institute also warned that “group think mentality is rife within academia” and that “dissenting opinions are neutralised, and favoured beliefs are held as sacrosanct”.
Meanwhile, a survey of more than 400 Conservative students this week by The Bow Group found that 81 per cent of respondents do not believe Brexit is taught in an impartial manner.
The revelations come during a week in which Chris Heaton-Harris, a Tory
‘I shouldn’t feel as though I need to cloak my views in order to receive a grade reflective of the quality’
‘You can take a Left-wing of centrist stance, but you’d be mad to write anything Eurosceptic’
MP, was vilified on social media for writing to university vice chancellors requesting information on politics-related courses. His request provoked outrage among some of the country’s leading academics, including Chris Patten, the chancellor of Oxford University, who described the request as “idiotic Leninism”.
However, others have expressed disappointment at the response, which they warn will lead to greater scrutiny.
Sir Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of Buckingham University, who described the furore as “hysterical”, adding that there is “far too much negativity” towards Brexit in academia. “I may have voted to remain… but I felt the reaction was completely over the top,” he added. “That sort of intemperate response only arouses suspicion.”
Alan Sked, Emeritus Professor of international history at LSE, said that “pig ignorant” academics with antiBrexit “political bias” were failing to uphold free speech. “[Universities have been] galvanised like Soviet universities were under the Soviet system – the whole academic force mobilising to come out in favour of the party line.
“You just have to rely on the good sense and intelligence of students who will stand up against the propaganda,” he added.