Yesterday, Student Rights’ director, Rupert Sutton, spoke in Brussels at an event, hosted by the European Policy Centre (EPC), which sought to address the issue of jihadist radicalisation in schools, universities, prisons and mosques. He was joined on the panel by Muhammad Manwar Ali, Chief Executive of JIMAS, Rodrigo Ballester, the European Commissioner for Education, […]
Continue readingMonthly Archives: June 2016
Anti-Muslim graffiti reported at University of Leicester
Following reports of an increased number of racist incidents across the UK in the wake of last week’s referendum result, students at the University of Leicester have reported disgraceful anti-Muslim graffiti. The Atheist, Humanist, and Secular (ASH) Society at the university posted a picture of a banner promoting an Eid festival which had been painted […]
Continue readingProtest against hate at the University of Oxford
Students at the University of Oxford took part in a spontaneous protest last week after several preachers set up a stall near their colleges claiming the victims of the Orlando shooting “deserved their fates because of who they were”. The events followed the murder of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on […]
Continue readingIndependent: NUS president Malia Bouattia suggests education cuts cause young people to join terror groups in Syria
The controversial new National Union of Students president has suggested Government cuts to education could be to blame for a rise in young people joining terror groups in Syria. Speaking during a debate at University College London, Malia Bouattia, 28, said the “political climate which we’re in” is causing people to take “certain actions and […]
Continue readingThe Prevent Guidance: Preventing extremism or promoting prejudice?
On Wednesday, Student Rights attended an event called ‘The Prevent Guidance: Preventing extremism or promoting prejudice?’ at University College London (UCL) which was co-hosted by the law firm Bindmans. With a balanced panel and independent moderator in the form of David Anderson QC, the event was a rare example of a robust debate on Prevent […]
Continue readingStudents Not Suspects Conference: Myths and Scaremongering
As well as hosting extreme groups at its conference last week, the NUS-led ‘Students Not Suspects‘ campaign also continued to spread inflammatory misinformation about Prevent. These myths include the notion that Prevent is racist and Islamophobic, that is being used to spy on service users, and that it is aimed at shutting down anti-government activism. […]
Continue readingStudents Not Suspects Conference: Campaigning with Extremists
Founded last summer, the ‘Students Not Suspects‘ campaign has now spent an academic year working to undermine Prevent, the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, on university campuses. While students should of course be free to oppose and challenge policy, Student Rights has repeatedly criticised the campaign, which is led by high profile National Union of Students (NUS) […]
Continue readingKingston VC’s comments on Prevent ignore the evidence
Professor Julius Weinberg, vice chancellor of Kingston University, has said university heads are “under a lot of pressure” not to criticise the government’s counter-radicalisation measures, collectively known as the Prevent strategy. Speaking at the University and College Union (UCU) congress in Liverpool last week, Mr Weinberg expressed his concerns Prevent might inhibit free speech and […]
Continue readingStudent campaign continues to undermine Prevent
Over the past academic year, Student Rights has frequently criticised the ‘Students Not Suspects’ campaign which has toured campuses calling on students to undermine the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent. Led by officials at the National Union of Students (NUS), the campaign has repeatedly spread misinformation and false claims about Prevent, some of which risk scaring […]
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