In September 2015, universities became subject to the legal duty to have due regard for the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism mandated by the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was tasked with regulating this duty, and institutions were required to submit policies […]
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‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ events face cancellations
The recent cancellation of a number of on-campus events slated to take place as part of ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ (IAW) appears to presage a significant change in the way institutions are dealing with the issue. A week-long program raising awareness of what its supporters see as ‘settler-colonialism’ in occupied Palestine, IAW activism has seen the […]
Continue readingStudent Rights at UCL
On Thursday 1st December, Elliot Miller, National Organiser at Student Rights, gave a workshop on challenging extremism on campuses to around 40 students at University College London (UCL). The hour-long session involved a presentation examining the varied forms of extreme or intolerant speakers and groups invited onto campuses, and a lengthy question and answer session. […]
Continue readingStudent arrest highlights the importance of safeguarding
On Friday 21st October, armed police arrested a 19 year old man after a suspect package was left on the Jubilee Line at North Greenwich Station. Described as a “loner”, the man has since been named as Damon Smith, and had enrolled a few weeks earlier at London Metropolitan University. Smith was shot with a […]
Continue readingStudent Rights in Brussels
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 readingThe Prevent Duty on Campus – Rupert Sutton speech
The issue of extremism on university campuses has been part of the public debate since the 7/7 attacks, and comes under new scrutiny every time an individual involved in violent extremism is found to have studied at a UK university. In 2011, the revised Prevent strategy declared there was “…unambiguous evidence” extremist organisations targeted specific […]
Continue readingThe Prevent Duty on Campus – Reflections on First Term Experiences
On 21st September, a new statutory duty for universities to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” came into force. This gave institutions a legal requirement to put policies in place to challenge on-campus radicalisation and guarantee compliance with the government’s Prevent strategy. While universities have broadly accepted […]
Continue readingMEND events promoted to students
With the general election fast approaching there have been several articles in recent weeks which have revealed attempts to gain political influence by organisations connected to extremists. This afternoon, an event at the University of Manchester will host one such group, as Yusuf Thai of Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) addresses students on Islamophobia. Meanwhile, […]
Continue readingNew measures take campus extremism seriously
The announcement today from the Home Secretary of new powers designed to challenge the ability of extremists to target students is welcome evidence that the issue is being taken seriously. A bill due to be published on Wednesday will mandate that universities, as well as schools and colleges, have policies in place to deal with […]
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