This week, tens of thousands of students will begin at university. Yet rather than the pleasure of university, the focus is once again on the dangers posed by the presence of radical speakers on British campuses. New steps are needed to strike the right balance between freedom of expression, and safeguarding young minds from extremism. […]
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Mitigating the Risks? Compliance with the Prevent Duty on Campus
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 […]
Continue readingFriends of al-Aqsa at the FOSIS Palestine Conference
On Saturday 4th March, Friends of al-Aqsa and the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) co-hosted the annual FOSIS Palestine Conference at University College London (UCL). The conference aimed to mark 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, in which the British government promised to work towards the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, […]
Continue reading‘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 readingStudents discuss extremism at York University
On Tuesday, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, was hosted by the York University Conservative Association as he gave a lecture on extremism and the Prevent Strategy at the university. Elliot examined many of the complaints from students about Prevent, seeking to debunk misunderstandings and make the case for Prevent when it comes to extremist […]
Continue readingStudent Rights on-campus at the University of Hull
Last Wednesday, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Eliot Miller, gave a presentation on extremist speakers and the Prevent Duty at the University of Hull. The talk was hosted by the university Secularist, Atheist and Humanist Society (HUSAH), which champions free-thinking, and examined many of the complaints from students about Prevent in an attempt to debunk the […]
Continue readingFriends of al-Aqsa and campus activism
Since the start of the 2016-17 academic year, Student Rights has seen a concerted attempt by Friends of al-Aqsa to target students across the UK. In November, the group used Twitter to target student societies at 39 universities, promoting its ‘Hands off al-Aqsa’ campaign, and has since been advertising volunteer days to student activists. These […]
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 Rights on campus
Last week, Student Rights’ National Organiser, Elliot Miller, gave on-campus presentations in Exeter and Leeds focusing on challenging extremism and opening up debate on the Prevent duty. On 23rd November, Miller gave a presentation focused on the myths and realities of the Prevent duty at the University of Exeter Atheist, Humanist and Secular Society (AHS). […]
Continue readingStudent Voice: Let’s have an honest discussion about Prevent
Last month, University of Warwick student, Phoebe Davies-Owen, attended a conference addressing the Prevent duty in universities. Here, she gives her take on the one-sided message being spread by the attendees, and the difficulties she faced when attempting to challenge the claims of the anti-Prevent lobby. All views are her own, and do not necessarily […]
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