Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, Louise Richardson, has sparked controversy by claiming that ‘safe spaces’ are “crazy” and that universities should be places for open debate and free speech. Richardson argued that students should be exposed to ideas that they find uncomfortable and that universities should not be shielded from opposing views. She also expressed her belief that university students should be treated as adults and be able to think critically and stand up for their own beliefs. Some students have expressed disagreement with Richardson’s views, saying that safe spaces can be beneficial for certain students who may feel more comfortable in an environment free from potential threats.
Baron Patten of Barnes, the former governor of Hong Kong, said universities play an important role in promoting freedom of expression
Safe spaces on campus are “crazy,” said the Oxford University Chancellor.
Baron Patten of Barnes, the former governor of Hong Kong, said that freedom of expression is one of the “most important values” in an open society and that universities play a fundamental role in promoting it.
Intellectual “safe spaces” at universities are therefore “oxymorons,” he said, because they undermine their function as places where ideas can be discussed.
Asked about the repression of free speech on university campuses, he told the Oxford Student newspaper: “I’m an old-fashioned liberal and believe that freedom of expression and tolerance are one of the most important values in an open society.
“If universities are not bastions of free speech, then who will be? And it means that “no platforming,” a rather delicate expression, should be anathema.
“When there is intellectual talk about safe spaces at universities, it is crazy. It’s contradictory. That’s not what universities are about.”
He said that when he was a student at the university, his “moral tutor was a Marxist atheist,” while, “There was me, a Catholic scholar from a moderate-right, lower-middle-class family.”
He continued: “Did that ruin me? Did that surprise me? The truth is, I think one of the things you should learn in college is that an argument is not the same as an argument.
“And that a fight and people who have a different point of view than you don’t question your identity. They may have beliefs about your identity. And I hope what we do in a good university is give people the intellectual confidence and the ability to argue tolerantly with people who don’t agree with them.”
The former diplomat who prepared Hong Kong for independence also spoke about the city-state’s threatened freedoms since 2020 when Beijing tightened its grip.
Baron Patten said when the British left Hong Kong the country was “far from perfect” but “in pretty good shape”.
He told the newspaper that when the British left Hong Kong, a day officially marked by the Governor’s Flag Ceremony attended by Baron Patten alongside then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, the country was “by no means perfect” but “pretty good”. . Shape”.
“It had an extraordinary mix of economic and political freedom. It also had an excellent civil service that, unlike many others, was not politicized or corrupt,” he said.
He added: “What you have seen since under Xi Jinping is the vengeful and all-out attack on the freedoms people took for granted, whether it be freedom of assembly or freedom of speech, let alone the ability to choose who governs you. ”
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