You remember Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s free speech event was postponed earlier in the year? Apparently to help make sure the discussion included a cross-section of balanced and representative views.
Was it really? We went looking to find out. Young ACT Wellington went through a large OIA we got back from the university.
Remember how originally it was about student backlash and concern, and how students were freaked out by an unbalanced panel? Well, based on what we read, there seems to not be much in the way of concerns from students behind the postponement. The inference of the effect that concerns of students had on the event were greatly exaggerated. So when the President of the Students’ Association, Marcail Parkinson, went on the radio, it seems she was acting more as a spokesperson in defense of the university than any representative of the students.
Instead, it seems that the university was heavily influenced by a set of staff and academics with the primary aim of having a go at views and people they don’t like. Some of the emails read like an echo chamber of prejudice. Some even went as far as to be critical about the race or gender of the invitees!
Guidelines were drawn up and evidence was asked for to back up claims made about the views and actions of some of the invitees. The university was fully willing to disqualify those invited. But even for the most so-called controversial figure there, Jonathan Ayling, nothing came up to cause the university to disqualify him from the panel. Considering this, is it easy to see why the university thought the event needed pausing and reconsideration.
“Once again, it turned out to simply be a case of the university establishment forgetting the community they serve and failing to consider the values on which their institution was founded” says James Sales, President of Young ACT Wellington.
Victoria University was founded on the idea of higher education, which includes being able to be inquisitive. None of us might be 100% correct, but from talking, maybe we can come to a better understanding of the truth and make both of our arguments better.
Unfortunately, with so many members of the university establishment being unable to separate the argument from the person, not willing to engage with opposing ideas, and the evidential proximity these activists have to the ears of the university leadership, some might say that this fundamentally undermines the university’s character as an institute of higher learning.
Luckily, we have people on campus all over the nation who don’t want to be rammed into a basket, to be told who we are and how to think and act. After all, everything we take for granted now as being mainstream was once an unpopular opinion. And we must let the universities know this.
Young ACT believes that all students must be free to act according to our own judgments so long as we respect the freedom of others. This includes being able to responsibly listen to ideas with an open mind and respectfully challenging them without own instead of drowning them out.
Admittedly, it shows a sorry state of affairs if a free speech policy must be legislated. So how long until Victoria University of Wellington follows the lead of Otago University, and establishes a strong and confident statement on free speech?
Click here to join our petition to Demand Free Speech on Campus https://youngact.org.nz/free-speech/