On Wednesday afternoon in Parliament the Joint Committee on Human rights has invited two important people from the University of Sussex to speak about Freedom of Speech at Universities. They are Frida Gustafsson, President of the Students Union and Adam Tickell, Vice Chancellor. Their visit comes at a time when this subject has become front page news for all the wrong reasons. A week ago the Government launched the Office for Students (OfS) which in April will replace the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). According to a press release published after the launch, the OfS will champion the interests of students, promote choice and help to ensure that students are receiving a good deal for their investment in higher education. It will also hold universities to account over issues such as vice chancellor pay and free speech. The press release also announced some of those who will sit on the board which runs OfS. Along with 9 people whose names were not mentioned there will be 6 people who have just been appointed. The press release stated, “These appointments will not only reflect the diverse needs of the Higher Education sector but will also make sure the interests of employers and students are represented by the new body”

One of the names on the list was a student from Surrey University, who is the only student on the group of 15 people. An appalling start! The employers listed are also not very representative of the range of companies who employ students. However the press interest came due to the appointment of Toby Young who has no connection with the sector, is not an employer and whose only connection to student life relates to his own past. Since his graduation he has set a very poor record on the use of social media, writing some terrible things on twitter and as a journalist including some very offensive comments in his many articles. However unlike other people whose social media abuses prevent them from getting jobs, Toby is having his role protected by the big brother of the Minister who is championing ‘free speech’ in Universities. Toby and Boris Johnson are good friends, and Jo Johnson is the Minister who on Boxing Day announced that he intends to fine Universities who refuse to impose an open platform for speakers such as Germaine Greer and Peter Tatchell on their student union.

Parliament itself occasionally bans people from speaking on their premises, and they are still unclear if Donald Trump will be invited to speak there. The University of Sussex, like most Universities is a multi-layered organisation. The staff who run it under Adam’s leadership have a great deal of power and influence regarding what happens on the campus, however they cannot demand that students create a platform for people that the government wish to give a voice to. The premises belong to the institution, but around 70% of their income comes from students through tuition fees. Most of the balance comes from Government funding. One of the student groups at the University of Sussex that has just been relaunched after years in abeyance is the Tory Society, appointing Councillor Steve Bell as its President. If Jo Johnson and Toby Young chose to visit our city no doubt the Tory Society would welcome them both to speak. On the other hand the Students Union might decide that Young’s deeply sexist tweets were a good enough reason to ban him from speaking to them. However if a future Government of a different colour was to insist that Tony Blair was given a platform in all University based Tory Societies, I imagine that Steve Bell and the students would be quick to refuse to such a request. Tory Politicians are not always open to listening to voices they disapprove of, indeed on twitter they frequently block people who they want to prevent from reading their tweets. If they are going to demand free speech, then politicians like Jo and Boris Johnson need to give serious thought to who decides what it sounds like and where the limits are set.

I arrived in Sussex as a student, 40 years ago this year. The students at the University of Sussex used the campus to express their views, holding occupations and demanding changes to the way in which Universities were run, such as calling for overseas students to be treated fairly. One of the core organisers was Pete Silkin, President of the Union. His family happened to be part of the Government and so he had an easy way of being heard. Let us hope that the select committee listen just as carefully to Frida on Wednesday and allow her complete Freedom of Speech!