#Right2Debate Campaign Challenges NUS No-platform

A student-run campaign called #Right2Debate has launched a movement in the UK criticising the National Union of Student’s (NUS) policy of no-platform which prevents people or organisations with racist or fascist views from receiving platforms to speak at NUS events or becoming NUS representatives.

The NUS no-platform list of banned organisations includes the British National Party, known for its far-right prejudiced views, and affiliates of the now banned Al-Muhajiroun Britain-based terrorist group. The no-platform ideal of a safe space has spread to different student unions and groups which the # Right2Debate campaign has said, “is starting to undermine some of the fundamental elements of university life: the right to engage, attend constructive debates, and express oneself freely as a student.”

The campaign focuses on, “the right to debate, as opposed to no-platforming, as a means to counter speakers who propagate divisive and intolerant narratives,” according to the movement statement on the campaign’s website. The campaign wants student unions to adopt new #Right2Debate policies that will allow them to express any issues they may have with speakers and organisations without banning them a platform completely and blocking educational and informative debate.

The students organising the campaign are working with Quilliam, “the world’s first counter-extremism think tank” as described on quilliamfoundation.org, and have created a petition to implement their #Right2Debate policy. The petition outlines their policy and how it would affect speakers, the planning of events, and rules for what can take place during events.

Unlike the current no-platform policy speakers with racist and prejudiced views will have a platform in front of university students which will allow for such views to be condemned and discussed in an academic environment. The #Right2Debate petition states, “this allows speakers who have not broken the law, but promote intolerance, to accept their invitation but have their narratives contested.”

The campaign supports the right to free speech which they believe is infringed upon by the NUS no-platform policy which protects students by creating “safe spaces”. The students are against the idea that their fellow university students need to be coddled in this way and treated as vulnerable to opposing ideas. They instead are trying to promote the main goal of higher education which is to acquire knowledge, even if this is achieved through disagreement with ideas that are contrary justice and equality.

The campaign calls on other students to approach NUS members and leaders to accept more open debate and support free speech on important issues. Instead of ignoring that racism and other forms of prejudice still exists the #Right2Debate campaign wants student unions to confront racism head-on so that prejudice against minorities, gender, and sexual orientation can be refuted by the academic community.

Mary Schlichte

These are not the views of OBV, but we would like to encourage a debate about these issues.