College campuses are increasingly polarized: experts

Experts say college campuses are increasingly polarized, with academics afraid to speak out and university leaders trying to protect staff from internet trolls.

Debates over campus free speech and academic freedom erupted in August 2018, when Don Brash was initially prevented from speaking at Massey University and then, in 2021, when seven University of Auckland professors signed a letter about Mātauranga Māori in the NCEA science curriculum.

And all of this has exploded at Wellington’s Te Herenga-Waka Victoria University in recent weeks.

Dr Michael Johnston, a senior member of the free market think tank New Zealand Initiative, is part of a panel on free speech on the Victoria University campus that was originally postponed due to a backlash over the lack of Diversity and the perception of the right. panel tilts, including it.

The university said it reworked and added a diversity of panelists to the event after hearing feedback from staff and student groups.

It will be split into two groups, with a range of advocates and academics, will take place in a conference room and will be moderated by RNZ’s Corin Dann.

Johnston, a former academic and associate dean of education at the university, said it is an example of how campuses are becoming increasingly polarized.

“The best way out of this is to share and dispute ideas freely and openly – that’s what the university is supposed to be a place for, and we shouldn’t want to limit that in any way.”

He said the university’s response to Mātauranga Māori’s letter published in the Listener in 2021, and a review by the University of Canterbury of a paper by Chinese academic Anne-Marie Brady, were two examples from the recent past.

Concerns about free speech were not limited to Victoria University.

The University of Canterbury was currently reviewing its policy on academic freedom, which law professor Ursula Cheer said was the subject of intense debate.

“It’s certainly the case that universities are making policies around academic freedom and trying to guide them. Which I don’t think complies with the law and it’s worrying, it’s very worrying.

“I certainly think there is an atmosphere in universities where academics are increasingly afraid to talk about certain topics.”

He said the Education and Training Act enshrines academic freedom in tertiary institutions within it, specifically that academic staff and students can question and test received wisdom, present new ideas or express uncontroversial or unpopular opinions within the law. .

Professor Nic Smith, vice-chancellor of Victoria University, was consulting staff and students on a set of principles around public discourse discussions and the presentation of alternative views on campus.

These principles included that conversations should be respectful, mana-preserving, and evidence-based, and that the content of conversations should align with the universities’ values.

Johnston said the principle seeking to limit campus debate to the university’s values ​​could shut down discourse.

But Smith said that was not the intention and that he was trying to protect speaking staff from those who attack them, including internet trolls.

“My hope is that we can truly embrace and support each other in uncomfortable and challenging conversations.”

He said most organizations support conversations being conducted in accordance with their values, which include respect, responsibility, fairness, integrity and empathy.

But he also emphasized that conversations must be evidence-based and that not “anyone and everyone” can speak at the university.

“If we want to have the flat earthers, they can turn to what we used to call Twitter.”

ACT leader David Seymour said the Education and Training Act was not working effectively enough if a free speech debate was postponed due to the presence of right-wing voices.

He said the Education and Training Act will be amended over the next two years to require universities to adopt a free speech policy if they want to receive government funding.

He hoped universities would adopt a model similar to that of the University of Chicago.

“It should be very clear that people can express opinions that others may not like, but claims of emotional harm and emotional safety are not sufficient reasons to stop someone from speaking.”

Smith said he did not want the government’s policy to have a chilling effect on academics or students who have nuanced opinions or who change their minds.

“In universities it’s really important that we can support our academics, that we can support the experts, that we can support the intermediaries who can bring context, nuance and evidence to these discussions so that they are participants.

“And we don’t just end up with polarized extremes shouting at each other from what each claims to be the moral high ground.”

But Johnston said controversial, even dangerous, ideas must be confronted.

“You raise your hand at question time and you get stuck. We need to have a stronger culture for the exchange and discussion of ideas. I think that’s what’s new: that it now seems to be a controversial idea in itself.”

The issues will be discussed at Victoria University’s event, titled ‘The role of universities in supporting freedom of expression’, on 28 May.