Hello and welcome!
We are here!
Welcome to the Student Academics for Academic Freedom’s (SAFAF) new substack. SAFAF is a network within AFAF, and we are signatories to the AFAF Statement of Academic Freedom.
‘We, the undersigned, believe the following two principles to be the foundation of academic freedom:
(1) that academics, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions, whether or not these are deemed offensive, and
(2) that academic institutions have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by members of their staff, or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.’
If you’d like to sign, please do so here - https://www.afaf.org.uk/afaf-statement/
We are Student Academics who fully support free speech and academic freedom on campus and beyond. HE institutions should teach us how to think and not what to think. We are committed to promoting free speech and speaking up for all those students who cannot do so. We are a diverse bunch of undergrads, postgrads, full-time, part-time, campus-based, or long-distance online learning. We are non-partisan and base our membership on respect and the ability to debate and discuss all issues. We don’t always agree with each other, and that's just fine by us; we welcome it; echo chambers are very boring and tend to lead nowhere.
Self-censorship among students is an increasingly worrying trend, with the vocal minority silencing the vast majority of students who wish to engage in debate, and discuss the issues of today, what we can learn from the past and how this impacts the future. Students are getting a bad rap, and we don’t believe it's fair to view us based on those who do not respect free speech and academic freedom. Our HE institutions are failing us, placing EDI awards and badges above our education. We are not children; we do not need to be treated with kid gloves and shielded from different points of view.
Institutional Neutrality should be the position of all HE institutions that want to promote free speech on campus. We call on all HE institutions in England to implement the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 by September 1st. We hope the new Labour Government will ensure it is implemented fully and that the Office of Students will work with institutions and students to ensure it works.
This Substack will share our members' views, opinions, and experiences regarding many pertinent issues we face today. We hope to bring various guests to the Substack over time. So, if you are a student and want to have your voice heard, join us! If you want to hear from students who practise critical thinking, please follow us here, on X or on Instagram.
X: @StudentAFAF
Instagram: @studentafaf
Contact SAFAF by email: StudentAFAF@protonmail.com
Thanks!
Heather McKee
SAFAF Convenor
Hi. Is this organisation focused just on universities or on schools, too? Frankly, it seems that many students have already learned to self-censor long before they even reach university.