An open letter calling for Mr Sullivan’s resignation has attracted signatures from activist Caroline Criado Perez, who campaigned for women to appear on bank notes, and the left-wing blogger Laurie Penny.
The letter, written by Sarah Pine, OUSU Vice President for Women, and Helena Dollimore, a second year history and politics student at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, called on Mr Sullivan to “step aside while still under investigation”. It went on: “Remaining in his presidency continues to offer prestige and power to someone who is being investigated for rape. This undermines the severe nature of allegations of sexual offences.
“The anger with which Oxford students have reacted, combined with speakers cancelling their appearances due to the controversy over his continued presence, means he should not remain in office.”It’s no surprise just who is leading this campaign, is it? What’s surprising is the number of (presumably sensible) people who are happy to go along with it:
Ms Meyer, who cancelled her talk on Friday, said: “I believe people are innocent until proven guilty, but I’ve decided to postpone my speech because they obviously have a lot going on over there.”How spineless of you. And how typical for these times.
Because this is yet another absurd demand from the likes of the ‘Oh noes, I can’t cope with real life, I must be protected!’ students who demand the ludicrous ‘trigger warning’ on literature and art.
And the more people keep giving in, instead of turning around and saying, firmly, ‘No. What you are demsnding is ludicrous and you are proving yourself an idiot by requesting it’, the more they will push for…
Ms Pine said: "We decided to organise the open letter and speaker boycott because we believe the current situation is untenable. It's not about making a pronouncement of innocence or guilt; but about the principle that whilst still under investigation for sexual offences, an individual should not remain in office. "But only for sexual offences? If it was shoplifting or murder, you wouldn’t worry?
Mr Sullivan is also being challenged from within the Oxford Union. He is fighting against calls for a vote of confidence led by from Union member Aleksy Gaj.
Mr Gaj, a second year politics, philosophy and economics student at St Benet’s Hall, said: “I believe it to be important to reestablish the tradition of free speech and debate whereby ordinary members have the power to impact the running of the union and change matters with which they disagree.”You talk of ‘traditions’ but then clearly show you haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about.
3 comments:
Reminds me of Booker's piece in the Telegraph today about groupthink and mindless hatred overcoming reason.
Re: The Trigger Warning
Madness compounded by insanity. Are academics supposed to be arbiters of taste? Life is inherently cruel, unfair and unpleasant, in parts. Are we to simply direct our students to images of fluffy bunnies and encourage them to tune out to ‘real life’ and the important issues raised thereof? Are we producing a generation of milk fed sops, or is this agenda being driven by a vocal minority of politically minded, dogma driven fools. Any student of mine asking for a ‘trigger warning’ would be politely told to bugger orf.
"Are we producing a generation of milk fed sops.."
Let's put it this way - all those Hollywood films where the hero stands up and give a speech to rally the common man imnto fighting man against the seemingly unstoppable foe?
I don't give much for his chances with this generation.
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