Now, Now, You Know That's Not The Purpose Of These Investigations...

This month, the university announced it would open a fresh investigation after it said it received “new information” about Arday’s qualifications and career.Other elements of Arday’s life story were increasingly questioned, including claims of prodigious money-raising for charity and feats of long-distance running. He was also challenged about whether he was nonverbal until the age of 11, as well as being illiterate until 18. It is understood Cambridge has paused the investigation while Arday’s family are grieving, and will consider whether to reopen it in due course.

Is there much point now?  

Prof Simon Baron-Cohen, Arday’s friend and former colleague, told Times Radio he thought the university should proceed with the investigation. “We should see what we learn from it. This is the whole purpose of investigations,” he said.

Oh Simon, how naive! The purpose of them is to exonerate the people who made the errors in the first place.  The people who employed and lauded this liar and fantascist and published his every utterance when a moment's reflection should have had them scratching their head at the implausibility of it.

Andy Burnham, the prime minister, described Arday’s death as a “tragedy on so many levels” and urged a “moment of reflection”.

Yes, that's needed, a moment to reflect on the cancer of identity politics and the ruin they have made of all aspects of life, but particularly further education and the arts. But I doubt that's what he meant.

The vigil was organised by Arday's postdoctoral students and was held on Sunday afternoon. Kahn added: "Hold your friends close and know that we stand strong because we stand together. "Now, there is a time for anger, of justifiable anger, and that time will come - but today is not that day. "Today is about celebrating the life of a brilliant man, Professor Jason Arday. "Today we share the ways Jason made a difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us."

It seems it would suit some people to declare this man Britain's George Floyd, for racial reasons. 

She said there would be a "promise to seek justice" for him. Another student told the crowd: "Racism did this."

Is there no one who will stand up to the racial grievance industry that's being incubated in our halls of learning?  

Ironically, The Only Thing About Him That Isn't Suspicious....

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: 'Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3.12pm on Friday, August 14, following a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property. 

'Sadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by officers. 'At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.'

After days of questions from all quarters, he said: 'There comes a point when the personal cost becomes too great. I have a family. I want to be present for them.'

Guess he lied about that too. 

The message that the usual suspects want to get out is not that he was a DEI hire from the get-go and that the questions asked were relevant, but that the 'racist' white establishment is responsible for his death. 

Arday’s family said in a statement: “Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.

“We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son. 

“We won’t comment further at this point beyond asking the press to leave us alone now, and to stop the campaign of harassment which has been waged against Jason and his family for too long.”

Every inveterate race hustler is coming forward now to (literally) flog their dead horse before the spavined nag's body is even cold: 

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m devastated for the family and friends of Jason Arday. He faced an unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse. I know many Londoners will be angry and upset this evening. “Jason Arday was the victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn’t have faced. His death was a tragedy, but once again it should be a wake-up call for all of us.”

What are we supposed to 'wake up to', Khan? The practice of tokenism and identity politics that led to this?

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Professor of Black Studies Kehinde Andrews and friend of Arday described him as "very down" after resigning from Cambridge. "He was very upset. He felt that there was no way out. He effectively wasn't leaving the house. He had lost a lost of weight," Andrews said. "There should be a wakeup call to just how bad black academics actually have it in academia," he added.

Yes, very bad, I'm sure. And the undeserved lionisation of this inadequate fantasist and liar will have made things much more difficult for them, as Longrider points out.

Ahh, Technology...

 

And it seems Matt knows it's drawbacks well.

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

A pity he didn't major in American Literatute, he might have come across Mark Twain's wise words.

In 2023, the then 37-year-old sociologist became the youngest ever black professor at Cambridge.In a statement posted by the Good Law Project on Wednesday, Arday said that being appointed professor had been "without question, the greatest professional privilege of my life".

One it now looks like you didn't deserve and only got for one reason.

Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, who describes himself as an associate of Arday, told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday that he found "the whole thing regrettable". "From, I think, how he's been treated and the quite obtuse spotlight on him about his CV - career - at Cambridge University," he said. "I think it's also regrettable that there may be some untruths that have come out about his CV."

On Saturday, Arday told the Times in an interview that he was accountable for those mistakes, but that "what I am not is a liar".

Sounds like something a liar woud say... 

He told the newspaper: "There has been, since I arrived at Cambridge, a very well orchestrated and co-ordinated campaign to unseat me from my position." He suggested that this was "racially motivated" and that he had become a "lightning rod" for criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy. 

"Disability card?... That'll do nicely!"

Arday said some errors in his early academic work was because of his autism, as he relied on using mimicry to make sense of information, and that similar scrutiny would find similar errors in work by other academics.

Ah, the appeal to 'everyone does it!'...

"We're talking about academia here. I didn't murder somebody. I think the cruelty that I've experienced and the positioning of me as this kind of liar and fantasist is totally unacceptable," he told the newspaper.

Most of us think the elevation of a liar and fantasist to this position purely to tick a box is what's 'unacceptable' .

You’re not ‘Inspiring’ Anything Except Ridicule!

De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has become the first UK university to switch to rounded-tip knives in a bid to drive public safety. 

The organisation is exchanging all its pointed blades for safer alternatives to inspire more widespread adoption and reduce knife crime nationwide.

At first, I thought this was another AI 'joke', but a quick trip to the university website sadly disabused me of that hope. 

H/T: Prison Planet via Twitter

The Wackademics Are At It Again...

Exams and essay writing should be ditched because they unfairly favour white students, according to a report from an elite university. Birmingham University says the traditional methods of assessment are measures of ‘smartness based on white privilege’, adding that it is harder for students from ethnic minorities to do well.

It's harder for white men to play basketball, there was even a film about it, but I didn't see any universitoes worrying about that.. 

And in a commentary released with the report, Prof Sally Everett, from another renowned university – King’s College London – waxed lyrical about the ‘unearned advantages of being white’ and ‘the privileges of whiteness’ and advocated ‘decolonising assessment’. She claimed that traditional assessment methods ‘perpetuate systemic inequalities’ and suggested ‘low-stakes assessments’ such as ‘writing reflective journals’ should replace them.

The report concluded that assessment practices, such as in-person, timed exams or graded essays, should go because they are potentially ‘tools of exclusion’. It said these ‘marginalise knowledge’ and devalue skills from ‘non-Western traditions’.

Unfortunatly, those lead to skills like performing under pressure and timekeeping that Western businesses prize in their employees, so where are you expecting yout alumni to get jobs? Or doesn't that matter to you?  

But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said he was ‘saddened to see academic integrity being brought into disrepute in this way’.

Bit late to the party aren't you, Chris? The devaluing started long, long ago and has reached critical mass now, as David Thompson has repeatedly pointed out. 

A University of Birmingham spokesman defended the project as ‘a product of academically rigorous research and discussions with academics within and outside of Birmingham Business School’. 

‘This report from colleagues in the business school suggests a range of actions that may help students understand and explore those different perspectives.’ 

‘Birmingham Business School is a global business school educating students who come from all over the world. Understanding the world from multiple perspectives is a critical skill that we teach our future business leaders.’

Which rather explaines why the quality of world business leaders has been going downhill for years, doersn't it?  

Can They Really, Mayor Brett?

'Tonight our Providence neighbors can breathe a little easier,' Mayor Brett Smiley said at a news conference Thursday night.

I don't think so, somehow....the police hunt for this lunatic has been characterised by the sort of Keystone Kops performance we've come to expect this side of the pond. 

Indeed, if not for the help of the public, they’d still be in the dark. 

Authorities had earlier said they had identified the shadowy figure caught on surveillance footage near the scene of Saturday's shooting, whose face they had been attempting to find with the help of grainy surveillance footage.

Even his own mother would be hard pressed to recognise him from that, so it’s astounding a civilian did… 

The gunman who killed two students at Brown University was found dead in a storage unit as it was revealed his main target was an MIT professor he shot dead in Boston. The suspect - 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente - was revealed to be a Portuguese national who studied at the Ivy League school in Rhode Island more than 20 years ago. After being on the lam for days, his eventual demise stemmed from a Reddit post that flagged his suspicious activity outside the Providence campus.

It was unclear what the shooter's motive was or what his relationship with Loureiro had been.

No doubt we’ll find out in due course. 

But I Bet All Their DEI Policies Were Spot On...

An investigation was launched and it emerged that there had been a catastrophic series of administrative errors. Ethan, who was studying geography, should actually have been awarded a 2:1.

This was the sad case of a student who, being told he’d failed in error, killed himself. And really, you have to wonder how someone so emotionally fragile was going to survive in the world as it is these days. 

But the further you read into it the worse the university’s behaviour seems… 

'How could no one have noticed?' asks his mother. 'How did no one care? 'Ethan fell through the cracks in this system and he can't be the only one.'

The coroner agrees:  

An internal report, written by Professor Jill Morrison, pinpointed where mistakes had been made. She concluded that this was a 'systemic' problem, rather than an error by an individual.

But the University tskes a cue from Politicians and Police these days; simply lie and deny. 

Glasgow University has since apologised to the family, saying: 'We are profoundly sorry that this terrible event occurred and understand the deep distress it has caused.' It also insisted that the error in relation to Ethan's marks was an 'isolated one and that no other students have been affected'.

Daring anyone to prove them wrong, which is remarkably easy: 

Tracy is outraged. 'Did they forget we have read the internal report? You don't need a degree to know that a 'systemic problem' is a big deal.' The report makes for devasting reading.

Sadly, this is wasted effort, because modern universities don't care about being competent at the business of running a university, it's no longer what they strive to be good at. Their administration may be shit, but their empty virtue signalling - the real purpose of many universities these days - is always spot on and has all the resources it needs to be on top of the 'job'. 

It’s OK Gaby, The Ones Smart Enough To Not Believe This Are Doing Just Fine…

Young people in line for good degrees from good Russell Group universities, who have for years obediently jumped through every hoop provided, are working in bars, going travelling, or despondently applying to companies that they know use AI not only to sift their CVs, but sometimes to conduct first interviews.Meanwhile LinkedIn – and yes, students have all been on LinkedIn for years – only feeds the gnawing fear that other people seemingly have their futures much more sorted, just as Instagram used to feed their teenage anxieties about who was going to all the parties.

Oh, weep! Weep for the students!  

Last year’s Institute of Student Employers recruitment survey recorded a ratio of 140 applications for every graduate job. Part of the reason for that deluge of applicants is perhaps because kids who suspect their forms won’t be read by humans anyway are using ChatGPT to fill in and fire them off en masse, to the point where AI is in effect talking to AI.

Well, the way things are going that’s a good grounding for the future work they will be taking up! 

It’s the betrayal that hurts. We drilled it into them that if they worked hard at school and made it into university then the world could be their oyster, but our stagnant economy just hasn’t generated enough graduate-level jobs to match – especially outside London, where we have simultaneously managed to ensure most of them can’t actually afford to live.

Well, the ones that saw this coming and took up a trade instead of a useless degree in grievance studies are earning a good living now. They were smart enough not to believe the hype.  

We can’t keep doing this to young people and then be surprised when they’re angry. If we keep whipping them through the education system on the promise their efforts will be rewarded, and then fail to deliver, sooner or later, the consequences will boomerang back on us.

What consequences will those be? More overqualified baristas in Starbucks?

Who Says University Won't Learn Ya Nuthin'..?

You'll never guess....

Alligators are armored apex predators, with railroad-spike teeth and a bite force without peer in today's world. They have survived for millions of years almost entirely unchanged, because they are the perfect killing machine and absolutely dominant in their environment.

So, how can we, rather soft, squishy humans, avoid being the target of one of these monstrous beets? (sic) Well, fortunately for us, a study from the University of Florida has the answer for reducing our risk of alligator attack:

Stay away from alligators.

 Well, I never! 

H/T: The Jannie via email

“Give Us More Money So We Can…Make Efficiency Savings!”

Some universities will need financial support to deliver the efficiencies that the government wants them to make, a report on higher education reform is expected to say.

Ha ha ha ha ha! You have GOT to be kidding!  

The recommendations are expected in an upcoming report on major higher education reform, set up after the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called for “real change from the sector” last year, and that will be shared with the government once finished. Sir Nigel Carrington, who was appointed to lead a task force focusing on university efficiency by Universities UK, told PoliticsHome that there would likely be proposals in the report around a “transformation fund or other financial assistance”.

No, I don't think even Labour are going to be daft enough to fall for that one! 

"Probably there will be some proposals in our report around which some sort of Transformation Fund or other financial assistance in a very targeted way would be helpful," Carrington said. He told PoliticsHome: “It’s pretty self-evident that if institutions are running deficits and have pretty much exhausted their borrowing lines, then significant structural change is not deliverable because they don’t have the resources to deliver it.”

Funny, they always seem to have plenty of resources to squander on other things... 

And So They Should

This would lead, seven months later, to her suspension from medical school for a year, after she was found to have violated the medical school’s standard of “professional conduct”.

And hopeefully, under the new Trump regime, her expulsion from the country too. 

Back at Emory, Brown, Mohammad’s doctoral adviser, said she was proud of her student. “She’s doing what she’s supposed to do – holding her field accountable to its stated ideals,” Brown said, adding: “She will be Dr Mohammad, one way or the other.”

So she can continue her chosen policy of advocating for terrorist movements? Well, if ICE do boot her out, I suppose there's always Australia.  

And What Exactly Are ‘The Values Of The Royal Society'..?

A leading scientist at the University of Oxford has resigned from the UK’s national academy of sciences over concerns about Elon Musk’s continuing fellowship. Prof Dorothy Bishop, emeritus professor of developmental neuropsychology and a leading expert on children’s communication disorders, said she handed back her fellowship of the Royal Society last week.

Oh. Well, bit long in the tooth for a strop like a toddler denied a lollipop befor dinner, aren't you? 

Bishop told the Guardian her move was a gut reaction, adding she had met the president and the chief executive after indicating her decision to resign, who stressed the need to follow due process over Musk. “I just started to think, you know, the Royal Society seemed to be set up to make it very, very difficult to ever get somebody to resign or to actually get thrown out, and given all I know about Musk, it felt grubby, to be honest,” she said.

We aren't told what it is she 'knows about Musk' but what she says reveals a great deal about her...

“It just felt having him in the Royal Society seemed such a contradiction of all the values of the Royal Society. And I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it.”

The values of the Royal Society? Doesn't it honour entrepreneurs and showmen then? I mean, it honoured Michael Palin, and all he does is take holidays with BBC licencepayer money.

Bishop also pointed to the Royal Society’s code of conduct, which stresses the need for fellows to treat each other with courtesy. “What I said to them was, I’m not going to be polite and nice to Elon Musk I’m afraid, so I can’t keep to the code of conduct,” she said.

Imagine being a lady of a certain age, and admitting that you have no social graces and self control? 

Proof – As If We Needed More – That The Wrong People Are Attending University

The parents of a student who killed herself after receiving inaccurate exam results are calling for universities to provide better support.

What? How exactly are universities to anticipate some snowflake topping herself over something so trivial...except, perhaps, by better screening of the people they let in? 

Mared Foulkes, from Anglesey, received an email in July 2020 saying that she had failed an assessment and could not progress to her third year – even though she had already re-sat it and passed.

Did she know she'd passed on the retake? The article doesn't make it clear. 

Mared’s family want to see a change in the law on how universities support students with mental health issues, and how they communicate with the families of students.

Mared’s mother, Iona Foulkes, said: “She came home that evening from work and we had a normal family meal.

“Then she decided she wanted to make a cheesecake and said she was going to the local supermarket and asked if I wanted anything.

"She took the car keys and left.”

Two police officers visited the house later that evening to tell her family that she had died.

How this could have been forseen by the university, if the family didn't suss it out, is anyone's guess.  

"She had worked so hard at her course," her mother added. "She had her heart set on becoming a pharmacist from a young age. She had done voluntary work in a hospital in the Philippines and been accepted to study in China.

“To be informed that you have failed two years of study and you couldn’t progress – it must have been horrific.

“You are talking about a 21-year-old, a young person getting this information.

Did she expect to go through life never encountering disappointment? If so, her family failed her.  

“It is a tragedy which should never have happened. It shouldn’t be. Something needs to change – quickly – before more families have to endure what we have to live with for the rest of our lives.”

Well, we could mandate mental health assessment before attendance? 

Nine months before Mared died, she had visited the university’s support services to discuss her mental health, but her family did not find out until a year after her death.

They had no idea? It's not like the university could breach her confidentiality and tell them, is it?  

Are We Allowing The Wrong People To Attend University?

Oxford University has been hit by a second sudden student death - just days after news of a tormented student killing himself made headlines. Neuroscience PHD student Cal Shearer, 25, who is said to have 'radiated warmth to all those around them', was found hanged in digs at St John's College in the city on October 30.

Oh, if only there had been some warning? 

Caring Cal, who was autistic and transgender, volunteered talking to callers to The Samaritans helpline, but privately battled with their own mental health struggles.

Truly, the blind leading the blind! What sort of parents produced this disaster, I wonder? 

Cal's parents, former Fast Show actor Paul Shearer and former former children's TV presenter turned actress and film producer Vicky Licorish are understood to have been left devastated - as is longtime family friend, acclaimed author Jeanette Winterson.

Aha! I suspect this is a clue... 

Imogen, Cal's long term friend, then partner and, last year, wife never left their side. 'Now working for the NHS, Imogen tried to secure Cal the right treatment for this all too prevalent but not yet understood crisis of suicides amongst autistic people identifying as trans.'

I think it's perfectly understood - unstable people do unstable things. I'll reserve my sympathy in her case, as I don't think anything of value was lost, unlike other cases:  

Alexander Rogers, known as Xander, found himself frozen out by his social circle after he had sex with a female friend who told other male students she had felt 'discomfort' about the encounter, a coroner heard. Despite having no intentions of reporting the incident, two male friends confronted the third year student, telling Alexander he had 'messed up' and they 'needed space from him'. The next day, the undergraduate jumped into the River Thames from Donnington Bridge and died from serious head injuries.

Poor guy should have realised his chosen 'social circle' weren't real friends at all, and he was well rid of them.  

The Department of Education has since been urged by coroner Nicholas Graham to review the 'cancel culture' phenomenon sweeping across university campuses in the UK.

What are they supposed to do about it?  

“We’ve been working hard at wanting to create the most diverse classes possible…”

There's really only one question: Why?

Since the US supreme court banned affirmative action in college admissions in June 2023, US colleges and universities have grappled with how to boost campus diversity amid recent, troubling data. The latest figures on US college admissions at some major universities have shown drops in Black, Latino and Indigenous first-year enrollment.

And why is this an issue? Given the regular reports of how admission of these demographics are changing univercity life provided by the indefatigable David Thompson, why is it seen as a problem to be solved? 

Following the supreme court decision, as a means to encourage equity in the college admissions process, Carleton College, Occidental College, Virginia Tech and Wesleyan University have said they would no longer consider legacy status in admissions, a practice where a prospective student receives preference because of an alumna or alumnus relative.

...many still have legacy policies to maintain alumni relations, and to secure funding from alumni, despite research disputing that legacy admissions increase donations, said Richard Kahlenberg of the Progressive Policy Institute, a liberal thinktank.

Ah, I see the issue. It seems that long march through the institutions hasn't quite hung up its walking boots and put on its slippers yet... 

The majority of people with generational connections to a university are wealthy and white, said Julie Park, a professor of education at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Oh, heavens! Undesirables!  

Schools need to examine other parts of the application process that can create unfair advantages, including use of standardized testing or putting significant weight on a student’s advanced placement (AP) classes, courses that are disproportionately unavailable to students of color, said Sarah Hinger, the deputy director of the Racial Justice Program at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Are schools affirmatively reaching all communities where there may be students who would be strong candidates for their school and enrich their student body?” she asked. “Are they using entry requirements that unnecessarily and unfairly exclude opportunity? For example, AP courses or even calculus may end up providing a skewed assessment of a student’s capability.”

Universities as we knew them are doomed, aren't they? 

Should Have Been A Bit More Philosophical About It, Then...

Michael O’Neill, defending, told the court: ‘He is clearly an intelligent man.

‘I am instructed to move for bail. He is a man without any previous convictions and studies philosophy at university.’

Probably shouldn't have lost his temper at missing his train and shoved a woman onto the tracks then, should he?

Sheriff McCormick said: ‘You pushed a railway worker on to tracks at Queen Street station during a busy commuting time.

‘Standing the gravity and nature of the offence, it is unlikely there will be an alternative to custody.’

Why are you even looking for one? You should be looking at how you can recommend deportation back to the States.

She told him that the train had gone and he shouted: “Don’t you come near me, you made me miss my train.

“Don’t look at me you scumbag c***.”

Not the sort of foreign student we need more of here. What could have prompted such a vicious assault? Is there a clue in other, earlier news reports? 

A woman has been accused of pushing a railway worker on to train tracks.

Cheyenne Naeb, 26, allegedly assaulted the woman at Glasgow’s Queen Street station on February 1, 2023.

Court papers state Naeb, of Dundee, initially behaved in a threatening or abusive manner 

It is claimed that she shouted, swore and acted in aggressive manner. 

A mistaken report? Or another loco transgender suspect?

Who’s A Clever Boy Then?

A man who was denied his graduation for 41 years because of an unpaid bill of £64.80 relating to a parrot has finally donned his cap and gown on the same day as his son.

Jonny Clothier studied architecture at the University of Bristol and was meant to graduate with his peers in 1983. But his old flatmate had a parrot which, after being left unsupervised, had free run of their university accommodation and was said to have wrecked the place. The students found alternative housing but still had to settle the final term’s rent of £64.80, which Clothier refused to pay. A long-since abolished rule meant that students with unpaid accommodation bills were awarded degrees but were not allowed to graduate.

But now they've waived the bill. Is he grateful? Reader, what do you think?

Clothier, 62, who lives in Petersfield, Hampshire, said he viewed the unpaid bill as an “ultra-long-term, interest-free loan”. “They haven’t mentioned the money, so I’m keeping quiet,” he said. It means Clothier, his wife Helen Hill, 60, and their three children have all graduated from the University of Bristol.

Thanks for letting future employers know you can’t be trusted, Jonny!  

Clothier left architecture and also went to work in TV, as a director and executive producer, but has since returned to his former subject and is building a contemporary net-zero treehouse in the Forest of Dean.

At this point, I’m rolling my eyes pretty hard…but there’s more! 

Their eldest son, Quito, graduated with a degree in music in 2020. He is an operatic tenor in London and works as an art dealer specialising in the work of Banksy.

Gosh, his workday must be action-packed. 

The couple’s daughter, Tiger, graduated in law in 2023 and was a ski instructor in Japan before embarking on a career in marketing.

Is there no beginning to the achievements of this family? 

Carter, who is looking for a career in sustainability having recently represented England at lacrosse in Portugal, said: “It’s definitely a unique experience graduating with your dad, but it was an amazing day and a beautiful ceremony.”

The entire family should get a group ticket for that ‘B’ Ark…. 

If You Need More Proof That Islam Is Incompatible With Modern British Society...

...then just read the 'defence' put forward by the named Palestinian priestor in the Birmingham University eviction case: 

Muslim British-Pakistani student Mariyah Ali, 20, from Walsall, the only named defendant in the Birmingham case, said the legal action was a 'censoring tactic'.

She also claimed it amounted to discrimination against the 'manifestation' of her religious and philosophical beliefs.

Well, you know what you can do with your 'philosophical beliefs' that crying when your terrorist chums get their arses kicked is A-OK, don't you? 

Because the British legal system said 'No thanks, we'll have none of that here', thankfully.  

In two written rulings yesterday, Mr Justice Johnson granted the orders and concluded that protesters had 'no real prospect' of showing that the universities had breached their duties or that an order would be incompatible with their human rights.

He said there were 'many other ways' activists could exercise their right to protest without occupying land, concluding that protesters were trespassing.

Would that they could order your removal from the country, and not just the university grounds...

Naturally the leeches continue to suckle from this tasty feast: 

Oliver Edwards, a solicitor for Hodge Jones & Allen, which represented Ms Ali, said: 'Naturally my client is disheartened by this judgment, but she remains committed to her cause.'

He said the firm is considering appealing the judgement.

Who's bankrolling this? I do hope it's not the British taxpayer. 

Oh, Edward, If Only That Were True...

Edward Skidelsky – director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, academics fighting to maintain free expression on campuses – said: 'It's extraordinary that in 21st century Britain eavesdroppers can be rewarded, and a student punished for remarks made to a friend in the privacy of his room.

If it was true, we'd not see an organisation like yours so busy, would we?

At the time of the complaint, Mr Ivinson – who had just started his first year of a philosophy degree – was alone with the door closed. Mr Ivinson, who is 6ft 5in with a deep intonation, said his voice often carried without him realising. When an officer from the university's estate patrol banged on his door to tell him his female neighbour had complained, the mature student was shaken. 'It was like the Stasi had come to my door,' he said. 'He stuck his foot in my door and said you've been saying some very offensive things.'

To whom? Was he on the phone or talking to himself? 

Mr Ivinson was called to a disciplinary hearing and grilled by university officials.

Why did he attend? The thing to do with kangaroo courts is to ignore them!  

He told The Mail on Sunday: 'The first thing they read out was that I had said veganism is wrong. I couldn't believe it – I thought I was mishearing them. I asked them to repeat it three or four times because I didn't believe I was sitting there for saying that veganism is wrong.' He says he made the comments about gender fluidity and veganism, but maintains other statements he was alleged to have made had been misheard, such as that President Assad of Syria was 'a good guy'. He says he stated the dictator was 'not a good guy'.He also denies saying 'people should not parade their sexuality in a gay bar'.

I suspect it's not the veganism comment that landed him before Exeter's Star Chamber, but the gender one.  

He says he apologised to the officials for the disturbance but maintained his right to speak freely in his own room. 'I was totally private apart from that someone heard me through a brick wall.' Mr Ivinson attempted to challenge the decision by Exeter – a member of the prestigious Russell Group of top universities – but says that this was batted down.

How? They must have a process, did he meet its conditions, or not? There's a lot missing from this account.  

Exeter University was approached for comment but did not respond.

Maybe they did comment, but in the privacy of their own rooms and no-one overheard?