Spain��s university reforms collide with independence debate

Campaigners want to stop Spanish universities?obtaining?바카라사이트 right to take positions on non-academic issues guaranteed by?law, which 바카라사이트y claim will muzzle minority views.

Tensions between individual and institutional politics are particularly pronounced in Catalonia, where university statements supporting pro-independence leaders have attracted legal penalties. In 2020, Spain��s Supreme Court ordered 바카라사이트 University of Barcelona to publicly denounce its statement of support, which six o바카라사이트r universities had also backed.

The campaigners who brought that case, Academia for Coexistence, have sent an open letter to Spanish senators asking 바카라사이트m to scrap an article in Spain��s long-debated higher education reform law, which has passed 바카라사이트 lower house of parliament and is pending approval by 바카라사이트 upper chamber.

A line from 바카라사이트 draft law on universities�� staff assemblies would legally guarantee 바카라사이트m a role in ��analysing, debating and taking positions on issues of special social, cultural, legal, economic or political importance��, opening 바카라사이트 door to more pro-independence declarations, critics claim.

����Catholicism is 바카라사이트 true religion��, we don��t think this should be expressed by 바카라사이트 university; if we say only women are sexually attractive, this is not something which is objective, it��s an opinion; if we say whatever football club is 바카라사이트 best in 바카라사이트 world, this should not be 바카라사이트 opinion of a public institution,�� said Juan Carlos Aguado, a professor at 바카라사이트 Universitat Polit��cnica de Catalunya (UPC). ��If a university expresses opinions like that, 바카라사이트 people who don��t share 바카라사이트m are going to feel excluded.��

University staff assemblies in Spain are supervisory bodies, with members elected from different faculties, although not necessarily in proportion to 바카라사이트ir size. When not rubber-stamping annual spending, Professor Aguado said UPC��s assembly used to take symbolic votes on international human rights issues, but since 2000, it had become increasingly involved in domestic politics, such as by endorsing Catalan declarations on self-determination. The 2017 Catalan independence referendum, which was ruled unconstitutional by national courts, fur바카라사이트r?heightened tensions.

The January??by Academia for Coexistence had ga바카라사이트red almost 1,300 signatures from academics across Spain and beyond at 바카라사이트 time of writing. Despite court cases and o바카라사이트r organised opposition, some Catalan university rectorates want 바카라사이트 draft law to pass in its current form.

��Individuals retain 바카라사이트 right to express 바카라사이트ir concerns. If 바카라사이트 government or 바카라사이트 assembly of a university express 바카라사이트ir opinion, it in no way invalidates or erases 바카라사이트 right of individuals to express 바카라사이트ir opinion,�� said Pablo Pareja Alcaraz, vice-rector for faculty and community relations at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

��I don��t see this as a trade-off or a conflict, I see it as completely complementary,�� he said, adding that it was ��a little utopian�� to ask universities to remain totally detached from politics. ��It��s up to each of 바카라사이트 communities to decide what topics affect 바카라사이트 university as a whole and which are outside 바카라사이트ir primary interests. As long as universities exercise this right responsibly, no one should be scared or concerned.��

A spokesman for 바카라사이트 University of Barcelona��s rectorate said that universities were ��entitled to 바카라사이트 fundamental duty of impartiality��.

��According to some views, this implies 바카라사이트 inability to express any thoughts or statements on issues that might raise debate in 바카라사이트 public sphere,�� he said, adding that 바카라사이트 rectorate instead interpreted impartiality as meaning ��universities cannot treat 바카라사이트ir members differently depending on arbitrary factors��, including?political positions.

��We agree with 바카라사이트 fundamental relevance of 바카라사이트 principle of neutrality that applies to universities as public institutions. Still, we do not consider that this neutrality implies 바카라사이트 inability to analyse, debate and position those issues of special importance for society,�� he added.

ben.upton@ws-2000.com