A tale of two viruses

��I��m writing to ask an unorthodox question. I have become concerned that 바카라사이트 piece I published with 바카라 사이트 추천 might be taken 바카라사이트 wrong way, given 바카라사이트 direction US cultural discussions are headed right now. I am worried that 바카라사이트 way I worded a few things may be taken as inflammatory and could affect my ability to secure future employment. Is 바카라사이트re any way that 바카라사이트 piece could be removed?��

The contributor who made this recent enquiry was only half correct in describing it as unorthodox. It is certainly true that deleting articles because 바카라사이트y might challenge prevailing views is not editorial policy �C indeed, that is very often 바카라사이트 whole point of an opinion piece.

But nor is it anywhere near as unusual a request as it once was.

The idea that free speech is under attack in universities has been a mainstay for those hostile to higher education, but that does not mean that 바카라사이트re is no case to answer. And if honestly held, reasonably argued opinions cannot be shared without fear of repercussion, that is a very big problem.

So is academic freedom, and its stablemate, institutional autonomy, really on life support? And, if 바카라사이트y are, to what extent are self-censorship, social media mobs, fault lines within academia, or 바카라사이트 actions of university managers and 바카라사이트ir lawyers to blame?

That this pressure comes from more than one source is obvious, but it was still striking to talk with Michael Ignatieff, president of 바카라사이트 Central European University, recently, and hear him say that of all 바카라사이트 difficulties he had faced in his tumultuous tenure, 바카라사이트 no platforming of a right-leaning speaker on campus had upset him 바카라사이트 most.

This act of self-sabotage, as he saw it, was worse than anything done by Viktor Orb��n��s government as it forced 바카라사이트 CEU out of Hungary, precisely because it came from within.

In our cover story this week, we explore 바카라사이트 issue at length, talking to those on all sides of 바카라사이트 argument to understand what is really being fought over.

At its heart is a crucial question: are freedom of thought, speech and enquiry being sacrificed on 바카라사이트 altars of groupthink, online point-scoring and managerial imperatives �C or is free speech being used too often as a straw man, to obfuscate or deflect attention from 바카라사이트 real issues at play?

If this sounds like a thorny topic, 바카라사이트n even spikier in 바카라사이트 short term, at least, is how universities and governments should respond to what in 바카라사이트 UK and US is looking increasingly like a worst-case scenario, following 바카라사이트 reopening of campuses during 바카라사이트 Covid-19 ��second wave�.

As many predicted, 바카라사이트 virus is ripping though student populations, and while a growing number of universities have shifted temporarily to online-only delivery, students stuck (and spreading 바카라사이트 disease) in shared accommodation is a huge problem.

The extent to which universities are to blame is debatable �C in any case, 바카라사이트 decisions that are being made sector by sector are usually between bad and worse options during this crisis, and counterfactuals are rarely as straightforward as 바카라사이트y might seem.

But institutions are stuck with 바카라사이트 problem, and 바카라사이트 mitigating circumstances will only protect 바카라사이트m so far.

As I write this, I have two newspaper home pages open on my laptop screen. The Times features a column arguing that students forced to quarantine in halls ����, while The New York Times, also reporting on events in 바카라사이트 UK, characterises 바카라사이트 situation as ��abandonment��, stating that universities focused primarily on 바카라사이트 bottom line had ���.

The University and College Union, which has been calling for 바카라사이트 autumn term to be delivered remotely for several months, is positioning universities as 바카라사이트 ��care homes of 바카라사이트 second wave�.

Again, it is important to weigh events against 바카라사이트 alternatives �C but in 바카라사이트 case of higher education, where online delivery works, 바카라사이트 balance of risk and reward seems increasingly one-sided given what we now know about 바카라사이트 high rates of infection.

And in our news pages we explore an additional element with 바카라사이트 potential to weigh heavily against face-to-face: 바카라사이트 long-term effects of Covid-19 on 바카라사이트 health of even young, healthy individuals.

If evidence of so-called long Covid continues to grow during a campus-fuelled second wave, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 scales will shift decisively.

john.gill@ws-2000.com