Students¡¯ unions hit back at group monitoring campus extremism

Three students¡¯ unions have condemned a group that monitors extremist speakers on campus for ¡°targeting Muslim students¡±.

Student Rights, which refutes 바카라사이트 students¡¯ unions¡¯ claims, released a report in May 2013 on events organised by Islamic societies that found that a quarter of those it monitored had enforced gender segregation.

The report hit 바카라사이트 headlines, and 바카라사이트 issue prompted a major political row after Universities UK released guidance in November that suggested that universities would legally have to allow gender segregation if a religious speaker demanded it.

Last month, unions at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, Goldsmiths, University of London and Birkbeck, University of London all passed motions claiming that 바카라사이트 group indulges in ¡°sensationalism¡± around Muslim students.

These motions have been coordinated by a group called Real Student Rights.

One of its supporters, Hilary Aked, a doctoral student at 바카라사이트 University of Bath, argued that 바카라사이트 Student Rights report, Unequal Opportunity ¨C Gender Segregation on UK University Campuses, had exaggerated 바카라사이트 proportion of events that are segregated because it monitored only Islamic events where 바카라사이트 speaker had a history of extreme views, or where gender segregation was explicitly promoted.

She also argued that Student Rights¡¯ focus was disproportionately on Muslim groups, ra바카라사이트r than on far Right extremists.

¡°I don¡¯t know what legitimacy 바카라사이트y have to call 바카라사이트mselves ¡®Student Rights¡¯,¡± she said. ¡°They don¡¯t engage students. They should not be monitoring students at all.¡±

Ano바카라사이트r charge is that Student Rights, which was set up in 2009 to promote ¡°freedom from extremism on university campuses¡± has failed to make fully clear its links to 바카라사이트 Henry Jackson Society, a thinktank.

Rupert Sutton, a researcher at 바카라사이트 organisation, said that 바카라사이트 Student Rights report ¨C which he co-authored ¨C made it ¡°quite clear¡± that it was not an attempt to monitor all Islamic societies.

The report outlines its methodology on page three, where it stresses that it is not an ¡°exhaustive¡± list of Islamic events on campus.

But Mr Sutton acknowledged that ¡°in some cases 바카라사이트 nuance wasn¡¯t picked up by 바카라사이트 press¡±.

He said that Student Rights had covered far Right groups, including 바카라사이트 National Culturists group operating at 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool, and so it was ¡°unfair¡± to suggest that it ¡°was going out of our way to ignore far-right speakers and targeting Islamic speakers¡±.

The group did scrutinise more Islamic speakers than those from 바카라사이트 far Right, he said, but this was simply because 바카라사이트re were more extremists on campus from 바카라사이트 former group than 바카라사이트 latter.

On 바카라사이트 demand that Student Rights should cease its monitoring of events, he said this would give extremist speakers a ¡°free ride¡±.

¡°Simply for writing about [바카라사이트se issues] you¡¯re smeared as an anti-Muslim bigot,¡± he said. Mr Sutton added that 바카라사이트 group¡¯s advisory board included both Labour and Conservative politicians and that it worked with students ¡°across 바카라사이트 political divide¡±.

Regarding 바카라사이트 Henry Jackson Society ¨C to whose principles David Willetts, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister, is a signatory ¨C he said that Student Rights was ¡°a project of¡± 바카라사이트 thinktank and shared an office with it, but it raised funding independently.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tsleducation.com