A message from the Vice-Chancellor
Dear student,
This message is being sent out to all staff and students at the University.
The University of Birmingham is proudly international: we have staff and students from around the world and many of us have friends and family who live in numerous different countries. In addition to our home in Birmingham, we have our campus in Dubai and deliver collaborative degrees in both Singapore and China. The University is also home to many different faith communities and it is a matter of pride that relationships between them remain positive.
Our international, multi-cultural and multi-faith orientation is, undoubtedly, a source of great strength but it means that tensions, polarities, and conflicts around the world strongly resonate across campus. And recent years have been ones marked by a lot of tension and conflict. To take two dreadful examples, the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan was followed by the invasion of Ukraine two years ago. In both of these cases, our community stepped up with a strong humanitarian response.
The Hamas attacks on Israel in October and the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza have both directly and tragically affected many members of the Birmingham community. I have spoken to people who have lost friends and family in Israel and Palestine and it is essential to understand that there is a lot of pain and suffering. In the period since October, antisemitic and Islamophobic language, incidents and attacks have risen in the UK but the University has very largely remained tolerant and welcoming. This has not happened by accident: it reflects our culture and the work of many people. I would particularly like to acknowledge the leadership provided by both JSoc and ISoc.
Some people reading this message, however, will be aware that recently there was an unauthorised protest on campus about the Israel/Palestine conflict that has caused considerable anguish to members of the University. There have been serious allegations of antisemitism at this protest and the Police are actively investigating two cases of racially-aggravated public order offences. The University unequivocally condemns antisemitism. The University’s statement on this event can be found here.
The freedom to think critically, speak openly, and debate respectfully is the cornerstone of any university. People must be able to express strongly held views within the law. It is inevitable that in a group of nearly 50,000 people there will be disagreements – our beliefs are strongly held, founded in family, faith, politics and years of personal experience, as well as what we have learned and researched. And in cases of international conflict, some people’s strongly held views will be deeply disagreeable or upsetting to others. However, it is imperative that we exercise our freedoms respectfully, that we never demonise anyone because they have a different identity to us, that we don’t hold people responsible for things that they have no agency over. Racism in any form is not acceptable. The ability to speak out and to test and refine our beliefs and assumptions together is how we grow as individuals. As a university, it is how we generate knowledge and innovate, and how we foster an attitude of critical inquiry and compassion in our students.
Our university has some, but limited, power to affect events happening across the world. We do this through our research, by engaging with and influencing others based on our knowledge, through partnership with international bodies, and through the education of students. However, the greatest power we all wield is in our own local environment; the place in which we live, work, and study.
It is essential that the University is – and feels like – a place where people from all walks of life can work and study together. It should be a place where everyone has a space to share their beliefs, views, and opinions lawfully and respectfully, if they choose. The University has put in place processes to ensure this can happen – such as the student behaviour code and the Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech on Campus, which has been agreed by the University’s governing Council, and is being revised to respond to recent changes to the law and will be published shortly. These set out how members of our community can protest and speak out about things that are important to them, within the law.
These responsibilities are even greater in a classroom situation. Lecturers should not avoid sensitive matters – but learning design needs to support student engagement with potentially challenging material, framed appropriately within disciplinary context and learning outcomes. Classrooms are places of learning and enquiry: they are unambiguously not places where students are taught controversial views as uncontested or untruths as fact and students must not feel inhibited from openly voicing their own opinions where they differ from those being taught or raised in group discussion. Our Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech will also be clear about how staff can best navigate these difficult waters.
As a university with a 125-year history, we have operated throughout global conflict and tensions before and have thrived despite our differences of opinion. Much more unites us than divides us; it is in moments like these that our common humanity comes to the fore. Our ability to navigate our differences with kindness, compassion, and empathy, seeking always to understand the different perspectives of those around us, is what defines us.
Best wishes,
Adam
Vice-Chancellor and Principal