Palestine teach-in cancelled by University – Serious concerns about academic freedom on campus

The SUCU branch committee have growing concerns around the repression of discussion about Palestine and the ongoing violence in the Middle East within our University. You may have heard about our planned teach-in for the 1st of October that was advertised in our email dated 27th September. Unfortunately, it was prevented from going ahead. We want to explain why and ask for your support in supporting freedom of speech on campus, including educational talks relating to Palestine and for academics who research and teach on this topic.

On 18th September we put in a booking request for a lecture theatre to hold an internal University of Sheffield teach-in for University students titled ‘What Is Happening in Gaza?’ delivered by University staff members who have expertise in this area. The motive was to have an academic discussion on the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and to support our members’ work and research in this area. There were no external speakers invited, and therefore the University’s external speakers procedure did not apply.

We received no response about the booking, despite a reminder sent on the 25th September. We again called up the room booking team as UCU and got a room booked on the 27th. However, we were contacted by University Security on the day before the teach-in was due to take place to tell us that it could not go ahead. Security cited a new ‘events safety guidance’ document, introduced in April 2024, which requires a risk assessment to be conducted for events organised by staff that do “not fall within the normal work duties or study activities at the University of Sheffield. Examples of events include, but are not limited to:

• Ceremonies and celebrations

• Conferences

• Open days

• Fairs

• Networking events

• Team building events.

• Talks, exhibitions, demonstrations, and performances aimed at the general public”

As an internally facing set of talks, given by members of staff at this University for staff and students of this University, and on subjects researched and taught on by the staff giving these talks, we refute that this guidance is in fact relevant for the teach-in, or any research seminar. Even were the University to decide that the guidance is relevant, there was no mention made of needing a risk assessment until the day prior to the event, despite weeks of communication regarding the room booking. Moreover, the policy has been written with schools and services in mind, and does not adequately reflect the structures of the campus trade unions. As such, we would have expected a discussion via our main negotiating body with management about how the trade unions are expected to adhere to it, as happened for the External Speaker Approval Policy.

Lastly, in communications with security, repeated reference was made to the topic of the talk being ‘controversial’, which seems to uniquely and problematically pick out specific types of research. This represents a significant overreach which infringes on academic freedom and the University’s obligations under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, as well as the University’s own Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom policy, which was written to enforce its obligations under this Act. We are concerned that this policy will be used to silence positions that are deemed ‘controversial’ rather than to protect staff, students, and other campus visitors, placing considerable additional barriers in front of conducting what is, essentially, an academic research seminar.

The cancelled event was in keeping with motions on Palestine passed by Sheffield UCU and is a continuation of the activities and events the branch has supported over the past year. During this time we have experienced increasing intervention by University Security which has obstructed these activities. This has included moving booked venues last minute, insisting that security staff with body cams are present and are able to conduct bag searches, and requiring the identification of staff and students attending events.

We have had members be in touch with concerns about similar barriers being placed on email lists and other forms of communications with other staff and students. Taking all of this together, there is deeply concerning progression from this University wherein critical discussion of the situation in Gaza appears to be automatically deemed to present risk, a position that amounts to profiling and that infringes upon freedom of academic thought and pedagogic expression as protected in HE(FoS)A 2023.

The branch committee will be raising these concerns with management in relation to the Freedom of Speech/Academic Freedom Policy, and in relation to the ways in which the new ‘Events safety guidance’ policy is being applied.

The teach-in has been postponed for now, but we hope to communicate a new date as soon as possible.