Rory Fenton, President of the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies in the UK and Ireland, responds to the nonsense at Southbank University.
Students’ unions have a duty to protect the rights of their students, not their students’ beliefs. As President of the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies, I’ve seen a 2013-14 academic year in which this principle has been too often forgotten.
It’s as if there’s a nonsense pill that students have been taking.
South Bank’s Atheist Society are no stranger to hostility from their students’ union. When they were formed last year and affiliated to their union, they were accepted only on the condition that they didn’t criticise religion or hold debates with religious groups, which is as absurd as telling the Socialist Society to steer clear of critiquing capitalism. Despite hopes that a new academic year would bring a more reasonable union committee, the group has faced constant opposition. Since the start of their first term, they have seen their posters torn down and stamped on the day they are put up, including posters simply showing Brian Griffin, Family Guy‘s atheist talking dog. I attended a meeting last term at which their union accused them of picking on Christians for a poster stating, “We may not be able to turn water into wine but we do like wine, join us in the bar next Thursday”.
Hmm. Was Southbank University a bible college until a couple of weeks ago? That might explain it.
The ultimate irony of these attacks on free speech is that they so often only give a louder voice to their targets. The LSE Union’s attempt at censoring students’ t-shirts lead to those same students being invited onto the BBC’s Big Questions, wearing those same t-shirts. South Bank’s Atheist Society’s pasta posters are now on blogs right across the country.
Oh yes, thank you for the reminder!
Noodly appendage to you too.
Clenched tentacle…errr..noodle…salute!
When a local church sign announced a spagetti supper I so wanted copy of that image to add.
That image is actually scarier than the original god. :/
As someone once said (on a stage not far from their campus) “…what fools these Mortals be…”
Isn’t ‘Jedi’ a formally (whatever that means) recognized religion in the UK? We need some of these minority groups to step up and make their presence known!
I’ve worked in British universities for years and I don’t think I know more than two religious students and those were more culturally religious than practicing. I don’t know where all these poster-rippers and far-too-easily-offended religious students are coming from.