"A UK university faces the prospect of legal action over claims it failed to protect an academic's right to freedom of expression who was invited to give a lecture on sex and gender. Prof Alice Sullivan has written to the University of Bristol and the university regulator the Office for Students (OfS) to complain after her talk was disrupted by protesters."
"Everyone has a right to peaceful protest, but that must never amount to a heckler's veto, which means shutting down other people's right to speak, she told the broadcaster. This isn't just about my rights as a visiting speaker, this is about the rights of the university community to hold discussions and to have people come and listen."
"Sullivan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that her talk went ahead in October after a lengthy delay against a backdrop of protesters climbing walls to bang on windows, and who shouted through megaphones and set off fire alarms. She claimed she was prevented from staying to meet attenders afterwards and later heard some people had felt too intimidated to come."
Prof Alice Sullivan has complained to the University of Bristol and the Office for Students after protesters disrupted her October lecture on sex and gender. Protesters climbed walls, banged on windows, shouted through megaphones and set off fire alarms, delaying the event and reportedly deterring attendees. Some attendees felt intimidated and undergraduates were allegedly barred. Sullivan says the university had 15 months to plan a safer venue and that restrictions marginalized the event. Sullivan warns against a heckler's veto and says she is prepared to take legal action to safeguard academic freedom and open debate.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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