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Oxford University students fear freshers' fair stalls may be too triggering for some

Oxford trigger warnings - Wojtek Skora
Oxford trigger warnings - Wojtek Skora

Oxford University's student union has said it will place "trigger warnings" on freshers’ fair stalls which students could find distressing.

The union said it will also install a wellbeing zone for anyone who feels “uncomfortable” at the event this week.

More than 400 clubs and societies related to areas including music, sports, literature, politics, faith and cultural groups, at the university are eligible to have a stall at the freshers’ fair on Thursday and Friday.

In a message posted on social media, the student union said it was not able to ban any society from having a stall at the fair because of UK freedom of speech legislation.

However, it said it wanted to “reassure” students that it has “put in place mitigations to support the welfare of students”.

These will include “material content reviews” and “trigger warnings being placed on several stalls with potentially triggering content”.

“We are aware that students may be concerned about the content of some of the student society halls,” the union said.

Issue of abortion has been flashpoint before

A wellbeing zone would be installed, “where anyone who feels uncomfortable can go to relax, and chat to our advice and wellbeing team,” it added.

It is understood that individual societies have not yet been informed whether they will be subject to a trigger warning.

The announcement follows a row last year about the presence of an anti-abortion group at the freshers’ fair. Several Oxford political societies and other groups criticised the presence of Oxford Students for Life, which claims to “seek to promote a culture of life at the university and beyond”.

Hannah Edwards, the social secretary of Oxford Students for Life said: “Though Oxford Students for Life is not aware of having received any notice that our stall will carry a trigger warning, we have experienced opposition from the Student Union in past years, including…the placing of a warning on our stall. The Student Union, who have described themselves as ‘unequivocally pro-choice', have made their opposition to our society clear, stating previously that the issue of abortion should not be up for debate.

“We anticipate facing backlash again, including in the form of a trigger warning, and are prepared to stand up both for everyone’s right to life, and their right to free speech.”

'Absurd mollycoddling'

Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union and an alumnus of Oxford University, told The Telegraph: “This absurd mollycoddling does students no favours. The Oxford Students’ Union is effectively telling students that just seeing a young man in a blue rosette standing behind a trestle table could have a catastrophic impact on their mental health. Surely, a better message to send to students is that sticks and stones may break their bones but words can never hurt them?”

The move by Oxford’s student union comes after a study by King’s College London found that around a third of UK students say free speech is threatened in their university, up from a quarter in 2019.

It also found that almost a third of students now feel academic freedom is threatened at their institution, compared with a fifth who felt this way three years ago. Researchers said that “increasing minorities of students” feel free speech “is under threat and have heard examples of free speech being inhibited”.

Half of students believe that those with conservative views are reluctant to express them at their university, up from 37 per cent in 2019, the research found.

Oxford has 'robust freedom of speech policy'

The study found that this perception has grown in particular among students who say they would vote for the Conservative Party, rising from 59 per cent to 68 per cent over the past three years.

A spokesman for the university said: “Oxford University has a robust freedom of speech policy and require all events held on University premises to abide by this policy.

"We would expect the Student Union to abide by this policy, which would not include the imposition of trigger warnings or material content reviews for registered student societies.

"We hope the freshers' fair will be an open, exciting, and enjoyable event for all students and their societies.”

The student union did not respond to a request for comment.