The London School of Economics made headlines last week by topping the Sunday Times ranking of UK universities, beating both Oxford and Cambridge for the first time. There is, however, another reason to celebrate the London institution: its new leader has reasserted the importance of academic freedom.
Speaking to the Times, the recently appointed president and vice-chancellor of LSE Larry Kramer told new students that they should “expect to encounter ideas that [they] hate, that bite, that go to [their] identity.” This is not just a much-needed rejection of calls for trigger warnings and cancellations of controversial speakers, but a reaffirmation of one of the core duties of a university.
As Kramer points out to the Times, an institution of higher learning that does not present its students with new and challenging ideas is failing to prepare them for the real world. One of the ways LSE aims to prepare its students for life after university is with its “flagship” course, the LSE100.
A multidisciplinary series of seminars compulsory for all new undergraduates, the LSE100 lets students “explore new ideas and analytical approaches” in an “intellectually challenging” environment. Although this should already be a goal of every university module, it is nice to see a prestigious university like the London School of Economics take active steps to facilitate constructive engagement with difficult ideas.
“Our principle is clear: if the speech is lawful, people can say it and we will not punish them” says Kramer, elaborating on the university’s policy. “That is hard for the people who do not like it but we have not gone down the path of regulating speech and we will not.”
There are many reasons LSE ranks as one of the best universities in the country, but its renewed commitment to free speech is a crucial part of what makes the institution worthy of its reputation. Hopefully, other universities throughout the UK will follow suit and strengthen protection of academic freedom for students and staff alike.