Oxford
© Tracy Packer/Moment Editorial/Getty ImagesArchie Bland and Jon HenleyChrist Church college in Oxford.
I will admit that I used to relish telling people that I go to the University of Oxford, and to some extent I still do. However, now when I sheepishly tell another conference attendee this, it is met with sympathetic tuts and murmurs of "That must be tough". They don't mean the workload. They mean the abysmal culture of intolerance towards freedom of speech that has somehow manifested here.

And they're right. I'm careful who I tell about my dissertation on the topic of gender. My heart races when a new person asks what I'm doing, and I have to make a snap decision if it's safe to tell them, and if it's worth it. Peers have asked "Why are you going to Kathleen Stock's event?" with narrowed eyes and suspicious tones. I spend so much time biting my tongue in conversation. Even basic truths can be completely unsayable in the wrong circles. But I'm getting braver.

Surprisingly, those who are truly against free speech are fairly rare. These people are led by a very aggressive minority, often oppressors dressed as victims. Behind them are another small group of self-hating ideologues, and other confused but well-meaning supporters. However, the majority of students, I have found, are actually quite sensible. Yet at first glance, it is almost impossible to tell these groups apart.

Privately, many students will confess the sin of agreeing with you. In public, however, it is very different. They'll dutifully like online posts condemning people like Kathleen Stock, even though they told you how brave they think she is, and how much they loved her book. They'll vote through motions, even though they don't actually want to give up their toilets or language. They have their pronouns on their Instagram, even though they find it embarrassing. And sometimes, they'll even lead the fight to destroy the ideas and people they privately agree with.

All of this creates an illusion that everyone feels the same. A shared psychosis. The emperor's gender-neutral clothes. Once you realise this, you wonder why everyone keeps doing it, even though they are making themselves and others miserable. Other than social pressure, the answer is often selfish gain.

Basic human connection is tainted

Oxford is full of very bright and ambitious young people, who want to be a future prime minister. Combined with the entitlement of many Oxford students, this is a dangerous mix. They will do anything to get there, and from today's society, they have learned that "cancelling", virtue signalling and silencing is the way to do it. They spend as much of their days searching for a person to "call out" or a cause to rally against, as they do in libraries. They will race to be first, and ask questions later. Accuse or be accused. There are no limits to the lows they will sink or the backs they will stab.

I often wonder if anything in Oxford is done for fun or kindness. Everything is competitive. It came as no surprise to hear that a new "network" was set up to protest Kathleen Stock's event. I remember how, at the dawn of the invasion of Ukraine, there was a scramble among students to be the one who set up the University's Ukrainian Society. Once formed, it was immediately added to some of the victorious founders' LinkedIn and Twitter bios, even though they were yet to do anything.

Even basic human connection is tainted at Oxford. Every student will at some point inevitably learn what's known as a "hack" is, and realise that they did not make an enthusiastic new friend ("We should do coffee sometime, yeah?"), but in fact, the entire interaction was designed to get your vote for whatever minor position they may be running for that term. The coffee will never happen, and you won't hear from them again until they pop up in your messages, asking for your vote.

It's been said that at Oxford "You don't have friends, you have alliances". However, even those are shaky at best. Whilst I imagine the nature of this has been the same for many years, it is certainly worse in ways today. At parties and events, people live in fear of something they say or do being recorded. This is more than just the effects of the internet age - it is well known that certain people, especially in student politics or journalism, often secretly audio record the entire evening in the hope of catching someone out.

The worst part is that it doesn't matter who it is they catch. People have publicly "cancelled" their closest friends, and even their partners. Furthermore, nothing is off limits to be used as material. Family issues, mental health, relationships - all of it can and will be used against you.

Concerningly, some people do not even feel bound by the truth. They know that there is nothing their victim can do, and trying to do anything would just draw more attention to the claim, alongside requiring lengthy battles and lawyers not all students can afford. The process is the punishment, and the evidence will live online forever. And thanks to a popular anonymous Facebook page (the content of which is controlled by a few with vested interests), attacks can be made anonymously too.

The immense power of social approval

These individuals have lost sight of reality, fuelled by the intense environment of the university, and their over-inflated sense of self-importance. They rule through fear and live in fear themselves, a torturous trap of their own design and maintenance. They are upheld however by the complicit masses - individuals wishing to avoid becoming targets themselves, and the immense power of social approval.

Given all this, it is unsurprising that free speech is struggling here. However, do not be fooled into thinking that this means students do not want it. When the above tactics are used to gain and maintain power by the few who wield them best, it is unsurprising that the resulting student governing bodies are so aggressively and unrepresentatively woke.

A collective sigh of relief was released across the city when academics wrote their letter in support of free speech. The university's environment can make you feel like you're the only one that's sane, and this is intentional. Perhaps the letter will break the collective spell that lingers over the dreaming spires, and students will wake up to realise that they have nothing to fear and everything to gain from valuing discussion and debate, and more will become braver too.

I hope that the Oxford Union committee know how much many students value what they do and what they represent. They are fighting a battle that many of us are too afraid to do ourselves. However, to quote suffragette Millicent Fawcett - "courage calls to courage everywhere".

I hope that more students get tired of playing this game, and realise that words and people can only hold the power you give them. The more students refuse to participate, the sooner we can get on with what we came here to do in peace.