[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Have we? Are the masonic lodges present in every town in the UK accepting female members all of a sudden? Hmmm... no, they're not. But no one makes a huge fuss because these organisations are private members clubs, attending one is a choice, and those who disagree with their outdated values simply don't go.

This is absolutely no different. Other than it being about nasty, scary, hairy Muslims instead of old white men. Think about the Masonic order for a minute. Did you get as angry about that as you are about this? No? Now consider why that might be?

Again, this is about guest speakers - not standard University course lectures - and attending these lectures is completely optional. It is not segregation in a public setting. It is clearly not some sort of imminent threat to our culture. It's getting zealots in to speak when they otherwise simply wouldn't come, because hearing them speak is academically interesting, and just blustering "WELL THEY JUST SHOULDN'T COME THEN BLAAARGH" is limiting to a University. You don't have to agree with a speaker to be interested in attending something like this. You can attend to debate against them. And the ability to do that is more important than refusing to allow the event to take place in the first place. Failure to realise this is and blustering in with butthurt placards is, frankly, unacademic and has no real place in any discussion over how a University is run. I will be horrified if these Universities bow to pressure and allow the assembled masses to dictate their policies.

Not sure your comparison with Masonic lodges highlights the issue in this thread. what is under attack here is the changing of well established normal routines eg when people attend lectures regardless of the subject or speaker, people sit wherever that is to say they are not compelled to suddenly undergo a gender segregation becuase it suits the whim or desire of the speaker.

This is the issue at hand when did we suddenly start allowing ourselves to be dictated to, and ask to accept new patterns of behaviour on the say so of someone who clearly believes that his way is the correct way.

It is not..........and we should resist such requests regardless of the academic consequences....!!!!