University of Kent: Student and Staff Training Issues
(21.11.22) We spotted some troubling information about what appears to be compulsory student and staff training on EDI issues on Kent’s website. In common with other such so-called training we have seen (including as a condition of matriculation in some cases), the EDI modules state as fact various contested ideological positions (e.g. Critical Race Theory) and then require agreement or acquiescence from students in order to “pass”.
AFFS had already prepared a Briefing Note about the free speech implications of such training for new students which can be found here.
We have written to Professor Karen Cox, the Vice Chancellor at Kent, raising our concerns and enclosing a Freedom of Information Request designed to establish the full facts before we take any further action. See our email here.
What you can do:
- Share our email and Briefing Note with any Kent alumni you know
- Join AFFS if you have not already done so
- If you were at Kent, consider setting-up a Kent University AFFS branch