The Oxford Student Union (SU) and the Conference of Common Rooms (CCR) have released a statement that “unequivocally condemns” the Oxon Universities’ Reform Society’s (OURS) invitation to Nathan Cofnas. Cofnas, a self-described “race realist”, is due to speak at Oriel College on Tuesday.
The statement follows the motion ‘No Hate Speech at Oxford’. JCR and MCR representatives voted on the motion after yesterday’s Extraordinary CCR meeting.
The statement reads: “In an institution such as Oxford where people of colour are historically under-represented, it is the responsibility of all of us to make Oxford inclusive and to speak up against racism. Let there be no doubt. Black and Ethnic Minority students and staff are indivisible parts of our community at Oxford.”
The SU and CCR also affirmed their “joint commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”. The statement condemns “any attempt to erode DEI, and any action which may endanger the well-being of Black and Ethnic Minority students and staff.”
“For both transparency and accountability, we urge Oriel College to publish its freedom of speech legal analysis and risk assessment of the Nathan Cofnas’ speaker event”, the statement continues. It adds that every risk assessment of a campus event should require “an equality risks assessment”, and that the Cofnas’ event “should require an independent review”.
St Catherine’s MCR President Xiangyue Wang proposed the motion, and five others seconded it, including SU President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion Catherine Kola-Balogun.
The motion also mandates the SU to spend £1,000 on diversity initiatives and to ask the University’s Proctors to attend the event in case a speech violates the 2010 Equality Act.
Merton JCR President Abdul Olagunju-Adekunle told Cherwell: “The importance of academic freedom and freedom of speech has been made quite clear by the University. Having said that, in my view, this motion represents a wholesale rejection of Cofnas’ views by the student body.”
Magdalen JCR President Isabella Taylor also told Cherwell the Magdalen JCR committee “condemn[s] the invitation of Nathan Cofnas”.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Oriel Provost Lord Mendoza confirmed that there were no plans to cancel Cofnas’ talk. He said the College consulted lawyers, who unanimously maintain that it must take place under the 2023 Free Speech Act. An Oriel spokesperson previously told Cherwell that permission “does not imply endorsement”, and that the College is committed to “promoting inclusion and maintaining an environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment”.
Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, publicised allegations of plagiarism against Jasan Arday, who became the University of Cambridge’s youngest Black professor in 2023. Arday, who denied the allegations and was later cleared of wrongdoing, was found dead earlier this year.
The motion argues that Cofnas’ invitation “shows a concerning lack of consideration for the situation, but also a lack of sensitivity in thinking of its effects on Oxford students and staff”. It adds that the event will likely “have a negative impact on the wellbeing of Black students and staff at the University of Oxford and higher education throughout the UK”.
Opposition to the event has included a statement by 49 Oriel SCR members condemning Nathan Cofnas, along with an open letter and a protest planned by Stand Up To Racism.
