The UK’s SouthBest West’s Best Publication Student Publication (once again) The Student 2023
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ISSUE 766 12 FEB 2025 exepose.com @exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987 Image: Freedom Society
Concerns raised over safety of Exeter cyclists Page 4
Islamophobia at Freedom Society event Gracie Moore, Amy Rushton, Callum Martin, and Katie Matthews Editors-in-Chief
EXCLUSIVE Your Campus Crushes Pages 7 and 11
Embracing the vibe: the end of sex toy shame Page 16
Images (top to bottom): Amy Rushton, Amy Rushton, Cottonbro (Pexels)
THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS CONTENT RELATING TO RACIST LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING
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TALK hosted by Freedom Society featured numerous Islamophobic comments, as revealed in a recording provided anonymously to Exeposé. The talk, entitled “Two Tier Policing: Injustice Unveiled” was delivered by a former student and current University of Law student in Exeter. The talk, held on the 10th October 2024, covered policing of the summer riots and offered far-right perspectives on immigration and race. During the speech, the speaker labelled immigration as the “ethnic displacement” of the white English population by Muslims, saying “they’re literally replacing us in our own country. We’re being genocided.” Last summer, following the murder of three girls in Southport, violent and racist anti-immigration protests broke out across the country, fuelled by online misinformation that the murderer was a Muslim immigrant, a fact that was disproved by the time of the Freedom Society talk. Later in his speech, the student described “the history between the native English population and the im-
ported Muslim population [as] one of relentless attacks from their population against ours — coming in the way of terrorism, general street violence, ethnic displacement and of course, grooming gangs […] which everyone knows is a cute term for the mass racially targeted rape of young English girls.” He then labelled white English people as “a disprivileged native population who don’t even have the right to collectivise and defend themselves,” before characterising the riots as “natives essentially rebelling against their displacement.” He said a “refreshing” aspect of the summer riots was how they allowed “the ethnic divisions [that] we know are there … to come to the surface.” He also criticised multiculturalism, saying it was “rooted in the idea that white people have it coming to us.” The end of the presentation was met with a round of applause and followed by a question and answer session, where many questioners praised the talk. When asked how he would handle policing, the speaker replied that if he were in charge, “there would be no minorities to police.” This comment was met with laughter from the crowd. Freedom Society describes itself as “right-wing students […] dedicated to promoting free speech and uncensored political discourse.” They host weekly off-campus events featuring talks from students and external speakers. When approached for a comment, Freedom Society told Exeposé, “Freedom Society supports the right to free speech as a core principle of our organisation. We have no ‘party line’ and speakers voi-
ce their own opinions, therefore we neither condone nor condemn statements made at our events. Freedom Society invites those who take issue with unorthodox ideas to attend our events and challenge them as part of the discussion.” The speaker told Exeposé, “it is possible that a few comments and jokes which were made may have crossed the line of political correctness. But the overall purpose of the speech was to address serious injustices and atrocities which are taking place in British society today. In my view, it is far preferable to discuss these issues in a politically incorrect manner than not at all.”
Guild takes no disciplinar y action A spokesperson for the University of Exeter described the comments as “deplorable”, but said that they “trust the Students’ Guild to investigate the staging of this event, and the subsequent reports that have been made. They further added, “we are clear that the University supports and protects the right to freedom of speech and expression, so long as this is within the law. We are equally clear that there is absolutely no justification or place for any type of discrimination, hate speech or harassment within our community. We are committed to taking all appropriate action to ensure our campuses and community are
both safe and welcoming for everyone.” When Exeposé brought the comments to the Guild in November, they initiated an investigation, and this article was withheld until its conclusion. Following the investigation, the Guild have decided to take no disciplinary action. The speaker remains, at time of publication, on the committee of another Guild-affiliated society. They said, “following concerns raised by some students regarding the expressed views at the event by the speaker, we launched an investigation. The scope of the investigation focused on the society’s conduct — whether appropriate external speaker processes were followed and ensuring appropriate risk management. “Whilst the investigation did consider the views expressed by the speaker at the event, the speaker themselves does not fall within the scope of our Members’ Code of Conduct. The investigation has concluded with recommendations around improving Freedom Society’s processes which we’re supporting them with.” They added, “as your Students’ Guild, we support freedom of speech. We want to foster an environment where our members can participate fully, feel able to question and challenge, express new ideas, discuss controversial opinions within the law — all without fear of intolerance or discrimination. We equally believe that there is no place for hate in our community. The role of the Guild is to facilitate lawful free speech through the organisation of student-led groups events and activities.” If you have been affected by this content please contact wellbeing at wellbeing@exeter.ac.uk or 01392724381.