The University’s commitment to academic freedom and free speech is underpinned by our founding documents. Our Charter commits the University to ‘advance knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the example and influence of its corporate life’. To advance knowledge and be an exemplar, our culture must support critical inquiry – an environment where individuals have the right to explore ideas and to express them freely. Equally we must ensure we collectively engender an environment where the community can question, debate and challenge ideas.

‘Advancing knowledge and wisdom’ requires an inclusive and tolerant approach in all that we do. Just as with the generation of good ideas, our critical inquiry when we question poor ideas or challenge concepts with which we disagree should be conducted respectfully, in a spirit of open discussion and use calmly expressed reason. This approach is founded on strong community ideals and the Values documented in our University Strategy. To be innovative and to compete at the highest intellectual level, everyone in our community must have the freedom to bring forward their own thoughts and analysis. As we work, debate and challenge one another in the pursuit of academic excellence at every level, we must keep in mind the Values we are committed to:

• We respect each other by being open and fair and promoting diversity
• We build strong communities by working effectively together in a supportive way
• We create positive change by being ambitious in our learning, expertise and action

In short, we must be respectful of the views of all members of the University and provide space for those views to be expressed and debated, without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s personal characteristics or beliefs. This is not to deny that societal and structural barriers still exist for many within society, nor that these are reflected on our own campus. However, our strategy and values articulate how we work together to bring about change - change on our own campus, as well as in the wider world ‘through the example and influence’ of what we do.

In upholding our values, we set out to be a home for people of all backgrounds, cultures, orientations and perspectives. As we work to defend this position, we must recognise this is a project of equal importance to that of continuing genuine academic debate. A safe and inclusive campus should never be something that is in tension with academic debate. At the same time, however, we are not a public square where any and all may come to speak without invitation and in a format of their own choosing. As we interact with one another and in welcoming external speakers, all parties must recognise that to speak at Lancaster University is to enter into discourse and an invitation for debate and intellectual challenge.