OPEN LETTER TO PROFESSOR STEPHEN TOOPE
Dear Vice-Chancellor,
We write as concerned academics at the University of Cambridge on the subject of the much-publicised appointment of Toby Young to the board of the new Office for Students. (For the moment we will set aside our scepticism regarding the creation of the OfS). As a journalist and public figure, Young is a serial purveyor of misogynist, homophobic, racist and able-ist commentary. His Twitter feed, much of which he has now deleted in a transparent attempt to cover his tracks, is rife with derogatory and objectifying comments about women’s bodies. He has sneered at the provision of wheelchair access for the disabled. He has mocked the presence of working class students at Oxford and Cambridge. These are not isolated comments; they form a pattern of commentary. Nor are they exercises in free-thinking or flirtations with 'political incorrectness’; they are vicious and belittling attacks on specifically named communities. We note that many of these comments violate the ‘Dignity at Work’ policies which the University upholds, and that Young has repeatedly attacked the existence of the Equality Act of 2010 (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42540363), which the University is legally obliged to respect.
One of your first actions as Vice-Chancellor of this University was to promote the “Breaking the Silence” campaign. Given your public commitment to gender equality and to the condemnation of sexual misconduct, we believe it desirable, just and indeed urgently necessary that you repudiate Young’s appointment to the OfS. Failure to do so would be a de facto legitimisation of the culture of sexual harassment and gender inequality, the dismantling of which you have bravely made a hallmark of your new administration.
As teaching staff of this University, we express our grave concern at the appointment of Young to a regulatory body with oversight of universities and ask that you make a public statement that conveys this disquiet, which is felt across the Cambridge community.
Yours sincerely,
Name Faculty/College Affiliation
John David Rhodes MML
Priyamvada Gopal English
Jason Scott-Warren English
Robert Macfarlane English
James Riley English
Mary Laven History, Jesus
David Goode Divinity, Wolfson
Caroline Gonda English, St Catharine’s
Rachael Harris AMES
Hugues Azérad MML
Rhiannon Harries Corpus Christi
Ian Patterson English, Queens’
Geoffrey Kantaris MML
Simon Szreter History
Maite Conde MML
Lauren Wilcox Gender Studies
Martin Ruehl MML
Richard Jennings HPS
Owen Saxton Physics, Murray Edwards
Drew Milne English
Michael Rice Criminology
Zygmunt G Baranski MML
Alice Blackhurst MML, King’s
Trudi Tate Clare Hall
Emma Spary History, Corpus Christi
Waseem Yaqoob History, Pembroke
Lucy Delap History, Murray Edwards
Christopher Prendergrast MML
Maria Manuel Lisboa MML, St. John’s
Edward Anderson POLIS, Trinity
George Roberts History, Trinity
Ewan St. John Smith Pharmacology, Corpus Christi
Harry Smith Geography
Duncan Bell POLIS
Bill Burgwinkle MML
Devon Curtis POLIS, Emmanuel
Geoffrey Maguire MML, Murray Edwards
Ian Roberts, FBA MML, Downing
Viviane C. da Annunciação MML, St John’s
Lucia Ruprecht MML, Emmanuel
Rory O’Bryen MML, King’s
Mark Harrison Christ’s, St John’s
Mezna Qato AMES, King’s
Catherine Burke Faculty of Education
Emma Mawdsley Geography
Martin Worthington Archaeology, St John’s
Rory Finnin Slavonic Studies, MML, Robinson
Samuel James History, Christ’s
Georgina Evans MML, St John’s
Steven Watson Education, Wolfson
John P Carr Plant Sciences
Stefano Castelvecchi Music, St John’s
Sinead Garrigan Mattar English, Girton
Sam Lucy Archaeology, Newnham
Michael Hrebeniak English, Wolfson
Charles Jones POLIS (emeritus)
Raphael Lyne English, Murray Edwards
Deborah Thom History, Robinson
Heather Webb MML, Selwyn
Pierpaolo Antonello MML, St John’s
Simon Schaffer HPS, Darwin
Annemarie Künzl-Snodgrass MML, Jesus
Barak Kushner AMES, Corpus
Judy Quinn ASNC, Newnham
Manali Desai Sociology
Sheila Watts MML, Newnham
Marina Frasca-Spada Philosophy, Corpus
Arathi Sriprakash Faculty of Education
Emma Wilson French, Corpus
Andrew Webber MML, Churchill
Lesley MacVinish Pharmacology, Wolfson
Talitha Kearey Classics, Clare
Alexandre Kabla Engineering, Emmanuel
Vic Gatrell History, Caius
Ewan Jones English, Downing
Mary Newbould English, Wolfson
Gavin Alexander English
Philip Nigst Archaeology
Anna Bagnoli Sociology, Wolfson
Fred Parker English, Clare
Robert Gordon MML
Peter de Bolla English, King’s
Isobel Maddison English
Iain Fenlon Music, King’s
Nicholas Guyatt History, Trinity Hall
Clément Mouhot Mathematics, King’s
Kamal A Munir Judge Business School
Justin Pearce POLIS, King’s
Robin Kirkpatrick MML Robinson
Njoki Wamai POLIS
Godela Weiss-Sussex MML
Catherine Tilley Engineering, Churchill
Subha Mukherji English, Fitzwilliam
Brad Epps MML, King’s
Allan McRobie Engineering
Susan Daruvala Trinity College
John Toland Newton Institute
Jean Michel Massing HoA, King’s
Jude Browne Gender Studies
Jane McLarty Theology, Wolfson
Zenobia Ismail Wolfson College
Sagnik Dutta Politics and International Studies/Corpus Christi
Maha Rafi Atal Trinity Hall; Politics and International Studies
Margaret Comer Archaeology, Jesus
Paul Sagar POLIS, King’s
Hero Chalmers English, Fitzwilliam College
Sarah Franklin Sociology
Lucy McMahon Land Economy/Development Studies/King’s
Matt Leming Psychiatry/Churchill College
Helen Strudwick Fitzwilliam Museum
Kaitlin Ball Magdalene College
Sarah Dillon English
Collin VanBuren Earth Sciences, Christ’s
Paulo Savaget Engineering, Hughes Hall
Mike Meaney Education, Churchill
Jessica Fernández de Lara CLAS, Emmanuel College
Luis O. Pérez CLAS
Marta Camisassa Faculty of Art History and Architecture (2004-5)
Dora Alexopoulou Linguistics, Murray Edwards
Mark Sabine External examiner for MML
Sarah Colvin MML (Jesus College)
Gabe Byng Clare Hall
Anita Herle Social Anthropology
Martin Dixon Land Economy, Queens’
Christopher Burlinson English, Jesus
Lauren Kassell HPS, Pembroke
Tom Hopkins POLIS
Adam Ledgeway MML
Isabelle McNeill MML, Trinity Hall
Amaleena Damlé MML
Joachim Whaley FBA MML, Caius
Philip Connell English, Selwyn
Michele Gemelos English, St Edmund’s
Christophe Gagne MML, Churchill
Ross Wilson English, Trinity
Rebecca Shepherdson Geography, Trinity
Jean Chothia English, Selwyn
Cyrus Chothia LMB, Wolfson
Silke Mentchen MML, Magdalene
Leo Mellor English, Murray Edwards
Anastasia Christophilopoulou Fitzwilliam Museum/ICE
Mia Gray Geography, Girton
Anna Barford Geography, Girton & Murray Edwards
Andrew Zurcher English, Queens’
Katie Nelson Law, Emmanuel
María Noriega-Sánchez MML, Sidney
Philip Knox English, Trinity
Nick Jardine HPS, Darwin
John Regan CRASSH, Clare Hall
Kate Peters History, Murray Edwards
Jocelyn Wyburd Language Centre
Nicolette Zeeman Faculty of English
Nicki Kindersley History, Pembroke
Charlotte Lemanski Geography, Robinson
Rod Mengham Faculty of English
Salim Al-Gailani HPS
Renaud Morieux History, Jesus
Mary Jennings Wolfson College
Debby Banham ASNaC, Newnham
Bill Adams Geography
Christine Lane Geography
Chris Sandbrook Geography, Darwin
Ian Willis Geography, St Catharine’s
Ruth Watson History, Clare
Teresa Webber History, Trinity
Richard Powell Geography, Fitzwilliam
Jane Partner English, Trinity Hall
Juliet Mitchell Jesus College
Aylmer Johnson Engineering, Clare
Monica Moreno Figueroa Sociology, Downing
Sara Poursafar Law, Newnham College
Tom Hamilton History, Trinity
Alexandra Walsham History, Trinity
Ana Martins ML, Exeter
Joanna Page Centre of Latin American Studies, Robinson
David Hillman English, King’s
Orietta Da Rold English
David Clifford English
Laura Carter History, Murray Edwards
Chris Warnes English
Melissa Calaresu History, Gonville and Caius
Sujit Sivasundaram History, Gonville and Caius
Jessica Berenbeim English, Jesus
Carmen Olmedilla Herrero, MML, St John’s
Leigh Denault History, Churchill
Jeff Miley Sociology, Darwin
Kiyoko Gotanda Zoology, Clare Hall