Imperial President sends mass email on EU stance
Email said "it is not our role to tell people how to vote" but mentioned pro-EU position
On Monday, Imperial President, Alice Gast, and Provost, James Stirling, sent an email to all staff and students, encouraging us to vote and reminding us of their stance on the EU.
After encouraging recipients to register to vote in the June referendum, Professor Gast described how Imperial had “contributed to collective efforts in the higher education community to understand and communicate the impact of EU membership on research and education” and mentioned the pro-EU open letter she had signed back in February, that was published in the Sunday Times.
She added, “While it was important for the College to articulate its point of view, it is not our role to tell people how to vote”, despite having just described Imperial’s part in producing pro-EU evidence for the House of Lords.
Professor Gast then hung back, saying, “The issues associated with the referendum are complex and affect different individuals, companies and institutions in different ways”. So, vote how you want, we guess.
The email's subject line was "Message to the Community on the EU Referendum".
The Education Act of 1986 only enforces a “balanced presentation of political views” within a school environment. There is no such rule at universities. Imperial’s own communications and Freedom of Speech policies also allow this – Professor Gast seems to be well within her rights to have emailed students and staff encouraging them to vote a certain way.
Imperial’s own students for Brexit campaign team told FELIX: “While we applaud Professor Gast for encouraging staff and students to vote, we disagree with the implication that a Brexit would be detrimental to UK science”.
The heavy reminder comes after weeks of to-and-fro between the ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ camps, headed up by Boris Johnson and David Cameron respectively. In the last week, Boris has been criticised for saying the EU has the same aims that Hitler did, and Cameron has been accused of using the threat of war to frighten voters into remaining.
Remain posters have been spotted around college in recent weeks, and a the Big EU debate is scheduled for June the 2nd in lecture theatre 164 in the Skempton Building. Speakers will include Tariq Ali, the staunch socialist and writer, and deputy leader of the Green party, Amelia Womack.
The referendum is on Thursday the 23rd of June, and the penultimate day of term. You can register to vote, or request a postal ballot, until the 7th.
