little pinks in the UK again University College London associate professor Michelle Shipworth has been banned from teaching her own course, after a student complained that discussing modern slavery in China was too “provocative”. Incredibly, UCL sided with students who said they were “distressed” by her handling of the topic, and imposed a raft of restrictions on Shipworth in order to ensure their courses remained “commercially viable” to students — UCL’s courses “need to retain a good reputation amongst future Chinese applicants”.
UCL has the highest number of students in the UK — almost a quarter of its total student population. More than 10,000 students are at the university, typically paying two to three times the fees of home-grown students – up to £40,000 a year.
Shipworth was also accused of being anti-Chinese after she caught out two students from China who were cheating and they were subsequently expelled. One had used a body double in an attempt to hoodwink her during a supervision.
Shipworth’s case has been taken up by the Free Speech Union