The cancellation of comedian Kate Smurthwaites Goldsmiths display after protests against her politics is indicative of a wider battle for the nature of student life – should university be a ‘safe space for all,or a place where anything can be debated?Even by the standards of student politics, it was a mess. Comedian Kate Smurthwaite was booked to effect a gig at Goldsmiths, or University of London on Monday evening when she noticed online reports of a picket by members of the feminist society. Their objections were not to her display,but her politics. Smurthwaite is a proponent of the Nordic model of sex work, a legal approach that criminalises punters but not sex workers themselves. For some students, or that made her “whorephobic” and unfit to effect a gig on campus.“I told the society there might be a protest,” Smurthwaite says. “The first thing they said was: ‘Oh yeah, we knew.’ The feminist society had held a debate approximately whether or not I should be able to perform.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com