The controversy surrounding Charlie Kirk's so-called academic blacklist has reignited debates about free speech in UK universities, with critics accusing the right of hypocrisy. The issue came to a head after George Abaraonye, the ousted Oxford Union president-elect, faced backlash for laughing at the fatal shooting of Kirk in September. Abaraonye wrote in a WhatsApp group: 'Charlie Kirk got shot, let's fucking go', and on Instagram: 'Charlie Kirk got shot loool'. He later apologised, stating the messages were made before realising the shooting was fatal, and intended to highlight the irony of someone pro-gun being shot.
Commentator Jason Okundaye, who faced similar scrutiny as a Cambridge undergraduate for a tweet about white people, argues that the media's obsession with student behaviour is unethical. He notes that such jokes are common online, including by right-wing figures mocking George Floyd's death, yet Abaraonye was singled out. Okundaye suggests this reflects a desire to discredit progressive students who might become future leaders, particularly at Oxbridge institutions seen as finishing schools for the elite.
The right's panic over campus free speech is hypocritical, Okundaye argues, as they simultaneously seek to discredit students. He highlights that universities should be spaces for students to make mistakes and develop ideas, but media intrusion creates a pressure-cooker environment where personal scores are settled by leaking private messages to the press. This undermines the very free speech principles conservatives claim to champion.
