Abortion rights activism on university campuses was explored last week at a panel on free speech.
The debate took place last Friday (6th February) at Liverpool John Moore’s University’s Student Life Building.
The event was co-hosted by LJMU’s student union and Index on Censorship, a leading magazine and website focusing on free speech.
Described as “a voice for the persecuted” on its website, the latest issue of the Index magazine focuses on the issues surrounding Gen Z. It is titled ‘Gen Z is revolting: why the world’s youth will not be silenced’.
‘Gen Z’ is the term coined for the generation born between 1997-2012, making them currently 14 to 29 years old. They are the first generation recognised as growing up with technology such as mobile phones and social media.
Martin Bright, the Editor at large of Index on Censorship, opened the event. On the panel three current LJMU students discussed the topic: “Has Gen Z been silenced on and off campus?”
It was chaired by Connor O’Brien, a LJMU alumni and the current editorial assistant at Index on Censorship.
The group covered serious topics such as how much freedom of speech should be allowed on a university campus.
They discussed which opinions, if any, should face some form of censorship. Much of this discussion surrounded having both a pro-life and pro-choice society in the student union.
Holly Vetere, one of the panellists, said: “I think it’s very important to know what you want, know what you’re speaking for, and know that you are allowed a voice.”
Miss Vetere spoke at the panel after proposing a policy to the LJMU Student’s Union last year to “make the campus pro-choice” in response to a pro-life society being set up. In response, the policy went to a referenda, in which the majority vote was for a pro-choice campus.
In a joint statement from 2024, LJMU and the Student’s Union responded that UK universities could not prevent legal societies such as pro-life groups from operating. It said that they “must allow for the lawful expression of views on university campus and must protect the rights of students and staff to hold beliefs that may be opposed to the beliefs and ideas of others”.
Another topic which was widely discussed was the use of social media and freedom of speech. The panel discussed both the positives and negatives of social platforms.
There was praise that the platforms have allowed a younger generation to have access to more discussions surrounding important issues.
But, it was acknowledged that many people choose to self-censor.
They continued that refraining from joining discussions or putting their own opinions online is due to fear of others seeing those comments.
On the topic, Mr O’Brien said: “I think there’s a big problem on social media, especially for Gen Z people, of self-censorship.”
He continued: “Everybody can see everything that you say.”
The event was attended by current students who had the chance to ask questions and voice their thoughts to the panel.
The majority of attendees were in the generation being discussed, and gave some interesting insight on their experiences surrounding freedom of speech in the modern day.
One attendee, Lucy Ellison, a current MA Journalism student, shared her thoughts on the panel after the event: “I thought the panel was super interesting and super informative. I’ve never discussed free speech like this with a group of people, so it was informative for me going forward.”
With the Government currently considering banning under-16s from using social media, as Australia has already done, it allows a wider discussion of what using social media at an early age has done for Gen Z.
If the ban does come in place, the future generation will likely treat social media differently, which could change their perception on censorship too.
