Student Jay Chan discusses the political issues in his school and the need for free speech

After the attack on Salman Rushdie the fight for free speech is more important than ever, read Jay Chan's account of free speech issues at his school

My name is Jay Chan, a very vocal student who has strong feelings about different issues and topics in my school. I personally know how limited platforms are for students to voice their opinions in schools.

One issue I campaigned against was the installation and of Hikvision cameras on my school campus. I am not against the installation of CCTV as I know that my students need safeguarding and security. What I am against is that Hikvision is owned by the Chinese Communist Party and enabled human rights abuse in Xin Jiang against Uyghurs. They also have AI functions, and some might even be able to transfer data to Hikvision’s server.

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee recommended that Hikvision and Dahua equipment not be allowed to operate in the UK because of human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. Ironically the school that promised to create a safe place for Muslim students had used the same company that enabled oppression against Uyghur Muslims in China.

After I discovered this I immediately sent a letter to my school, asking them to reply to my concerns. However, I received no reply but a warning from my teacher that I should not expose these things on social media, asking me to delete all the posts I posted on social media about this incident and replied with absolutely nothing. No specification, no promises even no explanation for the concerns I had raised!

I have heard lots of stories like me; I know a Young Conservative who was kicked out of college because he supports the Rwanda Policy. A student was bullied by having Nazi symbols drawn on his workbooks because he had Conservative views. In my opinion, acceptance of free speech is a serious issue on school campuses.

I believe in freedom of expression, and I believe every student should be entitled to share their views and get their concerns properly heard and responded to. No one should be silenced for having a belief system it should be rewarded, if we put ‘hurting feelings’ in the rulebook, and punish those for holding a different opinion, what kind of generation will we raise? If students do not learn and respect different thoughts and tolerate people in various backgrounds and positions, who can we blame for their failure?

I support all students to express their views on campus, no matter whether they are, political or not political. No one should be keeping their opinions to themselves or censored. Educators must accept and welcome diversity of opinion. Teachers shouldn’t punish or censor students for having a different political opinion.

I have just graduated from Year 11, and I decided to study in another school for A-level, while I wish to keep my continuous effort to campaign for freedom of speech as I enter my new school. I know student’s opinions matter, and their concerns must be listened to, I know it is anti-British to silence views you don’t like.

Defending freedom of speech is only one of my goals. I have lots of important plans including reforming the student council, cleaning up campus, tackling bullying, and building a strong relationship between students and teachers.

That’s why I decided to form a team of students who run for student leadership in my new school. I name it the Oak Tree Alliance because Oak Tree is the national tree of Britain, and also symbolizes wisdom in the Bible. I want my alliance to collect thoughts and opinions from students and put them in leadership positions, working together to bring changes. I believe students have great potential and I want to push that button to unleash it.

By Jay Chan