Oxford students vote to ban 'ableist, classist and misogynist' reading lists as academics tell them 'leave university if you don't know what it's for'

Oxford University's student union have voted to ban 'ableist, classist and misogynist' readings lists, leading to academics hitting out at the body. 

Students from the prestigious university voted to prohibit reading lists containing the aforementioned themes, claiming that they should not be made to engage with any 'harmful material'. 

A policy adopted by the student union went on to state that students should not be required to take part in lectures, tutorials or seminars or undertake exams that involve 'hate speech'. 

As first reported by The Telegraph, the student union also requested for the university to produce guidelines to faculties asking them to consider any material they include on reading lists 'amounts to hate speech'.

The policy, titled Protection of Transgender, Non-binary, Disabled, Working Class and Women Students from Hatred in University Contexts', was put forward by Alex Illsley, co-chairman of Oxford's LGBTQ+ campaign. 

Oxford University's current guidelines protect all free speech that falls within the realms of the law. Mr Illsley has argued that readings lists contain 'ableist, transphobic, classist and misogynistic content' however. 

Academics from the university have hit out at the latest motion, reasoning that the policy was an attempt to censor free speech. 

Richard Dawkins, a professor at Oxford, said: 'So history students can't read up on women's suffrage, or the rise of Nazism or Apartheid, theology students can't read [the] Bible or Koran? The racism of just about everyone who ever lived before these privileged juveniles were born?

 'If you don't know what a university is for, please leave Oxford and make way for those who do.' 

An Oxford spokesperson told The Telegraph that the university have made no plans to censor free speech.