ABERYSTWYTH students have hit back after heavy criticism in a report that says the university is “hostile to free speech”.

Aberystwyth Students’ Union, and the university as a whole was ranked ‘red’, the worst category, in the second Free Speech University Rankings rel­eased this week.

The FSUR report said the university and its students’ union “has banned and actively censored ideas on campus”.

“The University of Aberystwyth and the University of Aberystwyth Students’ Union collectively create an environment that is hostile to free speech,” the report outlines.

“The university, which has moved to a red ranking, places restrictions on racist and sexist speech and has banned a speaker as a result of this in the past three years.

“The students’ union, which has maintained its red ranking, has banned the Daily Express, the Sun and the Daily Star; has placed restrictions on offensive ‘banter’; and operates an outright ban on racist, sexist and homophobic slurs.”

In the first FSUR released last year, the overall ranking was amber, but Students’ Union president Lewis Donnelly has defended the union’s policies in the wake of the heavy criticism.

“Aberystwyth University has time and time again proven to be one of the safest universities in the UK,” he said.

“The policies that have been passed by the student body have not been put in place to manage or restrict freedom of speech, but to continue to provide the foundations on which Aberystwyth has been known as one of the safest places in the country.

“I stand by, and will continue to stand by, all of the policies that the Students’ Union operates on and I believe all of these have been correct.”

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