8 October 2014

Colleagues,

Most of you will be aware of the deplorable incident at Freshers’ Fair last week. The LSE Men’s Rugby Club handed out a leaflet that was homophobic, misogynistic, and otherwise offensive. The Club embarrassed itself, its sport, and the School.

I am proud of the LSE Students’ Union for taking prompt and decisive action. They have dissolved the Rugby Club, at least for the current year. You can find the statement by SU General Secretary Nona Buckley-Irvine here: http://lsesu.tumblr.com/post/99409601163/updated-statement-about-the-rugby-club.

LSE is also conducting an investigation, led by the Office of the Secretary. As is always the case with inquiries into individual conduct that could lead to disciplinary action, this proceeds without publicity, and with a strong concern for due process. I have asked that this be completed as expeditiously as possible. It is important, however, to make clear that the School condemns this and all actions that undermine mutual respect and inclusivity within the LSE community, including the denigration of anyone based on genderor sexual orientation.

But I write not simply about this particular incident or specific responses to it. This case calls our attention to broader issues. LSE is not free of the hostility and bias on lines of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and class that we see and criticise in other institutions and in society at large. We should hold ourselves to a high standard. Moreover, it is not enough to say we condemn hostility and bias against female and LGBTQ members of our community. We must act in stronger and more effective ways to achieve a truly inclusive, safe, and open institution.

We have a policy on Equality and Diversity which we need to live up to – and we need to make sure no one thinks of this merely as compliance with the law or as a set of bureaucratic procedures. We need to examine our policy to be sure it is adequate, and we need to look seriously at how we respond to negative incidents – including those with less publicity. But even more, we need to find positive, proactive ways to reduce bias and hostility and increase mutual respect and support. This goes for issues of disability, nationality, ethnicity, religion (or non-religion) as well as class, gender, and sexual orientation. This is a matter of culture, but also of individual actions for which everyone should feel responsible, and of how the institution works. It is important for staff as well as for students. It is a matter of wellbeing, but also of moral and even intellectual responsibility. Not least of all, it is one of the ways, along with research and teaching, in which LSE should aim for excellence and leadership.

In order that we make strides forward in this, I have asked our Registrar, Simeon Underwood, to draw up plans for a School-wide programme of practical action to combat bias and abuse based on gender or sexual orientation. This may include changes to the existing Equality and Diversity Executive Group or Consultative Forum or the creation of a new Task Force. As he develops plans, Simeon will work with other leaders in the School, including HR Director Indi Seehra. He will seek the help of representatives of key campus organisations, including Spectrum, the Gender Equality Forum and relevant societies within the Students’ Union. I have asked him to report back to me by Monday 27 October at the latest, and for this issue to be on the agenda of the Director’s Management Team on Tuesday 28 October. We will report back to the larger School community after this. If you have suggestions for practical actions the School could or should be taking, please contact Simeon at s.underwood@lse.ac.uk or contact the leaders of organisations working on these concerns. And of course you may write to me directly as many of you already have done.

Finally, I should like to use this message to apologise on behalf of the School, especially to our female and/or gay first-year students, who had to face this abuse during their first few days at LSE. The School and the Students’ Union both have counselling and support services and I encourage you to make use of them. But the School also has organisations prepared to campaign for change and I encourage you to make use of them as well.

Despite this embarrassment, we are enormously proud of LSE and proud partly because it does not choose to stand still and accept injustice or abuse but works to change them. Sometimes that means changing ourselves as well as the larger society. But if we can make positive change, we can turn this embarrassment into another reason to be proud.

Professor Craig Calhoun
Director and President