Birmingham staff defend right to personal websites

Polly Curtis
Wednesday March 10, 2004

Academics in Birmingham have condemned moves by university bosses to ban 300 of their personal websites as an attack on their academic freedom.

Birmingham University's decision to stop hosting their staff's websites - weblogs - on university computers follows a series of controversies over some of their content which Jewish groups have labelled anti-Semitic.

For many years staff at the university have been able to set up their own weblogs on a university server on any subject they like, but, according to new guidelines, from March 31 they will have to demonstrate that content is "relevant and legitimate to their academic or administrative work".

Among the 300 websites that will be banned is one about air quality and another dedicated to family genealogies; many more are weblogs containing academics' CVs and publications and links to other recommended websites.

Trevor Batchelor, who works in the university's information services department, provides basic information about himself including the fact that he likes milkshakes. He says: "I don't understand why they don't sell them in pubs."

However other sites have caused international controversy. In October 2002 the Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote to the university demanding that they sever all links between the website of Sue Blackwell, an English lecturer, and the official university site. They claimed that links from the site led to images glorifying suicide bombing and comparing Israel with Nazi Germany.

Prior to this, Ms Blackwell had come under attack after she took down links between her website and Israeli websites as part of an academic boycott of Israel.

Ms Blackwell, who is leading a campaign to keep the sites, said: "I am sure that the University considers my sites an embarrassment. But it should see them as an asset. I have had messages of support from all over the world."

The Association of University Teachers at Birmingham has also condemned the proposed policy. The web owners' group has asked for meetings with the university administrators, but say their requests have been turned down.

A spokesperson for the university said: "It is important that our web site accurately reflects the business of the university. Personal web sites that are relevant and legitimate to academic or administrative work are being re-registered through a process of peer review."

She added that staff were free to create websites using external internet service providers.

Staff have set up a website to publicise the campaign. But it is likely to disappear after March 31st when the ban kicks in as it is hosted on the university server