Free Speech Union criticises plans for students to report on-campus 'microaggressions' via QR codes

As reported in the Telegraph this weekend ("Report microaggressions through QR codes on campus, Lamda students told," 20th August), students at Britain’s oldest drama school are being urged to report teachers’ 'microaggressions' using QR codes placed in lecture halls. Microaggressions are considered acts of subtle and possibly unintentional discrimination, which may range from making assumptions about a person based on race, to the use of incorrect gender pronouns.

The report also notes that this monitoring system has drawn criticism from the Free Speech Union, which has "legally represented academics whose speech has been policed or silenced", and "is wary of a growing trend of higher education institutions allowing 'sousveillance' [i.e., surveillance conducted by members drawn from within the group being monitored]".

The gist of the Telegraph story is that the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (Lamda) recently introduced a system of anonymous reporting for perceived slights or discrimination after consulting with its student body of trainee actors, directors and technicians. As a result of that consultation process, students who feel they have suffered or seen a microaggression can now scan QR codes that give instant access to "Lamda’s Microaggression Reporting Form". The forms ask students to “recount incidents in as much detail as possible", and then to suggest what they "would like done in response" to the perceived aggressions.

The Telegraph report continues:

Lamda has said that the QR codes were used as part of a trial to test a system of anonymous reporting for microaggressions, a have been taken down. However, the school plans to roll out a new reporting system for the 2022/23 academic year, and has not confirmed whether the QR codes will be included or dropped entirely.

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