The week in higher education – 17 August 2023

Nurturing scholarship amid civil wars at the tip of Africa’s increasingly sun-blasted horn is a tall order. So you could imagine Somalia’s universities would jump at the chance to pursue sporting glory on a global stage. The only problem is, they were never asked, according to a report in The Times. Instead, Somalia was represented at the World University Games in Chengdu, China, by Nasra Abukar Ali, who put in a spirited but broadly humiliating performance and set a new record for the slowest 100 metres at an international event. Facing global embarrassment, Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation – allegedly the aunt of the young sprinter – was suspended. For her part, although admitting that a month’s training was perhaps not enough, Ms Ali seemed fairly pleased with the performance. “At least I finished; that’s all that matters,” she said.

For concert- and festival-goers, ticket scalpers are a familiar presence – promising a last-minute spot for an inflated price. But in China, scalpers have carved out a new and profitable niche. With top Chinese universities releasing only a limited number of free tickets for on-campus visitors, a move meant to limit the flow of enthusiastic parents, some former students have seized the opportunity for a quick buck. Peking University has reportedly suspended campus access for 46 alumni who made around CN¥1.5 million (£160,000) on 139 prospective students wanting to visit the campus. The visitors paid a staggering CN¥10,800 per tour – more than £1,000 – expecting a guided walk across university grounds, according to the Asia News Network. According to reports, however, not all the visitors made it through the university gates. Quite a few unhappy customers, one imagines.

Britain’s foremost Cold War historian, Sir Lawrence Freedman, may have enjoyed Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s epic take on the nuclear-bomb creator, but it was the summer’s other blockbuster that truly stirred his imagination. In a lengthy strategic review of Barbie on his popular Substack blog, the emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London explains how the revolution of the Kens – and its ultimate failure to overthrow the matriarchy of the Barbies – echoes the downfall of some of history’s bloodiest rebellions – albeit in a violence-free, family-friendly manner. Greta Gerwig’s film also emphasises the importance of ideological commitment for a successful coup d’état, while highlighting the strategic necessity of coalitions when retaining power. With Barbie’s searching questions on political power and conflict prompting such scholarly scrutiny, maybe Gerwig’s box office smash might become required viewing in war studies seminars rather than Nolan’s more worthy offering?

News that nearly nine in 10 students say they feel free to express themselves on campus seems unlikely to sway those concerned about the so-called free speech crisis in British universities. With 86 per cent of respondents to this year’s National Student Survey, whose results were released on 10 August, stating they were comfortable with speaking freely, some saw little cause for alarm, suggesting open debate was alive and well in academia, with former King’s College London vice-principal Jonathan Grant stating the “debate on freedom of speech is overblown and not backed up by evidence”. However, the Office for Students’ director of fair access, John Blake, saw things differently, stating that it was “an issue of concern to us to see any proportion of students who feel uncomfortable expressing their views”. Others agreed, with academics observing that the poll of 280,000 students revealed nothing about the real battleground in the free speech debate, namely whether scholars with contentious views felt comfortable talking about such issues in class and further afield. And so, the debate rumbles on.

There’s a North American saying: “You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.” One man for whom the sporting metaphor may leave a particular sting is the education and Welsh language minister, Jeremy Miles, who has admitted that he turned down an offer from one-time US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to romantically introduce him to some of her friends. The two were sat together at an event at Swansea University when Mr Miles thanked her for speaking up for LGBTQ+ rights, he told the BBC, and talk turned to his newly single status. The former First Lady offered to set him up on some blind dates, including with a world leader, whom he demurely declines to name. Mr Miles also turned down the offer, no doubt politely, but sadly annihilating an alternative timeline where he might have one day become a First Gentleman from the Swansea valleys.