Oxford Student Union is planning to hire 'sensitivity readers' to stop student newspapers including historic campus sheet Cherwell publishing 'problematic' articles that are 'implicitly racist or sexist'.
Officials at the student body are planning to set up a 'Student Consultancy of Sensitivity Readers' who would be elected and paid to check articles across various newspapers for signs of supposed insensitivity.
Students claim there is a 'need for better editing' to review journalism from Cherwell because of 'high incidences of insensitive material being published'.
The student council says 'problematic articles' are currently being published that are 'implicitly racist or sexist' or 'just generally inaccurate and insensitive'.
But the proposed crackdown has sparked a backlash from Cherwell alumni, who branded the move a 'bonkers' and 'horrific' attempt to strangle press freedom and suppress non-woke or anti-woke views.
It is the latest free speech row at Oxford, after 150 rebel academics threatened to boycott teaching and outreach work because Oriel College refused to take down a statue of Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
Oxford students recently escalated the cultural wars after removing a portrait of the Queen from Magdalen's Middle Common Room due to the monarchy's links to colonialism - a move called 'absurd' by ministers.
Material published by other student newspaper including the Oxford Student, and student societies could also fall under the scrutiny of the 'sensitivity readers'.
Oxford Student Union is planning to hire 'sensitivity readers' to stop student newspapers including historic campus sheet Cherwell publishing 'problematic' articles
Students claim there is a 'need for better editing' to review journalism from Cherwell because of 'high incidences of insensitive material being published'
The student council passed a motion to set up the project last month by 26 votes to five, with an attached trigger warning for bigotry.
They agreed: 'Using elected reviewers who can take pieces to people more qualified than them can help ameliorate the potential damage from content.'
Responding to the proposal, former BBC broadcaster Michael Crick, who edited the Cherwell while at Oxford University's New College, called the move 'horrific'.
He likened it to a government demanding to inspect newspaper before they are published, telling the Telegraph: 'If you're going to have a boring, dull, vetted newspaper then nobody's going to read it.'
Rachel Johnson, the Prime Minister's sister who edited the student magazine Isis while at Oxford, added: 'I picked up a copy of Cherwell on the train [on a recent visit] and it was mainly students talking about themselves and identity issues.
Former BBC broadcaster Michael Crick and Rachel Johnson are Oxford alumni. They branded the move 'horrific' and 'bonkers' and warned of the threat it posed to press freedom
'Each article had a 'trigger warning' rating at the top for if it contains triggering words or contains triggering content. The whole thing already - before even the student sensitivity scan of each piece - felt really sad.'
Cherwell, founded in 1920, is one of the UK's oldest student publications. It counts authors Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene as former editors.
The campus newspaper was forced to apologise and remove an article 'reappraising' composer Richard Wagner in January over complaints it was anti-Semitic. Officials are now in talks over how the sensitivity readers will work in practice.
Both Cherwell and the Oxford Blue, a new campus newspaper, told the Telegraph that they are yet to be notified by Oxford SU.
MailOnline has approached Oxford SU for comment.
It comes after ministers slapped down 150 rebel academics protesting over the Cecil Rhodes statue after the Government warned that Oxford students could win compensation if they are affected by a planned teaching boycott.
Left-wing dons say they will still give lectures to Oriel College's 300 undergraduates, but deny them the chance for in-depth discussion in small groups or one-to-one sessions until the monument to the colonialist is toppled.
Proponents of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign claim the small statue high up on Oriel's main building 'glorifies colonialism', but the college last month decided it would stay following a backlash from donors.
A Downing Street spokesman said universities had a duty to provide good-quality teaching and that the Government would expect 'appropriate action' to be taken if that was disrupted.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg also weighed into the row, describing the academics concerned as a 'useless bunch', adding: 'We must not allow this wokeness to happen.'
The rebel academics, led by Professor Kate Tunstall - the head of another college - have threatened not to assist Oriel College with its outreach work and admissions interviews, and they will refuse to attend or speak at talks, seminars and conferences sponsored by the college.
Asked about the row, a No10 spokesman said: 'Students rightly expect to get a good deal for their investment in higher education and we would expect universities to take appropriate action should any student be seriously affected by these actions which could include compensation.
'We fully believe in protecting academic freedom but universities have a duty to maintain access to good-quality tuition as a priority especially given the disruption the pandemic has caused students already.'
Proponents of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign claim the small statue high up on Oriel's main building 'glorifies colonialism', but the college last month decided it would stay following a backlash from donors
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg weighed into the row, describing the academics concerned as a 'useless bunch', adding: 'We must not allow this wokeness to happen'
Mr Rees-Mogg discussed the issue in the Commons after Tory MP Tom Hunt complained about the 'wokification' of Oxford following the Rhodes row and a vote by Magdalen students to take down a portrait of the Queen in their Common room.
Mr Rees-Mogg responded: 'As for Magdalen College, it's not exactly 1687/88, it's a few pimply adolescents getting excited and taking down a picture of Her Majesty. It makes Magdalen look pretty wet, but it's not the end of the world.'
'As regards the academics refusing to teach, I'm half tempted to say you should be lucky not to be taught by such a useless bunch, but if they are that feeble, what are you missing and what are they doing there? Why don't they have any pride in their country, our marvellous history and our success?
'Rhodes is not a black and white figure, perhaps they're not learned enough to have bothered to look up the history of Rhodes in any detail, which has been written about quite extensively now and as I say, he is a figure of importance and of interest and of enormous generosity to Oxford. Do they want to give the money back to the descendants of Cecil Rhodes, or are they intending to keep it to themselves?
The rebel academics, led by Professor Kate Tunstall - the head of another college - have threatened not to assist Oriel College with its outreach work and admissions interviews
'So we must not allow this wokeness to happen, the idea of changing Churchill College, well perhaps we should introduce a Bill to rename Cambridge, Churchill and call it Churchill University and that would be one in the eye for the Lefties.'
Trade minister Greg Hands gave his view on the issue, telling LBC's Nick Ferrari: 'Well look, I was just hope that universities get on with their actual job which is teaching students and making sure students get the best possible degrees.
'I'm not following all the ins and outs of everything that's going on at every university, but I do wish that our focus was on learning.
'A lot of students are paying a lot of money on tuition fees and on living so I'd hope universities would focus on their core mission.'
One of those supporting the anti-Rhodes campaign is Robert Gildea, Professor of Modern History at Worcester College, who today suggested Oriel College should place a sign saying 'Sorry' around Rhodes' neck.
Professor Gildea was one of the signatories of the petition, and said the boycott is a way of 'putting pressure' on the college after many alternatives had failed.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'One of the options offered by the commission was to retain and contextualise, so if the college put up a notice explaining who Cecil Rhodes was that would be fine.
'If the college put a placard around his neck at lunchtime today saying 'Sorry' that would also be fine.'
Prof Gildea added that sculptor Antony Gormley's suggestion that the statue be turned round to face the wall is also a 'very interesting idea'.
A statement from the boycott organisers said: 'Faced with Oriel's stubborn attachment to a statue that glorifies colonialism and the wealth it produced for the college, we feel we have no choice but to withdraw all discretionary work and goodwill collaborations.'
It added: 'The collegiate university can only effectively and credibly work to eradicate
