Petition to Terminate Employment of Controversial Fellow Nathan Cofnas at the University of Cambridge

UPDATE: Nathan Cofnas Petition

Just wanted to pop on to say thank you so very deeply to everyone who has gotten involved in this campaign so far to remove Nathan Cofnas from the University -- the sheer extent of support and attention thus far, from students, alumni, as well as staff, has been so positive and refreshing to see in spite of the difficult issue at hand.

When we set this up, we were unsure how much traction we would get in terms of signatures, etc., so were hesitant about setting a fixed number. Having reviewed this in light of the Sidgewick protest today, we are hoping to reach 1,000 signatures as our cut-off point (assuming this happens soon enough!) in terms of taking this forward. Whilst I admit that I still need to clarify the bureaucracy involved, we are hoping to essentially amass all of your valued signatures and testimonies and present them to both the Faculty of Philosophy and funders of the Leverhulme Trust (the idea being that sufficient pressure will make them aware of the reputational costs, if nothing else, that are implicated by employing someone so outspoken about such abhorrent views).

If the politics of removing Cofnas entirely are deemed too "problematic", we hope that this will at least compel administrators of both the central University and individual departments into being far less willing to fund research and provide fellowships to individuals like Cofnas in future.

As many of you have pointed out, the continued implicit validation of Cofnas' views through lack of decisive action being undertaken is a great shame; this University's insistence over recent years in neglecting to address the issue of its most controversial fellows is something which certainly requires evaluation. To be "neutral" in the face of discrimination is to side with the oppressor; the Faculty of Philosophy, owing to the strength and volume of your efforts, shall hopefully have no choice but to digest this fact.

We aim to keep you all posted but just want to sincerely thank all who have been vital in driving this campaign forward -- please continue sharing where you can, even to family, friends at other universities, etc., every signature continues to hold so very much weight. If you are or have been a student or academic at Cambridge (particularly if you identify as BME) and are willing to give us testimony or quotes, please do reach out using the emailing / messaging function of the petition.

Racism should never be tolerated anywhere, in any form; the University of Cambridge is not an exception and must be made aware of such.

Please continue helping us prove so.

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