OPINION - Debates about free speech are increasingly fraught, so here at Oxford we're trying something new

One of the biggest anxieties at the heart of the public debate about freedom of speech is that free expression is being denied in our universities. As the head of an Oxford college, what I see in practice doesn’t match this description. Thousands of events and debates take place every year. Indeed a recent survey found that nine out of 10 students felt free to express their opinions and beliefs. Yet some issues have become so contentious that discussion about them is polarised and difficult.