V ponedeljek 26. 4. je dekan School of Arts and Education at Middlesex University razglasil ukinitev vseh filozofskih študijev na tej univerzi. Zoprno pri tej odločitvi je, da ne gre za kak obskuren filozofski oddelek, ampak za enega od centrov sodobnih filozofskih raziskav, kjer je zaposlen med drugim tudi profesor Peter Hallward, ki je napisal že veliko odmevnih knjig o sodobni filozofiji, predaval pa je tudi v Ljubljani. Zadnja evalvacija filozofskih raziskav na tej univerzi je večino projektov ocenila celo kot ‘world-leading’ ali ‘internationally excellent’, tako da je odločitev o ukinitvi študijev res nenavadna.
Odzivi na to nenavadno odločitev se zbirajo tule.
Nina Power v Guardianu:
Interest in philosophy has in fact grown massively in recent years. This is, in part, due to the increased numbers of students taking A-level philosophy, but is also the result of the widespread desire for critical thought and analysis in the face of an increasingly disorienting world. Closure at Middlesex would be a step back to the bad old days when philosophy meant a few young, white and almost entirely male students at privileged institutions discussing the finer points of formal logic over sherry.
Middlesex Univ. je ocitno le fasada za nabiranje denarja za aministracijo:
"the University currently expects each academic unit to contribute
55% of its gross income to the central administration."
Bitka se je kot kaže razvnela v pravo vojno:
"Some Middlesex University Philosophy students, along with Philosophy professors Peter Osborne and Peter Hallward, were suspended from the University this afternoon [21.5.]. Hallward and Osborne were issued with letters announcing their suspension from the University with immediate effect, pending investigation into their involvement in the recent campus occupations. The suspension notice blocks them from entering University premises or contacting in any way University students and employees without the permission of Dean Ed Esche or a member of the University’s Executive." (vir: savemdxphil.com
Kratek povzetek dogajanja je tudi na Wikipediji.