A student-run magazine at Oxford University entitled 'No Offence' has been banned from appearing at the student union's Fresher's Fair... incase it 'causes offence'.
No Offence was founded by final-year student Jacob Williams alongside Oxford local Lulie Tanett.
It was set up to "promote debate and publicise ideas people are afraid to express," VERSA News reported. It is linked to a group called 'Open Oxford'.
Oxford University Student Union runs the fresher's fair and has overall control over publications distributed.
According to the Independent, a clause in its by-law regulations states that OUSU has the right to remove anything it considers likely to cause offence.
No Offence Magazine is due to launch in the coming weeks
But Williams, No Offence's co-founder, said: “There is nothing offensive about healthy debate. To ban us from promoting it on the grounds that people might be offended proves everything the free speech movement has been saying."
The union stands by its decision to ban the publication.
Alasdair Lennon, OUSU’s VP for Welfare & Equal Opps told VERSA: “”We at OUSU do not wish to have an event which is intended to welcome new students to Oxford associated with a publication making light of racism, sexual violence, and homophobia in an attempt at satire."
Becky Howe, President of OUSU told HuffPost UK: "We have told ‘No Offence’ they cannot distribute their material at an OUSU event, but have not in any sense 'banned' it on a wider scale. Open Oxford will still have a stall at Freshers’ Fair.
"Given they want their messages to reach as many students as possible, we assume the editors will publish ‘No Offence’ online imminently, in the form in which they sent it to us."
The co-founders of No Offence say the elements of the magazine that have caused controversy are satire and not their own views. The publication will be distributed, though not at the Fair on 6th October.