# Is anyone else following this bizarre Jason Arday story out of Cambridge University? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289 "2026-08-11T02:18:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/141 "2026-08-15T18:41:39Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m curious: how was he as a teacher? Take this with the appropriate-sized grain of salt: > **[Jason Arday ‘accused student of white privilege’ after she questioned her mark...](https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/jason-arday-accused-student-of-white-privilege-after-she-questioned-mark-5HjdfsB_2/)** > > Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday accused a student of 'white privilege' after she questioned her grades, it has been claimed. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/142 "2026-08-15T19:36:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m curious: how was he as a teacher? What was his research, and did he contribute meaningfully to his field? Apparently his field was “sociology of education” and his thesis was something about peer mentoring in the process of training educators. He also wrote a memoir of his faked life experiences. These credentials don’t seem to form a very strong basis for appointment as a professor at the University of Cambridge, and moreover nobody seems to have done much vetting of them. In my observation, DEI hires are vetted, their stories check out. They have to be bulletproof on paper to support the decision to prioritize their application in case it’s challenged later. That doesn’t seem to have happened here. If this was a DEI hire, the responsible administrators are not very good at DEI hiring (which may well be the case). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/143 "2026-08-15T19:41:30Z")
I would never underestimate the power of likeability. If you like someone’s vibe, you may be willing to overlook a lot, like a lackluster CV, simply because you want that person to be your coworker. It sounds like this guy was a charmer. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/144 "2026-08-15T19:43:44Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It’s not in their free time. It’s part of their fucking job. In many universities, there is no obligation or expectation for faculty members to supervise graduate students. In such cases, often it is absolutely an act of service or charity or something. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/145 "2026-08-15T19:46:06Z")
In my experience, people who engage in academic dishonesty (and I am not commenting on the particulars of the charges in this case) usually do so because they feel bad rather than engaging in grift and graft as a premeditated plan for self-advancement and profit. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/146 "2026-08-15T19:47:25Z")
Well, they do toil in your lab 24/7, and you do not even have to pay them! ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/147 "2026-08-15T19:53:03Z")
I wish I had a history lab! And I should have clarified my remark: I meant students, not faculty members. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/148 "2026-08-15T20:13:23Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > I wish I had a history lab! One time in history lab in college I was trying to make a Baroque Period but accidentally made a Renaissance. Luckily I didn’t have to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/149 "2026-08-15T20:15:09Z")
I don’t have any experience with the British system, and I would expect an elite institution like Cambridge to engage in a bit more vetting of scholarship than search committees do at my little regional university, but honestly … in academic hiring, you do take a lot on faith. Most search committee members are not going to be able to do a fine-grained assessment of the candidate’s scholarship, since the whole point is to hire someone in an area you _haven’t_ already got covered. A particularly diligent or suspicious committee member might check to make sure that the publications listed on the candidate’s CV actually exist, but they would generally assume that the peer reviewers had vetted them for quality. We do call references, usually including the candidate’s dissertation advisor and others familiar with their scholarship, but these calls tend to yield a limited amount of information, as nobody ever says anything negative. (If you are faculty in a graduate program, you _most definitely_ want your students to get good jobs, and the candidates themselves, obviously, try to pick references whom they believe will help and not hurt them!) And I would _absolutely_ take it on faith if a candidate started talking about their achievements as a long distance runner, because 1) why would they lie?; and 2) I have only a very vague sense of what is a plausible or implausible achievement in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/150 "2026-08-15T21:20:04Z")
Poor old Cambridge can’t get out of its own way these days. It turns out that the university has hosted an academic project calling for schoolchildren to not learn about evolution, since it conflicts with Islamic teachings, reflects “Eurocentric monoculture” and could lead young people into temptation. The prof carrying on this noble work further inveighs against "gaining literacy and numeracy and other disciplinary skills demonstrated through qualifications.” Seems a bit at odds with Cambridge University’s mission, but whatever. [Article in The Spectator](https://spectator.com/article/why-is-cambridge-platforming-islamic-creationism/?edition=us) (possibly paywalled). A summary is provided [here](https://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2026/an-academic-project/) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/151 "2026-08-15T22:04:29Z")
There was nothing to fix there! You would have gotten the Baroque Period you were looking for if you had let your Renaissance rest undisturbed for a century or so, three at the most. But nobody has any patience these days anymore! ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/152 "2026-08-15T22:29:18Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Has it been confirmed that Arday committed suicide? I find lots of articles quoting the official police statement, but is there official confirmation of _suicide_? I can’t find any. The cause of death will be for the coroner to determine and they won’t do that until a full inquest has been held. That usually takes months rather than days or weeks, even in straightforward cases. London coroners have a reputation for being especially slow. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/153 "2026-08-15T22:37:50Z")
@APB Thanks. 👍🏽 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/154 "2026-08-15T23:11:19Z")
Besides, if it ain’t Baroque… ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/155 "2026-08-15T23:12:48Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > In my observation, DEI hires are vetted, their stories check out. They have to be bulletproof on paper to support the decision to prioritize their application in case it’s challenged later. That doesn’t seem to have happened here. If this was a DEI hire, the responsible administrators are not very good at DEI hiring (which may well be the case). The very phrase “DEI hire” implies the person wasn’t really qualified for their position. Back when I dabbled in recruiting when I was an HR generalist, our DEI efforts did not include taking race into account when hiring a qualified individual. Our DEI efforts including things like casting a wider net to attract more under represented candidates and making the promotion process more transparent. Never, not in a million years, would I describe anyone I hired as a DEI hire. I hired them because they were the best candidate available. Or the second best. Hey, sometimes your first choice isn’t available. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/156 "2026-08-15T23:20:21Z")
Your prof went easy on you! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/157 "2026-08-15T23:23:45Z")
No, that’s the standard policy when it isn’t Baroque. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/158 "2026-08-15T23:28:42Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Academics typically have their time allocated for specific projects. If they take on reviewing a thesis and doing a viva (or reviewing papers for publication) this is an optional extra, done voluntarily. It’s an expectation, but it’s often not part of their job or project description and unless it is, they do not get paid to do it. It needs to be done outside of their allocated hours, which, as it’s often not actually possible to do all the stuff which is in the job description in the time allocated, means doing it evenings and weekends. This is completely wrong, at least in every academic setting I’ve been part of over decades. @hajario got it exactly right. It’s interesting (really!) that we have had such divergent experiences. I mean, yes, academics are expected to work on a high proportion of weekends. But this task is no less important than any other, and is as likely to be done on weekend, or not, as any other. ETA: You’re in the UK, which is of course more relevant to this thread. Thanks for the lesson on the vast differences across the pond. I’m amazed…and now better-informed. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/159 "2026-08-15T23:39:29Z")
This may vary across countries, universities, and departments, and often depends on government priorities that are reflected in funding. In my experience in Canada, there is less expectation of taking on graduate students in arts and humanities, for example. And there is a difference between supervising a graduate student and reviewing a thesis as a member of a committee, which is often done as a favour to the supervisor and here is not a necessary expectation of the job. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289/160 "2026-08-16T00:10:07Z")
There simply can’t be any culture where supervising grad students isn’t a part of being a professor, because if there were, that culture would find itself without professors, a generation later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-following-this-bizarre-jason-arday-story-out-of-cambridge-university/1032289.md?page=9)