New laws to combat extremism pose a major threat to university life, according to student leaders in St Andrews.
Forthcoming legislation will require universities, colleges and schools to help prevent people becoming radicalised.
However, the University of St Andrews Students’ Association has warned that counter-terrorism legislation will create a toxic atmosphere and a culture of surveillance and suspicion on campus.
It also fears it will threaten academic freedom, restricting the Fife university’s ability to host certain events and speakers and encouraging the use of IT filters.
The Counter Terrorism and Security Bill does not extend to Scotland, but draft guidance has been produced by the Scottish Government mirroring most of its proposals.
Association president Pat Mathewson said: “This is one of the largest threats to our university community.”
He claimed vulnerable people most at risk of radicalisation would be less likely to confide in tutors and student leaders if they became part of that “protocol”.
He said: “If we don’t have an atmosphere of trust, we can’t hope to flourish as an academic institution.
“We hope the Scottish Government will stand up against the legislation coming from down south that would dramatically change university and college life as we know it.”
The association has launched a petition against the guidance, which it described as a Scottish McCarthyism.
Last month, student groups at Dundee University said proposals to force all speakers at universities to submit their talks and visual material such as powerpoint presentations 14 days in advance so they can be vetted by officials were ‘Big Brother Orwellian stuff’.