UGent Graduation Walkout Over Cofnas Speech

Dozens of students walked out of Ghent University’s (UGent) graduation ceremony on Wednesday in protest against a speech by honorary vice-rector Freddy Mortier, who used the occasion to criticise the university’s handling of the disciplinary case against self-described “race realist” researcher Nathan Cofnas. The walkout, captured on video and widely shared on social media, was the latest escalation of a dispute over academic freedom that has gripped Belgium’s largest university for months.

The incident took place during the proclamation ceremony of UGent’s Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. As the emeritus professor of ethics spoke, students booed loudly and left the hall in a group, with some reportedly shouting that Mortier was defending “a racist”. Invited guests and professors are said to have joined the walkout.

What Mortier Said

According to VRT NWS, Mortier questioned where the boundary lies between science and pseudoscience, and argued that the claim of genetic intelligence differences between population groups — an idea he said he has “no sympathy for at all” — remains a legitimate hypothesis for scientific debate. “That the statement is false has never been demonstrated,” he said, adding that it is up to peers to scrutinise such claims.

Mortier also characterised the disciplinary pressure on Cofnas as “the technique of the lynch party”, suggesting colleagues had been “stirred up against him and motivated to file disciplinary complaints”, and adding: “No one comes up with that spontaneously.” He told De Morgen that he had not intended to defend Cofnas personally: “I have no sympathy for that man. It’s about the principle.”

Mortier said he regretted not being given the chance to explain his reasoning. “During a proclamation I like to take a moment to reflect on what marked the past year,” he said. “Here the subject was obvious. But I underestimated how sensitive it was. Had I known, I would never have brought it up.”

The Apology

After Mortier left the hall, dean Gita Deneckere took the floor to apologise. “There are limits to tolerance, but also to what is said at a ceremony like this,” she said, calling it “completely inappropriate” that the honorary vice-rector had used the moment to make a political point. Her apology drew loud applause. The students returned shortly afterwards and the ceremony resumed without Mortier.

UGent issued a brief statement: “UGent protects free debate. Opinions may clash. But a proclamation is about the graduates, and we regret that their moment was overshadowed by this controversy.”

Context: The Cofnas Case

Nathan Cofnas is an American postdoctoral researcher who describes himself as a “race realist” and is a prominent opponent of affirmative-action and equal-opportunity policies. His appointment at UGent provoked protests from students and staff earlier this year. In July, he published a blog post accusing Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarism. Arday — the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s history — resigned on 5 August and was found dead days later.

After Arday’s death, UGent announced it would give “appropriate follow-up” to Cofnas’s statements. As VRT NWS reported, Rector Petra De Sutter said the university values academic freedom “even when views are controversial”, but added that “that freedom is not unlimited. It goes together with responsibility and can be limited to protect the rights of others.” UGent placed Cofnas on preventive suspension on 20 August and, a week later, imposed three months of mandatory remote work and barred him from teaching pending a disciplinary inquiry. An open letter signed by roughly 800 academics called the procedure a “reprisal”.

A Campus Divided

The case has become a flashpoint in Belgium over academic freedom versus anti-discrimination law. Critics of the disciplinary action — including Mortier, philosopher Maarten Boudry, and the signatories of the open letter — argue that UGent is curtailing free inquiry and that controversial claims should be refuted through debate rather than banned. Supporters, including Rector De Sutter and legal scholar Pierre Thiriar, contend that the freedom is not absolute and that racial IQ claims cross legal and ethical lines. Even Boudry, while defending academic freedom, has described Cofnas’s own discourse as pseudoscience that “pollutes” legitimate genetic research.

The dispute has spilled beyond campus. According to Het Nieuwsblad, the United States has begun reviewing its ties with UGent, while the far-right Vlaams Belang has framed the suspension as a “disturbing evolution of shrinking academic freedom”. Right-leaning outlets such as pal.be have covered the walkout sympathetically toward Mortier.

What’s Next

Mortier’s remarks suggest the controversy is far from settled. “If the number of complaints becomes the yardstick for imposing disciplinary sanctions, there is no end in sight,” he told De Morgen. “Then a loud group of opponents can silence anyone” — including, he added, people with whom Cofnas’s critics agree.

The disciplinary inquiry into Cofnas continues, and its outcome is likely to determine whether UGent’s approach becomes a precedent for how Belgian universities balance academic freedom against anti-discrimination law. For now, the walkout has made clear that the debate will not stay confined to committee rooms: it has moved into the lecture hall, and the graduating class of 2026 was caught in the middle.