User:Wkerry/sandbox

The Hoar is a satire and free speech publishing platform at the University of Warwick. Founded in 2016, the site is independent of the university and students’ union.

Contributions to the Hoar are voluntary and uncredited. It describes itself as a ‘platform for expression’, with minimal editorial interference.

History
The Hoar was founded in January 2016 in response to perceived censorship and closed-mindedness at British universities, specifically following the temporary no-platforming of Maryam Namazie Warwick Students’ Union.

The site described itself as a platform for ‘opposing unheard views’ to be exchanged with ‘minimal interference from any central editorial team’. Contributions have criticised SU democracy, student media, student protest, corporate culture on campus, overuse of trigger warnings, the national press, free speech campaigners and tolerance campaigners.

Origin of name
Similarities have been noted between the Hoar’s name and that of Warwick’s established student newspaper, The Boar. In an interview with the Boar, however, a Hoar spokesperson explained that ‘hoar’ is an English word meaning ‘of white or greyish-white colour’ generally used in reference to hoar frost, a term that refers to a type of white ice crystal that adheres to exposed surfaces.

The term is derived from the Old English hār, an adjective that means ‘showing signs of old age’.