Anti/SJW at UK universities

I think you might be overthinking what Universities are like, at least here in the UK. There's certainly no shortage of hysterical types of campaigners at them, but they tend to be a rather small minority that you need to go and seek out. I've consistently been at various Universities (as a student and now staff) since 2009, and none of the issues listed above have ever affected me.

What you write in coursework should be relevant to the assignment you're completing, so concerns about being excluded/downgraded for writing certain things isn't really applicable. The whole point of an assignment is that you can demonstrate an understanding of a range of opinions, and back them up with solid academic references. If you do that, you can't be penalised for understanding a theoretical position that another person takes. If, however, you use an essay as an opportunity to go on a Katie Hopkins-style rant about things which piss you off, then you're going to be downgraded simply for not following academic convention and meeting the learning outcomes of that module. The type of course you do will determine the 'acceptability' of tackling controversial social issues. If you're studying a social science course, it's expected that you be able to freely analyse controversial issues. If you're completing an assignment in Art and Design but instead start ranting about gays, then it's going to be zeroed due to not having relevance. I currently teach in social sciences, and one of the assignments I mark is on welfare conditionality and the way 'poor people' are portrayed when receiving welfare. I receive a range of assignments supporting or opposing the idea of welfare conditionality, and what I look for is that they can demonstrate knowledge of the position that they take, and can critically examine the position they have rejected. Some students will use nasty stereotypes within their work, but if that's linked to the relevant discourse they're talking about then it's not my place to mark them down for merely acknowledging that those views exist. Ultimately, I don't care whether I agree with them or not, just as long as they are referencing and demonstrate knowledge of what they're talking about. If a teacher did decide to be an arsehole and inject their own opinions into their marking and downgrade people they disagree with, there's second markers, moderation and external examiners who all have the chance to examine the work and spot those biases, so it really wouldn't be worth the headache of downgrading people they disagree with.

As for what you can or cannot do on campus: it's the exact same as anywhere else in the country. I've never heard anything close of being told to always smile at minorities, otherwise you'll be accused of discrimination. I just follow the very simple rule of not being a dick, which goes for anywhere.

The latter question is an interesting one, and will depend on your university. The National Union of Students like to come up with overly simplistic solutions to complex problems, and you occasionally see that Student Unions are taken in by that. The only mandatory courses I am aware of at the moment (other than standard inductions during freshers) are sexual consent courses, which tend to be part of your course induction anyway if they do occur. Not every University does it, but it is something some do and you also have the option to leave if you don't want to be a part of it. I had the misfortune of sitting in one last year, and had a spotty teenager telling me about how 'no means no', with very little knowledge beyond the Powerpoint slides they had clearly been given. Don't get me wrong, sexual intimidation and violence is a very serious issue which should be tackled, but having an inexperienced person merely reading from slides is just the illusion of doing something without really doing so, which is my main gripe with the NUS' approach. Unfortunately for the people running that workshop, being a qualified social worker (and specialising in sexual grooming research) allowed me to know what they were talking about very well, and I admit I did play around with them a bit by asking questions to see their level of understanding. For example, they were talking about how marital rape is illegal, and I mentioned how that law specifically came about and in what year, which they didn't know. >.< So yeah, you might have something not-so-fun like that, but it usually has the option to leave, isn't that inconvenient, and only lasts for a short period of time. Other than that, I'm not aware of any other 'compulsory' courses they make students attend. Fortunately, a lot of what the NUS does exists solely inside an echo chamber, so they're easy to avoid if you aren't interested in that sort of thing. If you are interested, then it shouldn't be too difficult to get involved, but just be prepared for most students outside of that circle being rather apathetic towards them.