Jottings
News from the UK and around the World
. . . the wild , the wacky , the wonderful , the weird and the downright infuriating
Nightmares for dreaming spires
Members of the Middle Common Room ( MCR ), used only by postgraduate students at Magdalen College in Oxford , have agreed to remove a photographic portrait of the Queen on display there . A majority of those entitled to vote were reported to have decided it was “ unwelcoming ” because the monarch represents “ recent colonial history ,” with one student adding that “ patriotism and colonialism are not really separable .”
The action was immediately condemned by UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson who called the decision ” absurd ” and by Oxford
University ’ s Chancellor Lord Patten who condemned the students for being “ offensive and obnoxiously ignorant .”
It was later revealed that few MCR members bother to attend its regular meetings , and the vote to remove the photograph was carried by only ten of the 17 who turned up . Moreover , and to the fury of the establishment , the student who tabled the motion is a 25- year-old privately educated American post-graduate , who is the son of a millionaire from Washington D . C .
Meanwhile , 150 Oxford academics at Oriel college have refused to teach there after it decided to keep its controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes . Campaigners against the statue ’ s presence claim he stood for white supremacy and racism . Rhodes ’ statue sits outside a building named after him and the College ’ s governing body said last year that the majority of members wanted it to be removed . However , in May they decided to leave it there for reasons of cost and complex planning processes .
The striking lecturers say the decision “ undermines us all ” and have withdrawn “ discretionary work and goodwill collaborations ,” while the government said it would take “ appropriate action .”
The Leader of the House of Commons , Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed that the academics had not “ bothered to look up
22