Oxford: no portraits of the Queen in the common areas. Continue deleting
The queen's portrait was removed from a common room in an Oxford college because the monarch represents "recent colonial history ".
Political website Guido Fawkes reported Thursday that a student committee from the Middle Common Room (MCR) of Magdalen College, Oxford University, voted to remove the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by a "substantial" margin, because " for some students the depictions of the monarch and the British monarchy represent recent colonial history ”.
The report cites minutes of meetings which state that some students have argued that " patriotism and colonialism are not really separable " and the proposal is not about "canceling" the queen, but about "making people feel welcome", while another has stated that "effectively obliterating" the queen and marking her as a symbol of colonialism "would damage the reputation of the college and its students, and that a common room that does not respect the cultural heritage of all nations" cannot claim to be inclusive " . An interesting point of view, considering that the colonial past made it possible to finance prestigious institutions such as Oxford. If they are so impressed by the colonial past they could simply go and study elsewhere …
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the removal of the portrait is "simply absurd ".
"The fact that Oxford University students remove a photo of the Queen is just absurd," Williamson tweeted Tuesday night.
“She is the head of state and a symbol of what is best in the UK. During his long reign he worked tirelessly to promote the British values of tolerance, inclusiveness and respect around the world ”.
In a series of tweets, Dinah Rose, president of Magdalen College, said that the MCR is a student organization that makes its own decisions and does not represent the college.
“The Middle Common Room is an organization of graduate students. They do not represent the College, ”he wrote, but in the meantime they are part of the College itself.
“A few years ago, around 2013, they bought a print of a photo of the Queen to decorate their common room. They recently voted to eliminate it. Both of these decisions must be made by them, not by the College.
“Magdalen strongly supports the freedom of speech and political debate and the right to autonomy of the MCR.
“Maybe they will vote to propose it again, maybe not. In the meantime, the photo will be kept safe ”.
Rose said college staff received "obscene and threatening messages" when this story became known.
“Being a student is more than studying. It is about exploring and discussing ideas. Sometimes it's about provoking the older generation. It seems that it is not that difficult to do these days ”, always wrote the representative.
“So, if you are one of the people currently sending obscene and threatening messages to College staff, you should consider stopping by and wondering if this really is the best way to show your respect for the Queen. Or if it would be more inclined to uphold the traditions of free debate and democratic decision-making that we keep alive in Magdalen ». A point of view that is also acceptable, but, in the discussion, someone should also have put as a preamble precisely the fact that their possibility of being in Oxford, indeed the quality and means that Oxford has today, depend on the abundance of resources that the English colonial past allowed the country. Striking the queen as "Responsible" is too easy. If they were truly correct they would have to leave, not exploit this colonial relic, and go back to study in their own countries or in newly founded universities. Too bad it's easier to blame the Queen.
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The Oxford article : no portraits of the Queen in the common areas. The cancellation continues comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/oxford-niente-ritratti-della-regina-nelle-aree-comuni-continua-la-cancellazione/ on Thu, 10 Jun 2021 09:00:07 +0000.