Scandal in Oxford, students remove portrait of Queen of England
The students believe that Queen Elizabeth II represents "recent colonial history". The British press is stepping up to the plate.
A very heated debate has just started in Oxford. Students have decided to remove the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from one of the university's common rooms. For them, the figure of the monarchy is also that of colonialism and its history. It is true that for several centuries Great Britain, a great colonial power, was the “octopus” of colonialism, owning nearly half of the earth's land. An important past, disturbing even for some but undeniable.
Students from the prestigious university, members of the Middle Common Room (MCR) committee, gathered to vote for this dropout. They justified this choice in their report: "For some students, representations of the monarch and the British monarchy represent recent colonial history" as reported by The Times.
For Education Minister Gavin Williamson, this is misunderstanding. This decision seems "absurd" to him. Questions of colonial history have not been new to the country for years, however, and have gained resonance with the development of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The minister and the press rise up
In a Twitter post, the minister wrote: “The Oxford University students taking the Queen’s portrait are just nonsense. The Queen is the head of state and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign, she worked tirelessly to promote the values of tolerance, inclusiveness and respect around the world. "
The British press is also choking on this news. The Telegraph speaks of the Queen as "the most recent victim of cancel culture". Daily Express rebels with "How dare they ?!" ".
The students of the MCR defended their action. For them, taking down the portrait is not a "position" against the Queen or the Royal Family, but a way to make the common room a neutral and welcoming place for the members. They also added that there were other places to hang his portrait.
Freedom of expression and debate
The president of Magdalen College recalls that this decision does not concern all students of the university but that it was a decision which had to be heard in the name of "freedom of expression and political debate".
In Belgium, too, the debate is not completely unknown. A few years ago, anarchist students at ULB tagged a portrait of King Leopold II that was in a study room. This modified portrait was the subject of a debate between the professors and the rectorate on whether to put the portrait back in place and whether to clean it or not.
