Bristol University has sparked uproar after the National Anthem has been scrapped from its graduation ceremonies. Historically, the Russell Group university had ended its graduation ceremonies with a student leading a rendition of the anthem.
However, the song was quietly axed from the ceremony last year and will now only be played when a representative of the Royal Family is present. Students at the top university, which ranks ninth in the UK, said God Save The King was outdated and old-fashioned.
Critics claim the university is ‘cancelling’ the National Anthem, accusing it of being”openly contemptuous of this country’s history and heritage”.
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Speaking to The Sun, computer science student Suki Yuan, 22, said: “Students come here from all sections of society and the university probably thinks that the National Anthem may be offensive to some of them.”
Layla Daynes, 21, added: “The monarchy isn’t really relevant to my generation, so it wouldn’t be missed.”
Annie Lawlor, a 23-year-old law student, chimed inthat it’s “old-fashioned” to play the song at cermonies which are supposed to “celebrate the individual student”.
The 147-year-old university, which was given a Royal Charter in 1909, has been accused of pandering to ‘woke culture’.
Free Speech Union director Toby Young slammed the move, adding: “Why are Britain’s most prestigious universities openly contemptuous of the country’s history and heritage?”.
A university spokesman said it routinely updated aspects of its graduation ceremonies.
He said: “The University routinely updates aspects of its Graduation ceremonies, which included the 2020 decision that the National Anthem would be played when representatives of the Royal Family, such as the Lord-Lieutenant, are in attendance.”
Last month, the university announced it would distance itself further from slave trader Edward Colston following a public consultation.
Vice-chancellor and president of the university, Professor Evelyn Welch announced the decision to strip Colston’s emblem from the University’s logo.
Colston’s Royal African Company transported enslaved African people to the Americas – more than “any other single institution during the entire period of the transatlantic slave trade”, according to historian Professor William Pettigrew.
His statue was famously hurled into the nearby water by protesters during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
