The two big campus culture stories making the news over the past week here both concerned the University of Bristol.
One was the “news” that the national anthem would no longer feature on the playlist of its graduation ceremonies. Oliver Dowden generated days and days of silly season coverage back in 2020 when, as Culture Secretary, he intervened in the row about the potential removal of both Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory from the last night of the proms.
Pretty much everyone except GB News was astonished that “God Save the King” was a feature to be abolished – even a phalanx of recent Bristol graduates professed to have forgotten that apparently, until last year, a student used to lead a rendition after certificates had been handed out.
The other big story concerned a pro-Palestine former academic that called for somebody to “blow up” a venue hosting a Jewish Labour Movement event. Harriet Bradley, a former Labour Councillor, “passionate socialist” and Emeritus sociology professor at the university, made the comment in a now-deleted social media post.
