University student banned for saying Rule Britannia in debate

A university student in the UK has been kicked out for using the ‘potentially discriminatory or racist’ expression in a debate.

The invoking of the song ‘Rule Britannia’ is a student debate has been deemed potentially discriminatory by a student union. Picture: AFP

The stirring notes of Rule Britannia never fail to prompt a patriotic fluttering of flags at the Last Night of the Proms.

A different response was observed, however, at Aberdeen University when the student union banned an undergraduate from its premises for using the expression.

Elizabeth Heverin, 19, was banned from using the association’s property or services for a fortnight after she typed the song title into the webchat during an online debate. The union described it as potentially “discriminatory or racist language”.

She spoke out in December to defend the British Army during a student council meeting about whether the University Officers’ Training Corps should be allowed to continue to recruit on campus.

The first-year student said that banning her was ridiculous. The student association was censoring her for “being patriotic”, she said.

Heverin, who is studying history and politics, claimed that a fellow student had suggested the presence of British Army officers on campus would make international students feel “uncomfortable” because of atrocities committed under the Empire.

“I failed to understand this logic,” she told TheDaily Telegraph. “I replied: ‘If the British military would make them uncomfortable, why then would they come to Britain to study?’ Surely nobody would come to a country that had terrorised their people.”

She then wrote on the webchat: “Rule Britannia.”

Heverin said that students at the meeting criticised the motion because it would stop the corps advertising at the university’s freshers fair.

“One Canadian-Korean student argued that the British Army had done a big service to his grandparents during the Korean war and that he was thankful,” she said.

“He would later go on to say Rule Britannia but there were no repercussions for him, only for me.”

A fellow student took a screenshot of the chat and used it to lodge a complaint against her. The students’ association told her that she had broken numerous rules.

Heverin was told that an inquiry was being held to determine if she had posted “discriminatory material”.

They advised her that Rule Britannia could be seen as “potentially discriminatory” but that the association was unable to determine if there was “deliberate racist intent”.

Heverin was told to be mindful of local and cultural references as well as the language used. She was barred from the association’s premises, activities and services for two weeks.

“I fail to understand why any of what I said would be considered racist,” she said. “It feels as if I have been sanctioned by my university for the crime of being patriotic. One of my friends was censored by the same council for saying that gender studies degrees were a waste of taxpayers’ money. I am concerned that if this carries on there will be no future for freedom of speech in Scottish universities.”

A student union representative refused to comment on the case because there was “an ongoing investigation”.

An official at the university said: “This is a matter for the student association and is being dealt with as part of its complaints procedures. It would be inappropriate to offer any comment while this process is ongoing.”

The university, founded in 1495, is consistently ranked among the top 200 institutions in the world. Almost 15,000 students, many from overseas, study a wide range of subjects with a focus on medicine. It has one of Europe’s largest health campuses. Five Nobel laureates have been associated with the university.

The Times