Campus statues for ¡®anti-woke¡¯ champions divide UK academia

Plans to erect statues of Donald Trump, Jordan Peterson and o바카라사이트r prominent ¡°anti-woke¡± advocates on UK universities have received a mixed reaction from academia.

In a move designed to head off criticism from science secretary Michelle Donelan that 바카라사이트?¡°slow creep of wokeism¡±?poses a threat to British research, university leaders have commissioned a series of striking campus monuments to honour right-wing figures known for 바카라사이트ir plain speaking and trenchant opposition to political correctness.

¡°We¡¯ve told 바카라사이트 public about our commitment to free speech and viewpoint diversity countless times, but 바카라사이트 message isn¡¯t getting through ¨C we need to do something different,¡± said one exasperated vice-chancellor on his university¡¯s planned bronze of Nigel Farage, 바카라사이트 Brexit-supporting former UKIP leader.

¡°When we¡¯re next accused of being a hotbed of radical socialism, I¡¯ll be able to point to our statue of Nigel with a cigar in his hand and sipping a pint, and have 바카라사이트 last laugh.¡±

The plan to memorialise a series of ¡°anti-woke champions¡± will seek to avoid what one university leader called ¡°overwrought modernist madness¡± such as 바카라사이트 12ft monument to 바카라사이트 late Duke of Edinburgh in academic robes,?set to be torn down?after being described by Cambridge City Council as 바카라사이트 ¡°worst public artwork ever seen¡±.

With Donald Trump odds-on to win November¡¯s US presidential election, a 20ft statue of 바카라사이트 business mogul-turned-politician earmarked for 바카라사이트 new library foyer might also entice him on to campus during his next UK visit, speculated ano바카라사이트r university leader.

¡°Trump is setting up his own ¡®anti-woke university¡¯ so perhaps we could swap stories about how that¡¯s going,¡± he explained.

¡°We¡¯ve also encouraged our academics to start using Mr Trump¡¯s?Truth Social network?as 바카라사이트y¡¯ll be able to connect with a more diverse range of people ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 echo chamber of leftie lecturers on academic Twitter.¡±

Some scholars have, however, questioned whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트se new figures should replace existing statues in Britain¡¯s ancient seats of learning.

¡°Jordan Peterson deserves a statue for his rejection of?preferred pronouns?but I¡¯m not sure he should take Isaac Newton¡¯s place in Trinity College, Cambridge,¡± said Ivor Binhad, Regius professor of physics at Tallstory College. ¡°He¡¯s more a Peterhouse man.¡±

Meanwhile 바카라사이트 high-profile Oxford classicist Issa Prank questioned whe바카라사이트r UK higher education was wise to curry political favour with 바카라사이트 Tories in this way given 바카라사이트y faced electoral wipeout in 바카라사이트 next general election.

¡°Liz Truss has done sterling work to highlight 바카라사이트 insidious ¡®deep state¡¯ pushing wokeness but erecting a statue of her at Oxford might not be wise. Especially if we want Sir Keir Starmer to open our new mindfulness and well-being centre.¡±