We recently reported about an Aberdeen University student who received a two-week ban from the university’s student association premises for saying “Rule Britannia” in a virtual debate about demilitarizing the campus. We’ve now been informed that she has also been kicked out of the Politics and International Relations Society.
Elizabeth Heverin received a two-week ban from all of the university’s student association premises for using “discriminatory or racist language.”
She alleged that she was kicked out of the society for having conservative views.
In an online students’ council debate about demilitarizing the campus, she said “Rule Britannia,” a reference to an 18th century poem associated with the British Empire and the British Navy.
The politics society banned Heverin, citing “a recent situation involving alleged comments on various social media platforms.”
“We as a committee found a number of comments to be in breach of our values of inclusion for all students of the University of Aberdeen,” a spokesperson for the Aberdeen University’s Politics and International Relations society said.
“Subsequently, a vote was held, and the outcome was that she would be removed from the committee and banned from future events for the remainder of this year. It will be up to herself and the committee of next year to bring up the motion of an appeal.”
“This is not a decision that was taken lightly as we as a committee believe that freedom of speech and expression are extremely important values, which should be protected and upheld.
“However, in this specific circumstance, it was decided that the posts in question were likely to make certain groups of people feel extremely uncomfortable in the society,” the spokesperson added.
Heverin responded by calling the society’s leaders “radical leftists,” adding that “Opinions and forgiveness are only acceptable if you are a left wing student.”
