Oriel College should put a plaque on the statue of Cecil Rhodes saying “sorry”, one of the academics leading a boycott said this morning.
Professor Robert Gildea, a historian at Oxford, said he also supported turning the statue around or putting up an explanatory plaque but that taking no action was unacceptable.
About 150 academics across Oxford accuse the college of a “stubborn attachment to a statue that glorifies colonialism”. They have said they will no longer give tutorials to Oriel’s undergraduate students and will discontinue any assistance they give the college with its outreach work, including interviewing undergraduates.
This includes seminars and conferences sponsored by the college or any involvement in recruiting other academics.
Last month, the college’s governing body decided the statue of
