A student of Aberdeen University has been banned from the Uni’s union for two weeks after union after saying ‘Rule Britannia’ during a debate on the British Army.
Elizabeth Heverin, 19, received the ban after quoting the historic anthem prompted another student to complain.
Speaking to the Telegraph after the ordeal, Miss Heverin said: “It feels like I’ve been prosecuted for the crime of being patriotic, it’s scary to think where freedom of speech at the university will go from here.”
When international students raised concerns about the presence of the British Army on campus, the history and politics student wrote in a webchat: “If the British military makes them feel uncomfortable, why did they come to a British uni?”
Short after this, shortly afterwards Miss Heverin said she wrote the words ‘Rule Britannia’ – Her comments were screen-shotted, reported and investigated by the Aberdeen University Students’ Association, which told her quoting the 18th century piece could be viewed as potentially discriminatory.
Writing to her afterwards, AUSA said it could not determine whether she made the comment with racist intent.
Miss Heverin’s two-week ban has barred her from all students’ union buildings, debates and services.
Rule Britannia, a poem by Scottish playwright James Thomson, was set to music by English composer Thomas Arne in 1740 – the song has been an integral part of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony since 1930, when it became the first song played in the programme known as The Traditional Music.
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