The London School of Economics (LSE) is scrapping its Christian term name in a bid to be more inclusive for international students.
The move has been described as “virtue-signalling nonsense.”
According to The Telegraph:
Until now, the yearly structure at the university, founded in 1895, has been the Michaelmas term, the Christmas break, Lent term, Easter break, summer term and finally the summer holidays.
This largely mirrors the calendar at other top universities such as Cambridge, Oxford and Durham, as well as at leading private schools such as Eton.
But from next year at LSE, Michaelmas will be renamed as “autumn term”, Christmas break will be renamed as “winter break”, Lent term as “winter term” and Easter break as “spring break”.
LSE said that “these new names use more accessible and widely-recognised terminology, and better reflect the international nature of our community and our broader global engagement”.
The decision by the LSE chiefs follows consultations and discussions which took place last term.
But it has not gone unnoticed that the name changes are all Christian festivals.
Now, critics have rounded on the university’s “virtue-signalling nonsense”, arguing its pandering to the “church of woke” is the latest attack on Christians on Britain’s top campuses.
Simon Calvert, deputy director at The Christian Institute, told The Telegraph: “We have been warning for years that Christians are being pushed from the public square, yet the problem is getting worse.
“Christians and those with traditional views often find themselves silenced or bullied. It’s particularly ironic when this happens at institutions that were originally founded on Christian principles and with endowments from Christian benefactors.
“So, this ludicrous decision by the LSE to rebrand traditional academic terms, by scrapping references to the calendar of the established Church, is more virtue-signalling nonsense that creates exclusion in the name of inclusivity.
“They don’t seem to have given any thought to the message this sends to their Christian staff and students, especially in a sector which has become a hostile environment to those with traditional views.”
