Exclusive: King’s Education VP wants to remove the ‘outdated’ national anthem from graduation ceremonies

Mahamed Abdullahi, KCLSU VP of Education, has called for the removal of the British national anthem from graduation ceremonies.

He claimed: “It’s outdated and not reflective of the ‘global’ values that the college espouses”.

Given the current political condition, it may be worthwhile moving away from nationalistic values, however this raises the argument of whether a British university should abandon patriotic values over inclusion, “in the context of increasing far right nationalism across Europe and the legacy of the British Empire”, as argued by the VP.

To further the point, he states that the anthem is “just a bit shit and it doesn’t even bang.”

Whether or not this can be seen as a move towards making KCL a more liberal university remains to be evaluated, but this could undoubtedly stir up negative feelings from the side of the UK students at the university.

A spokesperson from King’s College London said: “We are always open to feedback from students, staff and alumni and are currently in discussion with KCLSU student officers about various elements of the ceremonies, including the use of the national anthem.

“Feedback from all members of the King’s community will be used in planning the next set of ceremonies”.