Ridiculous, stupid and just plain crap: KCL students blast £300,000 rebranding plans

King’s students have reacted with horror to plans to change the university’s name to “King’s London”.

According to an article on Design Week in January, King’s has been in the process of planning the controversial changes with brand consultants Saffron since 2012.

But the news of the £300,000 rebrand has only just reached students – and has been met with anger and confusion.

The sign has done nothing to deserve this

A student-created petition, which already has hundreds of signatures and is constantly rising, has called for Principal Ed Byrne to consider the hundreds of years of tradition at KCL, as well as at the massive cost that would come with replacing everything with “King’s College London” written on it.

While KCLSU president Sebastiaan Debrouwere described the rebranding as a “big, exciting change”, the petition has drawn a massive amount of interest from students on Facebook, who were quick to dismiss the initiative as “ridiculous”, “stupid” and just plain “crap”.

This contradicts the president’s claim that students’ views were taken into account, posted in a statement on an obscure KCLSU blog last week.

Ollie Harrington, a second year Ancient Historian, blasted the university’s proposals. He said: “To break with traditions that span centuries is both unnecessary and expensive, and we have neither openly been consulted, nor have access to details of the proposals.

“The use of KCL’s current branding opens doors, but only because it is widely and instantly recognised by the KCL name and the history behind it.

“It has a calibre that rival institutions can only hope to have.”

Will Brown, a second year Historian, added: “I think it’s ridiculous, students haven’t even been consulted about it.

“My mum actually found out about it on Twitter before I had seen it, and I thought she was wrong!”

Students fight back on Facebook

Meanwhile, commenting beneath the petition, Reece Warren correctly noted that “King’s London sounds like more like an aftershave than a credible university.”

The petition’s creator, Theology second year Emily Braddock, told the Tab: “The rebranding of King’s College London seems a bizarre move considering the institution’s history and status as a college within the University of London, not to mention the extortionate cost involved.

“This is money which, in the eyes of many of us, would be better spent on improving student life at the university, not on an unnecessary rebranding scheme.

“We will be composing an appeal to Ed Byrne over the Christmas period, as well as notifying the University Council after 5,000 signatures, but we urge as many people as possible to sign the petition!”

You heard her: sign the petition here.