Bristol University’s Student Union is under fire over their “hypocritical” decision to ban the Army from its freshers’ fair.
The Bristol fair will be not have a display from the Officers’ Training Corps [OTC], despite the organisation being pencilled in for the event.
Bristol’s Student Union confirmed their plans, saying they harboured concerns over the group “competing” with other “affiliated” organisations who have been allowed into the event.
The OTC provides military training units for university students to join alongside their studies, offering students the chance to explore a possible future career in the Army.
Trevor Coult called for action to be taken against the university
PA / GB NEWS
Speaking on GB News, combat veteran Trevor Coult MC questioned whether universities should be taken “seriously”.
“Bristol University have just gone from £250 million to half a billion pounds in debt, so clearly the people making the decisions are not the brightest anyway”, he told Patrick Christys.
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“Going against the Army is something that shouldn’t be allowed. At the end of the day, Bristol University rely on £25 million a year of Government funding.
“Start putting the screw on them and stop them getting their funding, then they might fall in line.”
The Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, is among the voices criticising the university’s decision, branding the move “absurd”.
He told The Telegraph that the defence industry was “crucial to protecting our freedom”, as well as the “prosperity and way of life”.
University of Bristol PA“Trying to deprive students of these opportunities is wrong and anyone considering doing so should reconsider immediately”, he said.
Coult added that the move from the students is “disgusting”.
“The one thing which makes us angry is these universities are using the freedom which has been granted to them from soldiers themselves”, he told GB News.
“So I think it’s hypocritical.”
He added that the “wokeism” should be “used against them” in a defiant stand against the student union.
“Maybe if the army stand identified as an LGBTQ+ stand, then maybe we would be able to do that at universities”.
An SU spokesperson said: “Bristol SU Welcome Fair is an event run and curated by Bristol SU to help build peer-led communities whilst at university.
“It’s primarily an opportunity for our 350+ affiliated student groups to attract new student members, and we also host approximately 90 commercial stalls.
“We assess requests made by unaffiliated groups on a case-by-case basis, considering a number of factors which have been communicated to the OTC, including that groups like the OTC offer an experience (such as making friends, developing leadership skills and adventure activities) which is very similar to, and therefore in direct competition with, our affiliated student groups.”
A spokesperson for Bristol University said: “We respect our students’ right to raise concerns about issues they feel strongly about and we will continue to listen to and engage with their views.”