Oxford University’s Oriel College has opted to keep its statue of controversial businessman and politician Cecil Rhodes after a consultation saw “overwhelming support” for doing so, The Guardian reports.
The college claimed the debate over whether the statue should remain in place needed to be addressed “in a spirit of free speech and open debate”.
Campaigners for the statue’s removal said Rhodes was an ardent imperialist who represented Britain’s “imperial blind spot”, with some of his critics seeing him “a racist who helped pave the way for apartheid”.