Woke academics cancel Easter and replace holiday name with 'more accessible and global' terminology

A university has removed all Christian term names in a bid to be more “international” as critics argue the school is pandering to the “church of woke”.

The London School of Economics (LSE) has overhauled traditional term titles which largely mirrors the calendar at other top universities such as Cambridge, Oxford and Durham, as well as private school 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”.

The university has been condemned for pandering to the 'church of woke'
Wiki Commons

The university claims 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 move has faced increasing criticism for parting with tradition, especially the Christian links upon which many of them were founded.

“We have been warning for years that Christians are being pushed from the public square, yet the problem is getting worse,” Simon Calvert, deputy director at The Christian Institute told the Telegraph.

“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.”

Simon Calvert says the move is 'virtue-signalling nonsense'
Brian Lawless

In addition, LSE is also changing the titles of its five most senior bosses to replace “director” with “president and vice-chancellor” so that international partners can “clearly understand” its leadership.

Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “If this was an effort to secularise the LSE I’d be sympathetic.

“But in reality, it reflects the fact that the LSE, like most British universities, is in thrall to a new religious cult - the church of woke - that is far more dogmatic than Christianity.”