I wonder if Pamela Gillies, the Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of the Glasgow Caledonian University, knows anything of the values once espoused by her new employee David Edgar?
Not, of course, to be confused with Professor David Edgar of the Caledonian Business School.
No, not THAT David Edgar, but THIS David Edgar:
http://www.gcu.ac.uk/marketingandcommunications/whoweare/davidedgar/#d.en.37836
This David Edgar, once the spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust, stated in a book that he regarded the “Famine Song” as satirical rather than racist.
He was also of the view that it was not bigoted to call someone who supported Celtic a “dirty Fenian bastard”.
http://www.kickitout.org/news.php/news_id/4693
These views would seem to be at variance with the values expressed by Glasgow Caledonian University here:
http://www.gcu.ac.uk/allinclusive/policies.html
Perhaps Mr Edgar, who is employed there in the marketing and communications department, would like to try to sell this message to the members of GCU’s large Irish society.
http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3487755546
They seem a fun loving bunch so maybe Mr Edgar can explain to them the humour in one million Irish people dying from starvation and disease.
On the other hand David Edgar may have changed his opinion of the Irish and Irishness and no better way for him to demonstrate this new found multi-cultural awareness than by giving a talk to the many students from Ireland as he explains how he now gets the hurt and offence caused to Irish people by the illegal “Famine Song”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8109359.stm
Indeed he can tell the GCU students from Ireland that they are indeed welcome at the university and that there is no need for them to go home.
