Are Presbyterians and unionists capable of doing anything except just turning the other cheek?

It stated that “the atmosphere at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) will be a few degrees colder for Protestants after the institution severed links with the Presbyterian Union Theological College (UTC) this week, an MLA has claimed”.

Informing its readers of MLA Christopher Stalford’s concerns about the recent QUB’s decision to end its relationship with the UTC, the Belfast Newsletter confirmed that external influences may have been responsible for a QUB decision that will end higher education to a significant number of Protestant UTC students.

The demographic balance between Catholic and Protestant students attending QUB will for the 2019-20 academic year change by around 1%.

Irrespective of the rationale behind QUB’s decision to remove academic (and financial) support to UTC and the implausible claims by UTC that the College still has a bright future, I believe that the decision by QUB indicates how ineffectual and weak the Unionist position has now become within Northern Ireland. Quite simply, the DUP, its South Belfast MP and its MLAs are not able to hold QUB to account for the continued marginalization of Protestants / Unionists within various academic disciplines at QUB (and UU).

Moreover, the other Unionist political parties, civic unionism and the Presbyterian Church have shown themselves to be equally (if not more so) irrelevant when it comes to addressing the pedagogic needs of the Protestant community.

Having been given six months’ notice that the UTC end was nigh, the Unionist / Protestant community failed to do what Sinn Fein have been so astute at (in terms of promoting and protecting the Irish language). The Unionist community, including the Unionist students who attend QUB, failed to coalesce around a common cause and failed to protest at the QUB Chancellor’s offices to impress upon the management and Senate at QUB that Unionists demand the end of academic revanchism at QUB.

Sadly, the Presbyterian ministry and theologians also failed to show any leadership in protecting the pedagogic needs of its flock.

There were no public protests of the Presbyterian clergy or Presbyterian congregations outside of QUB and the lack of resistance emboldened secular, left of center / Republican academics to continue with their Neo-Gramscianism cultural agenda which has led to the capture of key sectors within Northern Ireland. And what of the students currently attending, UTC, what of their reaction?

Is turning the other cheek the only weapon in the Presbyterian armory?

More importantly, the failure of Unionism to make a public stance in defending the UTC, indicates that the previous success of the Unionist community to take to the streets and to defend the Unionist position is now confined to history. Fractured Unionism that sees Unionist political elites divorced from the working-class loyalist population, the population that historically was must likely to engage with street resistance, suggests that the days of Unionist resistance are now at and end.

Whether it be education, symbols of Unionism, parades or legacy issues, the ability of Unionism to engage in street protests is now a ‘damp squib’. The paradox is, that if an Irish Language Act becomes a reality, it will have manifested itself from public protests.

The recent failure to put public pressure on QUB, in the same way that the Orange Order protested at Twaddell, or the Flags protestors still continue to protest at the gates of the Belfast City Hall, signified to QUB that Unionism is weak, divided and incapable of offering up effective resistance.

Imagine if you will, the problems of weekly protests outside the Chancellor’s Office, or a week of Unionist protests during QUB graduations, when the global community is present to watch their sons and daughter’s graduate. What might have been the impact these protests on QUB?

As it stands, QUB has blighted the current degree programs of numerous past and present Presbyterian theologians as well as presenting the Presbyterian Church with insurmountable problems in the future training of new Ministers, people who also provide pastoral care to the Protestant community.

The Presbyterian Church of today had an opportunity to support the Protestant community in defending UTC, sadly, it failed to live up to the expectations of its protesting predecessors.

In today’s new order, the lack of Unionist and Presbyterian resistance to QUB amounts to Jesus entering the temple, sitting down with the money changers and discussing the sale of the temple by the bookies!

It will be sad to see the FOR SALE sign go up on the iconic UTC building, but it appears Unionists, Presbyterians and Protestants only have themselves to blame for failing (over a long period of time) to protests and counter the conduct of QUB.

Dr Edward Cooke earned a doctorate in law at QUB (and other qualifications), and lectured there in law