The Edinburgh Tab has faced accusations of anti-Scottish sentiment after a viral TikTok video criticised the student-run tabloid for its lack of representation of Scottish students.
The student-run newspaper faced backlash for an alleged lack of Scottish representation on their journalism accounts, which are supposed to reflect life at the University of Edinburgh. The issue escalated when the paper was criticised for excluding Scottish voices at a Scottish university, an institution already under fire for its low intake of home students in favour of fee-paying students from elsewhere in the UK, and internationally.
When confronted, members of The Edinburgh Tab allegedly doubled down with dismissive, and even derogatory, comments about Scottish students. They told commenters that called out their anti-Scot rhetoric to “bore off,” and even replied to one comment that pointed to the lack of Scots at the University with “as god intended.”
This intensified discourse surrounding class divides and reported accent-based discrimination. A recent study found that 42% of Scottish students at Edinburgh universities have experienced accent discrimination, further compounding the issue and highlighting why The Tab’s supposed attitude to Scottish students has been received so poorly.
Accusations of silenced Scottish voices are not unique to the University of Edinburgh. Whilst Scotland’s most famous institutions, like Edinburgh and St. Andrews, attract a large international student body, this has often come at the expense of admitting local students. Both universities have the lowest percentages of Scottish students compared to other universities such as Dundee, Aberdeen or Strathclyde. In 2021, the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish student numbers made up a only third of their student population.
One of the key reasons for this low number is financial: universities can charge international and English students significantly higher fees than Scottish students, who pay no or reduced tuition due to government funding. Dwindling funding from the Scottish Government has led to fresh claims of universities utilising international students as “cash cows” to supplement income.
In a survey of University of Aberdeen’s students, 75% of respondents told The Gaudie that they don’t believe there is anti-Scot sentiment at UoA, with more than 82% of students polled convinced anti-Scottish sentiment is a bigger problem at other universities in Scotland.
The Gaudie has contacted The Tab for comment.