Oriel U-turns on removing Cecil Rhodes statue

South Africa's University of Cape Town had removed a statue of Cecil Rhodes in 2015!

So Oriel College has reversed a decision by governing body and gone against recommendations by the commission set up to advise on the matter. Interestingly, the College does not appear to defend their decision as a matter of principle, but of logistics. Their explanation, that it would be too expensive, costly and complicated, would merit a whole new category in Microcosmographia Academica. One cannot help but wonder about the role played in sealing the statue's fate by Boris Johnson's nomination of the Provost for a life peerage in 2020: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-08-03-oriel-college-provost-neil-mendoza-receive-life-peerage. My suggestion: if they are sincere that only logistic considerations prevent them from removing the statue from its elevated position in the High St, why not just cover it up with a tarpaulin.