By Angelina Perez, Contributor
On Sept. 8, 2022 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the now former Queen of England, passed away. Many in the United Kingdom and around the world were hit with grief and sadness and had some thoughts on the matter. Manhattan College students from different parts of the world opened up and expressed their opinions on the former Queen’s reign.
Gabrielle Blair ’26, Philosophy
The Quad: Have you heard more positive or negative things regarding the Queen of England’s passing? And how do you feel about her death?
Gabrielle Blair: Black Twitter was kind of going crazy about the Queen’s death. [I’m] kind of happy, because of the colonization of so many countries due to the Commonwealth.
TQ: How do you feel about the new King of England?
GB: I don’t like King Charles. I mean, I don’t like the monarchy really. So kind of indifference.
TQ: Are there any values Queen Elizabeth had that you particularly liked or disliked?
GB: I like that she stuck to her service, but disliked the service that she was doing, which again was the Commonwealth.
Caroline D’Agostino, ’22 ’23 Professional Accounting
The Quad: Have you heard more positive or negative reactions to the Queen’s death?
Caroline D’Agostino: It’s been pretty 50/50. Some people are like, in utter shock and disarray. And then on the other side of the spectrum, other people just don’t care.
TQ: Did you grow up knowing who the Queen of England was?
CA: Yeah, my mom was a history teacher. So she was really interested in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom’s history. So I’ve always grown up with background and working knowledge.
TQ: What is something the Queen of England did that has stuck with you?
CA: I guess she had Princess Diana killed so that’s pretty scummy. I don’t know. I mean, she lived a long life, I am assuming she had a lot of wisdom with her or carrying with her.
Noah Boyce ’25, Psychology
The Quad: How has British Colonialism affected you, your family and country?
Noah Boyce: British Colonialism hasn’t affected myself or my family majorly, yet for the
indigenous people of New Zealand called the Māori, it has had a major impact.
When colonists first came to New Zealand, they took the land of the Māori by
manipulating them to sign a treaty that they didn’t fully understand due to the
language barriers. To this day it is still a major issue as there are many parts of land
that are yet to be given back and reclaimed by the Māori in a nation-wide effort to
condone for the mistakes originally made by the crown. However, it is good that the
government outwardly acknowledges the wrong that they did and are now
attempting to apologize and return what was wrongly taken from the Māori.
TQ: How do you feel about so many people who aren’t from the UK outwardly reacting
to the queen’s death?
NB: I think with any celebrity death there is going to be a lot of opinions and reactions
from people who aren’t directly affected or involved with the matter because that’s
just the way people are. Especially in this case, with the Queen’s death as she was
such an influential figure. However, it’s important to remember that she, just like
any of us, is a person and that we should respect her and her family as they mourn
her death. To not lose sight of the fact that we are human is hard when a public
figure has so much power and influence that there will always be people who don’t
like her. Yet for a majority of people, I really think they loved her and that speaks
to the person she was and the legacy she left.
TQ: Have you seen/heard more positive or negative reactions towards the Queen’s
death?
NB: For the most part, it’s been positive in the fact that people are deeply saddened to
have lost her. There’s definitely been frustration in terms of the impact it’s had
towards the day-to-day life of people with sports events and transportation being
canceled but in a way it’s necessary because it allows everyone to give pause to the
the fact that we lost a wonderful woman and Queen.