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University College London has been forced to apologise after a tweet asking students if they were “dreaming of a white campus” sparked a furious response.

The university posted the message this week in a play on words on the famous Bing Crosby song, to let students know the campus would still be open despite the weekend’s snowfall.

It said: “Dreaming of a white campus? Our campuses will be open and operating fully today, Monday 11 December, so please make your way in as planned. (We can't guarantee snow but we'll try!)”

However UCL quickly backtracked when angry students branded the tweet offensive.

Aman Thakar replied: “This UCL Alumni is not dreaming of a white campus, thanks.”

Another Twitter user wrote: “Come on UCL... dreaming of a white campus... seriously?!”

Another simply said: “Guys, no,” while another added “Srsly guys maybe rethink this.”

The university tweeted an apology, saying that it chose its words “very poorly” and that it was “sorry” for the tweet.

UK Snowfall: December 2017 - In pictures 41 show all UK Snowfall: December 2017 - In pictures 1/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 2/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 3/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 4/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 5/41 Snow in Regents Street London Jeremy Selwyn 6/41 Commuters wait in the snow at Stanmore Station Jeremy Selwyn 7/41 Snow on the coast at Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA 8/41 A boy slides on an inflatable tube in Bradgate Park after snow fall in Newtown Linford Darren Staples/Reuters 9/41 Visitors sledge in Bradgate Park after snow fall in Newtown Linford Reuters 10/41 A closed sign hangs on the gate of Cobden Primary School after snow fall in Loughborough REUTERS 11/41 Snowbomb: A train leaves Stanmore station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 12/41 Commuters struggle in the snow in Stanmore North London this morning Jeremy Selwyn 13/41 Commuters struggle in the snow in Stanmore North London this morning Jeremy Selwyn 14/41 Snow in Tring JEREMY SELWYN 15/41 Snow in Tring JEREMY SELWYN 16/41 Londoners woke up to snow on Sunday morning Rex 17/41 People take a selfie in the snow on Primrose Hill in London PA 18/41 Pedestrians walk over the Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral pictured in the background as snow falls o AFP/Getty Images 19/41 Londoners at Greenwich park in London enjoy a snowy start to the day as snow hit's large parts of the country today Rex 20/41 A tourist walks past a member of the Household Cavalry on guard at Horse Guard's Parade as snow falls Getty Images 21/41 Heavy snow falls in Temple Fortune, north west London Nigel Howard 22/41 Getty Images for Harlequins 23/41 Snow at Southend Airport on Sunday morning @SouthendAirport 24/41 A snow man on The Long Walk at Windsor, Berkshire PA 25/41 East Finchley on Sunday 26/41 Snow falls in north London on Sunday morning Rex 27/41 Snow falls in North London. The Met Office issued a yellow warning for the capital Rex 28/41 East Finchley on Sunday 29/41 People play in the snow in Aberfan, South Wales PA 30/41 An abandoned car on the roadside on the Snake Pass in the Peak District PA 31/41 Power repair workers in Ironbridge, Shropshire PA 32/41 Children off from school due to the weather make their way past a large snowman on Black mountain Getty Images 33/41 The scene near Ribblehead in Yorkshire, as parts of Britain woke up to a blanket of snow caused by an Arctic airflow in the wake of Storm Caroline PA 34/41 Snow falls in Chester PA 35/41 Ribblehead Viaduct bathed morning sunlight in Yorkshire, as parts of Britain woke up to a blanket of snow PA 36/41 A young schoolboy runs through the snow near Crumlin Getty Images 37/41 A person drives a quad bike through fields in Cloughoge, Newry PA 38/41 Snow falls in Ironbridge, Shropshire PA 39/41 Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire PA 40/41 Chester PA 41/41 Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire PA 1/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 2/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 3/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 4/41 Snow in Regents Street Jeremy Selwyn 5/41 Snow in Regents Street London Jeremy Selwyn 6/41 Commuters wait in the snow at Stanmore Station Jeremy Selwyn 7/41 Snow on the coast at Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA 8/41 A boy slides on an inflatable tube in Bradgate Park after snow fall in Newtown Linford Darren Staples/Reuters 9/41 Visitors sledge in Bradgate Park after snow fall in Newtown Linford Reuters 10/41 A closed sign hangs on the gate of Cobden Primary School after snow fall in Loughborough REUTERS 11/41 Snowbomb: A train leaves Stanmore station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 12/41 Commuters struggle in the snow in Stanmore North London this morning Jeremy Selwyn 13/41 Commuters struggle in the snow in Stanmore North London this morning Jeremy Selwyn 14/41 Snow in Tring JEREMY SELWYN 15/41 Snow in Tring JEREMY SELWYN 16/41 Londoners woke up to snow on Sunday morning Rex 17/41 People take a selfie in the snow on Primrose Hill in London PA 18/41 Pedestrians walk over the Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral pictured in the background as snow falls o AFP/Getty Images 19/41 Londoners at Greenwich park in London enjoy a snowy start to the day as snow hit's large parts of the country today Rex 20/41 A tourist walks past a member of the Household Cavalry on guard at Horse Guard's Parade as snow falls Getty Images 21/41 Heavy snow falls in Temple Fortune, north west London Nigel Howard 22/41 Getty Images for Harlequins 23/41 Snow at Southend Airport on Sunday morning @SouthendAirport 24/41 A snow man on The Long Walk at Windsor, Berkshire PA 25/41 East Finchley on Sunday 26/41 Snow falls in north London on Sunday morning Rex 27/41 Snow falls in North London. The Met Office issued a yellow warning for the capital Rex 28/41 East Finchley on Sunday 29/41 People play in the snow in Aberfan, South Wales PA 30/41 An abandoned car on the roadside on the Snake Pass in the Peak District PA 31/41 Power repair workers in Ironbridge, Shropshire PA 32/41 Children off from school due to the weather make their way past a large snowman on Black mountain Getty Images 33/41 The scene near Ribblehead in Yorkshire, as parts of Britain woke up to a blanket of snow caused by an Arctic airflow in the wake of Storm Caroline PA 34/41 Snow falls in Chester PA 35/41 Ribblehead Viaduct bathed morning sunlight in Yorkshire, as parts of Britain woke up to a blanket of snow PA 36/41 A young schoolboy runs through the snow near Crumlin Getty Images 37/41 A person drives a quad bike through fields in Cloughoge, Newry PA 38/41 Snow falls in Ironbridge, Shropshire PA 39/41 Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire PA 40/41 Chester PA 41/41 Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire PA

Sharing a video of the Bing Crosby song, it said “We chose our words very poorly yesterday when thinking of this song.”

“We’re sorry and we’ll choose our words more carefully in the future.”

Many people said the university was bowing to political correctness and the tweet was not offensive.

Kenny Young said: “What? Are you mad? Who has managed to convince you that they were offended? It cannot be true.”

Rebecca Morgan added: “You guys know they’re talking about SNOW right? Good grief.”

Another person said: “Comment section is practically a blizzard of people choosing to be offended by an innocent tweet. Why apologise?”

While another said: “Oh Lord! What cry babies complained about this? Perfectly clear what you meant! People are getting lost in this PC culture!”