Student union president causes outrage after vowing to take down war memorial mural because it contains only white men

A Student Union President has caused outrage after she vowed to remove a mural commemorating students who died in World War One because it contains only white men. Emily Dawes, who leads the University of Southampton Student Union was widely condemned after tweeting: "Mark my words - we're taking down the mural of white men in the uni Senate room, even if I have to paint over it myself."

The Rothenstein memorial, to which she refers, depicts an unnamed student receiving a degree from the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, representing all the young men who lost their lives in the war and were unable to complete or collect their degrees. It was painted in 1916 by Sir William Rothenstein, former Principal of the Royal College of Art, and presented to the University of Southampton in 1959, by the artist's son, Sir John Rothenstein.

It features many key academics from the era of the Great War, including vice-chancellors and chancellors, and the then poet laureate Robert Bridges, and other panels of the mural feature young war poets who lost their lives in battle.

It is unclear whether she was aware of the significance of the memorial, although she had tweeted linking it to Armistice Day.

She wrote: "ONE OF THE WOMEN JUST SAID 'it's nearly armistice day so are we covering up this tapestry??' AND HOLY S---. F--- YES. GRL PWR."

The privately educated physics graduate has been labelled "the epitome of stupid" by angered commentators as the university condemned her statements.

Ms Dawes attended the £5,000-a-term Northwood College for Girls, according to her LinkedIn page, and has said her favourite thing about Southampton is the "pretty dope" vegan food.

Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith, who served in the RAF for 10 years, said her comments were "disappointing."

He told the Daily Mail: "With freedom comes responsibility, and considering the President of the SU holds a position of authority she has clearly overstepped the mark.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/25/student-union-president-causes-outrage-vowing-take-war-memorial/

Time "student", and I use the word loosely, stopped complaining about things that don't really matter and started to knuckle down to study !

Sounds like there's not enough students over there actually paying attention to what's going on in their student union, if the bulk of the student body have allowed a couple of clueless man-hating anti-fem' trust fund brats to hijack their student union, and use it as a platform to then threaten to deface and defile a memorial painting...

IF they tried that prank in many other countries, I reckon they could find their threatened vandalism being shouted down even as they suggested it..

I don't quite understand her thesis. Is she saying that more women should be represented in the mural, or that the theme of the mural should be changed because it is too white male?

If the former, how many women participated in WWI? Not to slight women, but maybe the source of the problem is that, until recently, soldiers were traditionally men.

If the latter, aren't there other murals around Southampton University...if not, they could commission more murals involving feminist themes, and the problem is solved.

I don't understand why student unions seems to have so much power/influence in the UK

down here they have One main purpose ... funding the student discount at the Uni Bar

veya_victaous wrote:
I don't understand why student unions seems to have so much power/influence in the UK

down here they have One main purpose ... funding the student discount at the Uni Bar

And with the second - and allied - purpose of funding their sporting/rec' clubs and gymnasium facilities..

Put mural's up depicting Women at the Sink, Women cleaning House.Women feeding Babies etc, perhaps that will satisfy her !