Student boss vows to erase war mural of ‘white men’
A STUDENT union president has caused outrage after she vowed to remove a mural commemorating students who died in the First World War 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 university Senate room, even if I have to paint over it myself.”
The mural in question was painted in 1916 by Sir William Rothenstein, former principal of the Royal College of Art, to honour university students who died during the Great War and were never able to collect their degrees. It was presented to the University in 1959, by the artist’s son, Sir John Rothenstein.
It is unclear whether Ms Dawes was aware of the significance of the memorial, although she also tweeted: “One of the women just said ‘it’s nearly Armistice Day so are we covering up this tapestry??’ And holy s---. F--yes. [Girl power].”
Ms Dawes, a privately educated physics graduate, later said in a statement: “I would like to apologise for the offence and upset I have caused.
“I had no intention of the tweet being taken literally, and upon reflection have realised how inappropriate it was.”
The memorial depicts an unnamed student receiving a degree from the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Also shown attending the imagined ceremony are key academics from the era of the Great War, including vice-chancellors and chancellors, and a poet laureate, Robert Bridges.
Two further panels of the mural, housed at Taplow Court, feature undergraduates who laid down their lives in the war. Some are unknown figures, and may be fictitious, but others are real young men.
These include Raymond Asquith, Julian Grenfell and Patrick Shaw Stewart. They were members of the Coterie, a group of aristocrats and intellectuals, many of whom became war poets.
The men pictured all have tales of bravery associated with their names, the most famous of which is the story of Asquith.
He was shot in the chest and seriously injured while leading a group of men during the Battle of Flerscourcelette, but famously lit a cigarette to hide the seriousness of his injuries so that his men would continue the attack. He died of his wounds.
Royston Smith, Southampton Itchen MP, who served in the RAF for 10 years, 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.
“I hope she will reflect on what she has said and realise it has been conducted in poor taste.”
A spokesman for the University of Southampton said: “The comments made by the SU president regarding the Rothenstein Mural are not shared by the University of Southampton and do not represent the views of the university community.”