The University of Winchester in England is reportedly receiving criticism for its decision to erect a statue honoring outspoken Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
According to BBC reporting, the university claimed that “no money was diverted” from staffing or support for students for the statue. The university also says it is under the impression that the piece is the first life-sized sculpture of the “inspirational” Thunberg.
However, some student groups are unhappy with the university’s decision to erect a statue of the activist in a year when many are facing financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The University and College Union Winchester branch stated that their disapproval of the statue is not in regards to it being one of Thunberg and have expressed their support for climate change activism. Instead, the issue they have is with the lack of openness in the process of decision-making, according to the union’s Twitter feed.
Winchester UCU president Megan Ball described Thunberg as a “fantastic role model to everyone, as someone who speaks loudly and proudly about important global issues” but said the student union could not get behind the sculpture.
She said, “We’re in a Covid year, lots of students haven’t really had access to campus, lots of them are trying to study online and are in dire need of support.”
“We are calling on the university to match the statue cost by committing £23,760 in additional funding to student support services across campus,” she added. “We urge them to publicly face the critical issues which students are highlighting and provide a transparent breakdown of additional and existing financial support.”
The union also passed a Motion of Censure, describing the statue as a “vanity project” by the vice chancellor who is leaving. The motion also stated that the branch “Believes that this money spend should have been better used by preventing redundancies and other cuts across the university.”
The branch called on the university to establish a committee for artwork that is made up of students and staff to replace the Friends of Art panel.
To be clear: our concerns are about the expenditure and transparency of decision making by the university, which have long been opaque, not the subject of the statue
— Winchester UCU (@WinchesterUCU) March 24, 2021
The university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Joy Carter, said, “No money was diverted from student support or from staffing to finance the West Downs project. Indeed, the university has spent £5.2m this year on student support.”
In an email to students about the statue, the university said that its desire was that it would become a symbol of the school’s “commitment to combat the climate and ecological emergency,” per BBC.
“Greta is a young woman who, in spite of difficulties in her life, has become a world-leading environmental activist. As the university for sustainability and social justice, we are proud to honour this inspirational woman in this way,” Professor Carter said.
“We know that many find her a controversial figure. As a university we welcome debate and critical conversations. We hope that her statue will help to inspire our community, reminding us that no matter what life throws at us we can still change the world for the better. That is a message we want all our students and all young people to hear.”