Student Union Statement: Greta Thunberg Statue

Monday 22-03-2021 - 15:49

Student Union statement: Greta Thunberg statue – 22nd March 2021

As a Student Union, we celebrate the work of Greta Thunberg. Greta is a fantastic role model to everyone, as someone who speaks loudly and proudly about important global issues and defies odds that others put upon her. Her work towards the climate crisis is to be hugely admired.

However, the Student Union are not able to support the unveiling of the Greta Thunberg statue next week.

The year in which this artistic piece is being delivered is one that has seen unimaginable financial impacts. Students have seen staff redundancies, library cuts and limitation of provisions. They are being charged full tuition fees for an academic year that is anything but normal. There is a crippling mental health crisis amongst students, and wellbeing services are crying out for additional support. In our view, the unveiling of this statue next week shows that these issues are not their priorities.

We appreciate that the statue was commissioned in 2019 as a part of the wider West Downs building budget; we acknowledge that this was not repurposed from other budgets such as those for mental health or Student Services. However, £23,760 is a considerable amount of money for a statue that the Student Union had no input or say.

We would urge the University to consider the timing and impact of this unveiling, at such an unprecedented period for student wellbeing; students should have the opportunity to see where the cost of the statue has, or will, be matched for wellbeing provision. Considering the recent success of collaborative work, which has bolstered the ongoing Student Union and University partnership, we would welcome the chance to work closely on future projects like this and the Beacon of Hope (December 2020), to evaluate positive, tangible, impacts on the student body.

We would also ask that the University acknowledges student views and opinions, which is total dissatisfaction in the timing and cost of this statue. It is entirely inappropriate to have any other approach than this, and we will not stand by and allow it to happen.

Megan Ball - Student Union President (2019-2021)

Victoria Hurley - Vice President, Education & Welfare (2019-2021)

Ellen O'Dwyer - Vice President, Activities (2019-2021)

Student Union statement: Greta Thunberg statue – UPDATED 29th March 2021

Ahead of the unveiling of the Greta Thunberg statue at the University of Winchester tomorrow, we would like to reiterate our position as the representative organisation for students here – we admire Greta for her drive and determination, but we cannot condone the statue unveiling.

We have been working with students, and the Winchester UCU branch, for the last week on this matter. We are so proud of students for voicing their anger and concerns on this; we’re still asking for answers for them and will continue to channel feedback to the appropriate people.

We have seen the response of total disagreement from students – there has been a clear cry for help when it comes to improving mental health support and wellbeing services.

The University must not ignore their current students in focusing on new student recruitment, the sustainability agenda, and publicity.

As there is no indication that the unveiling will be postponed or cancelled, we are calling on the University to match the statue cost by committing £23,760 in additional funding to student support services across campus. We urge them to publicly face the critical issues which students are highlighting and provide a transparent breakdown of additional and existing financial support.