Jottings
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Remembrance postscript
We suspect there will be little sadness at
Southampton University following the
resignation of the president of the
Students’ Union last month. For it was
Emily Dawes, aged 21, who sparked
outrage online after tweeting that she
would take down, or paint over, a
university mural dedicated to First
World War heroes. “Mark my words,”
she wrote, “We’re taking down the mural
of white men in the uni Senate room,
even if I have to paint over it myself.”
The art work, known as the Rothenstein
Mural, was painted in 1916 “as a
memorial to members of the British
universities serving in the Great War,”
Dawes apologised after more than 21,000
people signed a petition on Twitter
calling on her to stand down, describing
her comments as “disrespectful” and
“ignorant”. Ms Dawes, whose family lives
in the US, said her comments were not
meant to be taken “literally.” She added,
“My intention was to promote strong,
female leadership and not the
eradication and disrespect of history.”
Nonetheless, the students’ union
immediately ordered her to take leave
from her job, “until further notice,” while
the Rothenstein Mural was reported to
have been “locked away.”
“Until further notice” ended on
November 12, the day after
Remembrance Sunday, when Ms Dawes
was reported to be returning to the job
which paid her at least £20,000
(€22,500) a year. However, on
28
November 19 she resigned after “careful
consideration,” something which was
clearly absent when she made the
remarks which so many found offensive.
Her call for “strong, female leadership”
coincided with reports in the UK that
Lincoln’s Conservative MP believes that
an “over-feminised” system has led to
boys becoming increasingly
disadvantaged in school. “If equality
means anything, it’s equality for all,”
says Karl McCartney. He believes the
gap in attainment between boys and girls
in schools is being ignored by the
government in a way that would not be
tolerated if the situation was reversed.
The reason boys fall behind, he adds, is
partly down to a lack of male role
models in a society which makes it,