The University of York have spent £443.17, more than double last year’s spending on graffiti removal… after only half a term, a York Vision FOI has revealed.
Over the last five years, the most money spent by the University on graffiti removal over an entire academic year was £406.84 in 2016-17, nearly £40 less than the cost up to 10 November this year.
In 2019-20, the University only spent £203.42.
This comes after a spree of graffiti by a group calling themselves “Revolution Society”, who have particularly protested the ratification of Turning Point and campaigned for a Rent Strike.
This occurred on two notable occasions, on 14 October, and 29 October, the night before the first Student protest over “exorbitant” and “unsafe” COVID measures.
Talking to York Vision, RevSoc commented:
“The graffiti is a big ‘Fuck You’ from students to CJ and his utter failure to protect our physical and mental health during this pandemic…
“Graffiti is art, resistance, truth. It can be washed away but our voice cannot be silenced. The history of students is the history of the Paris uprising of 1968; of the anti-tuition fee riots and the Battle of Millbank Street in 2010; of the Hong Kong pro-democracy campus occupation in 2019.
“We came to university to learn, and we learned that we are being fucked from so many angles it’s hard to keep track. Landlords, Mental Health, Debt, Poverty, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ableism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Covid-19, Austerity, Fascism, endless Recession, Climate Breakdown, Mass Extinction, the literal Apocalypse.”
The University have since had to remove more than ten incidents of graffiti, including the words “CJ is a Conman” on the Grade II Listed Heslington Hall.
After this incident, a member of the University of York’s Security department commented to Vision that:
“I am happy for protests and demonstrations to take place on campus but there is a process that should be complied with to ensure the necessary precautions and safety measures are complied with.
“What I do not condone is criminal damage being committed to promote a belief.”