Tackling moo-sogyny

**Students are often characterised by disapproving elders as passive layabouts, unwilling to tackle poignant issues and willing to allow injustice to pass them by. Yet the authority and proactivity shown by Warwick students in highlighting the appalling wallpaper adorning a favourite nightspot of students, Moo Bar, shows that the collective student voice is prepared to ferociously tackle sexism, racism and indications of violence.**

As it stands, the wallpaper – which contains fake advertisements for prostitution and mocks the issue of slavery – has been covered prominently in a number of media outlets. Students went on to BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire to publicise it; the _Huffington Post_ have run an extensive story in their Students section; the _Daily Mail_ and _Guardian Students_ are also reputedly interested in the story. And all because a member of ‘Warwick Anti-Sexism Society’ (WASS) spotted it by chance.

Sophie Rees, who is president of WASS, admitted that “we thought really carefully about how we were going to approach the issue; we didn’t realise it would be this easy to get so much support”. Yet as it stands, the society’s position has over 2,000 signatures. Students at Warwick have united behind this cause, whether black, white, male or female. The only losers in this case are Moo Bar, who are likely to find their establishment slightly more empty in weeks to come unless something is done.

The students of Warwick should be proud of themselves. They could have simply highlighted the issue and left others to deal with it; they could have allowed the issue to go unnoticed, arguing that the quality of the establishment excuses its sordid morality. Instead, the unification of students on this issue shows that they do care about the things that matter. Sexism and racism is no longer taken light-heartedly by anybody; 2,000 people have seen fit to declare their fury. Issues such as these are no longer pointed out, but tackled full-on by an assortment of young people who appreciate the necessity of a tolerant, multicultural society.

Hopefully, the proactivity taken by the students will result in the perpetrator being discovered and charged appropriately. There is nothing appropriate, humorous or redeeming about the wallpaper, and the venue is likely to be smeared with an indelible stain of scandal until the current management is brought to task. Indeed, this may be the beginning of the end for Moo Bar, which was re-decorated over the Christmas period last year. Previously the favoured establishment for students who preferred not to go to Pop in the Students’ Union on Wednesday evenings, it now connotes moral turpitude and advocation of prostitution. And all because WASS, and the students it has recruited in its relentless drive for justice, stood up and did something about it.

In this shameful tale, the proactivity and morality of Warwick students has emerged victorious. Students or residents of Leamington Spa who find themselves marginalised or threatened by sexist, racist or violent attitudes will know that they have the weight of self-aware youth behind them; they know that the students of Warwick University are ready to fight with them against injustice. And that, surely, is not only an indication of student power, but of the strides society is making towards tolerance.