U.K. Student Climate Activists Say Loughborough University Wants Over $500 for Cleaning Up a Chalk Protest

A group of student activists in the U.K. has been asked by their university to pay 430 pounds ($543) for cleanup costs related to a March protest, as reported by The Ecologist. The group, Loughborough People & Planet, told Teen Vogue they believe Loughborough University mistook the chalk they used during their protest for paint. The university said in a statement that it had confirmed the substance was chalk-based but that it still required "professional cleanup."

This all stems from a protest months ago, when Loughborough People & Planet called out their school for not yet joining a campaign to boycott Barclays, a major European bank.

According to The Guardian, Barclays spends billions of British pounds funding fossil fuels, and lately the company has faced public criticism as the U.K.’s climate justice movement has grown. Activists have engaged in civil disobedience, disrupting business at Barclay’s locations. People & Planet has chapters across the U.K. and has been a major force in this campaign, calling on the bank to divest from the fossil fuel industry, and for boycotts of the bank until then.

A student representing the Loughborough chapter of People & Planet told Teen Vogue that the group was trying to pressure the university to join the boycott after it had already moved its finances to a new bank, but was still partnering with Barclays for an annual event and allowing the bank to recruit on campus.

“We wanted our university to put pressure on Barclays to divest and we wanted them to do that by joining the boycott,” the representative, who asked not to be named, told Teen Vogue. The group was frustrated, and felt like the reason for the protest was exasperation with official channels not being responsive. Teen Vogue has asked the university about their relationship with Barclays.

Loughborough People & Planet decided to reinterpret the school’s values, which were written surrounding a fountain, and used chalk to cross out the words “Truth,” “Wisdom,” and “Labour” to replace them with “Greed,” “Threats,” and “Censorship.” Then they took a few pictures and shared them online. The group also color-bombed the fountain orange.

“We received an email approximately a week afterward telling us that a disciplinary investigation had been opened,” the Loughborough People & Planet representative told Teen Vogue. “We were just called in to an interview, gave our side of the story. And we were told that, yes, while the substance that we used was water-soluble, that it was our fault for not telling [the university] that it was water-soluble chalk. We were charged for removal because they called in expensive contractors to remove it.”

The representative said the group was notified that the university was seeking 430 pounds to cover the cost of the cleanup. The students took to GoFundMe, where the cost was quickly covered by contributions.

“As students, this is a lot of money for us, and it would mean the world to us if you could chip in to support our right to peaceful protest,” the group wrote on GoFundMe. “We should all have that right, no matter our financial background.”

Since they raised the money, Loughborough People & Planet has said that they want the university to forgive the debt and allow them to donate it the funds to charity.

“We managed to cover the fine really, really quickly, and now we’ve made a proposition to the university,” the organization’s rep explained to Teen Vogue. The representative said the amount "is comparatively little money for them and a lot of us as students, and we can donate the money [we’ve raised] to charity.”

In a statement to Teen Vogue, a university spokesperson said the protest required "professional cleaning" and that the money they've asked from the protesters will go to a program that benefits students in tough financial situations.

"In March, four individuals used spray cans to make markings across a focal point of the university. This caused extensive damage to stonework in the area, to the extent that significant discoloration is still visible today," the spokesperson said. "The content of the spray cans was later found to be a chalk-based solution and professional cleaning was needed to remove the damage. There was no fine but the cost of the professional cleaning was passed onto one of the individuals identified. The money received will go to the university student hardship fund.”

Wherever the money ends up, the representative from Loughborough People & Planet said the group will continue their work on campus.

“We’re not going to let this stop us from continuing our campaign,” the representative said. “We’re not going away.”