NOVEMBER 2019

We are starting a conversation about our mascot, Phineas.

Below is a statement quotable from a Students' Union UCL spokesperson.

 

During the summer we fully refurbished our building; bringing together our Advice Service, Volunteering Service and staff teams. A major part of the refurbishment was a total transformation of our third-floor bar; Phineas - named after our mascot Phineas Maclino, a wooden statue of a Highlander originally stolen by UCL students in February 1900.


The Phineas statue has represented many different things over the past 119 years, but its association with our Union started as a celebration of an event in the Second Boer War


As the Bar was close to reopening in September 2019 we decided to pause on reinstalling the wooden Phineas statue. Instead, we’ve started a conversation about what kind of mascot our Union should have.


We’re now asking our members whether they feel Phineas is fit to remain as our mascot, or whether we should consider something new.


No decisions have been taken yet and we’re keen to hear what our members have to say. As a students’ union with one of the largest and most diverse memberships anywhere in the world, we believe these conversations are important.


The Union will consider all views put forward by our members and a decision will be taken in December.

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • Students' Union UCL is a student-driven charity and the recognised representative body for all 44,000 students at UCL, one of the world's leading universities.
  • Phineas is a wooden statue of a Jacobite era Highlander originally fixed to the outside of Catesby's department store on Tottenham Court Road. It was stolen by UCL students in 1900 to celebrate a significant British victory during the Boar War, and was later adopted as the Union's mascot. 
  • One of the Union's bars was named after Phineas in 1993 and this remains the name of the bar today.
  • A full history of how Phineas came to be the Union's mascot can be found here: studentsunionucl.org/mascotconsultation 
  • The consultation is open until the 15 November with a decision on Phineas' future expected in December 2019.

 

Last updated 6 years ago