St Andrews students fined for controversial charity sign

Apparently it was all for a good cause.

fine fuck the poor police unicef

On Saturday, a group of students on Market street caused a stir by displaying a placard that boldly stated ‘F**k the Poor.’

The stunt was an effort to promote the UNICEF on Campus humanitarian  symposium themed ‘Childhood in Conflict,’ however, it also landed them a fine from the police.

The students took to the street mimicking the shock tactic from the Pilion Trust’s viral YouTube video. In this video, people are seen taking offense when a man wears a sandwich board that says ‘F**k the Poor’, but then largely ignoring the same man when he changes the sign to say ‘Help the Poor.’

The local recreation of this sign on St Andrews’ busiest street sparked anger in many of the passersby.

Photo courtesy of Fraser Watson

One of the project members, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I had probably 45 to 50 different people come up to me to speak their minds about what the sign said.’

Contrastingly, only two people approached to offer a donation. ‘That division is exactly why this project is so important,’ said the group member.

Police responded by issuing fines to two of the group members for anti-social behaviour.

‘I wished people would have the same enthusiasm for actually helping people who need it as they do for tearing down some nobody on the street,’ said the group member.