Student Grant
Encyclopedia
Student Grant is a cartoon strip in the British
comic Viz. It first appeared in 1992 and featured regularly for the rest of the 1990s. The strip, created by Simon Thorp, features a University
student
named Grant Wankshaft, a student at the fictional Spunkbridge University. Grant does little or no work for his degree. One strip had him visiting his department (he had to be directed by a friend) to see his personal tutor, who pointed out that he had not handed in a single essay in three years. The terms seem ridiculously short (4 weeks in one case, the Christmas vacation lasting from mid-November to late March). When UK students received a maintenance grant and free tuition Student Grant appeared in most issues. Most students receive neither free tuition nor maintenance grants now, so the joke in the character's name is out of date. In late 2010/early 2011, Grant reappeared again following the student riots against tuition fees, ending up in a "taxi" that turns out to be a limousine carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall
.
Grant thinks of himself as a liberal
intellectual, independent and worldly-wise, but frequently shows bigoted opinions, is not especially bright, relies on his parents for money and has little idea about the world outside of campus: he spends (his parents') money freely but begrudges paying full price for anything because, as he constantly notes "students are really feeling the pinch". He has a number of friends just like him, eager to express their individuality by wearing the same clothes, fashions, invariably ridiculous, like huge hats, bright yellow dungarees and T-shirts with slogans on them like Thunderbirds Are Go!
and, in the late 1990s especially, Teletubbies Say 'Eh Oh'!
. They are opinionated and talk loudly and ignorantly about various subjects, tagging "...actually!" at the end of their sentences, "proving" their intelligence by listing the grades they got in their A-levels. Several of Grant's collegiate friends have bizarre speech impediments, dental deformities or both.
Grant and his friends often argue about who is the most politically correct of them all: they had a passionate debate about whether it was racist or not to like Ali G
("Well I heard black people do like Ali G, so if you don't like him, that makes you racist, actually!"). Grant likes to think of himself as in touch with the working classes but has a middle class
background and latent contempt for the working classes and non-students in general, regarding them as ill-educated peasants. This has resulted in a number of savage beatings.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic Viz. It first appeared in 1992 and featured regularly for the rest of the 1990s. The strip, created by Simon Thorp, features a University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
named Grant Wankshaft, a student at the fictional Spunkbridge University. Grant does little or no work for his degree. One strip had him visiting his department (he had to be directed by a friend) to see his personal tutor, who pointed out that he had not handed in a single essay in three years. The terms seem ridiculously short (4 weeks in one case, the Christmas vacation lasting from mid-November to late March). When UK students received a maintenance grant and free tuition Student Grant appeared in most issues. Most students receive neither free tuition nor maintenance grants now, so the joke in the character's name is out of date. In late 2010/early 2011, Grant reappeared again following the student riots against tuition fees, ending up in a "taxi" that turns out to be a limousine carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall
Duchess of Cornwall
The Duchess of Cornwall is the title held by the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Duke of Cornwall is a non-hereditary peerage held by the British Sovereign's eldest son and heir....
.
Grant thinks of himself as a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
intellectual, independent and worldly-wise, but frequently shows bigoted opinions, is not especially bright, relies on his parents for money and has little idea about the world outside of campus: he spends (his parents') money freely but begrudges paying full price for anything because, as he constantly notes "students are really feeling the pinch". He has a number of friends just like him, eager to express their individuality by wearing the same clothes, fashions, invariably ridiculous, like huge hats, bright yellow dungarees and T-shirts with slogans on them like Thunderbirds Are Go!
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
and, in the late 1990s especially, Teletubbies Say 'Eh Oh'!
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
. They are opinionated and talk loudly and ignorantly about various subjects, tagging "...actually!" at the end of their sentences, "proving" their intelligence by listing the grades they got in their A-levels. Several of Grant's collegiate friends have bizarre speech impediments, dental deformities or both.
Grant and his friends often argue about who is the most politically correct of them all: they had a passionate debate about whether it was racist or not to like Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
("Well I heard black people do like Ali G, so if you don't like him, that makes you racist, actually!"). Grant likes to think of himself as in touch with the working classes but has a middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
background and latent contempt for the working classes and non-students in general, regarding them as ill-educated peasants. This has resulted in a number of savage beatings.