Thursday 17-09-2020 - 14:20

Last week, a student shared with us many screengrabs providing evidence of disturbing conversations from the leadership of some Durham SU student groups, some of which have been in recent press. Other, truly disgusting ones have not been made public. It must have been very difficult for that student to come forward and I’m very grateful for their bravery.  

The fascism, racism, antisemitism and misogyny in the screengrabs is repulsive. They talk about how to ‘improve’ on Nazi genocide, seek to justify rape, and use the language of white supremacy. This is not ‘banter’. They are horrific.

The Durham SU Officers and trustees, and our whole professional staff team, are incredibly sorry to the students who have experienced the reality of this hate. You have the right to expect that you should never experience this in our community.

The disgusting things in these messages are not always attributable to individuals. I have asked Durham University for their support in launching appropriate disciplinary processes in cases where we can identify current students. We will ensure that any person who has demonstrated such shameful behaviour does not occupy any position of leadership.

I am very clear, however, that although I don’t have enough evidence to start disciplinary action against individuals, I must act against the sufficient evidence we have of a culture of hate within the leadership of some of our student groups. We can’t in good faith promote these social opportunities to students without a decisive response. Durham SU is therefore taking four actions in response to receiving this evidence.

First: Durham University Free Market Association and the Durham University Conservative Association have been removed from the Durham SU Student Group Register on the basis of the evidence we have seen. This means they are no longer have the privileges of being a Durham SU student group, including use of facilities such as email addresses and member data, banking, authorisation of events and access to physical spaces assured under Covid-19 regulations, funding, and access to Freshers events including online platforms, or use of the Durham University name.

Second: It will be to the detriment of Durham students that an opportunity to make friends with those interested in conservatism, or the free market, will not be one of the options at this year’s virtual Freshers Fair. Durham SU will put every effort into supporting these students to start up again, stronger than before, after addressing the culture that has grown in the recent past. A University experience is made richer through engagement with diverse political views, and we need a conservative and a free market society again.

Third: We won’t be able to rebuild these student groups until we properly understand the extent of the harm. All recent members of DUFMA and DUCA will be invited to share their experiences, in confidence. I’m sure that many positive stories will come forward, as all our student groups manage fantastic events and create wonderful friendships. I am also confident, given the evidence I have seen, that there are more stories of unacceptable behaviour and we owe it to students to fully investigate the problem. We will complete this exercise before we proceed with the registration process for new student groups.

Fourth: Anna Marshall, our elected Opportunities Officer who represents Durham students’ interests in ensuring that our student group support is excellent, will lead a conversation among all student groups about how we eliminate the risk of this happening in the future. There are far too many recent examples of conversations that have no place in our collective students’ union or our collegiate University. The first steps in making our community better include naming the behaviour as unacceptable and holding students and student groups accountable. We need to understand what the next steps are, and Anna, with our student groups, will help us get this right.

Durham SU values the diverse political views of our students and our student groups. It will be to the detriment of Durham students that these groups have been removed from the Register. I hope and expect that students who are interested in conservatism and the free market will come together to start a new Durham SU student group again soon, without the fear that a horrific culture will be present and students will come to harm. 

I hope that students will work together and submit an application to start a conservative student group and a free market student group again very soon. Durham SU is a stronger organisation with thriving and diverse political student groups. We apologise, again, for the harm caused to students.

Gareth Hughes 

Durham SU Chief Executive