Ashley Reed, one of the two new YUSU LGBTQ officers, resigned this evening after allegedly facing persistent harassment.
Reed and fellow officer Jaz Liddell Millar began serving as officers only a week ago after the handover at the end of term, on March 11.
In a statement, posted to the YUSU LGBTQ Network Facebook page, Reed said: “It’s with a massive amount of regret that I have to announce that I am stepping down as LGBTQ Officer.
“The abuse that I have received over the past six months and particularly since the elections has made me scared to be on campus and has completely destroyed any sense of happiness I once had.
“I do not feel capable of withstanding a year of abuse on the scale of the past few days.” Reed thanked the people who had supported their campaign, and said they will be “distancing myself from student activism at York.”
They added: “I originally stood for this position as I wanted to make the Network into an active, effective activist group that could make life better for marginalised students, and realising that I am no longer able to do so has torn me apart.”
Liddell Millar told York Vision: "I'm planning to continue as Officer, although of course I don't yet know what path will have to be taken. I am committed to seeing through both the policies that I pushed for and those of Ashley's – I truly believe in them all and know with the strong committee we have I can still see them through.
"All I can ask is that Ashley's wish to have time away from campus politics is respected by everyone. I owe them enormous thanks for their campaigns, their fundraising, and the inspiration they've brought to so many."
Earlier this month, York Vision revealed trans students at York have set up a Facebook group to organise walking together around campus for fear of harassment.
“When I walk round on campus I look down at the ground because I don’t want people to recognise me,” Reed said in an interview.
A report by the National Union of Students (NUS) found that, nationwide, one in three trans students say they have experienced bullying at university.
Two days ago, Reed sent a tweet to the University saying people "think they can get away with bullying me until I want to quit. Maybe that's because of some failure in management?"
In another tweet from the same day, Reed stated that they had shared the "latest pack of harassment" with the University, and that they should "do something about it."
York Vision understands that the "pack of harassment" refers to a series of screenshots of messages posted on social media platforms, including Yik Yak.
The University responded telling them to keep reporting harassment, and to download the SafeZone app.
@Metanar We want all students to feel safe. Please ensure you've downloaded the Safe Zone app https://t.co/0Ro2A2HVMa. (1/2)
— University of York (@UniOfYork) March 21, 2016
@Metanar Keep reporting the harassment and using your College / Student Support for help. (2/2)
— University of York (@UniOfYork) March 21, 2016
Has her need for attention reached it peak with her latest outburst? i sincerely hope so. It is so infuriating that she feels the need to turn any piece of criticism around and call it trans-phobic. I do believe in equality for all, but when the good work that is trying to be done by a community and the university is consistently labelled as abuse, it does makesyou wonder if they are creating a situation to constantly keep themselves as a victim.