Racial hatred at an NUS conference has angered YUSU President Tom Scott, who has accused the organisation of failing to respond to racist comments that led to a police investigation.
At an NUS training course held in York University over the summer, a delegate displayed a ‘Bring Back Slavery’ sign, whilst another delegate warned that having a wider range of students in a university would increase gun and knife crime. Tom Scott told Vision that “the NUS did not step in and they should have done.”
The investigation by North Yorkshire Police found that both delegates had breached the NUS’ Equal Opportunities Policy. Furthermore, it upheld complaints of race hate regarding the slavery sign.
The NUS President Wes Streeting has said in a statement that “the individual (responsible for the banner) will not be able to attend any further NUS non-democratic events. This is the maximum penalty that can be levied under the policy, and the recommendation was upheld by an appeal committee.
However, the other delegate has now been cleared of intention to cause offence. Nevertheless, police recommend he attends training sessionsto make certain he is fully aware of the Equal Opportunities Policy of the NUS.
Scott has made it clear that the investigations had no connections to students or officers from York, saying the NUS event “just happened to be held at York this year.”
The NUS declined to talk to Vision about the investigation.