YUSU Women’s Officer Candidates Banned from Campaigning After Offensive Comments

Two students running for YUSU Women’s Officer, who say they self-defined as women to run for the role, have been banned from campaigning until voting for the election ends on 12th March. The action was taken in response to offensive remarks made by the candidates, Mark Pickard and Peter Saul, which promoted a number of complaints from students.

Pickard and Saul, who said they self-defined as female as part of their bid to run for the positions, caused controversy at last Tuesday’s hustings when stating their policies and attitude towards the role of Women’s Officer. They expressed their view that the position is anti-male by pointedly chanting “death to men” and claiming that last year’s events had been successful in “p**sing off every man on campus”. They went on to state that their policies would include banning fat women from campus and opening up opportunities for female York graduates to become housewives.

Saul said of their candidacy: “We decided to run for Women’s Officer to illustrate a point. This is that the position is a joke, and so we felt it should be treated as one.” He stated that neither him nor Pickard believe that women are oppressed in wider society: “Even if we did, we wouldn’t accept that Student Unions should act as pressure groups with the financial resources from the tuition fees of students who might not agree with their position.”

YUSU Democracy and Services Officer, Lewis Bretts, responded to a number of complaints about the comments made during the election hustings by imposing the ban. This action was taken on the basis that Pickard and Saul had breached the terms of the YUSU Equal Opportunities Policy as outlined in the Constitution by making their remarks.

Bretts said of the decision: “While I do not feel it is appropriate to remove these candidates from the ballot, I have taken the decision to impose a ban on campaigning from 0900 3rd March until 1630 12th March. During this period, Ms Pickard and Ms Saul will be asked to surrender their identification badges, cease all physical or digital campaigning, and will not be allowed to attend any group or society meeting in order to campaign.”

Saul said in response to the ban: “Although YUSU’s ban was predictable it is still disgraceful and highlights an authoritarian streak. We’ve been accused by some of holding intolerant views but it’s far more intolerant to attempt to silence people that you disagree with.”

The complaints highlight opposition from members of the student body to the remarks made by the two male candidates. Peter Warner-Medley and Elanin Vince, YUSU LGBT Officers, said: “We feel their campaign is deeply offensive and hurtful to many students. We feel they approached the issue in an immature and deeply inconsiderate way. Even though it was intended to raise a laugh rather than to offend, we feel these candidates should take responsibility for their words and actions and should be aware of the consequences of what they say and do.” While Charlie Leyland, Academic Affairs Officer, described the incident as “a disgrace”.