University of Sussex Students’ Union Communications Officer Michael Segalov has taken to social media, defending his use of the Students’ Union Twitter account (@USSU) to issue support for controversial Goldsmiths University Welfare Officer Bahar Mustafa.

The tweet read: “The Students’ Union Executive has collectively agreed that we #supportbaharmustafa and the right of liberation groups to self organise”.

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However, not all Union Executive members had agreed to support Mustafa; some had not been contacted by Segalov at all.

In a 1254 word Facebook post he wrote: “I want to make it perfectly clear that I’m under the impression I’ve done nothing wrong.

“As far as I am concerned a majority of the Executive do support what this tweet says, when I had responses from a majority of the Executive that they were happy with the tweet, I sent it. So yeah, I’d like to say that, in my opinion, the Executive did agree it.”

“I do want to say that I don’t want to kill all white men.”

In February The Badger reported that Michael Segalov was to receive a warning from a Students’ Union panel stressing that he should follow the rules for establishing statements of belief, after he helped organise a #copsoffcampus demo that was “not carried out in line with Union rules”.

Segalov will be facing disciplinary proceedings over the Mustafa tweet, according to the Union’s website.

USSU President Abraham Baldry has said that the investigation will be concluded “as soon as possible”.

The Badger was previously not in a position to reveal Segalov as the full-time officer under investigation.
The Officer Team

The tweet referred to the ongoing controversy over Bahar Mustafa’s decision to ask white people not to attend an event for black and ethnic minority (BME) students in April.

Bahar Mustafa has also been criticised over her use of the hashtag #killallwhitemen.

A petition calling for Bahar Mustafa to be excluded from Goldsmiths University has attracted over 21,000 signatures on the petition website change.org.

However, a separate petition calling for a vote of no confidence in Mustafa failed after not attracting the 3% of Goldsmith’s 8,000 students needed for it to pass.

The University of Sussex Students’ Union have released a statement reaffirming: “The Students’ Union recognises and supports minority groups organising events solely for those who self-identify as members of that group.”

The tweet has been deleted and Segalov’s use of the @USSU twitter account has been suspended.

Pete Humphreys, Daniel Green and Paul Millar

PHOTO: Adam Barnett

Categories: News

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