The vice chancellor of the University of Sussex has called for more kindness after armed police were called to campus over a row reportedly sparked by the conflict in Gaza.
A teenager was arrested for making threats to kill and malicious communications after an incident on Falmer campus on Tuesday night.
The 19-year-old has since been released on police bail until June while investigations continue.
This afternoon, Professor Sasha Roseneil wrote to students about the incident – the second this year in which armed police have been on campus.
She said: “This week a serious incident involving threatening behaviour occured on campus. Within 20 minutes of a report being made to campus security, police were on site dealing with the situation.
“As this incident is subject to an ongoing police investigation, I am not able to comment on the specifics.
“However, I cannot overstate the importance that the university places on keeping all our students and staff safe.”
She added: “Hatred, threats harassment and discrimination have no place at Sussex, whatever is happening elsewhere in the world.
“Such behaviours are fundamentally at odds with what I know to be our shared commitment to our Sussex values, most particularly those of inclusion and kindess.
“We are living through very troubled times, and many members of our community are angry and deeply upset by the conflict, violence and destruction of life and habitats in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
“IT is all the more important right now that we hold in mind our shared humanity, whatever the differences of belief, identity and lived experience there might be amongst us.
“We must also all consider carefully the impact of our words and actions on fellow members of the Sussex community.”
Armed police were previously called to campus on 7 February after reports of a man in possession of a kitchen knife. Although the man wasn’t immediately located, a 22-man was subsequently identified and arrested.
However, the investigation concluded there appeared to be no malicious intent and the man was educated on the dangers of carrying a knife in public as part of a community resolution.
nasty lefties always preaching kindness but deep down theyre the most hateful violent lot
Yep. Theyre the worst. Letfy fascists.
Professor Sasha Roseneil – you forgot to say ‘except Jewish or Israeli people” when you said “However, I cannot overstate the importance that the university places on keeping all our students and staff safe. Hatred, threats harassment and discrimination have no place at Sussex, whatever is happening elsewhere in the world” as your website STILL lists your Women’s Student Support Officer, Hamas supporter Hanin Barghouthi, who is charged with supporting a banned terrorist organisation by using a megaphone to celebrate Hamas 8th October on a busy Brighton seafront, even though you have already been asked several times to remove her details from your website. You’re talking absolute BullSh*t. You’re not fit for office and what a disgusting and shocking neglect of your duty to protect your Jewish and Israeli students and staff – so discriminatory. Shame on you. Education nope, propaganda yes.
Well said Josephine. We appear to have an established hierarchy input wIthin our universities that is contrary to how the rationale amongst the population think. The young of our nation have a democratic right to protest (when older and in tune of with how the world actually works, reality has a nasty way of knocking their idealism) but they don’t need bias views from those who take a wage to educate them. Especially nigh fascist opinions that could be construed by a stricter government (France for example) as treason. Glad I haven’t got kids at this den oaf so called superior learning.
Funny how once the aggressors are called out they start talking about tolerance and understanding, but only after they allowed or encouraged the actions in the first place.
Look closer to home is all I can say.
Import the third world, get the third world.
Hypocrisy it seems as their actions do not match. Still antisemitic even in this post. No wonder there are disturbances if the uni still hates Israel and the Jews.