Goldsmiths Students’ Union takes election integrity seriously and is committed to ensuring the democratic process remains fair and accountable to our community.
Goldsmiths Students’ Union takes election integrity seriously and is committed to ensuring the democratic process remains fair and accountable to our community. We write to you to clarify that following multiple complaints and a thorough review, a candidate was removed from the SU elections this year due to a confirmed breach of multiple election rules. We acknowledge that these occurrences have created a sense of anxiety and wish to clarify the circumstances to provide reassurance to our community about the integrity of our election process. These rules exist to ensure a just and equitable process for all candidates and voters, and any violation is taken seriously.
All candidates signed the election rules before election week. Therein, candidates were informed that they needed to follow these rules, as did their campaign team. The rules state that candidates may be disqualified from the election if any rules were breached. No further individuals were removed from the election during the elections week. Positions available in the election are elected roles that run yearly in line with our legislative requirements. As with every SU election, students have the option to vote to re-open nominations for any role during the elections week, therefore candidates elected to each role have received a mandate from our members to undertake their roles. More information about elections is available here.
Further, we are aware of content on campus and online wherein incorrect narratives have been instrumentalised and spread about sexual violence at Goldsmiths. We encourage all students to seek verified information and support from qualified teams. If you experience harm or sexual violence and need support, we encourage you to seek help from trained professionals and support services, as they are best equipped to assist you.
If you have been impacted by harmful behaviour or sexual violence on campus or beyond, do get in touch with any of the following University or SU services:
We know that institutional services have a long way to go, and part of our work is to challenge the culture in which support is accessible or delivered. We are committed to lobbying to improve services and will always seek to critically review University services based on evidence from our members. If you are concerned about sexual violence, harmful behaviour, and want to get involved with culture-change activism, The CARE Project is a student-led culture change movement against sexual violence. Formerly known as the Against Sexual Violence (ASV) project, the CARE Project originated as a grassroots campaign and continues to build survivor-centred and trauma-informed action against sexual violence, continuing to dismantle cultures of disbelief at Goldsmiths and beyond. The CARE Project runs many initiatives on campus and in the local community, and supports the SU Advice team in helping students access support. To get involved, please reach out to bystander@goldsmithssu.org.