Earlier today the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, wrote to all students and staff:
This week a serious incident involving threatening behaviour occurred 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 and ensuring your wellbeing and security on campus – and I want to thank our campus Security services for the work they do to support this.
I also want to underline that expressions of hatred and threats to members of our community will not be tolerated – whether they are related to nationality, religion, race, or ethnicity, or indeed on any other grounds.
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 kindness. There is, across our University, a profound collective belief that we want Sussex to be an inclusive, respectful, and supportive learning and working environment for everyone. We are a highly diverse and international community, and this is core to what makes Sussex special.
It is my intention that everyone at Sussex feels able to be themselves and experiences the University as a place in which they belong. Of course, we must also recognise that it is not always the case that everyone feels this, especially members of minoritised groups. But we must work together to become the inclusive and kind community that we aspire to be.
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.
I would like to remind everyone about the Report and Support tool, which students and staff can use to report hate incidents, harassment, or discrimination, either directly experienced or witnessed. In addition, our social media and Dignity and Respect policies provide vital frameworks for our work and community life.
Finally, I want to reiterate that student and staff safety is our top priority. If you ever feel the need to, please contact our 24-hour a day, 365 days a year, campus Security services, and our wellbeing support services for students and staff.
With my best wishes
Sasha
Professor Sasha Roseneil
Vice-Chancellor and President