USYD chief concedes distress over SRC ticket name

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott says he intends to address the arrangements that allowed a student ticket to contest Student Representative Council elections under the name “Globalise the Intifada”.

Calling the phrase “incendiary and hurtful”, Scott said he believed the SRC “have exploited the existing arrangements for student elections on campus”.

“The SRC runs its elections independently, but we remain responsible for the safety and wellbeing of everyone on our campuses,” he said.

“I understand the distress felt by Jewish members of our community. We have removed material containing the phrase that are displayed outside designated areas, begun assessing complaints and asked the SRC Electoral Officer to immediately explain how the ticket name was approved in the first place.”

The university has written to the SRC’s electoral officer seeking an explanation of how the name was assessed and whether the decision would be reconsidered, and is seeking guidance from the NSW Electoral Commission.