University student union president elect despite past antisemitic acts

Pictures of the recently elected student union president at Edge Hill University dressed as a Holocaust survivor were found on social media. The student later apologized and expressed his understanding of the depth of his actions. Sam Farrel, the president-elect, shared multiple photos of himself dressed in striped pajamas with a prisoner number on his chest on Instagram, captioned, 'In dire need of a shower after last night's social #gassed.” Jewish students expressed feelings of being unsafe, and felt as though their voices were not being heard. “I felt as if the voice of Jewish students was being ignored,” one Jewish student told . The Instagram photos weren't the only cause of the upstir. In one Facebook post, he uploaded a photo of the Reading and Leeds musical festival line-up, accompanied with the words, 'Pretty sure the Holocaust has had better headlines.' In another of Farrel's posts, published in September 2019, he called a fellow female student a 'retard' after making the statement that, 'academic success is not an indicator of actual intelligence.' Another student said that 'As a Jewish disabled woman, I was told to stop complaining. I was being silenced and not listened to.' She continued, expressing concern that the student union 'didn't have the resources or the confidence to deal with antisemitic incidents.' The Union of Jewish Students expressed concerns on Twitter that the next president of the university's student union would dress up as a Holocaust victim as joke, and said they would get in touch with the university to ensure that the student union receives antisemitism awareness training. We are extremely concerned that the next President of @edgehillsu decided to dress up as a Holocaust victim and joke about it on social media. We're aware of other Holocaust posts. We are getting in touch with @edgehillsu to ensure the SU receives antisemitism awareness training https://t.co/7QbR9GTUv2 pic.twitter.com/MySQkaI5kI — Union of Jewish Students (@UJS_UK) March 23, 2020 A complaint was made to the student union in November, according to Jewish News, for which the student union claims that Farrel formally apologized in writing for. They claimed 'he now fully understood the severity of these accusations.' The student union said that he was also given an appropriate disciplinary sanction following a thorough investigation. “I was offered no support whatsoever from the SU team,” One of the students who complained to the SU told The Tab. “I felt completely forgotten about.” Another said: “How could someone who had made so many disgusting remarks be allowed to run for the most senior role in the Students' Union?” Despite the depth of which his actions were felt among the Jewish student community at the university, Farrel was permitted to run for presidency after the student union reviewed their bye-laws, stating that complaints can only be considered if they are made, 'during the time that they are a candidate in the election.' In his written apology, Farrel wrote, 'I will not attempt to justify the behavior by saying it occurred before I was nominated for SU president. 'As a public figure within Edge Hill University, I am held to a standard that should set an example for other students and for the university as a whole,' he continued. Farrel's full apology and the student union's statement addressing the elections can be found here.

University student union president elect despite past antisemitic acts

He shared photos of himself dressed in striped pajamas, with a prisoner number on his chest on instagram, captioned, "In dire need of a shower after last night’s social #gassed.”

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