There’s a big Twitter war going on between the striking students and Cardiff’s SU President

Yesterday, a Twitter war broke out between striking Cardiff students and the Cardiff Students’ Union President, over remarks Jackie Yip made in a Gair Rhydd article.

In the article, Jackie Yip described the members of the UCU student group as “keyboard warriors”, and saying she’d rather “welcome people to have a conversation with me before they go and say these things.”

The backlash began with UCU members complaining that Yip hasn’t been doing enough regarding the striking and the issues which have been raised.

In the tweets, the Cardiff student strikers have hit back saying they’re far from “keyboard warriors”, as many of them take part in “rallies, actions and initiatives that require mobilisation on social media.” The student strikes told The Cardiff Tab that their “use social media” allows them “to campaign and support the strikes and students”.

Yip accused the tweets of being “bullying and intimidating behaviour online”, arguing that she had every right to express how she felt towards the UCU members’ actions.

However, the striking students have called out Yip and the Students’ Union for not supporting the strikes nor Cardiff University Students enough. Yip wrote back noting that the strikes are important to them, but that they also have “other things to deal with”.

Both Yip and the student strikers have complained that they have been bullied and threatened by each other. Yip wrote in her tweets that the ‘keyboard warriors’ were members who publicly shamed her for not meeting with them.

Private student emails have been leaked which has resulted in public harassment.

The Cardiff Tab spoke to the UCU student group, and they said:

“We at Cardiff Students Support the Strikes were never fully happy with the Extraordinary Members’ Meeting (EMM) from the beginning… An email from one of our members to the EMM Chair expressing concerns about one of the motions was leaked to those same anti-strike activists, who subsequently publicised it on social media…

“We prioritise student wellbeing above all else – it is the fundamental reason why we engage in the activism that we do – and that, of course, includes our wonderful and hardworking members.”

When The Cardiff Tab reached out to Jackie Yip, she said:

“I am disappointed that some members of the UCU student group do not feel they have been supported throughout this time. I and other members of my team have met with them on several occasions and have offered support where possible…

“When this work hasn’t been fairly reflected by individuals online I have called this out; I do feel that some of the messages targeted at me have been harassing in nature and deliberately out of context…Ultimately, we all have students’ interests at heart here. My door is always open for all students, and I’ll continue to represent student interests the best I can.”