Desk of gay UCL officer glitter bombed after SU party in ‘homophobic attack’

Following the results of the UCLU elections, the desk of Mark Crawford, the current Postgraduate student officer, was glitter bombed by a unidentified perpetrator.

The attack took place on the evening of the 8th of March, after the union election results party. As the only openly LGBTQ+ officer, who has campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights at UCL, Mark believes the attack was homophobic in nature, and has reported it to the Union as such.

Speaking to The Tab UCL, Mark says the "homophobic intimidation tactic" means he is "fast reaching a point where I no longer feel comfortable coming to the office."

Glitter bombing, where activists throw glitter on a person or object in a act of protest has recently been used by LGBTQ+ activists to target those who oppose LGBTQ+ rights, and recent targets include Mitt Romney, the US Republican candidate for president in 2012, Lindsay Lohan, and Germaine Greer.

However, Mark told The Tab UCL that he believes that historically glitter bombs have been used as a "homophobic intimidation tactic."

Mark told The Tab UCL: "It's appalling to think that some people consider actions like this an appropriate way to deal with political differences. Homophobia is not something I ever felt I would be encountering at the Students' Union."

This year's Union elections have been very tense and plagued by allegations of corruption and abuse.

Mark has been very vocal in calling out candidates and the union, describing the elections as "fantastically corrupt."

At the announcement of the results, hours before the glitter bomb, Mark refused to shake hands with the new PSO officer, Saddiqur Rahman, due to allegations of bullying and misogyny, which were revealed by The Tab UCL.

Rahman sent a series of abusive WhatsApp messages in which he branded a woman a "psycho bitch."

People were upset by Mark's actions, with some people in the crowd booing him, and he and other left wing candidates were then sent unpleasant messages.

Tension continued to rise after Mark called out election corruption on Twitter. He received a number of angry replies and has since locked down his account.

There has been controversy over election budgets, with eight candidates going over the £100 campaign budget limit.

Mark was not present at the election results party which took place in the Sabbs' office in the evening of the 8th but most of the other Sabb officers were.

People who attended the party reported that the atmosphere was strained and agitated, with Mark saying that "people were tense. I didn't see people until the following day, but I know people were upset about me not shaking my successor's hand."

The glitter bombing took place some time between the results party and the beginning of the working day on Friday the 9th of March.

Glitter was only found on Mark's desk and he says he was "quite obviously targeted."

Mark told The Tab UCL: "I [am] rather unnerved to say the least. Somebody with a key to the office must know who was responsible, and the fact that no one has yet to come forward to apologise or clarify their intentions only makes me more concerned.

"It's fast reaching a point where I no longer feel comfortable coming to the office."

Mark has asked for a formal investigation into the incident by the Trustee Board.

The Union has declined to comment on the incident and investigation.

If the perpetrator is found they could be disciplined by the Trustee Board's Supervising Trustee.