Leave Reckless alone

Since the revelations about Reckless hit Loughborough, the air has become toxic and stale. What Ed did was wrong – no one can ever justify that sort of behaviour.

He deserved his punishment, which was whatever the union authorities or the elected student exec prescribed for him. But when you have people from all around the world signing a petition centralising on something they don’t know about at all, you should question its relevance and start hoping we’d all chill a little.

A petition has been made online to get him deposed, allowing anyone to vote. Ranging from America to Australia, people have been voting to have Reckless stripped of the title he so gallantly won, despite the negative publicity he received during his campaign. Everyone is more focused on this one bad action, rather than on his manifesto.

Yes, slapping anyone around the face is wrong, but he was democratically elected by the Loughborough student body, as the majority believe he will be a successful President. So, how is letting any Tom, Dick or Harry vote to have him deposed allowed, when only Loughborough University and College students were allowed to elect him into the Presidential role?

If we all delved deep enough into everyone who ran for Exec’s history, we would find some far more criminal things than slapping someone around the face.

If Reckless was a young woman, who slapped a fellow female across the face, would everyone be as disgusted? Or if it was a young woman slapping a male, would this be seen as her asserting her femininity and opposing male harassment in night clubs? People are relishing the fact he is a male who has committed this act.

He was democratically elected by the Loughborough student body. Therefore, the only people allowed to strip him of his title should be the same people who have the ability to vote in the elections. No one else.

The SU are to blame, as they should not have allowed him to run if they felt his actions would have caused the uproar they have. But as he was allowed to, and then democratically elected in by students who believed in his ability to be a successful president, it is not fair to then strip him of this title, just because people from around the world do not agree with what he did.