NUS president accused of bullying

The president of the National Union of Students has allegedly been accused of bullying and intimidation. 

Shakira Martin, who was elected to the post last year, has vehemently denied allegations she harassed and abused officers and staff members.

Ms Martin hit back, claiming she a victim of ‘racism and classism’ and is being targeted ahead of forthcoming elections because she is ‘a black, working-class single mother’ with ‘swagger’ who ‘likes piercings and tattoos’.

All union officers have been told to work from home this week while the complaints are investigated.

Ms Martin, 29, from Lewisham in south London, was elected to the role in 2017 after gaining some 402 votes. 

She previously acted as the union’s vice president for education.

The allegations against her were made last Saturday, after Ms Martin became embroiled in a heated social media exchange with Mark Crawford, the Student Union postgraduate officer for University College London. 

In a tweet he called Ms Martin a ‘scab’ and told her to ‘get over herself’. 

The tweet, which has since been deleted, was screenshotted by Ms Martin and posted to Facebook, where she likened it to domestic abuse.

She wrote: ‘This is the name calling and abuse i have to put up with. I’m a scab now yeh…these people are as abusive as my ex was too me, emotionally trying to break me down at every level every single day.’ 

Following the public exchange, NUS women’s officer Hareem Ghani announced she plans to report Ms Martin for bullying.

In January, Ms Martin was forced to apologise after omitting Judaism from a survey on religion – just months after making the same mistake

Ms Ghani wrote on Twitter: ‘I spent this morning debating whether to remain silent on such a horrendous (and frankly dangerous) comparison between political accountability and domestic violence.

‘Frankly, it’s deeply dangerous and I feel uncomfortable working in the same office as someone who would make such a distasteful and frankly upsetting comparison.

‘I’ll be submitting a complaint against the president. Not only [because] of this horrendous comparison, but [because] she has threatened and bullied officers over the course of the last 6 months.(sic)’  

In an impassioned video on social media, Ms Martin denied the bullying allegations.

She said: ‘I’m a strong, outspoken, articulate black woman that likes piercings and tattoos and I’ve got swagger. 

‘I’m not going to change myself. I’m not going to be anything but Shakira – rough around the edges, straight talking, authentic, real Shakira.’

In a statement posted on Facebook, she added: ‘Seeing those closest to me use personal defamation to get one up in the countdown to National Conference was destroying me from the inside out.

‘I have a duty and a responsibility to the membership to create a vision and shape a political environment that is free of petty tit for tat or personal attacks for political gain.

‘I made it clear when I was elected that I would kick the bullies out, that there was no space for those who wished to silence people.

The NUS has faced allegations of anti-Semitism in the past with former president Malia Bouattia (pictured) being widely criticised for branding Birmingham University as ‘something of a Zionist outpost’.

‘I have been baited and provoked on purpose and recorded in my own workplace by those who claim to support working class black women like myself but would happily push me to the limit and watch me break.’ 

However a number of NUS officers have added fuel to the fire, by taking social media to accuse Ms Martin of bullying.  

NUS trans liberation officer Jess Bradley wrote on Facebook: ‘This string of complaints about Shakira’s bullying behaviour towards fellow officers and people in the movement has drawn this crisis in NUS into sharp focus for me. 

‘I can honestly say that becoming an NUS Officer often results in a sharp decline in mental health, and this hostility from the President is only making things worse.’

MailOnline has contacted the NUS for comment.