You can see Queen Mary’s public statement on the conflict on our website.
I know that many of you are receiving queries from concerned students and members of staff. I am therefore writing to you today with immediate practical information to support you in responding to these queries.
In London and across the UK, there is concern among Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian communities that it may be unsafe to be in public.
We are clear that, regardless of the circumstances, we will never tolerate racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, abuse, incitement or harassment of any kind.
At Queen Mary, our Security team is working with our local authorities, and Tower Hamlets in particular, to support the safety of our staff and students in travelling to and from campus. We have also increased the security presence on all our campuses to help ensure campus remains a safe place.
Therefore, please encourage our students to continue to attend their educational activities in person.
If any student or member of staff experiences or witnesses any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia, harassment or hate crime, please ask them to report it immediately through Report + Support. This will allow us to investigate it and take action as appropriate.
Many members of our community will be personally impacted by the conflict, and many more will also be affected. Please ensure you promote the emotional and wellbeing support available for students and for staff.
For students’ assessments we have amended our Extenuating Circumstances policy, the detail of which you can find on our website. Please direct students to this link that lists the support available to them including how to use Extenuating Circumstances if the situation is affecting their ability to study.
Dr Sharon Ellis Chief Operations Officer