June 18, 2020 2.40 pm
This story is over 25 months old
Lincoln SU boss sorry over plagiarism, but won’t quit £100k job
He ignored calls for his resignation over the fiasco
Lincoln Students' Union CEO James Brooks uses a photo of him holding a banana on the SU website staff pages. Almost 60% of his apology to black and minority students was plagiarised.
The chief executive of the University of Lincoln Students’ Union has apologised over his plagiarised statement to black students, which caused hurt and was deemed “insincere and disingenuous” — but he won’t stand down from his £100k a year job despite calls for his resignation over the fiasco.
Some people even called for him to resign over the fiasco before the original statement was removed from the SU’s social media accounts on Thursday, which had hundreds of negative and critical comments.
The statement from Brooks, who earns over £100k a year according to The Charity Commission, received a huge backlash, and not just because it was largely plagiarised from an earlier message from the University of Essex Students’ Union.
Brooks, who has been chief executive for nearly eight years, admitted in the plagiarised message that during almost a decade in charge of the Lincoln SU, he has failed BAME students in many ways.
He has since posted a lengthy further statement on Thursday afternoon to apologise for what was deemed as “insincere and disingenuous in its form and its message”.
He also admitted it was a mistake to base his original statement on one that of his counterpart at the University of Essex’s Students’ Union without even mentioning “the inspiration”.
Most student unions are part funded through block grant donations given by their universities – Lincoln SU’s figure for the financial year ending on June 30, 2019 was £4.8 million.
Lincoln Students’ Union statement.
The statement continued.
Brooks said the words and principles he put his name to in the original statement were as “an honest portrayal of the actions I want to take in improving the lives of black students as members of Lincoln Students’ Union and members of the university community at large”.
However, his original words caused a lot of anger, with one student saying it was “appalling” and in “very bad taste” — and some called for his resignation from the role.
Leonard Chatonzwa, one of the organisers of the recent and upcoming Black Lives Matter protests in Lincoln, was very angry with the SU’s statement.
He said: “The SU response shows exactly why we must carry on speaking out and is a prime example of the problem!
“You’d think with a matter as a sensitive as this they’d be more thoughtful, not essentially jump on a bandwagon in such a poor manner! This is why we are standing up and speaking up this Saturday.”
A screenshot from Copy Leaks showing that the statement from the University of Lincoln’s Students’ Union had copied over half of another document.
In response to people’s criticisms, Brooks said: “I fully accept that basing my statement on one that had been issued by another CEO appeared disingenuous and performative.
“With hindsight, this was a mistake. One that I acknowledge has detracted from the real commitment I have made as chief executive to ensure that we are listening to our black and minority students.
“This was categorically not my intention or my desire. Every word and every expanded objective was made to achieve equity and justice for our black student community.”
A copy of the original statement, which has since been removed, can be seen below.
Lincoln SU has issued a response after the backlash received to its original statement.
However, Brooks is still adamant that the pledges he made will happen and is “happy to be held to account on this commitments.”
One of the commitments, which has been criticised and ridiculed by commenters on the original post, involved a “guaranteed preliminary interview to anyone who is from a BAME background and applies for any of the staff roles, student or career staff.”
The latest statement caused further reaction and more calls for Brooks to resign.
Calvin Bissitt said: “I’m glad an apology has been delivered. It was completely necessary given the circumstances however, it shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place. This should have been nailed down the first time, and it really is saddening that it had to have an apology. Lessons have to be learnt from this, especially with the referendum ongoing, making sure that the SU is not making mistakes like this. There has to be action to back up the words.”
Damien Justin-Giovanni Dos Santos said: “What kind of clownery. The SU’s been a shambles for years and this time it’s just got worse and ignorant.”
Christopher Clarkson asked sarcastically: “Where have you copied and pasted the status from this time?”
In response to the original statement and the subsequent backlash, a University of Lincoln spokesperson said: “The Students’ Union is an independent organisation and communicates with its own members. The university had no knowledge of the recent statement.
“As a university, our determination is to address the challenges that we and all universities face to tackle discrimination, inequality and injustices and to support our black and minority students. As ever, we will work with our Students’ Union to achieve this.”
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Anglian Water has “a lot to answer for” after a long-running sinkhole debacle, Holbeach’s MP has claimed.
Nearly £500,000 has been spent over the last three years by various authorities attempting to repair the hole on Boston Road South.
People whose lives had been disrupted demanded answers from the water company and council at a town meeting on Wednesday evening.
The delayed sewer works have now been completed, and the road repairs are currently expected to be completed by Friday, August 26.
Most of the anger was directed against Anglian Water for not keeping people informed of what was happening.
Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings, said: “There has been a breakdown between Lincolnshire County Council. Local people have been put out. Anglian Water have a lot to answer for,” he said.
“It is not acceptable that the people I represent have had to have this since 2019. This cost is our money.
Problems have persisted on Boston Road South for years | Photo: The Lincolnite
“It is not acceptable people not knowing what is happening next. There is also the noise which is affecting people’s lives.
“Only Lincolnshire County Council are taking responsibility and not Anglian Water. People will know who to hold accountable.”
He also called for people to be compensated for their trouble as a gesture of goodwill.
Anglian Water said they were very sorry for not communicating better, and claimed that they had been working closely with the council to fix the problems.
A spokesperson said they would look into compensation.
One resident told the meeting that they hadn’t been informed about recent roadworks, and hadn’t been able to get off their drive for work on Monday.
Lincolnshire County Council apologised for not dropping letters off to all houses affected.
Questions also revealed that tankers full of sewage and storm water were being taken away from the sinkhole daily.
Anglian Water has spent approximately £350,000 trying to rectify the problem, and another £115,000 has come from Lincolnshire County Council.
The road repairs were pushed back from July 4 after Anglian Water said that more time was needed to repair the sewer.
A former pub in Boston will be merged with a neighbouring building to create larger residential home.
Plans have been granted for a new use for the Red Cow Hotel on Wide Bargate.
The pub has had a turbulent history recently, briefly closing and reopening in 2014, before shutting again shortly after.
Planning documents say it’s fallen into a poor sate of repair. However, applicant SHWilkinson Architects Ltd is now working to bring it back into good condition.
Boston Borough Council has granted permission to build a two-storey extension to link it with the Georgians, an 18th century townhouse used as a care home for the elderly.
The extension will be set back from the road so it doesn’t detract from the historic architecture.
Artists impressions show what the larger, combined care home would look like.
The extended care home on Wide Bargate, Boston Photo: SHWilkinson
The recently-approved application states: “The link will allow both buildings to operate under a combined management and staffing rather than two independent staffing units, were they kept separate.”
It adds that the plans are an “opportunity to bring the derelict and deteriorating building back into use and to address localised issues with vermin appearance.”
The buildings’ external features will be restored and replaced where needed.