“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” – Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)

        King's College London (KCL) is one of the most famous universities in the world. Unfortunately, it is increasingly preceded by a negative reputation. Rising workloads, precarious employment and inadequate pay have led to multiple strikes with little support from the senior board. Equally ineffectual is the student counselling service’s ability to address the needs of its students. Though the current situation is particularly dire, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, this is not the first time students have been neglected. In a February 2020 interview with The Tab, a King's student mentioned she had to wait 8 months to see a counsellor. Current students have expressed frustration towards the way the service is run: "I had to wait 6 months for an appointment." "Academic staff are so supportive; it's disappointing that this isn’t matched by the counselling service.” This refers to the policies that King's has adopted (see list at the end). Moreover, this is a serious infringement of Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010.

That has to end right now, and we need your help.

This is a petition to demand that King's College London take immediate action to address the abhorrent and shameful treatment of MA student Vivigo Yung (a.k.a. Krobus). Vivigo is seeking asylum in the UK because of her participation in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Her experience of police brutality and persecution during these protests has caused her mental health to worsen; she has recently been very unwell as a result of depression, anxiety and PTSD.

On 3rd March 2022, Vivigo had a traumatic reaction to unnecessary police intervention during a counselling session on the King’s campus. This was very triggering and resulted in hospitalisation. Despite multiple official diagnoses confirming that she was acting out of trauma and had no intentions to hurt people (and in fact did not), she was treated as a problem rather than someone who needed help and support. Instead of listening to professional opinion, the counselling service decided – “happily”, according to official correspondence accessed under the Freedom of Information Act – to exclude Vivigo from all campuses with immediate effect.

The university has finally responded to the complaint that Vivigo filed in March, dismissing all her demands. They will not apologise for their actions. They refuse both individual accountability and the notion that change should take place within the service to ensure that students, current and future, are protected.

Their response has been thoroughly invalidating and wholly inadequate; the university has a duty of care to its students and they are blatantly in violation of it. Empty phrases are not enough. Concrete action must be taken.

We believe this treatment was unacceptable and should never have occurred, not least in one of the ‘top’ universities in the world. We are beyond disappointed and angry at Vivigo’s treatment. We ask that you sign this petition to support Vivigo and to demand that KCL enact meaningful change so that this never happens again.

Here are our 3 demands:
1. Immediately fulfil Vivigo’s demands from her original complaint: primarily, issuing a full apology and providing her with support in returning to study.
2. Ensure there are no repercussions for any King's student or staff member who supports us.
3. Make concrete plans to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Here is Vivigo’s experience, in her own words:

"I was traumatised due to my participation in the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong against the Chinese government's attempt to deprive us of the rights that the Hong Kong Basic Law granted us, including freedom of speech, freedom to protest, freedom to be in control of our own territory. These all were granted by the constitutional principle of “One country, two systems” after the handover - the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China on 1st July 1997, 25 years ago. We protested because that was not right; we must free ourselves from oppression.

My involvement in these events has traumatised me to the extent that I felt suicidal. On 3rd March this year, I came to see a counsellor at King's counselling services to ask for help with my first interview for my asylum claim with the Home Office. Normally one will have to attend three interviews; each one would be centred on the reason why I fear going back to my country of origin, which, as you can see, is a really difficult and triggering subject. So when I came to my counsellor's office, I was already very unwell due to the escalating anxiety from knowing that the interview was coming up and that there was no one who could really help me, apart from my counsellor at that time. I started having flashbacks about the protests and consequently began to punch a wall in an attempt to stop the flashbacks by reconnecting with reality through pain. The counsellor then called an ambulance, to which I agreed.

People entered the room who I assumed to be first aiders. No, I was wrong - they called the police in the full knowledge that I have an intense fear of them due to my trauma. As a result, I went into shock and couldn't speak; I tried to remain in control and didn't want to hurt anyone (and in fact did not) so I just sat there in a corner, hoping that by turning my face away from the police officers I would feel slightly better.

Meanwhile, my counsellor had just finished speaking with the officers about my background and explained that I'm afraid of the police. Yet, she allowed the officer to come extremely close to me; I was trapped in the corner and had no way to get away. This further triggered another traumatic memory after I saw the pepper spray and baton on the officer's belt.

Anyway, after two hours the first aiders finally arrived. I had become calmer, although still very distressed, and not able to speak much. I went with them to the hospital because the counsellor told me they might lock me up in a psychiatric unit under the Mental Health Act if I was not cooperative. I had no other choice but to dissociate, and I went with them.

I spent a night there and a nurse assessed me, confirming that I had PTSD and was not at all aggressive; that this was simply a trauma response. The nurse wrote a letter for me to submit to the university to confirm this.
Ten days later, I received a very cold letter via email named "Immediate Exclusion". Basically, they said I was aggressive and so was barred from entering ALL campuses. I was angry, but I understood that I needed a break, so didn't protest. But as time passed, I become more distressed - I realised the exclusion was indefinite; there was no date set for review, nor did they specify on what conditions I could return to campus. I was also told that I could no longer see my counsellor after I filed a complaint about how King's mistreated me - they stripped away the only place that I thought I could call home: the King's community. My counsellor was the only person who was supporting me in dealing with my mental health issues. I was left aside to rot, and it had made me actively suicidal to the point that I almost killed myself a few times. They have kept raising me as a Student of Concern, probably more than ten times by now. However, I received no useful help, apart from their gaslighting emails of "we are trying to help", and constant "let's call you an ambulance" threats from them. The only times I was allowed to appear on campus were when I had to attend GP appointments, but it was under a very degrading and inappropriate condition: I had to have security guards "escort" me. This is simply triggering - to me they looked no different from police officers, and I felt like a prisoner, which I could've become if I hadn't fled Hong Kong.

According to King's regulations, they had to respond to me within a month. It's now almost July, and it had been four months. In early May, they asked me to attend a "fitness to study" meeting. I told them how I felt and how disappointed and distressed I was. Afterwards, they said they'd help. They let me return to campus 2 weeks later, but no one had ever updated me on my complaints, nor provided me help for my mental well-being. This continued up to last week when I finally couldn't take it and told them by email that if they refuse to start treating me like a human, I'll instigate legal action. Then they immediately sent me a patronising email with three apologies, saying that they'll get back to me soon. They promised that I would have the update on 27 Jun, which was two days ago. And at almost 5 pm on 27 Jun, they once again said they needed more time.

Enough is enough, and the world needs to know I was not the first and only one who has been mistreated - Students as well as staff here have been gaslighted by King's for years; They claim to value diversity and inclusiveness and to be supportive of students' mental health, including that of refugees. My experience was the complete opposite - they almost killed me.

I have now stepped up and shared my trauma and there is no turning back. I fully understand the risks involved in rising up against such a powerful institution and revealing my identity as an asylum seeker. And I am not afraid - I have merely spoken up for what's right. Come what may, for this is my destiny.”

This cannot be allowed to go on unchallenged. Such an environment should not be fostered at a university; it shows a complete disregard for the needs of marginalised students and the student body as a whole. Action must be taken to redress this terrible injustice.

We thank you very much for your support. We believe this campaign will benefit every member of King's, as well as students across the country who have been left behind by the negligence and inadequacy of university services.

Together we resist, together we take a stand. Join us to make the world a better place.

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰!


Sincerely,
Critical Theory MA students
Department of French
King's College London
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Here is a list of what King's has failed the entire King's community: both students and staff, as well as the reputation of the UK as the land of freedom:

·   Equality Act 2010
·   Human Rights Act 1998
·   APA code of conduct
·       Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
·       The Prevent duty of care and the wellbeing of staff and students in higher education Guidance 2021
·   European Convention on Human Rights
·   Universal Declaration of Human Rights
·   UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT)
·   International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
·   Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
·   Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
·   King's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy
·   Dignity at King's - Bullying and Harassment Policy
·   King's website for Refugee Awareness Week 2022
·   King's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy (EDI 2019-2022)
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