CUSU LGBT+ are holding a referendum on Tuesday over whether to remove Get Real. founding editor Hesham Mashhour from the editorship and the CUSU LGBT+ Executive, after the Chair received a letter triggering a vote of no confidence from CUSU LGBT+ members.

The announcement was made after Chair Jack Renshaw received a "significant number" of complaints from members about Mashhour's editorship.

Renshaw specifies neither the number nor the names of the signatories in his email, "protect[ing]" the signatories' identities "[f]or the purposes of safety".

He insists, however, "that over 30 people have signed the petition to justifty [sic] the removal process".

Branding Mashhour "an unreliable, unethical, and unsuitable editor", the letter alleges that he has "created and perpetuated" a series of problems under his tenure, including making "large numbers of people feel unsafe" and "provid[ing] a platform for views which contribute to the marginalisation of certain groups, deliberately inviting controversy, whilst alienating many LGBT+ people – often those from groups within the LGBT+ umbrella whose voices are least heard already".

"Hesham has explicitly voiced deliberate invitations for controversy," the letter continues, "and, in reaction to such controversy, has on several occasions explicitly used other people as a buffer between them and the rest of the Cambridge community, causing those people incredible amounts of stress and upset."

Mashhour has told Varsity that he wishes to use male pronouns.

Yesterday a referendum over whether to strip Mashhour of unilateral editorial control of the magazine, prompting him to compare the Women's Campaign to "Hitler", was passed successfully.

Since both Co-Editors of Get Real. are members of the CUSU LGBT+ Executive, they cannot be constitutionally removed from their roles unless a referendum is called.

Clause 37.F of CUSU LGBT+'s constitution states: "Any member of the Exec will be deemed to have resigned if they have had their position successfully challenged by a two-thirds majority in a Referendum called for by a petition of not less than 30 Members."

Mashhour, however, has already been stripped of access to Get Real.'s website. Alleging that "my passwords were changed and my access removed" by someone to whom he "gave... [his] trust", he goes on to accuse his Co-Editor Em Travis of "shameful and disgusting behaviour".

Mashhour also insists that he was given no prior warning of the referendum, and was alerted only when he received the email sent out to the entire CUSU LGBT+ mailing list.

In a later post on Facebook, Renshaw insisted that Mashhour was sent an email informing him of the upcoming vote, but confirmed that, "given the seriousness of the allegations", Mashhour had indeed been stripped of access to Get Real.'s "various accounts", including Facebook and Twitter.

Striking a combative tone, Mashhour has taken to social media urging people to sign up to the mailing list to ensure they are on the electoral role for the referendum, and to vote to ensure he remains in his position on Tuesday.

Mashhour also shared the post to the CUSU LGBT+ Facebook group, but the post has since been deleted.

Renshaw also announced in his post that the committee was refusing to accept any further sign-ups to the online electoral roll. 

"We have decided that we are not taking anymore sign-ups until after the referendum has taken place," he said. "The reason why is that we are suspicious of attempts at vote-rigging" because "[o]nly self-identifying LGBT+ people are allowed to sign up to CUSU LGBT+ and vote in elections and referendums."

"We are not attempting to police identities here," he insisted, "but we are concerned that the democractic standards of CUSU LGBT+ would be compromised otherwise."

Despite concerns being raised that some LGBT+ people who would like to vote in the referendum will now be barred from joining the electoral roll until after the referendum has taken place, Renshaw said he believed that the roll was up to date "given the success of the recent referendum".

In another post, he clarified that people would also be able to vote in person at the CUSU offices on Tuesday.

Around the same time, Get Real.'s Deputy Editor, Rowan Douglas, also announced that she was stepping down, citing "other commitments".

Meanwhile, the previous CUSU LGBT+ Chair, Jon Spittles, has waded into the row to denounce the Executive's handling of the decision, saying that Mashhour was right to feel "personally attacked".

"It was clear to me as early as Lent this year that a petition for the removal of Hesham was likely," Spittles told Varsity. "To stop him taking Get Real. away from CUSU LGBT+, he was not reimbursed for the launch party and printing costs from his first printed version of Get Real."

"Hesham will probably feel personally victimised by these events and, without naming anyone, I think he may have a point."

However, Renshaw insisted that "[t]he executive, as a body, remains neutral on this matter – it is for the members of CUSU LGBT+ to democratically decide on this motion of removal".

@tag_freeman