Uni racism report ignored advice to leave out ‘anti-white racism’
The report called unis ‘out of touch’
Greg BarradaleA new report into campus racism ignored advice to not include "anti-white racism", it has been alleged.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report includes anti-white racism alongside other forms of discrimination, but an NUS officer said hers and others' calls to drop that from the report were ignored.
Fope Olaleye, the NUS Black Students' Officer, tweeted: “I remember sitting at one of the round tables and a bunch of students and myself had to explain in excruciatingly detail that ‘anti-white prejudice’ should have no place in a report on racial harassment but I see we were not listened to.”
The report has been ridiculed for including "anti-British" racism.
However, EHRC defended itself, saying it felt including the anti-white stats was important, saying: "It’s difficult to argue that there are different grades of racism in that sense because clearly we’re looking at an objectively tough outcome for people in terms of what the impact is."
The report also calls unis "oblivious" and "out of touch" when it comes to racial abuse.
It found that two thirds of students don't report racial harassment at their uni, and that one in three unis had received no reports of racism from students since 2015.
Fope told the Guardian: “There was a definite tension with the students in the room who were concerned by how they were defining racism in the report and many of us pressed and challenged it.”
However, EHRC's Chief Exec Rebecca Hilsenrath said: “You’re talking about people’s thresholds to life and to employment and to future economic wellbeing. It may be because you’re black or because you’re Welsh in an English university. But often these things are cumulative. You’re away from home and still a young person. And it’s difficult to argue that there are different grades of racism in that sense because clearly we’re looking at an objectively tough outcome for people in terms of what the impact is.”
If you've got a story about racism at uni, whether it's face-to-face, students being racist in group chats, or anything else, and want your story told, please contact [email protected]
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