Anonymous Bristol Uni students are calling out racism on campus in new Insta page

Anonymous Bristol uni students are calling out racism on Bristol Uni campus by starting an Instagram page where students can anonymously contribute experiences of racism at the University of Bristol.

The page, @makeitknownbristol, was made in reaction to the university wide email sent on Tuesday addressing the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Bristol Tab spoke to the anonymous admins, who told us: “BLM is something we feel strongly about and we were very underwhelmed by Tuesday’s email. We were inspired by similar efforts to allow people a safe space to share their experiences that we had seen on twitter”

‘The email represents the university trying to make up for a lack of action with words.’

The admins said: “for us [the email] represents the university trying to make up for a lack of action with words. It reminded us of the issues surrounding mental health which the uni often addresses by sending an email with links to a bunch of phone numbers, whilst failing to make noticeable adjustments which address the issue at its core.

“The tone of the email gave the impression that it was the university trying to make itself look good and show off what it has done as opposed to actually trying to make a positive difference”

The admins told the Bristol Tab that it the site aims to “raise awareness” and “make sure that people feel that their voices can be heard”.

‘We felt that the issue of racism was being overlooked at Bristol’

The anonymous students also said: “We felt that the issue of racism was being overlooked at Bristol. We understand that the University has received a large reaction to its email, so our main aim is to work with and listen to the victims and the many lost voices.

“We want to focus on individuals and instead let others continue the dialogue with the university whilst hopefully using any information we can provide from this service.”

‘The tobacco and slave legacy of the university needs to be addressed head on’

The admins also referred to the universities attachment to slavery, and how the uni needs to re-address its past, almost three years after Bristol controversially rejected calls to rename the Wills Memorial Building due to its links to the abominable trade.

“A university is a place of education and so it should address the problem through education. We acknowledge that it is already doing this but more is needed. We also feel very strongly about the tobacco and slave legacy of the university and that needs to be addressed head on”

All photos: @makeitknownbristol on instagram