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Sheffield BME committee plan protest over university’s handling of racism

It has been four weeks since the banana-throwing incident at Varsity


A protest over the handling of racist incidents at the University of Sheffield will be taking place outside Firth Court next Friday.

Organisers of the event state their aim is to "force the university to start taking racism seriously".

They claim the university's response to recent instances of campus racism have been to "brush it under the carpet because they are scared of the bad publicity they will receive".

The protest is being organised by the Students' Union BME Committee, and comes in light of numerous incidents of racism at Sheffield in recent months.

It has been four weeks since a Uni Of student threw a banana at black Hallam student Tyrell Pearce during the Varsity Ice Hockey match.

The University of Sheffield originally told us they were investigating the incident before admitting this was not true, blaming a 'clumsy' handling of the situation. The university's investigation into the matter is thought to still be ongoing.

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While a statement from the university has condemned the incident, it is not known how long the investigation will last, if the culprit will be publicly identified, or what punishments may be handed out.

The event description for the protest reads:

"We will be peacefully protesting outside Firth Court to force the University to start taking racism seriously and give students the support that they need.

"Their approach has been to brush it under the carpet because they are scared of the bad publicity they will receive – evident with the appalling way they have handled the Varsity incident.

"So please come and support us – it is open to everyone from University of Sheffield and Hallam – and people power is the best power!"

Earlier this year, Computer Science students at the university were forced to apologise after sending racist messages in a group chat.

The students responsible could have faced expulsion, but a university spokesperson said they had written full apologies to those offended and the matter was subsequently closed.

The protest will take place from 1pm to 2pm on Friday 27th April.

The University of Sheffield have been contacted for comment.

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