In 2019, Professor Rowena Arshad published a Thematic Review addressing the different forms of racial illiteracy and micro-aggressions Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and staff at the University of Edinburgh face. Micro-aggression is a term used for commonplace or daily verbal comments, or actions, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or prejudicial slights towards a group, particularly culturally marginalised groups.
The report also suggested a series of remedies in order to provide safe spaces to have meaningful conversations about race. A sense of academic and social isolation faced by BAME people is highlighted, and the lack of diversity in staffing is expressed. This is not to disregard the positive instances of racial integration in Edinburgh; rather it is to stress that despite the enthusiasm advocated by the University on its racial diversity, there remain significant challenges for people of colour, which shouldn’t be neglected.
Last year, a roundtable discussion concerning the “Decolonised Transformation Programme” found that there was a lack of visible representation from minority communities among its student and staff population. Participants pointed out forms of “institutional racism at the level of admissions and recruitment” at the university. Suggestions were made for curriculum transformation and revisions in the recruitment process. It was noted that the university was being “held hostage” by its Enlightenment identity, and that a systematic understanding of the nature of Edinburgh’s involvement stretching from the past into the present was needed.
Despite Principal Mathieson expressing a need to address “issues of race” and “contemporary racism,” it appears that racial minorities in Edinburgh still face heavy underrepresentation.
In February this year, The Student conducted a survey on racism, to which 60 people responded. When asked if students felt put at a disadvantage, or treated less favourably because of their race, whether in a workplace or around campus, students voiced unnerving accounts.
One student said they are being targeted by “steep racist behaviour and threats”. The university has allegedly ignored the student and failed to take their reports seriously. The student feels the university fails to “commit to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment”.
Another student said: “The tutor asked me if I got in the wrong classroom when I stepped in a room with all white students—it turns out I’m in the correct room and just the only non-white person.”
Other responses included:
“My race and nationality immediately labels me as an ‘other’ to the majority of student here.”
“It’s frustrating and led me to this is there something wrong about myself.”
“I keep hearing my friends are having incredibly negative experiences in tutorials, and lectures are being ostracised or segregated during to their racial identity, which demotivates them substantially in their studies.”
“Edinburgh students like to say they’re not racist but fail to ever stand up for students of colour.”
Almost all of the answers we received communicated a similar message: one of exclusion or belittlement due to the colour of one’s skin. Clearly, Edinburgh isn’t doing enough.
It is inevitable that every one of us is ingrained with some form of prejudice in the society that we live in. But despite recognising that racism and micro-aggression persists in our present day in various shapes and forms, it is demoralising, perhaps more so than I would feel in other circumstances, to learn that our students and staff, who each strive for intellectual fulfilment, can feel such a void and despondency in their everyday environment. The sanctuary that was supposed to be an offering of unity and strength for people seeking intellectual prowess was but an illusion. That some people’s identity can be challenged to a point where it is impossible to ignore, that it is forever pervasive and insidious, ignored and slighted, is a realisation that hits profoundly within one’s societal consciousness.
Bias runs within our present day, and it is imperative for the institution to enact tangible changes within the campus environment. Transforming racial attitude requires ongoing effort and is not one that will vanish suddenly, but as students, we should strive to cultivate an environment grounded in egalitarianism and openness. This involves both a willingness to recognise and address our own prejudices, while actively seeking to understand other cultures.
Image by Yin Jiang from Unsplash