Within a curriculum built upon the racial contract, racism is inevitable…₁₂
“If we are truly interested in racial pedagogy, then we must become comfortable with the idea that for marginalised and oppressed minorities, there is no safe space. As implied above, mainstream race dialogue in education is arguably already hostile and unsafe for many students of color whose perspectives and experiences are consistently minimized. Violence is already there. In other words, like Fanon's understanding of colonialism, safe space enacts violence.”₁₃
For UCL students and Staff reading this, it is essential NOT to omit the incidences of racism in our institution. The Barlett school recently hit the headlines following a large-scale report of racism, sexual misconduct and misogyny towards students. Student’s experiences were first dismissed as ‘vexatious’₁₄ a profound reduction of abuse stories. Later in 2022, UCL apologised for the misconduct and restructured staffing following the claims₁₅. Yet, it is clear that the acknowledgement of racism in the institution is under-reported and consistently denied₁₆.
However, the social prevalence of racism in UCL societies is often overshadowed by discussions of racism on an institutional level. Hazing in UCL sports societies appears to be more abundant than expected₁₇. The UCL’s own Cheese Grater Magazine gathered student accounts on initiations and reported that a large amount of misconduct goes unrecognised by the university…
“A lack of active intervention means no repercussions for senior non-committee members when they duct tape freshers together, or pour choice condiments down their throats”₁₈.
Patterns remain: older students abuse their power dynamic (especially as committee members) to pressure younger students to perform humiliating acts, often under the influence of excessive alcohol consumption. An intersectional perspective acknowledges how this power imbalance will undoubtedly place more BAME, (especially female BAME) students at more physical-mental risk at university. The social pressure for BAME students, who as previously discussed represent a minority at Russell Group universities₁₉ are at an increased risk of harassment and abuse.
Deaths associated with racist hazing beyond the UK warn of the potential for incidents to escalate without intervention₂₀. Therefore, UK institutions need to tackle issues at the root and protect BAME students from such risks.