01 March 2023 , 09:50
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University students are protesting against a lecturer who left their black colleague “crying” and “humiliated” after allegedly using the n-word.
More than 100 students at the University of Manchester signed an open letter claiming that the lecturer was witnessed saying the racist slur several times since 2021.
The detailed letter claimed that during one incident, the lecturer “did not read out the n-word from a text” but that they went out of their way "to deliberately say this violently anti-black word.”
Students claimed that after the university's Diversity and Inclusion department was informed, an apology was demanded from the lecturer to the entire seminar, and not just those who complained.
The letter claimed the University stated that it would instead directly apologise only to those offended, and hold a “refresher” course on Equality and Diversity issues.
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Since the meeting, students claimed the lecturer used the word once more - but this time in a different language.
The University said it was investigating the matter and that an apology had been offered to the students in the lecture group.
However, students said they were left “drained”, and felt their degrees were in “jeopardy” from being “forced to beg” the institution to treat them with “dignity and respect”.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)They told the Mirror anonymously that an impact statement was written to the lecturer describing how a black student was left in tears after the seminar.
They said: “The black student who came forward about the incident told the lecturer in an impact statement that they were crying after the seminar because they were so shocked and humiliated.”
In the letter, students detailed what took place during the first incident in 2021. They told the Mirror “the memory was still raw”.
They wrote: “In a seminar on human zoos, [the lecturer] was explaining the meaning of the word ‘n*grillon’ (which roughly translates to ‘piccaninny’), when [the lecturer] claimed that the connotations were not particularly offensive and said that it was like ‘the difference between the word negro and n******’.
“[The lecturer] did not read out the n-word from a text", with the letter going on to say the lecturer then went out of their way to "deliberately say this violently anti-black word.”
Drained from dealing with the emotional aftermath of the alleged incident, students claimed that making complaints about racism was impacting their education.
(Getty Images)They said: “This ordeal has been incredibly emotionally and physically draining for the black students involved.
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“For those of us who organised the walkout and open letter, the fallout of the University’s racism has taken over our whole lives.
“It is jeopardising our degrees because instead of studying, we are being forced to beg a white-led institution to treat us with basic dignity and respect.”
Overall, students say they did not think they would have to resort to writing an open letter but that their concerns were ‘swept under the rug.’
Furthermore, they felt the lecturer was 'letting down white students' by "making them think that the use of racial slurs is acceptable use of racial slurs is acceptable" and that they should also be privy to an apology from the tutor.
They said: “We did not think it would come to us having to write this open letter.
“We put our faith in the University but instead of taking our concerns seriously and ensuring that there is accountability, they have tried to sweep previous incidents under the rug.
“It is only because students have come together collectively to take direct action that there is any prospect of this issue finally being addressed."
The students reiterated this again in their letter writing, "We really did not think it would come to us having to write this letter.
"After the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the university released a statement saying that the UoM is ‘categorically clear that we will never accept discrimination in any form’. "
The students are calling for language guidelines “around the use of derogatory language and slurs in the classroom” as well as “external anti-racism practitioners to deliver regular, mandatory, in-person training that specifically addresses how whiteness and power affect education.”
A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in all of our activities.
"We are aware of the letter and the events during the lecture and we are working with students to address their concerns in a process led by the faculty leadership team.
"This will include updating guidance and delivering further training.
"An apology was offered to the lecture group, we are engaged with students in further conversations."