85% of racist incidents go unreported at university

A survey by the Boar has revealed that 85% of racist incidents that occur at Warwick go unreported.

This comes weeks after a racist incident in halls of residence, where first-year student Fara Ifaturoti was the victim of racial slurs written on a bunch of bananas.

Over half (54%) of respondents to the survey do not believe Warwick University takes racism seriously – with 23.7% believing only the SU do, and 27.2% believing neither the SU nor university do.

The survey also indicated that the banana incident was not an isolated example of racism in halls. 84 of those (56%) who had experienced racism at Warwick said it had occurred in university halls.

A further 48% of respondents had experienced racism on campus in any setting. The survey received over 300 student responses, from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

As well as survey results, a Boar Freedom of Information request on Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) achievement has revealed a rift between white students and minority ethnicities.

The stats show that 21% of white students achieve a first in their degree, compared with just 13% for BAME students.

The survey and stats raise questions about the university’s response to racist incidents, with six out of the 19 respondents who had reported a racist incident to the university saying it was not followed up.

Two more respondents felt the SU did not follow up incidents, either.

On the other end of the spectrum, over 20% of BAME students get a 2:2 or below, compared with just 10% of white students.

This comes after claims that the university only responded to the banana incident after Fara posted a photo to Twitter. She said “I reported [the racist incident] way before I put it on Twitter but no one took it seriously.”

The survey attracted mixed comments from students. One anonymous respondent said: “Universities are elite institutions, which remain comfortable spaces for only rich, white men.

“This is part of a wider societal problem which the university could start to address by working on reviews of their own policy and thorough investigations into racist incidents – with consequences.

“Sadly, they don’t want to do these things, they would rather diminish students’ concerns and sign the race equality charter as if everything was fine.”

However, others highlighted the diversity and acceptance at Warwick: “I live in a corridor with multiple ethnicities and my friendship group is very diverse.

“While I have heard about recent events, I would say from my experience, one of the things that makes Warwick endearing is the diversity.”

In response to the results, the university stated: “We do not believe [racism] to be “prevalent,” but quite clearly there are examples, as there are elsewhere in society.

“Racism is not acceptable … in the first instance a student’s resident tutor or Warden would be the best people to approach in halls.”

When it came to BAME achievement, the Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Policy at Warwick University, commented: “The matters raised are important, deep and structural. They merit reflection and analysis rather than sound bite responses.

“Work is underway to understand the range of issues more fully, before considering policy responses.”