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‘Not being racist is not good enough’

Huddersfield Students’ Union is committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation.

As a values-led organisation, we work hard to prioritise inclusion and to champion the benefits of diversity in our work.  We know that inequality and discrimination are rife in our society, and acknowledge that many of the structures and processes that surround us are inherently discriminatory and, however unintentionally, may be contributing to an unjust environment for our students and staff.  We will be proactive in combatting racism wherever it exists.

Student Officers together during Students' Union Event

3 students performing live during Students' Union event

Huddersfield Students’ Union’s commitment means we will embed race equity in every decision we make, in every message we send out and every touch point a student or staff member has with us.  We will seek to dismantle barriers and structures that perpetuate inequality, and will use our position and our platforms to educate, as well as drive positive change – in our organisation, in the sector and in society.  Specifically we will:

  • Always act where concerns about racism are raised
  • Improve the racial diversity of our respective staff teams, particularly at senior executive level
  • Commit to reviewing and replacing policies and processes using an anti-racism lens
  • Decolonise the curriculum and associated resources
  • Report regularly to our students and staff on progress

In 2023, the Students' Union partnered with the Institute for Educational & Social Equity (Weblink for the Institute for Educational and Social Equity) to fully review our approach towards becoming an Anti-Racist organisation, designing out all institutional racism experienced by both staff and students.  

The Students' Union is committed to providing racial equity, and in doing so we seek to: 

  • Understand the experiences and challenges students and staff face, which may not usually be reported. Identifying leadership, organisational and cultural barriers/ responses to change/ race equity. 
  • Provide training to student volunteers to equip them to co-facilitate the engagement sessions. 
  • Review policies and procedures, equipping staff within the Union to create policies from an anti-racist lens. 
  • Produce an organisational action plan based on a detailed written report on the findings and recommendations from our minority ethnic students, and student body on improving their student experience in the University. 

Lively atmosphere of Student Central University of Huddersfield Campus

What did our research tell us?

Our survey and facilitated conversations told us the following:

  • BAME students believe racism on campus is a factor in their overall university experience
  • White students appeared to be unaware of or downplay the presence and impact of racism at the University
  • Students were not always clear about how and where to report incidents of racism whether actual, perceived and/or observed. This was particularly problematic among international students.
  • There were strong differences between International and ‘Home’ students in terms of their overall University experience, with International students appearing to experience more acute challenges.
  • A significant majority of students of BAME heritage reported a “fear” of the “consequences” of “speaking out” – from other students and from staff.
  • Students appear to have more trust in the Students’ Union’s ability to address racism than they do the University’s ability to do the same.
  • There is a perception that current Students’ Union leadership does not always understand the experiences of International and students of BAME heritage.

A sizeable minority of students told us they had experience of racism on campus, and as you can see from the graph, this was evident across all aspects of student life.

Graph 1 Graph 2

Similarly, significant number of students felt their race or ethnicity impacted their student experience.

A significant majority of respondents reported feeling a ‘fear’ of speaking out, particularly worrying about the consequences of doing so. This is concerning as it may mean that even in this research, the extent of racism experienced may be under reported.

The professional researchers we worked with on this project helped us develop an action plan, which you can read by clicking the link below. We will be updating this and reporting back to you, the student body, on our progress.

If you have any questions, comments or would like more information – please get in touch students.union@hud.ac.uk

 

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