The University of Birmingham (UoB) has announced an investigation into racist comments made online by one of its students.
Content Warning: This article contains discussion and images of racist language.
Screenshots of a group chat conversation which contained racist language were published on Twitter earlier this week. Several of the racist messages were sent by a UoB student, prompting the university to open an investigation.
In the group chat from about three years ago, the student described a rugby player from a different team as ‘N*g n*g G*******g’ and ‘knuckle dragged.’ He went on to write: ‘black, a lesser species.’ Similar messages were sent by other members of the group chat, some of whom have been linked to the University of Swansea and Loughborough Rugby team.
A spokesperson for UoB said: ‘we are aware of allegations of racist statements made some years ago, potentially linked to an individual currently identified as being a University of Birmingham student and have received a related complaint. We are in the process of investigating this with all due urgency.’
‘We take any complaints regarding incidents of racism very seriously and the screenshots being shared online are abhorrent and unacceptable. We are committed to creating, and maintaining, an inclusive learning and working environment, where equality is promoted, diversity is valued, and discriminatory behaviour is not tolerated.’
The screenshots being shared online are abhorrent and unacceptable
In response to the Twitter thread, the University of Swansea issued a statement on 8th June which stated: ‘we want to send a strong message that we are an inclusive community that will not tolerate any form of racist behaviour.’ They too are launching an investigation into the comments made by students who now attend their university.
Both students and academic staff have responded on social media, with the screenshots being widely shared across Twitter and Facebook.
In an email sent to students Professor Matt Houlbrook, head of the Department of History, said: ‘The racist comments made in the screenshots being shared online are abhorrent, and have no place in an academic community like ours.’ He went on to emphasise that ‘as a department we are, and will always be, committed to anti-racism, and promoting equality, inclusivity, and diversity across all our activities.’
We will not tolerate racism on our campus
Guild President Josh Williams has also commented on the matter. In a post to the Fab N Fresh Facebook group he said: ‘I want to make this very clear, we will not tolerate racism on our campus. We will be escalating this with the University as a matter of urgency.’ Williams further explains that a previous post with the screenshots of the messages had been removed from the page, and that ‘as a black man, the post felt like a punch to the chest.’
‘With what is going on around the world right now with the Black Lives Matter movement, I do not want any other black individual in this group to have to visibly relive this type of racist abuse I am sure we have all experienced at some point.’
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