By Omar Malik

An anti-racism campaign has recently been launched by Strathclyde University. 

Titled ‘Call it Racism,’ the campaign seeks to reaffirm the University’s stance on tackling all forms of racist behaviours. 

Students received an email on 21 March announcing the launch, describing AdvanceHE’s declaration against racism as being fundamental to the campaign’s mission.

In particular, the campaign specified microaggressions as one of the most prominent forms of racism on campus. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines microaggressions as such: “Compared to more overt forms of racism, racial microaggressions are subtle and insidious, often leaving the victim confused, distressed and frustrated and the perpetrator oblivious of the offence they have caused.”

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But what exactly does the campaign – which will be displayed and promoted across the University’s campus and social media accounts – actually entail?

We spoke to Jennifer Ba, Strathclyde’s Senior Race Equality Officer, to find out more about how the campaign will combat racism on campus.

On the University’s active role in tackling racist language and behaviours, Ba stated that the Race Equality Steering Group (RESG) was established in September last year “to advocate for and work to ensure an inclusive, welcoming and equitable working and learning environment for Black, Asian and minority (BAME) ethnicity students and staff.”

Key to RESG has been the pursuit “to challenge racism throughout the institution,” Ba continued.

“We want to encourage all Strathclyders to personally commit to being an anti-racist ally and to challenge and, whether experiencing or witnessing unacceptable behaviours, to report concerns via Report & Support, Dignity & Respect Advisors or to their Department,” explained Ba.

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The Steering Group was founded as the natural successor to the Race Equality Working Group (REWG), which was established in June 2020 as a response to the discussions being provoked by the Black Lives Matter movement.

According to Ba, “the REWG published a report of its consultation work and findings, gathered over a two-year period, in October 2023 – along with a series of recommendations on what Strathclyde could do to advance race equality.”

REWG’s report outlined the following recommendations:

• Challenging racism – by improving understanding of racial discrimination and harassment, ensuring any incidents of these are recorded and investigated, and improving anti-racism training for staff and students.
• Representation – by improving data collection on BAME staff, increasing representation of BAME staff at senior grades and leadership roles, addressing inequalities and bias, and diversifying the curriculum.
• Belonging and Visibility – promoting and celebrating the work of BAME staff and students, providing spaces for BAME staff and students to support networking and visibility, and recognising and rewarding staff and students who contribute to race equality initiatives.

On the University’s stance on targeting racist behaviours following the REWG report and campaign launch, Ba told us: “Unacceptable behaviour has no place at Strathclyde and we will not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying.”

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Since September 2023, everyone joining the Strathclyde community as an undergraduate student must undertake the #StrathEqual training course before they can fully register. 

According to Ba, the purpose of #StrathEqual is “to ensure everyone can recognise unacceptable behaviours and feel empowered to intervene or report if they see them. It is early days, but we have seen more Report & Support submissions this year, which would reflect students’ growing awareness and trust in this process.”

Such reports “help us to understand the types of behaviours staff and students are experiencing, which are a mixture of microaggressions, such as being ignored when asking questions in class or generalisations being made about their home country, and overt racism,” says Ba.

These proactive steps to directly tackle racism within the University are somewhat influenced by last year’s report which revealed Strathclyde’s historical links to slavery. 

“We intend to use this knowledge of our own history to inform our actions and tackle injustice today and have set out several activities we intend to undertake in response, and we will continue to have a conversation with staff and students on this issue,” explained Ba.

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Upcoming student– and staff-oriented training programmes have been designed to further promote an inclusive, equal and safe environment for all at Strathclyde. 

One such free training course is Union Black: Britain’s Black cultures and steps to anti-racism, which seeks to boost cultural change within higher education; and specifically at the University.

While the University’s Executive Team has recently launched a Reciprocal Mentoring for Inclusion pilot scheme. 

Ba explains that the scheme “will see staff members matched with a member of the Executive Team who they will meet with on a one-to-one basis every six weeks or so over a 12-month period to help the Executive Team member understand their lived experience and how our equality policies and practices impact on them.”

The mentoring scheme is aimed at staff from an under-represented group within the University – for example, LGBTQ+ community members, those who identify as women, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, care experienced people, those with recognised religious beliefs, as well as disabled people.

Omar Malik

Since high school, I have been immersed in numerous areas of journalism.

Volunteering and interning at establishments focused on sports journalism, media reporting on underrepresented groups including disabled people, as well as writing monthly articles in my own time, the field of journalism has always captured my attention over the past decade.

I graduated in 2022 in English Literature MA Hons from the University of Edinburgh, and I feel as though those analytical and stylistic teachings have only aided my pursuit for a career in media writing and reporting, especially as I undertake a Masters in Digital Journalism MLitt at Strathclyde University.