In February of this year, the BBC received complaints from parents about a new Cbeebies presenter – Cerrie Burnell. She was born with a hand missing, and some parents complained that seeing this might affect their children’s sleeping patterns, cause nightmares, raise awkward questions and generally distress all involved. Much like the Ross/Brand debate (Sachsgate?), this story has rumbled through the national press, and is almost meta-journalism, in that the story itself is largely just coverage of the story – which would be tiny were it not for a minor media frenzy. A grand total of nine complaints (yes, that many!) were sent to the BBC. Yet the national press were still covering the story days later, and Cbeebies Controller Michael Carrington felt the need to release an online statement for the parents of viewers. While it is concerning that there was such a negative reaction to the disability of a children’s TV presenter, the massive swell of support for Burnell is a source of hope.
It would be nice to think that – in 21st Century Britain, a modern, democratic and multi-cultural nation – we live in a society that is not only full of diverse groups, but also in one that accepts those groups of people. A society that recognises its differences, and maybe even embraces them. It would be nice to think so.
Unfortunately, it is clear that Britain is no Utopia, and there are groups within our communities that clash – sometimes violently. There are some difficulties that we haven’t overcome yet, some differences that still get in the way of community harmony. As Burnell says in the Guardian, ‘attention has been drawn to the fact that disabled people in this country do face real prejudice’.
Prejudice can appear in direct or indirect forms, and can quite often be indirect – not malicious, deliberate or even conscious. Think, for example, about this point made on hullstudent.com: ‘Even though it’s against the law, lots of colleges, Universities and Students’ Unions are not fully accessible to disabled people’ and imagine a wheelchair user trying to get through our SU’s revolving doors. It’s not deliberate discrimination, but it is one of the little things that make life a little bit more difficult for the disabled.
In some ways, a University community is a miniature version of the national community. Here we have all sorts of people from all over the place, who have all sorts of differences. Universities are supposed to be places where we encounter new people and new ideas – the more challenging the better. A letter in December’s Hullfire described University as a ‘melting pot for free-thinking intellectuals, a breeding ground for social reform’, and this description makes a good point.
For many of us, University is the first time we’ve lived away from home for so long a period, and possibly the first time we’ve encountered some ethnic or minority groups. It is because the University population is so diverse that we have to embrace these differences, and not react to them with fear and anger. Why should minority group students not have the same opportunities as the rest of the student population? As free-thinking students, we ought to be willing to learn about other cultures and people that have been born differently to us (like Cerrie Burnell). In this way, University is an ideal place to broaden horizons and find out so much more about our fellow human beings.
It is partly for this reason that organisations like the International Students’ Association (ISA) exist. Jan Zahuta, Chair of the ISA, says that the ISA’s ‘main mission’ is to ‘bring people together into one big community no matter what background they come from’. There should be no reason why students from different ethnic and social backgrounds can’t form a single student community, and equally no reason why this community should exclude any student. The ISA hopes to involve the entire student body – not just international students – in a big family; in fact, of the ISA’s 1500 or so members, 204 are UK students, which makes them the biggest national group within the ISA. There is an emphasis on learning about new cultures: ‘Integration is the single most important goal of the ISA’ explains Zahuta. ‘We aim to provide our members with as many opportunities to engage with people from cultures that are different from their own’. There is a variety of events arranged by the ISA, throughout the year, that are all about providing those opportunities. There are trips away, sports tournaments, parties, karaoke nights and an annual Culture Night featuring activities specific to different cultures – things like Spanish flamenco dancing and Indian fashion shows. It was on March 22nd this year.
But disability and ethnicity aren’t the only reasons a person might be discriminated against; sexuality is another such issue. The government estimates that between six and seven per cent of the country’s population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT). In 2001, research by Hull City Council into homophobic violence against Hull’s LGBT community indicated that 51% of the (admittedly low number of) interviewees had received threats, and 45% had experienced physical violence. In a broader survey, 90% of interviewees had suffered verbal abuse as a result of their sexuality. According to Hull’s crime figures, roughly 93% of hate crimes are racist – 7% are homophobic.
The Students’ Union has a standing committee for LGBT-related issues, which runs a drop-in service from an office on the first floor of the SU building, next to the Jam studio. Groups like this offer support to LGBT students, giving them a voice and a platform to get their views across and their problems heard. Groups like this can also help create that sense of community so important to University campus life.
Since 2005 there has been a Council initiative to generate ‘community cohesion’, the handbook for which states ‘we will need to take advantage of the strengths and abilities of every one of our citizens, and to exploit the collective strength and ability that we will then have as a community’. The Council’s action plan states one of its aims as being ‘Responding swiftly and decisively against hate crimes and extremism, so divisions based on prejudice and discrimination cannot flourish’.
During February’s Hustings in Asylum, one candidate said he wanted to see more ‘solidarity’ in the University. This may be the crucial point and the thing that’s necessary for the student population at large – solidarity needn’t just be a campaign buzzword; the idea that we are together in this business of studying/living together is crucial in helping us overcome whatever problems we come across. Solidarity means that you don’t have to face problems alone, as there are people out there who are trained and willing to help.
People like those in the Advice Centre (on the third floor of the SU building), which also runs a drop-in service. They aim to either give students the ability to deal with their problems or put them in touch with someone who can, and they are entirely confidential. They don’t just deal with minority groups – other topics up for discussion include ever-worrying housing and increasingly distressing student finance, as well as immigration problems, academic queries and sexual health advice.
If you wanted to get involved as someone helping the cause of integration and acceptance, or just generally helping people out, you can volunteer at the Advice Centre, or stand for election as LGBT Chair (there are male and female roles here), Chair Disabled Students’ Committee or Chair Black Students’ Committee. Volunteers at the Advice Centre gain a useful addition to their CV, as well as – more importantly – probably providing valuable help to someone else in their life. One volunteer says that ‘The best bit is being part of a team, which makes it possible to enjoy all aspects of advising other people and lead them to informed decisions and solutions’.
Another of the Council’s statements could be applied to our University as easily as the city we live in. ‘The challenge for us today is to capture the advantage that lies in our diverse, collective strength.’
The LGBT Standing Committee can be e-mailed at: huulgbt@gmail.com.
They have a Facebook page (‘University of Hull LGBT’), and their office drop-in hours are as follows:
Monday 16:30 – 18:30
Wednesday 12:00 – 16:00
Thursday 12:00 – 15:00 Women Only
Friday 12:00 – 16:00
The Advice Centre can be contacted via e-mail and phone: huu-advice-centre@hull.ac.uk, or 01482 466263.
Their drop-in hours are as follows:
Monday 11am-3pm
Tuesday 11am-3pm
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 11am-3pm
Friday 11am-3pm
Richard T. Watson
Loading ...