The Student’s Union of Sheffield University in the UK has come under fire after it announced an a major meeting to change its stance on discrimination from non-racist to “actively anti-racist” but banned white students from attending.
The Sheffield Tab reports that a member of the National Union of Students would be auditing the union to help them see what they can do to fight against racism at the group meetings on October 14.
This follows Edinburgh University banning white people from asking questions at an “anti-racism” event.
The conference, which is being held by the “Resisting Whiteness group” describes itself as a QTPOC (queer and trans people of colour) organisation has said the event seeks to amplify the voices of people of colour.
In reaction to this action Anti-racism campaigner Jane McColl condemned the event calling it “blatantly racist” and stated
“It sets back the battle to achieve equality and fairness by decades, all because of the actions of a tiny group of extremists, whose perverse sense of logic has led them to belittle white people, not by who they are as individuals, by merely because of their skin colour.
Imagine if this event was called ‘Resisting Blackness’ and non-white people were told they could not ask questions, nor access a room because they were the ‘wrong’ colour.”
However, it now appears that Sheffield University has gone even further in banning white students from attending this major student union policy discussion entirely.
In announcing the event the Sheffield University Student’s Union said that the even in which the Union will change its stance from “non-racist” to “actively anti-racist” will only be open to “BME” (Black and Minority Ethnicity) students.
Students at the University were quick to point out the irony of the policy with one student saying that the Union is now effectively adopting a “Zimbabwe racial policy” and sarcastically proclaiming “How Progressive?”.
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