We talked about racism at UAB

UAB is a racist place. This is the conclusion that can be drawn from the opinion of 76 people who took part in an activity about racism in university that FAS organised during this year’s Festa Major, which was dedicated to shelter of asylum-seekers.

13/12/2018

“Autònoma shelters” is the slogan that encompasses all activities in Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the current academic year, in which UAB is also celebrating its 50 Year Anniversary. The Festa Major also revolved around the same topic, and Fundació Autònoma Solidària also organised an activity to reflect on the issue.

What do students think about racism in university? 76 students participated anonymously in an activity that invited them to reflect on racist attitudes that we all may have. The aim was to raise awareness on the fact that the educational community is not isolated from society and thus reproduces a discriminatory behaviour towards racialized groups.

Out of the 76 participants, 68 considered university a racist place and only 8 didn’t. Out of the first 68, 31 students considered UAB a racist space only because, in general, these behaviours come from a classicist conception that causes this kind of behaviour against migrants.

A relationship between social classes and racialization takes place when talking about right to access education. Many remarks were addressed to institutions that evinced the fact that our society is elitist and that the educational system does not favour migrant students’
learning.

Some examples of evident racist behaviours that arose throughout the activity, which we can also find in our daily life, are asking them if they feel like they belong here and not in their country of origin, reproaching women for wearing the hijab or taking for granted that they cannot speak the country’s language. Furthermore, there are other actions that do not imply an exchange of words such as changing to another pavement when you see a racialized person or not wanting to sit next to them in public transport.

A remark that aroused and that sums up the student’s situation at the moment was: “I am a racist but I try to be aware of these behaviours that I have been taught and I try my best on trying to correct them step by step”.