The Race Equity Advocates (REAs) from the School of Media, Arts and Humanities recently hosted a pizza picnic for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to unwind during the assessment period and get to know their peers. In particular, the event aimed to bring together Black, Asian and minority ethnic (B.A.M.E)* students – providing them with the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss ways to promote inclusivity and representation throughout the School.
The event was bustling, with over twenty students in attendance. While the students made the most of the free pizza, two of the REAs, Luma and Arham, introduced the Race Equity Project and its goals within the School. The Race Equity Advocates are Sussex students who work with the Head of School and school senior leadership teams to ensure the lived experiences, needs, ideas, and voices of students of colour are listened to and considered when creating change.
Various topics were discussed throughout the picnic, including understanding the issues students of colour might face at university and how these might contribute to the awarding gap – the national disparity in degree outcomes between white students and B.A.M.E students.
This included considering how classroom environments, professor-student relationships, housing considerations, and the provision of adequate settling information and support can impact an individual’s education and experiences while at university. These conversations shed light on how these issues may foster inequality within academia – resulting in some B.A.M.E students becoming disengaged from their learning or being awarded a lower degree outcome in comparison to their white counterparts.
As conversations continued, the students came up with a range of valuable ideas and solutions to help combat these issues. One of these was the introduction of mass-listening events (such as assemblies), which would bolster a sense of community and contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding race equity and inclusivity at Sussex.
Overall, the picnic was a great success – providing valuable feedback for the School and moving toward building on the sense of community shared by our students. Talks about introducing mass-listening assemblies have already begun with the School Race Equality Team and the School’s Dean, Kate O’Riordan. The idea will also be shared in upcoming Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meetings.
*The term B.A.M.E is often 'used when making a comparison with the white population in the UK' (Law Society, 2023), but is problematic when used in reference to individuals, where people of colour might be preferable.