The University of York are facing legal action on the grounds of causing “impaired education and mental illness” to a former student.
In documents exclusively uncovered by Vision, the University is accused of accepting a “violation” of the student’s rights “because their own procedures were inaccurate.” The University deny these accusations.
These reports come out a year on from when Vision reported on student’s views that the University suffered from a “culture of racism.”
The student in question is now set to take both the University, and the Office of Independent Adjudicators of Higher Education, who initially ruled against her, to the High Court to pursue her claims.
The student spent three years studying Law at the University of York, during which she claims she was “institutionally victimised” by the University.
The University told Vision: “The University has not been informed of any threat of legal action by a former student. However, any individual who is unhappy with the outcome of a complaint considered by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator has the option of taking legal action.
“Any claims which had been considered under the University’s own procedure and by the Office of Independent Adjudicators and had not been upheld would be vigorously contested.”
Across the three year period of the student’s degree she claims to have developed depression following her treatment by staff, students and local residents in York.
At one point during her time at York she wrote in a journal, provided to Vision, about her fears for her own safety in York: “If I get hurt/go missing like Stephen Lawrence did don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a 1993 racist attack widely considered to be one of the highest profile racial killings in UK history. Stephen’s mother Doreen was awarded an honorary degree by the University of York earlier this year – being praised by the University for her “tireless campaign against racism.”
The Law department initially allocated the student a two week deadline extension due to her mitigating circumstances – although she felt this was not an appropriate measure for her problems.
At the time she wrote: “I will sit my exams, if I don’t jump into a river by then.
“I do not believe that a two week mitigating circumstances extension is proportionate to the effects of the illness. The depression made it almost impossible to get through my daily life.”
The University still have documented the illness that she experienced in emails of complaint that precede the academic appeal as well as various Open Door Team and personal advisor notes. Having had her case rejected by the Office of Independent Adjudicators of Higher Education (OIAHE), the student is now set to take legal action against both the OIAHE and the University as she pursues what she believes to be an unfulfilled claim two years after she graduated from York.
She told Vision: “Racism on campus is not going anywhere soon, despite the trendiness of protesting against the EDL, and student mental issues are under reported and under-diagnosed.
“The University quoted my wording out of context in the Higher Education case, my harrasers at the University were never interviewed, and they created a fictitious persona of me with actions and beliefs that they then criticised.
“In short, I paid over £9,660 to be subjected to cumulative harassment.”
The potential legal action set to be taken could now cost the University thousands of pounds in legal fees.
The student in question has now, following a year out to help deal with her depression, started studying at another UK university, but provided a parting shot to York, saying: “York is one of the most racist places in the UK, I should have known not to come here.”
The Office of Independent Adjudicators of Higher Education have now also come under fire, with the student claiming that they supported the University’s “beyond the powers” conduct: “The OIAHE has supported the University’s ultra vires conduct.”
A spokesman for the OIAHE confirmed that all OIA reviews are conducted by case-handlers with no connection to the University and within the published rules of the OIA scheme. They also confirmed that the independence of the OIA has been upheld by the courts.
The former student mentioned in this article asked to remain anonymous.
It seems like the issues with this particular individual are more to do with mental health than racism. The article doesn’t mention examples of this ‘institutionalised racism,’ and I would genuinely be curious to know what this person is talking about with specific instances in which they were subjected to it.
I’m pretty sceptical about it to be honest. I don’t know any minorities that feel they have been subjected to any sort of racism at the uni, except for drunken locals. Why would the university be racist when around a third of students are asian, black etc? Also, if she knew people who were being racist, then she should have told the university and they would likely have acted upon it immediately, as any case of racism would put the university in a very negative light. It just doesn’t add up.
Well, each student has a different university experience. Who is to judge really? If someone feels that their experiences at University were so bad that they will resort to legal action then obviously something went very wrong. It is within anyone’s right to sue if they feel they have a cause of action.
At the same time, I don’t feel like I’m getting the full story here. Vision does have a tendency to do piecemeal reporting, so there are probably a few quites that are missing from this.
@ “Mark”: I’m not sceptical though. It doesn’t really matter how many minorities “feel they have been subjected to any sort of racism at uni”, it only matters if one person has. After all, minorities are not one clump of people with the same shared experiences.
Universities and students are complacent about the racial prejudice on campus. As long as it is ignored, it will continue to flourish.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2013/mar/22/why-dont-universities-tackle-racism
Ahhhhh the “Anything But Racism Argument”.
The Anything But Racism argument says that racism is so dead that it is the least likely cause of the races being unequal, like in housing, education, unemployment, police protection, banking, life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. There must be some Perfectly Logical Reason that has nothing to do with racism.
The logical reasoning goes like this:
1.Racism is pretty much dead. Only the Klan, skinheads and people who use the n-word are still racist.
2.Therefore a case of racial inequality must have some other cause. Sure, there is still some racism, but it is so rare that it must be proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. Like murder or an appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pictured).
3.Since it is not white people who are screwed up, it must be blacks.
But the emotional reasoning goes like this:
1.Holy crap!
2.White people are not racist! They are good people! No one I know is racist – well, except maybe my grandmother. This cannot be right. There must be some mistake.
3.There must be some Perfectly Logical Reason that has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Racism. What is it? Think, think, think.
4.I know, I can buy time by making them “prove” it was racism. Demand peer-reviewed articles, statistics, all of it. Buy more time by finding holes in those.
5.If all else fails, derail: “Blacks are the racist ones,”,”it’s to do with mental illness/obesity/drug addiction” etc.
I think the student in question is a qualified lawyer now. Ooooh, this case could get explosive.
In the same vein:
Why would the world be racist when more than a third of the population is black?
How can there be any sexism when half the population of the universe are women?
This is a David and Goliath situation. The fact is, Goliath never stood a chance.
Ask John Hey about racism on campus.
This is a legal matter now, so the opinion in the comments section of mere plebs serves no purpose.
Legal claims don’t exist in a vacuum. Students don’t just wake up one day and say “I’ll take my University to court”. Obviously some reprehensible conduct led to the litigation stage, which is usually a last resort during a dispute.
How can the University STILL be defending racism allegations in this day and age? It’s quite embarrassing for the University, but then York has Brian Cantor as a Vice Chancellor so I’m sure embarrassment is part and parcel of the University’s daily running.
There’s no smoke without fire.
Good.
The world needs more square pegs in round holes. The kid has guts.
Students and staff should never be spectators of unfairness or stupidity. Hatred of injustice and irrationality is a good thing. The University is being quietly disgraced by the relayed experiences of students who experience discrimination. No amount of vigorous defending will restore the University’s reputation.
If this case is upheld in court, I am never making any financial donations, including planning and processing donations or gifts to York again as long as I live.
Racism on campus is not something I have really noticed in my time here. However, to an extent i agree with the quote “York is one of the most racist places in the UK.” Time and time again I have been astonished by the ignorance of some local yorkshire folk. Be it racism or just their hatred towards students in general.
Fortunately, in my experience, this does not seem to be reflected at the university itself so I have found it quite easy to surround myself with more open minded people.
I can tell that this case is far from over.
The worst racists are those who are racist and don’t even know it. At least the BNP and EDL have courage in their convictions.
York now has the nickname of being the “racist” University.
@ York v York Uni
You do realise that York University is in York, right? You should solve the problems in your own back yard (the University) before pointing the finger at random Yorkshire residents who, last time I checked, were not the defendants in a legal claim alleging institutional racism.
All “blame the victim” behaviors have two things in common.
First, they avoid the real problem: racism. Second, they take
away from the picture the agents of racism, white people
and institutions, who either intentionally perpetuate or
unintentionally collude with racism. This is similar to agent
deletion in discussions of rape. Statements referring to a woman
being raped, many by focusing on her clothing or behavior at
the time of the rape and delete the male rapist from the picture.
Look directly at racism and the University’s own responsibility and collusion.
Nice one Vision, a lovely welcome to all the people who will be viewing this site after receiving their offer in a couple of months time, and as with last year you’re shitting where you eat and making a mountain out of a molehill. Are you going to delete comments talking about overreacting campus press like you did last year?
This isn’t about the racism, it’s about the mental health aspect. The University still has great strides to make in mental health provision, and from the sounds of it, that’s the problem that this student was experiencing, and I say this as someone with a similar experience. The difference being that I’m a white male. I’m not going to cry persecution or reverse racism or anything, because that’s a load of bollocks, but so’s this article.
I don’t understand why the university keeps getting accused of racism. I’m an ethnic minority student and I’ve never felt like the university itself is racist as an institution. It’s not the university’s fault that the student population is mostly white- they’ve even tried to make it more racially diverse by offering ethnic minority students the chance to apply for a grant of £1000 in their first year. York is a small city and small cities are bound to have fewer ethnic minorities, that’s just the way it is. I do realise that there are a lot of racist students here (probably more than people realise, and it is something that I’ve had to deal from time to time at Yorl) and that a lot of the locals aren’t exactly open-minded when it comes to diversity but the university itself is not a racist institution. In this story, this Law student never actually specifies what the university has actually done to discriminate against her, and that’s probably because no one who actually works for the university ever has. Stories like this really annoy me because I feel like the university has done a lot to make me feel welcome as an ethnic minority, and just because an institution is predominantly white, it doesn’t automatically make it racist.
@twice as nice
What a strange comment…
My whole point was comparing the university to the city that its based in purely on “my own experience.”
Just because there not involved in this specific legal case does that mean there are no other issues they could be involved in? And what makes them a random resident?
My views are not based on one kid shouting a racist remark in a Yorkshire accent.
Without knowing the actually details of racist aspects no one should judge either way regarding this former student. But I will point out that depression is grossly misunderstood and difficult to grasp unless you know intimately people who have gone through, people currently suffering or been depressed themselves.
Depressive realism can enable people to cut through social bull**** and see what is actually happening. Unfortunately depression can also enhances this perception, which may have minimal truth, to become a greater factor in their perceived reality than those around them.
Many people including “the university” don’t know how to handle someone going through depression. Most people ignore what they don’t know or respond in the wrong way. A depressed person perceives the world differently and you truly need to understand what that means before attempting to assist them in recovery. The student also lost their faith and although I’m not a person of faith I can see that this can be a massive drop in optimism.
I can’t comment on racism aspect of this story, but I think the university has a duty of care that should have extend to outreaching to this student in the early stages of her depression. If that had been done it may have changed this students experience regardless of if there is racism or not.
Bradford uni too are also known for their racists tactics.
The Anything But Racism argument says that racism is so dead that it is the least likely cause of the races being unequal, like in housing, education, unemployment, police protection, banking, life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. There must be some Perfectly Logical Reason that has nothing to do with racism.
The logical reasoning goes like this:
1.Racism is pretty much dead. Only the Klan, skinheads and people who use the n-word are still racist.
2.Therefore a case of racial inequality must have some other cause. Sure, there is still some racism, but it is so rare that it must be proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. Like murder or an appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pictured).
3.Since it is not white people who are screwed up, it must be blacks.
But the emotional reasoning goes like this:
1.Holy crap!
2.White people are not racist! They are good people! No one I know is racist – well, except maybe my grandmother. This cannot be right. There must be some mistake.
3.There must be some Perfectly Logical Reason that has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Racism. What is it? Think, think, think.
4.I know, I can buy time by making them “prove” it was racism. Demand peer-reviewed articles, statistics, all of it. Buy more time by finding holes in those.
5.If all else fails, derail: “Blacks are the racist ones,”,”it’s to do with mental illness/obesity/drug addiction” etc.
Could not have said it better myself…
Indecent human being, it sounds more of an appropriate name for someone who lacks common sense and knowledge of their history past and present. I am aware that their are many people like you that exist who unfortunately suffer from the torment and repercussions of others and their cruel deeds. Being deprived of education is a “hell” of a thing particularly, when parents and their parents before them including, governments before this government not only reluctantly admit to the wrongs they do, or example,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22790037. Sadly, there are many other cases like this that exist,http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/31/race.ukcrime including, Steven Lawrence and Emmett Till etc. The similarity that exist between these and other similar cases is those that commit these crimes rarely are convicted or brought to justice. Likewise, loved ones of the victim often face decades trying to seek justice sometimes even in vain. The fact of the matter is wider reading and the ability to question everything presented to us is important, and is a skill you clearly are not capable of demonstrating, instead you delve yourself into the miss- education and information which diverts peoples attention away from reality. Again, your comments suggest a lack of intelligence in your reasoning alone, not to mention your inability to demonstrate what constitutes racism and indeed those you claim are the perpetrators responsible for racist acts. I would suggest next time for the purpose of education, not miss-education consider the following below;
* Research or references that support your claims.