Black students suspended from UCLan after calling out alleged racism on campus

Two black students have been suspended from a university in the North West for sharing details of an alleged racist incident on campus.

Elizabeth, 20, from Northampton, and Jemima, 23, from north London, posted online about white course mates who allegedly wrote a racial slur and swastika on a student's chest during a drinking game.

The pair, who did not witness the incident in 2020, say all of the Acting BA students present at the time laughed and took it lightly.

After a picture emerged in March 2022, the women reported it to their course leader, who advised them to go through official university complaints channels rather than going public.

The two students alleged to have written the racist slur were suspended by the university. However, following an investigation, they were reinstated onto the course.

After three months of no action, Elizabeth and Jemima then decided to take matters into their own hands by posting the photos online.

On Instagram, Elizabeth posted a photo showing a male student with “I hate n****s” and a Nazi symbol both written in red lipstick on his chest, along with images of the same student dressed in blackface in a school play.

In response to the posts, leaders told the students that they had been suspended for bringing the university into disrepute while an investigation was ongoing.

After their suspension, Elizabeth told ITV News that she is feeling "very overwhelmed and lost. There's a lot going on in my head, I don't know what is going to happen."

In the photo caption, Elizabeth accused university staff of failing to take action against racism.

Jemima said: "We have been waiting for the people we reported to get their punishment but instead, we were punished.

"I feel in danger that people who are meant to help and protect us are dismissing our claims.

"There was a real excitement that there were more BAME and black actors on the acting course in our year group but where's the support? Where's the safeguarding?"

The students say there needs to be a "culture change" at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which is based in Preston.

Lancashire Police confirmed the incident has been reported and is being investigated.

In a statement, Professor Graham Baldwin, the Vice-Chancellor of UCLan, said: "We are extremely concerned with what is being portrayed but we are unable to comment on specific details as this may have a negative impact on those concerned.

"We are mindful that the matter has also been reported to Lancashire Police.

"However, having respected and adhered to the confidentiality of these investigations, we now want to set out our general actions as a university and demonstrate that we are taking this matter seriously.

"The current social media commentary is related to an incident some time ago that has only recently been reported and investigated. We have policies and procedures in place, and these have been followed.

"Unfortunately, just as the investigation was reaching its conclusion, an image was posted online that also had to be investigated under our Student Code of Conduct policy relating to harassment.

"Increased comment via various social media platforms has resulted in a difficult situation for those involved.

"Our priority has been to support the wellbeing of all concerned whilst we deal with the situation in a fair way."

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