Cambridge student quits ‘racist’ university as she ‘doesn’t want to benefit from white privilege’
A CAMBRIDGE student has quit the 'racist' university after saying she 'doesn’t want to benefit from white privilege'.
Indiana Seresin, 26, attacked the prestigious university for its 'structural racism' after she claims a non-white lecturer repeatedly used the word 'n*****' during classes.
The PhD student wrote in an open letter that she did not want to “legitimise” an institution that had “'disproportionate whitenes'.
Ms Seresin, from the upmarket Highbury area of North London, is the daughter of Hollywood cinematographer Benjamin Seresin.
Mr Seresin worked on Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Pirates Of The Caribbean.
She attended Camden School for Girls before studying at Harvard University in the US and then completing an MA at Cambridge and then starting her doctorate with the English department.
The student was writing her thesis on the topic of 'Speculative Archives' which drew on “queer theory and black studies”.
She resigned from the course with an 1,500-word online statement on the website Medium.
I believe that the ethical and intellectual integrity of my research was compromised by the fact that it was situated at Cambridge.
Indiana Seresin
Ms Seresin wrote: "I believe that the ethical and intellectual integrity of my research was compromised by the fact that it was situated at Cambridge.
“This is particularly true because, as a white student, I benefited from the structural racism of the university."
She added: “As a white researcher whose scholarship draws significantly on black studies, I believe that I need to earn the right to do this work.
“I believe the pervasive presence of racism at Cambridge damages and delegitimises the institution, and I do not want to participate in relegitimising it by contributing my time, effort and skills as a member of the university.”
Ms Seresin also claimed that during her two years at King’s College, she had witnessed a number of “racist incidents,” including a non-black lecturer repeatedly used the word ‘n****r’.
She claimed a black pal had written to the lecturer to show her offence at the use of the word but instead of an apology Ms Seresin says her friend was “patronisingly told that she did not understand the context in which the word was being used”.
N-WORD OUTRAGE
Ms Seresin said she joined a group of students to have “multiple meetings” to discuss the offensive use of the N-word.
She said: “Many of those present seemed simply unable to comprehend the difference between a black writer reclaiming the n-word and a non-black Cambridge lecturer or student saying it aloud in class.”
She added: “We also faced hostility regarding the idea that different rules applied to black and non-black lecturers, even though beyond Cambridge this is a widely accepted principle and for obvious reasons does not constitute a double standard.”
Ms Seresin said the lack of black lecturers and postdoctoral researchers at Cambridge had added to her decision.
She attacked the lack of efforts to “decolonise” the curriculum and said she had been left convinced of the “pervasive” racism.
A Cambridge University spokesman said: “The Teaching Forum, which included students, met and following a well-informed exchange of views it was decided that there should be no prescriptive rules on what language is appropriate to reference when reading from texts, but that academics should consider the contemporary and political discourse around particular words or terms.
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“The very best academic teaching, thinking and learning requires an environment which encourages diversity.
"The University strives to create a culture free from racism, discrimination, prejudice and harassment.
“We have introduced a number of prevention initiatives and anonymous, informal and formal reporting options to make it easier for staff and students to call out and report any form of harassment or discrimination.”
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