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ISSUE 761 23 OCT 2024 exepose.com @exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987 Image: University of Exetervia wikimedia commons
Exeter ranked least ethnically diverse amongst Russell Group universities In conversation: Luke Harding
Amy Rushton Editor-in-Chief
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Amy Rushton Editor-in-Chief
Black History Month on screen Page 22
New foreign language column Page 27
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HE Times Higher Education Rankings were released last month. Whilst Exeter performed well on the overall institutional ranking at 13, The Times also included a social inclusion index in which Exeter performed considerably worse, gaining an overall score of just 361 out of 1000, which placed it at 109 in the league table and the lowest ranking Russell Group university The Social Inclusion index includes state school admissions (non-grammar), Ethnic Minority Students, Black awarding gap (the percentage points between the proportion of firsts attained by white students and students from black backgrounds), low participation areas (England and Wales), deprived areas (Scotland), low participation dropout gap, first-generation, disabled and mature students. Of these, Exeter performed particularly poorly on percentage of ethnic
minority students which was compiled with 2021-22 data from Hesa, finding that only 13 per cent of the Exeter student body are from ethnic minority backgrounds (This is compared to a 18.3 per cent national average but the data includes international students too, so the number of home students from ethnic minority backgrounds is far below the national average). Coupled with a -12.2 per cent black awarding gap (meaning white students are proportionally being marked higher), and only 57.6 per cent coming from non-grammar state schools — on the surface it paints a picture of an Exeter which is lacking diversity and out of touch. Exeposé do not have the latest figures to confirm if the data has changed since 2021-22, but nevertheless The Times seem to confirm the Exeter stereotype as the “whitest” Russell Group university in the public eye, potentially discouraging applicants from minority ethnic backgrounds and so creating a cycle whereby ethnic diversity remains a significant issue within Exeter.
Exeposé spoke to students of colour about whether this lack of ethnic diversity is reflected in the life and culture at Exeter. Some students pointed to frustration, isolation and racism as common features of their life at Exeter, with one student stating “it’s hard as someone who’s both black and raised in northern England. I notice how people avoid sitting next to me in lecture halls, to the point where I don’t wanna go because I feel judged. When I moved in, I saw people give me and my relatives looks like we were dirt. I’ve been told my accent doesn’t fit my face or my race and been asked dumb questions about my identity and phenotype. While I’ve not had any overt racist comments hurled at me, I notice the little things and it’s frustrating.” Another claimed, “when people ask me “where are you from” it sets off a fight or flight! Do they mean “you’re Asian you can’t be from the UK, where in the world are you from” or do they mean “where is home for you?” Other responses were more mixed, pointing to the role of societies such as the Students of Colour Association
and the Multicultural Society. One student stated “Societies have been a great place to find [a] community but the University as a whole isn’t very diverse, in seminars and lectures, there’s an atmosphere of it very much centred on the western perspective and often excludes other cultures unintentionally.” Speaking about their experiences as a student of colour at Exeter, one anonymous student stated, “in all my circles at university, including my course friends, my first year flat, my second year housemates, my job and in my society, I’m the only coloured person. It’s not too much of an issue for me as I’m used to it (I grew up [in a] town where the majority of people were Caucasian), but I can’t help but feel as though I’m missing out on something that I don’t have. “I’m not too sure if other people feel this way, as I myself have only noticed it sometimes. I’m okay with being the only woman of colour in my groups, but I as I look around my friends, there are certain things, certain experiences that I can’t bond with or even share.”
NEW CLIMATE SECTION Page 11
FEATURING: — EXETER AND DEVON CLIMATE-RELATED NEWS Images (top to bottom): Luke Harding, Our Movie Guide via wikimedia commons,, Subtlepanda via Flickr
— CLIMATE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER Image: Vectorportal.com