Is Unitec Racist?
Ethnically speaking; Unitec is a melting pot. Based on information gathered in 2008, 46% of the over 22,000 students registered at Unitec identified themselves as being part of an ethnic group other than New Zealand European, with nearly 10,000 students heralding from over 80 countries. Joseph Harper looks at how students and staff get along on these grounds. He investigates the state of racism at Unitec.
Recently, Unitec has been in the national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Linda Tang was a nursing student who for two years passed all of her exams. According to an interview she gave to The Herald on the 29th of April, Tang, a former English tutor with a masters degree in English from the University of China, was failed in her third year on account of her accent. Following the failure Tang took action by taking Unitec and her tutors to the Human Rights Commission. “I feel that what they have done is discriminatory,” she told The Herald. “We are penalised not for our lack of knowledge or ability, but simply because of how we talk." When In Unison published a story about former engineering student Bio O'Brien's recent alleged road-rage assault; it quickly became the most commented on article on the In Unison website. Students were not only quick to pass judgement; some were also quick to make comments which pertained to O'Brien's ethnicity. Some raciest slurs were posted, which did not make it through moderation because of their nature, while another commented that because “he is brown he would have had preferential entry,” in relation to his acceptance to study at Unitec. If someone was looking at Unitec from an outsider's perspective, I imagine it'd be fair to say that there seems to be a definite problem here. Are we, the students and staff of this institution, intolerant? Are we bigots? Are we racists? Obviously, what is portrayed in the media, and what actually exists, are sometimes two very different things. Further investigation was necessary. I decided to try get word from the top. To start with, comments were hard to come by. The director of Unitec’s International department declined the opportunity to comment, as did the USU student advocate. Luckily for me, word from the very top arrived in my gmail inbox. And it seems as far as Unitec's head honchos are concerned; racism is not an issue here. I received a copy of a statement to the press from Unitec Chief Executive, Dr Rick Ede, responding to Linda Tang's allegations of racial discrimination. Ede was blunt and to the point, “Unitec has no tolerance for discrimination on any grounds, in particular ethnicity, and has a strong antidiscrimination policy.” The message was very clear; the way Ede's statement read, it sounded like he believed that racism does not exist at Unitec. Is this the case? Or is Ede out of touch with the Unitec population? I send an email to USU Student President, Greg Powell. I figure if there's one person who has to be particularly in touch with the student body, it's the man who has been elected as representative of every student at Unitec, no matter which ethnicity they are. I ask Powell whether he has ever had students coming to him with problems related to racial discrimination. “No,” he says. “I have never had any racial or discriminatory challenges presented to myself. I am pleased to be able to say that I haven't personally come across any racism or racial discrimination here at Unitec.” Powell sings the praises of the Unitec population; “I feel that staff and students are considerate of people of different ethnicities to themselves. The population of Unitec and Auckland in fact, are very ethnically diverse and I believe that if you were intolerant you would not do well within this community.” So, I have the views of the people who run Unitec; but I’m not entirely convinced. I decide to go straight to the horse's mouth. I head out on campus with the intention of asking as many Unitec students as I can, whether or not they have experienced racism in any way. The results are mixed. Helen, a business student of Chinese descent, feels that she is treated the same as all of her peers and has never felt the subject of discrimination. Rosa, an international student from Somalia studying English, echoes her views. I ask Eon, a domestic student of Chinese descent studying medical imaging, whether he has ever been subject to discrimination. “Not really,” he tells me. “But sometimes, mainly people who are driving past, they feel the need to shout out stuff as they pass.” He notes however that it rarely comes from Unitec students, and that discrimination has never affected his studies. Some students do feel that they had been subject to discrimination on campus however. Niuean sports student, Malo, tells me how he has experienced racism first hand. “We've got a perfect example in our class. One of the elders, he gets a lot of crap from lecturers. Just because he doesn't always get his thoughts across when he's speaking. People disrespect him on a personal level. And we see that kind of thing happening a lot in our class as islanders.” Though racism may be present; Malo thinks racial stereotyping is the most prevalent problem. “People think just because we're brown, we're dumb or that we're not the brightest crayon in the box.” Rwandan communications student Dave agrees with Malo's views on stereotyping. “Because there's not many people like me, from Africa here; people don't know what to expect. It's about first impressions with a culture. A lot of it is based on the first person from that country. If that person is trouble, people will think everyone from that country is trouble, even though that's not right.” Dave thinks the only way students, and people in general, will have a positive view on people from his culture, is by making sure he sets a good example and is a positive role-model. Chris, a Japanese design student, tells me he has been the subject of racism. “Not discrimination. But people are sometimes very ignorant. A lot of people have this mindset that all Asian people are the same, which is pretty ridiculous.” The racism Chris had experienced came from students, but never staff. “Being Japanese has never affected my education. Staff here treat me the same as everyone else. Students are sometimes different, nothing really bad though. Just jokes about Asian drivers and that kind of thing. Just jokes really, but sometimes it's hard to tell if there's a bit of seriousness beneath it.” Hanelle is an acting student and is also the Maori representative on the USU Executive; she thinks that the tolerance might be different in different areas of study. “I feel that the Performing Arts School is really good. In my experience, there's a really liberal attitude there.” Although she gives praise; Hanelle says her course is not completely free of racism. “No matter how tolerant a place is, there's always going to be the odd person who is a bit intolerant or ignorant or just has a bit of a bone to pick.” Domestic film students Romain and Sophia, who identify themselves as being Pakeha, feel that Unitec reflects wider New Zealand society. “Yes, there’s racism here at Unitec. But I don't think it's a specific attribute of Unitec though,” Romain says. Sophia agrees, “Unitec is just as racist as the rest of our society.” “It's a part of life,” Romain continues. “It's unfortunate; but it has become a part of life.” Interestingly; none of the students I ask feel that there is preferential treatment in regards to assessment and/or entry at Unitec. As far as I can tell, the problem probably doesn't lie with Unitec. It is merely a miniaturised representation of New Zealand as a whole. Racism’s presence in New Zealand society is made painfully clear by recent news of the race related hate crimes, stories like that of Glen Eden taxi driver Raymond Fifita; the Tongan man who was recently verbally assaulted with racial slurs and was physically beaten. Whether or not racism is a major problem here at Unitec is questionable. But if it is, and it clearly does affect some students, then it seems that the people who need to know about it (our Chief Executive and Student President) are either unaware, or in denial. Racial discrimination has no place on our campus and if you feel you have been subject to it, whether it comes from fellow students or members of staff, you don't have to put up with it. There are people and places you can go to for support and help. Talk to your pastoral care tutor, or inform your class or programme reps of what's going on. They may not be able to help you themselves, but they'll be able to find for you who you should talk to. For serious cases of discrimination, USU provides an advocacy service, and making an appointment with the USU advocate is as easy as making a call or sending an email. The important thing is that you speak up if you are having troubles with discrimination. If indeed there is racial discrimination here at Unitec; it's only going to get fixed if the people being discriminated against, stand up to it and find people to help them stand up to it.