Fitting In

Universities - horrible bastions of privilege and discrimination, all ivory towers and summer balls. Hardly the place in which you would want to he part of any minority group.

Actually, despite their reputation for being stuck-up, elitist and too slow to change, universities can be interesting and safe places to meet all kinds of other people and to explore your own identity and theirs. Most universities have students from all over the world and from many different ethnic and religious communities. As an ethnic minority student, there should be ample opportunities to meet others from similar backgrounds, if that is what you want to do.

A lot of ethnic minority students find that they are one of few on their course, if not the only one. Plenty of people are not bothered by this - university is a chance to meet all kinds of new people, from all kinds of backgrounds and places. However, for those who do wish to meet other black/Asian/Jewish/ Muslim/Irish students, university life can offer new opportunities.

Every institution will have a range of societies that cater for different ethnic minority communities - most will run social events and meetings. Some will team up with local community organisations or other student groups in the region to run joint events. Bigger institutions - especially in cities - will also have strong informal networks that allow students from larger minority populations to socialise across different departments and campuses, and sometimes across institutions.

For students with disabilities, student facilities are generally less developed. Despite good intentions, most universities have not been well-informed about the needs of disabled students. A lot of universities are located in older buildings that continue to present considerable difficulties for access.

However, universities have been given new responsibilities under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act, and these, with the existing requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, have forced the pace of change in relation to meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Now almost all campuses will have a dedicated unit to support disabled students and to enable the institution to meet its responsibilities in relation to disability issues. In many instances, any problems will stem from ignorance. Universities are making an effort to learn how to be accessible and safe for everyone - but, as usual, this is a slow process. If you can bear it, try to let the university know when things are not working for you or when unexpected obstacles appear. This ought to be the time when public institutions, including universities, at last become welcoming and wholly accessible to disabled people. Make sure it happens. On the university profile pages (starting from page 275), we include a figure for the percentage of the student population in receipt of a disabled students allowance. Ifs meant as a guide to how used to disabilities ...

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