Living Black at University 10 Living Black at University 11 1.3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 1.4 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1 Universities and accommodation providers should collaborate to eliminate racism from all areas of the student experience, including student accommodation. 2 Improve acclimatisation and integration activities for all new students and extend the period over which these activities take place. 3 Introduce meaningful race training for peers and staff. 4 Accommodation providers should confirm a commitment to tackling racism, both in their internal policies and in their student behavioural agreement or charter. 5 Improve the representation of Black people as employees to reflect the diversity of students. 6 Universities and accommodation providers should work together to create intentionally diverse and inclusive student accommodation. 7 Universities and accommodation providers should collaborate to ensure mental health and wellbeing support is available, accessible and appropriate for Black students. 8 Ensure there are clear and accessible policies and procedures (including anonymous reporting) that deal explicitly with racism in accommodation. 9 Accommodation providers should routinely collect, analyse and publish relevant data on the racial diversity of their residents and employees, as well as outcomes of reporting and investigation of complaints. 10 Accommodation providers should work to build a relationship of trust with Black students. 1 Black students have a less positive experience than average in their accommodation in terms of sense of belonging, feeling comfortable in being themselves, and sense of safety and security. 2 Black students are impacted by microaggressions in accommodation. 3 The accommodation environment leaves some Black students feeling uncomfortable. 4 Some Black students report that staff have enabled microaggressions and other forms of racism to thrive. 5 The diversity of accommodation staff does not reflect the diversity of the students in accommodation. 6 Some students report that accommodation is allocated in a racially segregated way. 7 Black students are not always aware of policies and procedures relating to racism in their accommodation, or these policies and procedures do not exist. 8 There are low levels of trust among Black students in the processes that sit behind anti-racist strategies. 9 The majority of Black students surveyed have been the victims of racism in their accommodation. 10 Black students are relying on their friends, relatives and ethnicity-based networks for emotional and psychological support because culturally relevant support isn’t available within mainstream services.