Living Black at University 52 2 Improve acclimatisation and integration activities for all new students and extend the period over which these activities take place. International students in the focus groups expressed a wish for a longer acclimatisation and integration period. This may also be helpful for Black British students who are disproportionately the first in their family to go to university. They have less experience of the UK HE system and therefore may take longer to acclimatise and find it more challenging to integrate. Improving acclimatisation and integration activities would be beneficial to not only Black students, but to other students from under-represented or marginalised groups and, ultimately, to all students. 3 Introduce meaningful race training for peers and staff. Over half of Black respondents reported being victims of racism in their accommodation. Those we spoke with described unintentional or thoughtless behaviours from White peers leading to feelings of discomfort and even distress. There is therefore a clear need for explicit race training for staff and students which references the accommodation context specifically. The training needs also to reach those who would not usually volunteer to participate and be meaningful and effective. The literature surveyed in the preparation for this report shows that a better understanding of the experiences of peers and colleagues improves the experiences for all, not just those from marginalised groups. Further, many of the students in the focus groups felt that some incidences of discrimination were unintentional or founded in ignorance. Meaningful training that promotes the value of diversity, increases cultural competence, and equips all those living and working at universities to relate better to one another will improve the experiences of all students. 4 Accommodation providers should confirm a commitment to tackling racism, both in their internal policies and in their student behavioural agreement or charter. Accommodation providers need to ensure that racist misconduct is treated seriously, and reflect this clearly in internal policies and in their student behavioural agreement or charter. Staff also need to be aware that their actions may be hate incidents or crimes, as well as disciplinary offences. Students come to purpose-built student accommodation from many different countries, cultures and family backgrounds. Clear expectations of what is or is not appropriate behaviour need to be set so that all students know what is unacceptable and no one can hide behind their ignorance. This should be included in policy and the behavioural agreement or charter for students in the accommodation. 5 Improve the representation of Black people as employees to reflect the diversity of students. Students reported a lack of racial diversity in academic, professional services and support staff. This leads to feelings of isolation, and Black students having no one who looks like them that they can talk to about their concerns. Some students say they rely on the students’ union for support or the student groups they were part of (e.g. Afro- Caribbean Society). Concerted efforts need to be made to recruit and retain racially diverse staff at all levels including at management level, whilst being sensitive to the fact that bringing someone into a junior position in a racist environment is itself an act of harm. When recruiting accommodation staff, it is recommended that there is also diversity in their professional backgrounds and that they do not all come from one particular background as they may bring with them a singular approach to interacting with students that is inappropriate in student accommodation, for example a culture of racial profiling. Living Black at University 53 6 Universities and accommodation providers should work together to create intentionally diverse and inclusive student accommodation. Current practices in some institutions have led to the appearance of ghettoization. Universities and accommodation providers should be intentional and transparent about how they allocate rooms, and be aware of unintended consequences. A lack of integration harms inclusion and does not expose students to diverse perspectives. Where allocations are made based on student preferences, for example alcohol-free flats, this should be made clear to all students. Segregation also has historic links with traditions that are racist and reflecting this is negative, especially for students of colour. Ghettoization should be prevented, and conscious efforts made to reflect the diversity of the student body in all areas of accommodation. A more thoughtful process in assigning flatmates should be created to foster a more diverse and tolerant space. 7 Universities and accommodation providers should collaborate to ensure mental health and wellbeing support is available, accessible and appropriate for Black students. The student mental health crisis is well documented within the sector and in the media. For Black students this is exacerbated because they rarely get the opportunity to be supported by someone who looks like them and understands their lived experiences. Improving mental health support for all students would positively impact Black students, however there also need to be targeted interventions aimed at improving the provision for Black students and those who have been traumatised by experiences of racism. 8 Ensure there are clear and accessible policies and procedures (including anonymous reporting) to deal explicitly with racism in accomodation. All those operating student accommodation need to have in place specific policies and procedures that directly target racist behaviours. These policies and procedures should be developed with input from Black communities including students and staff. Visibility of the policies and procedures is key here, as some expressed that they were unaware of them, the processes surrounding them and how to use them. Visual reminders such as posters go a long way towards building Black people’s confidence that their accommodation has zero tolerance for any form of racism. Clear and accessible ways of being able to report racist issues in accommodation (including anonymous reporting) need to be established by universities and accommodation providers, so every student knows how and where to file a report if they need to, and that all reports will be taken seriously, investigated and outcomes reported swiftly. Not only do students need to be made aware of their ability to make complaints, but they also need to know how to escalate complaints to the appropriate body, for example to the relevant National Code for student accommodation, and to the Independent Adjudicator where appropriate. The HE sector is coming to terms with how to approach sexual harassment and violence from a position of believing and not re-traumatising victims, and we need to extend this to all hate incidents. Only when the Black student community has experience of being believed and complaints being treated seriously will relationships of trust begin to develop.