The Cambridge college that’s holding a dinner for ‘self-defining black’ students
A CAMBRIDGE University college held a formal dinner for ‘self-defining black and minority ethnic students’ that excluded white people.
Trinity College Students’ Union claimed the segregated dinner, which it boasted was ‘the first ever held in the college’, was a way for non-white people in the college to ‘reclaim some space’.
But last night critics accused the students of imposing ‘a new apartheid’.
This is the latest race row at the university, where activists have demanded that academics ‘decolonise’ courses by putting more ethnic minority authors on reading lists and a student play was cancelled after complaints about its lack of black actors.
In an invitation posted online, the college students’ union, which organised the formal dinner, said: ‘Trinity College is hosting a formal hall open only to self-defining black and minority ethnic students.
‘The event will hopefully be an occasion to meet new faces in the BME community, as well as old ones.
‘It’s an invaluable opportunity to show the entire university community our strength and our resilience in what can be an unwelcoming environment. I hope you can join in on the evening to reclaim some space!’
Last night Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘This is divisive and will drive students apart. Equality should mean equality for all. This is a retrograde step and a new form of apartheid – something people campaigned for decades to end. Now it is being reimposed.’ The dress code for the event – held on 28 February – was formal, with ‘gowns required’.
The 120 undergraduates and postgraduates attending were invited to a drinks reception in the college’s Old Kitchens before being served a three-course dinner of country pate, daube of red wine braised beef, and baked Alaska. Last night after the Daily Mail contacted the university, the Facebook page adver- tising the event was taken down.
Trinity, which was founded by Henry VIII in 1546, is the largest and wealthiest Cambridge college with an endowment of £1.1billion.
Cambridge has been facing a vocal campaign from student activists over diversity. Between 2010 and 2015, only 1 per cent of offers were made to black British students at Cambridge, and on average a quarter of colleges failed each year to make such offers. A group of students have launched a campaign group called Decolonise Cambridge. Last October, it pressured the English faculty into agreeing to look at proposals to add more black and ethnic minority authors to their courses.
Last May, the university’s amateur dramatics club scrapped a production after accusations of ‘whitewashing’ when it gave a role that had been African-American in the script to a white actor. The club said too few black students auditioned. The dinner comes amid controversy about the treatment of those who self define as female. Labour is changing its rules to guarantee those who self identify as female even if they are not biologically women the right to stand on all women shortlists following pressure from the transgender rights lobby.