Law student admits to chanting racist abuse outside black girl’s door
A LAW student’s career is in ruins before it has begun after he admitted racist chanting outside the bedroom of a black female fellow undergraduate.
Joe Tivnan, 19, was recorded taking part in a series of vile ‘football-style’ songs during a drinking session in his hall of residence.
Footage was tweeted by fresher Rufaro Chisango who, the court heard, was so shaken she was too scared to leave her room even after Tivnan and his friends left.
The clip played in court yesterday showed Tivnan singing ‘We hate the blacks’ and ‘Ooh, ahh, f*** the blacks’. It caused worldwide outrage after it was viewed millions of times on Twitter.
Nottingham Trent University undergraduate Tivnan was arrested and charged with racially or religiously aggravated harassment. He appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday to admit the offence, with his solicitor telling a judge that the teenager’s hopes of a future in the legal profession had been ‘irreparably damaged’ by the incident.
Tivnan was ordered to pay Miss Chisango, 18, £500 in compensation on top of a £200 fine and £115 in court costs.
Anna Pierrepont, prosecuting, said Miss Chisango was upset and distressed after the incident in March at the Sandby hall of residence. Miss Pierrepont said between 15 and 20 students gathered in a kitchen for ‘ pre- drinks’ before a night out but became ‘intoxicated and rather noisy’.
She added: ‘ At 11.47pm one student began recording because she had had previous issues with loud noise.
‘She heard what she described as something similar to a football chant and confirmed that she heard the language captured on the recording. On hearing this she felt very upset and extremely uncomfortable.’ The student described feeling disgusted with what she was hearing, the prosecutor added.
Although there was no evidence the songs were aimed directly at Miss Chisango, she was the only black student on the floor and her ‘perception was they were made about her’, the court heard.
Miss Pierrepont said: ‘ She was so distressed she messaged her mum for advice, and had to wait in her room for 45 minutes before she went to see a security guard.’
In a victim impact statement Miss Chisango, who has moved to a different hall of residence, said she felt overwhelmed by what had happened.
Tivnan, of Erdington, Birmingham, made an ‘ unreserved public apology’ to Miss Chisango in court and explained the chanting as ‘mutual repartee between me and a mixed race friend and there was no intention for an outside party to hear’. He added: ‘I am ashamed of my behaviour and sorry for any offence caused.’
Steve Ransell, defending, said Tivnan’s statement was a ‘ proper expression of remorse’. Mr Ransell told the court Tivnan remained suspended by the university, but said that in reality he had lost his place. He added: ‘His hope of a career in law has no doubt suffered irreparable damage.’
District Judge Leo Pyle told Tivnan: ‘ Imagine for one moment how Miss Chisango must have felt.’
Another student, Lauren Leigh, 19, denied racially or religiously aggravated harassment in relation to the same incident and will stand trial in July.
Nottingham Trent University said: ‘ As criminal proceedings remain active, we continue to follow police advice to pause our own internal investigation on all related matters until they come to a close.
‘It would be inappropriate to say anything more regarding this incident until the case is fully concluded.’