Telly star My colour has held me back
TV star Sarah- Jane Crawford has spoken of her battle against racial abuse.
The 34-year- old former Xtra Factor host said: “It’s still not easy sometimes being a mixed-race woman, even in today’s society, and there are certain people who still don’t embrace it.
“I’ve had people comment on my curly hair and big l ips. I used to be real ly self- conscious but now I embrace them.”
Sarah- Jane, who was adopted by white parents as a baby and grew up in London, said: “My birth mother was white and of Irish descent and my birth father was black and from west Africa.
“I think that when you are mixed race, especially in Western culture, you are considered black. I always classed myself as black and not white.”
The TV presenter and DJ admitted she sometimes feels her colour has held her back, adding: “Women of all colours are beautiful but there has been this really twisted standard in the Western world and that is being beaten down.”
She believes royal brideto-be Meghan Markle, 36, is one of those helping to break down barriers.
Sarah-Jane, who will be reporting on Saturday’s wedding at Windsor Castle for entertainment channel E!, said: “Meghan is a great black role model, regardless of whether she is marrying into that family.
“Everything about her is so cool that it transcends any racial ticking of any box.”
Students claim the way tenancy agreements are structured at Queen Margaret University’s halls of residence is robbing them.
One said he’s being forced to pay nearly £ 500 for accommodation when he does not need to be there.
El l iot Linden revealed his classmates are also angry that they are unable to extend their stay over the summer because rooms are advertised on the internet for tourists.
The 20-year-old, who is studying for a BA in stage and screen acting, said: “My course finished in April and, as of the start of this month, I have no reason to be near the university.
“The fact they’re making me pay for a month I don’t need is daylight robbery. It’s £485 which has just gone down the drain.
“As I’m being charged for the extra month, I thought of staying on for the summer and living here all year but I can’t do that either – so it’s the worst of both worlds.”
The university, in Musselburgh, East Lothian, was established in 2007 and has just over 5000 students.
Summer accommodation at the on- campus halls of residence, about seven miles from Edinburgh city centre, are advertised on website booking.com.
Elliot, who works part-time in a clothes shop, signed a 40-week standard room contract, at £108 per week, to stay at the university residence until June 14.
He said: “I thought you could come out of the agreement at a specific date once you gave them enough notice – similar to an agreement with a private landlord.
“I notified them I wanted to leave in March and thought I was giving them plenty of notice. But it doesn’t work like that.