March 2017.

Statement from the Race Equality Charter Working Group following the results of the EU Referendum.

As you all know, the UK has voted to leave the EU. We understand that colleagues will be very concerned about the impact on the University, on individual departments, on our students, and on us as individuals.

As a committee which is focused on race equality, we are saddened by the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment which has led to more incidents of racism targeted towards people from these communities. We understand that many members from these communities may be feeling extremely isolated and vulnerable at this point. We would like to share our sense of solidarity with students and staff members at Warwick who belong to these communities. As an international university, Warwick prides itself on the diversity of its students and staff, and, as the Vice Chancellor has stated, the University will do all it can to protect this diversity.

Warwick has a zero-tolerance approach to racism. The university has a Dignity at Warwick policy which explicitly endorses valuing differences in others and the contributions that they make.

University staff and members are also reminded that racism is illegal in the UK and should not be borne in silence. If anyone experiences any racist incidents during the summer holiday, they can report it on Report + Support.