An advertisement for the University of Wolverhampton’s “clearing” process and Public Health Course has resulted in — what else? — collective staff and student outrage.
The poster ad in question shows a white woman standing in front of a group of black children with the text ‘If you want to explore new worlds, start here.” Outspoken faculty and unergraduates deemed it “racist” and “colonialist.”
Leicester University’s Helen Dexter tweeted out “This image is so offensive I am amazed anyone at The University of Wolverhampton thought it was appropriate. Please withdraw it immediately.”
Sussex University’s Marie Tulley added “This is shamefully colonialist […] white saviour complex? Who thought this was a good idea?!” while a lecturer at Newman University wrote “There’s strands of colonialism, patriotism, racism, gender issues.”
. @wlv_uni This image is so offensive I am amazed anyone at The University of Wolverhampton thought it was appropriate. Please withdraw it immediately. pic.twitter.com/db5bzIPv8T
— Dr Helen Dexter (@DrHDexter) July 18, 2018
The Tab highlights several student reactions to the poster. Sam, a member of the University of Wolverhampton group Stand Up to Racism, said the ad could “encourage racism” on campus: “As a student, and a white student at that, it makes me really uncomfortable. I feel for those directly involved.”
However, The Tab report points out that polls taken by the Express and Star showed eighty percent of their readership did not find the ad offensive.
“You’ve got to look at the poster within its context,” said a U. Wolverhampton student. “It advertises the BSc Public Health course, which is a course focused on helping people. The girl in the poster is obviously there helping.”
The Independent reports the posters eventually were taken down due to the widespread indignity:
Raman Sarpal, head of marketing at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Every year the University runs numerous creative campaigns across various channels around the UK. Following careful consideration the decision was taken to withdraw this particular advert, which is part of a wider campaign, and the image has been removed.
“It was never the intention to cause any offence, but we take feedback like this seriously and listened to what people had to say.
“The University prides itself on having a diverse student body, of being inclusive and it strives to be representative of the community it serves.”
A student reacted: “This should hopefully serve as a wake up call and ensure the university takes a more active stance against racism […]”
Read the full Independent and Tab stories.
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