Ethnic minorities and Durham

after speaking to a few black mates of mine currently at Durham i get this feeling that maybe durham isnt too safe for me to go to. i know this may sound absurd but i want to complete uni not get killed while im there. what is life like for ethnic minorities in durham are there a lot of them? any comments would be appreciated as im contemplating going to the open day. thanx.

Reply 1

Teehar

10

ethnic minorities are very limited in presence round these parts, but as far as I know, its perfectly safe, or at least as safe as most areas.

Reply 2

Shmerm

Durham has a very low crime rate, I'd hope that means all types of crime rate are low and not just some. I've never heard any stories of any trouble for anyone. I wouldn't worry.

Reply 3

fafiness

oh dear, what sort of things have you heard? wondering cause i just got an offer from there..

Reply 4

Agbonlaheto

If you get killed in Durham because you are non-white then I will give you £1.

There is a significant amount of people here who are of Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc origin and probably a less than average amount of black students. If there have been any problems involving students or locals then I have not heard of them.

Reply 5

dobbs

17

Exactly as the others say - although not many ethnic minorities at Durham, there is no known cases of racist attacks in my experience at Durham (I'm in my 3rd year now).

And although you may think "OK not racist attacks but I may be segregated because I'm black and so not the same colour as the majority of students" - this is also not true, of the few ethnic minorities in Durham I do know, they are not at all segregated or anything like that. I really hope that you don't base your University choice on the fact that you think Durham has a racist attitude :redface:

Reply 6

vh2006

3.416

after speaking to a few black mates of mine currently at Durham i get this feeling that maybe durham isnt too safe for me to go to. i know this may sound absurd but i want to complete uni not get killed while im there. what is life like for ethnic minorities in durham are there a lot of them? any comments would be appreciated as im contemplating going to the open day. thanx.

You've heard of a racist attack in campus or in the surrounding areas? What happened?

Reply 7

Timothy

A black friend from my corridor got threated and verbally abused and almost got into a fight (he is a bit aggressive) with some other student over his race, but in some ways he proobably helped provoke it, he has had no serious trouble at all though.

Reply 8

henoch101

OP

Well every one of them has had an altercation with someone based on their race. whereas in london this rarely happens. they also said the worst is when a black guy is seen with a white girl that gets the locals very p****d. i love durham because of the collegiate aspect and the geog department is exceptional but with all these things going on as well it makes me think twice. i dont mind being one in a million cos thats how its been for most of my life but not when im being hated because of that.

Reply 9

Foxius

Fear not, all students are egged indiscriminately.

Reply 10

shady lane

16

3.416

Well every one of them has had an altercation with someone based on their race. whereas in london this rarely happens. they also said the worst is when a black guy is seen with a white girl that gets the locals very p****d. i love durham because of the collegiate aspect and the geog department is exceptional but with all these things going on as well it makes me think twice. i dont mind being one in a million cos thats how its been for most of my life but not when im being hated because of that.

haha then why don't they get black girlfriends :p:

My cousin is black and at Durham, with a white girlfriend, never heard of him having trouble. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Reply 11

Danny_777

16

3.416

Well every one of them has had an altercation with someone based on their race. whereas in london this rarely happens. they also said the worst is when a black guy is seen with a white girl that gets the locals very p****d. i love durham because of the collegiate aspect and the geog department is exceptional but with all these things going on as well it makes me think twice. i dont mind being one in a million cos thats how its been for most of my life but not when im being hated because of that.

The fact that a fairly representative selection of students have come on here and testifies to the lack of racism in Durham sure shows how little racism there is. If there was any unprovoked racist attack, I'm sure it would be very widely known about as it would have severe repurcussions for those involved. There is nothing at all to suggest that Durham is in the slight bit racist, bar one account you've heard. I'm sure I could get an account from every single university in the country of a dispute involving race.
It's hardly as if you'll go there and everyone will shun you; just look at the replies you've got already - people are more than friendly.
If you want to take a vastly less preferential university for your course just because of a 0.5% chance or something based on hearsay that you may encounter someone with a slight aversion to ethnic variance, then that's your choice.

Personally, I hope you go to Durham and find that in fact, you make more friends than you could have imagined, with a greater variety of ethnicity and culture than you could have hoped for, and have a fantastic time there.

Good luck with whatever you do mate.

Reply 12

dobbs

17

3.416

i hope it is. i know geography rules if not i wouldnt have chosen to spend 3 years studying it. how easy/hard is it to get a first? i'd die for one. lol.

Hmmm, although not to put you off, you haven't started your degree yet and so don't get too hung up on the "I'd die for a first" attitude - EVERYONE comes to Durham wanting a first!

But many soon realise that to get a first it requires a LOT of commitment and work...which yeah is do-able but you need to be the best of the best, be able to get out of bed and do essays well before the deadline, be able to read plenty of books, etc.

I always wanted a first when I began, now I get low 2:1s and wouldn't be too upset by a 2:2 to be honest. It's just too much work for me to get a first, I'd rather spend my time doing what I really love - rowing, or coaching other rowing crews, amongst other extra-curricular activities. Don't get me wrong, I work hard - but I just can't spend ALL of my non-lecture time doing Geography stuff, I'm just not hard-working enough lol :redface:

But again, if you're really committed to getting a first then it's certainly well within your reach :smile:

Reply 13

Piggsil

16

I'd just like to echo what everyone else has been saying: that while there is a lack of racial diversity in Durham, I have never heard of nor seen any sort of racist abuse or attack here, and I think people find it a welcoming place no matter what colour they are.

Reply 14

DrEvil

Are there any Turkish people in Durham? The Stockton campus sorry?

Reply 15

lyrical_maze

my friend is at durham doing medicine she's black. She told me how there's hardly any ethnic minority there and that the ones that are there are mostly in the campus that have all the science courses like medicine etc. however, she never once mentioned of durham being dangerous though... i didn't really think of that to be honest..

Reply 16

arkbar

12

Medicine isn't taught in Durham, it's taught at Stockton.

Reply 17

tehjonny

8

3.416

Well every one of them has had an altercation with someone based on their race. whereas in london this rarely happens. they also said the worst is when a black guy is seen with a white girl that gets the locals very p****d. i love durham because of the collegiate aspect and the geog department is exceptional but with all these things going on as well it makes me think twice. i dont mind being one in a million cos thats how its been for most of my life but not when im being hated because of that.

I doubt you will get any trouble from the students. At the end of the day the north-East isn't as multiethnic as the south-east and many of the people who live up here still have a very 50's attitude towards non-whites (sorry, didn't want to lie to you!).

Out of the 400 people in my college residence, I'd say about 20 are black...and about 200 are Korean/Japanese :p: