The Student Room Group

Lack of Black people

I'm starting uni in September, i went to an open day and throughout the day i think i saw only 4 black people walking around campus.
I grew up in a predominantly black area, when to a school with mostly black kids and i only had black friends.
I'm kinda worried now, what if I'm one of the only black kids and i cant find people like me.
Now i have nothing against non-blacks, i just think i get along with black people better because we have so much in common.

Advise please

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Sound pretty racist to me.
Reply 2
How? because i have little to no experience around non-blacks?
Original post by random_matt
Sound pretty racist to me.
I'm black but have friends from a variety of races. You'll probably have more in common than you think , nothing to worry about.
I do not agree with your mentality because in my opinion the exciting thing about uni is that you meet different people from different backgrounds. At the same time, I get your mentality because I would prefer to have a few friends that relate to my culture and background.

You could have a few black friends that you relate with, then branch out and take this as an opportunity to see how much you could have in common with non-black people. You grew up in a predominantly black area and you said you have little to no experience around non-blacks so you really are not in a good position to properly judge whether most whites will not have things in common with you. I am sure they will and you will be pleasantly surprised.
Uni is about new experiences.
Reply 6
Thanks for the helpful advise
Original post by LegallyJasmine
I do not agree with your mentality because in my opinion the exciting thing about uni is that you meet different people from different backgrounds. At the same time, I get your mentality because I would prefer to have a few friends that relate to my culture and background.

You could have a few black friends that you relate with, then branch out and take this as an opportunity to see how much you could have in common with non-black people. You grew up in a predominantly black area and you said you have little to no experience around non-blacks so you really are not in a good position to properly judge whether most whites will not have things in common with you. I am sure they will and you will be pleasantly surprised.
4 is a lot tbh. Only 3.3 percent of people in the UK are black,
Original post by quirky editor
4 is a lot tbh. Only 3.3 percent of people in the UK are black,


4 people out of 10-20k is smaller than 3.3%.
all universities have a decent number of black students - bar possibly cambridge and oxford. In fact in universities in general, black people are over-represented compared to the population as a whole.

But the bigger point is. Don't be racist.

If I made a thread saying that I grew up around pretty much only white people (true), and I was worried about going to a university full of black people because I may not have anything in common, and you know - Its just nicer to be around white people because we understand each other...

People would rightly call out my racist, stereotyping attitude.

As they should yours.
Reply 10
compared to my norm 4 is minuscule
Original post by quirky editor
4 is a lot tbh. Only 3.3 percent of people in the UK are black,
Original post by Notoriety
4 people out of 10-20k is smaller than 3.3%.

He obviously didn't see everyone on campus.
Original post by fallen_acorns
all universities have a decent number of black students - bar possibly cambridge and oxford. In fact in universities in general, black people are over-represented compared to the population as a whole.

But the bigger point is. Don't be racist.

If I made a thread saying that I grew up around pretty much only white people (true), and I was worried about going to a university full of black people because I may not have anything in common, and you know - Its just nicer to be around white people because we understand each other...

People would rightly call out my racist, stereotyping attitude.

As they should yours.


A bunch of unis have a very low proportion of black students. QUB at 0.4%, Edinburgh at 0.6%, Glasgow at 0.8%, Durham 1.3%.

https://st.hitcreative.com/education/university_guide/active/UniversityGuide/index/year/2017/goto/tableSearchAnchor
Original post by quirky editor
He obviously didn't see everyone on campus.


So you suppose he saw only 100 people on campus, enough for you to say he saw a higher proportion than the general population?
Reply 14
LOL I think we have 2 different definitions of racism.

(Original post by fallen_acorns)
all universities have a decent number of black students - bar possibly cambridge and oxford. In fact in universities in general, black people are over-represented compared to the population as a whole.

But the bigger point is. Don't be racist.

If I made a thread saying that I grew up around pretty much only white people (true), and I was worried about going to a university full of black people because I may not have anything in common, and you know - Its just nicer to be around white people because we understand each other...

People would rightly call out my racist, stereotyping attitude.

As they should yours.
Original post by Notoriety
So you suppose he saw only 100 people on campus, enough for you to say he saw a higher proportion than the general population?

I didn't explicitly write that although I admit it was implied.If he saw around 100 people than it would be more than the general population.
Original post by quirky editor
I didn't explicitly write that although I admit it was implied.If he saw around 100 people than it would be more than the general population.


OP must go to one of the quietest unis in the country and they should be rather happy about their selection. I personally see thousands of people whenever I've been on a uni campus.
I don't think their post connotes to hostile racist values as their post did not portray any notion of antagonism directed against whites based on the belief that their own race is superior. Just that they would relate more to black people and be more comfortable.

They said, "I'm kinda worried now, what if I'm one of the only black kids and i cant find people like me."
It's more of them being worried that they will not fit in and would not be comfortable with what their perception is of the existing discrepancies between white culture and black culture. There is nothing generally morally wrong or antagonistic about that.

While their generalisation may not be true and as I said is probably wrong as they have little to no experience with white people, it doesn't make this a racist post to an extent.

This is not a question of double standards. While they do exist, it doesn't mean that you were wrong to say that just that it is more sensitive when white people say that due to the long history of oppression and racism black peole have faced (and some are still facing).

*You could argue that they are discriminating, so it counts as racism; but again I don't think it's from a place of hatred or hostility. We would then be shifting the argument to how do you define racism. My point is I don't see why they should be shamed for asking this Q.
Original post by fallen_acorns
all universities have a decent number of black students - bar possibly cambridge and oxford. In fact in universities in general, black people are over-represented compared to the population as a whole.

But the bigger point is. Don't be racist.

If I made a thread saying that I grew up around pretty much only white people (true), and I was worried about going to a university full of black people because I may not have anything in common, and you know - Its just nicer to be around white people because we understand each other...

People would rightly call out my racist, stereotyping attitude.

As they should yours.
(edited 4 years ago)
One snapshot of a campus at one time of the day is a terrible way of judging the demographics of the uni
Original post by Tia07
LOL I think we have 2 different definitions of racism.

(Original post by fallen_acorns)


yeah, seems like it. Mine is the one where we don't judge people or discriminate against them based on the color of their skin..