Diversity at Uni of York

https://www.york.ac.uk/about/student-statistics/admissionsstatistics/
35% of white students are awarded firsts at York v 18% of black students (this excludes non-uk students completely)
That seems to indicate some significant problems with inclusion

How could this suggest problems of inclusion? Surely this just points to the fact black people are exponentially more likely to come from a lower socioeconomic background due to the obvious history of the UK (systemic racism, segregation, colonialism, egregious discrimination in the past etc.)? Therefore they are far less likely to receive support in school/from home? I don't see how the university itself would play in to that to be honest - it's to do with their disadvantage before uni surely? It's not as if York university are saying 'no support for black students at our university,' it's clearly a product of institutional racism not the university itself.

The proportion of first from students from the lowest socioeconomic background is at 25%.
Other universities don’t have such a significant difference between ethnicities.

How could the university cause this egregious gap? By the way I have no affiliation with York, I just struggle to believe this is down to the university. For this huge gap to be 100% down to the university there would have to be some sort of extreme racist policy for which black students perform half as well than their white counterparts - what would it be? I understand there is likely to be some sort of racism within the university - just struggle to believe it considering the fact that there has been no reporting or speaking whatsoever. Surely there would've been at least one black student at the university would have spoken out about the fact that they are being grossly mistreated by teaching faculty were this to be the case?

The whole university is supposed to be working towards reducing the awarding gap: https://features.york.ac.uk/access-and-participation-plan/
it seems odd that you’re trying to deny the responsibility of the university to resolve this when York acknowledges that it’s a serious problem.

There’s also recent reports of students graffitiing campus with racist slurs: https://nouse.co.uk/articles/2024/11/13/students-vandalise-campus-with-racist-graffiti

I'm not trying to deny it.

This whole article is about 1. increasing representation of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and 2. reducing awarding gap between socioeconomic backgrounds - proving my point? I'm saying it's your socioeconomic level rather than your ethnicity which determines university outcomes - which is backed up by your source.

Degree awarding: Increasing the rates of awarding degrees of 2:1 and above for Mature students, students from low socio-economic backgrounds, Black students and Asian students. By 2028/29, we have set targets to:
Decrease the awarding gap between Mature and Young students from 13.3pp to 9.3pp.
Decrease the awarding gap between IMD Q1 and IMD Q5 students from 17.8pp to 13.4pp.
Decrease the awarding gap between Black and White students from 17pp to 8.6pp.
Decrease the two-year aggregate awarding gap between Asian and White students from 8.7pp to 1.7pp.

I want to study law but i don't which uni to go
I have an offer for York for law but as a POC i’m pretty worried about the level of Diversity
I want to know there are people like me there because i want to go to York as its respectable and well regarded
Please share any information and opinions on the diversity especially in Law

I want to study law but i don't which uni to go
I have an offer for York for law but as a POC i’m pretty worried about the level of Diversity
I want to know there are people like me there because i want to go to York as its respectable and well regarded
Please share any information and opinions on the diversity especially in Law

As someone who was on an access scheme at York and intending to study law there, I can tell you from experience that the diversity at York is low. If you’re coming from a major city like London, known for multiculturalism, it can feel particularly isolating on campus. At the open day, I felt the lack of diversity being one of only 9 POC in a law lecture full of a good 200 or so applicants. Law is a subject that at most universities, tends to attract a pretty diverse range of applicants, so being able to observe this lack of diversity so clearly at York disappointed me. It didn’t help that the law campus was quite far from the main campus, meaning that there’s even less chance to interact with POC on a smaller campus. I didn’t end up applying to York in the end after that isolating experience, despite the offer they would have given being a safe bet for an insurance. I will say that the ethnic minority communities at York try their absolute best to foster a welcoming and close knit community, which I found to be admirable and honestly, the most tempting thing in the application process. Many times on here I’ve seen people dismiss or downplay the importance of racial and ethnic diversity in university, but going into a world where you may not find that community, I feel that it’s important to address concerns that any member of a minority ethnic group may have when it comes to diversity. In the end, despite choosing philosophy (a subject with very few POC in comparison), I firmed a university that I felt confident would have the level of diversity that made me feel comfortable. As a university, York isn’t particularly notable in the legal world, as it’s only fairly recently started offering law in comparison to other RG universities, who have been offering law for centuries. Ultimately, it’s important to identify whether you prioritise rankings over diversity in a university and choose accordingly. Best of luck to you!

so is york not highly regarded in the legal world?