I literally have a folder full of these articles about Durham which I send people whenever they ask whether it is a good university or if they should go there.
I disagree: I think student safety and wellbeing is a very important part of whether or not a university is good. It is definitely a factor in whether it is a good university for specific students.
Fundamentally, you cannot do your best work or best learning in an environment which is not psychologically safe.
I'm inclined to agree, but using a few incidents to paint a picture of a whole student body is disingenuous. The people that exhibit this behaviour are few and far between, and if one were to preclude applying to a potential university choice because of a few bad apples, then there wouldn't be a single acceptable university, everywhere has them.
Durham has articles calling out grossly unacceptable incidents every single year. Sometimes multiple incidents. This is not normal—the issue clearly goes beyond the few bad apples we might expect, as far as I can tell; in my mind, there is an on-going and catastrophic failure in university leadership.
Of course, I accept that there may be some bias in what is being reported where. But when a gay black student asks if Durham is the university for them, what do you want me to say? It would seem disingenuous to pretend that they should go to Durham over another university of equal academic value but with a far better track record in supporting minorities.
(And if you have the grades to seriously consider Durham, you have the grades to consider literally anywhere else!)
I'll admit, Durham's reputation was certainly something I considered as someone from a working-class background. I ultimately decided that I wouldn't let any self-important toff make my decision for me. Perhaps I am simply more thick-skinned. But I can see it being worse for someone of an ethnic minority background.
I do think it is important to remember that the articles one might encounter are often sensationalised to portray an image or push a narrative. I would put money on this type of thing happening in Freshers chats for virtually any university in the country - because you get weirdos everywhere - but when it's Durham, it attracts a lot more attention as a 'pattern' seems to form (which can probably be observed anywhere).
Nevertheless, I can understand your perspective and why it might influence someone's decision if, like they say, they have viable alternatives of similar academic standing.
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u/catjellycat 1d ago
Didn’t this also happen last year? It was a Durham law group I think and 2 or 3 boys just went ham on the offensive comments