Oxford University to give students workshops on 'how not to be racist'

The workshops will be targeted at incoming undergraduates in October this year as part of Oxford University's freshers week timetable

Oxford University press is a department of Oxford University (Getty)

Students at Oxford University will attend workshops on ‘how not to be racist’.

The workshops will be targeted at incoming first year students as part of their freshers week timetable in a bid to eliminate racism within the university.

The sessions are titled ‘Race 101 (or: How Not to be Racist).’

Marc Shi, chair of the university’s Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality, part of the student led initiative organising the sessions, told The Independent: “Race consciousness and anti-racism needs to be part of the way that the University is supporting its students, which is not the case right now.”

The workshops will take place this October in the first week of the 2015-16 academic year.

Mr Shi says the campaign hopes to make attendance at the sessions compulsory for staff as well as students: “We think that if these workshops are to be effective they need to be compulsory in colleges as well as for welfare and support staff.”

The workshops will examine “white privilege, cultural appropriation and micro-aggressions… against students of colour.”

Earlier this month, the Oxford Union passed a motion declaring itself “institutionally racist.” The motion came after the prestigious debating chamber served a controversial cocktail called ‘Colonial Comeback’ at the debate ‘This House believes Britain owes reparations to her former colonies.’ The advert for the cocktail featured an image of black hands in chains.

The Union’s Black and Minority Ethnic Officer, Esther Odejimi, resigned in response to the cocktail, commenting that “racism is definitely not dead” at Oxford.