UTS student Suzy Monzer highlights the significance of advocating for black, Indigenous and person of colour (BIPOC) students at the university through the Ethnocultural Collective, which provides a safe space for discussing racism and promoting racial literacy.
UTS has a very diverse student population – in 2020, 30% were international students, 47% spoke languages other than English at home, and 48% were born outside of Australia.
It is, therefore, vital the voices of those identifying as black, Indigenous or as a person of colour (BIPOC) echo throughout the university halls. Ensuring this requires hard work and continuous advocacy, says UTS student and Officer for the Ethnocultural Collective, Suzy Monzer.
Australia is one of the most unique countries in the world in terms of the diverse population we have, and we could be a leader in the world regarding equity and justice.
Although we like the look of multiculturalism, we are not consistently doing the hard work of ensuring that everyone feels safe and can access the same opportunities as everyone else.
One group rolling up their sleeves to do this is the Ethnocultural Collective. The group offers a safe space for BIPOC students to discuss their experiences with racism, and advocate for solutions by bringing issues to the attention of university management. Notably, the group can have difficult conversations around race with a high level of racial literacy, sensitivity and nuance.
Monzer can vouch for the impact of having such a group on a very personal level. Her high school memories show that race was not spoken about much despite being a reality for someone with a non-white cultural background, like herself.
"People knew I was Lebanese, and there would be jokes or conversations around that which tended to make me feel very uncomfortable - but I didn’t yet understand why I felt this way.
“It wasn’t until I went to university that I was given the language of race and improved my own racial literacy which helped me understand how those things affected me and why those experiences made me feel uncomfortable,” she says.
Monzer says the impact of validating her experience and using it to do advocacy work cannot be understated.
It is important for people who experience racism to understand that these things aren’t just in their heads. They are not being too sensitive, and they have the right to voice their grievances.
Students have needs beyond their academic endeavours. Through our efforts, we know that BIPOC students feel more bold, unapologetic and some even rediscover love for that part of themselves which for so long they didn’t want to be associated with anymore.
“They leave UTS not only with their degrees, but as confident self-advocates with strong racial literacy who know there is a whole network of allies behind them. Understanding this for myself has been one of the greatest gifts I have been given.” she concludes.