A number of university students have received disciplinary action for making offensive, racist or homophobic remarks on social media, it has been revealed.
Data obtained through freedom of information requests from 92 universities in the UK showed 277 students have been sanctioned for posting Islamophobic, racist and homophobic content online in the past three years, reported The Guardian.
University of Central Lancashire and the University of Bedfordshire took the highest number of disciplinary actions, with 22 students being disciplined.
One University of Surrey student was given a year-long suspension for racist and antisemitic jokes on Facebook and another was expelled for racist posts on Instagram.
Thomas Lancaster, a senior teaching fellow at Imperial College London, called the findings “very worrying”.
He said: “Racist and homophobic remarks can’t be dismissed. From my student support role, I know that students have enough challenges to deal with and they don’t need ill-thought-out, so-called pranks from their peers to add to these.
"If a student does feel that they’re being targeted on social media, I’d encourage them to let staff know so that we can address this.”
Universities are meant to provide a safe environment for students, said Lancaster, and added that students need to think before they post.
Dr Omar Khan, the director of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, said these figures are likely “to be the tip of the iceberg, with many incidents going unreported”.
“The findings remind us that a university education is no inoculation against racism, and the extent of discriminatory attitudes and behaviours across society … The threat of racism on campuses is being downplayed in media-driven moral panics on free speech, and university administrators must ensure they protect BME students from violence and harassment,” Khan was quoted as saying.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)