28/05/2021 – They don’t care about us
CN: brief mention of ableism, racism, transphobia and sexual assault
You would think that someone acting in your best interests would aim to keep you out of harm’s way, would try their best to support and collaborate with you, and would at least have the decency to listen to you. However, this never seems to be case in this institution and its colleges. They happily sacrifice wellbeing for “academic rigour” and a good image. Even my college, what I once thought of as “the friendly college” showed me that even when citing my “best interests”, they only cared for their own and that in reaching those, that they will actively hurt a student.
When I started at Clare College, I remember being so excited. As someone who’s previous few years had been controlled by illness and other issues, university felt like an opportunity to start anew. Initially this is what it felt like – suddenly I didn’t feel so trapped and despite my difficulties, I finally felt like I could embrace my identity and my interests without fear of stigmatisation. I felt that, even with the ebb and flow of my health, I could finally have control over my life and potentially even enjoy it. Looking back now, it’s sad that I allowed myself to believe that. Less than half-way through my first year, my college suspended me. They had decided that I shouldn’t be there due to my health and that I was “impossible” to have. However, in their “concern” for my health, they forced me away from every bit of support I had and even though told me they’d re-arrange the support, they never did – in fact they didn’t even try. Frankly, if I were as unwell as they tried to convince me I was, I would probably be dead.
I appealed my college’s decision to suspend me and as soon as I started my appeals, the care and support I received turned into hostility and disdain, as if they had not actually cared in the first place.
At first, I appealed through the college although, given it was the college’s choice whether or not they reviewed the decision they made, I wasn’t hopeful. After that, I went to the one body that can independently review student complaints – the OIA. The initial process took 7 months but, in the end, the OIA had decided my complaint was justified and made “student-centred” recommendations on what my college should do next, including compensation for the months of distress I had been put through. Despite this, Clare College decided that they disagreed with OIA’s decision and initiated an appeal against it. When their appeal failed, the college then decided that they would ignore that recommendation completely. So not only had I been suspended, paid rent for the term in which I got suspended, gone through months of appeals, had my medical information shared without my consent, had a significant reduction in maintenance loan for this year, and been made to live with no support whatsoever, but I was told that they wouldn’t comply with the recommendation because all that – according to the Master of my college – had been done to “protect” me and with my “well-being wholly in mind”.
As both a disabled and Black student at this university, feeling less than is something I’ve unfortunately got used to. I had already gathered that many of my experiences will be marred with ableism and racism, but it was only starting here at Cambridge that I realised the extent to which I would experience these. Ableism and racism are embedded in the fabric of this institution and it’s colleges, and I know far too many students who are people of colour or disabled or both, that have experiences similar to mine, experiences of being let down and sometimes even put down by the same people that claim to care. This university fails students with marginalised identities and there are far too many examples of this, be it students of colour being treated badly, survivors of sexual assault potentially being punished before supported or the University’s distinct inability to tackle transphobia within its ranks.
One thing I have learned from my time here so far is that, unless they think it’ll tarnish their image, they don’t care about us and frankly, I can’t wait to leave.
Examples of what it can be like for students with marginalised identities
Varsity: Report+Support: Reporting system’s removal sparks concern
Black Mental Me 
That happens in Canada and the US today, particularly if it involves students who are suicidal. It’s stigma, pure and simple.
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