Senior staff at the University of Manchester have apologised to students following allegations the 'N-word' was used by a member of staff during lectures and seminars.
An investigation was launched by university officials after an open letter was penned by a group of students named 'UoM Black Students Matter' about the issue.
In an update issued today (Friday, April 28), the university said students who were 'exposed to racist language' have received personal apologies from senior members of staff.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
Bosses said they were also engaging with students from the Department of Modern Language and Cultures and that a formal review process had been commenced.
One student had allegedly been left in tears after instances in which it was claimed a member of staff used the racist slur. The open letter said the language had caused 'distress' to black students.
The 'UoM Black Students Matter' group claimed one student had left a seminar and 'cried walking down Oxford Road.' "We really did not think it would come to us having to write this letter," the document said.
"After the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the university released a statement saying that the UoM is 'categorically clear that we will never accept discrimination in any form'."
In a statement, the university apologised to students and said they remain committed to creating a 'safe space, inclusive and respectful environment.'
A University of Manchester spokesperson said: "The University has been positively engaged with students through direct meetings and discussions in relation to concerns regarding the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures.
"These actions are helping us to establish how we might review and address these issues, a process that has already commenced. Senior staff have personally apologised to students on the course units in question who were exposed to racist language, and for the lack of sensitivity displayed in discussions of topics such as racism, racial representations and colonialism.
"The University is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all our students, and we are sorry that this has not been the case in this instance. We will be working with our SU representatives, the University’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion team and external providers; and we would also like to continue to collaborate with students in our ongoing review process."
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- "I'll come and kill you": Misogynist thug launches sickening verbal attack on young woman on the bus
- Eurovision Song Contest 2023 to be shown on huge screens in Piccadilly Gardens
- Iconic celebrity nightclub could be returning to Deansgate
- Greater Manchester's first TGI Fridays was unlike anything customers had seen before
- Woman caught over drink-drive limit in BMW after 'two-and-a-half' glasses of prosecco claimed she was spiked by mystery men
