By Emily McKay and Amelia McGlynn
The University has reacted swiftly to reports of racist graffiti on campus, The Gaudie reports.
On Tuesday 25th of February at noon, a fourth year student noticed a piece of racially motivated graffiti on a pavement slab close to campus’s King’s College. The concrete block stated the words “WHITE POWER”. It looked to have been written in chalk or etched into the stone by a sharper object.
Upon the graffiti’s identification, the student quickly reported the words to the University’s online reporting tool. Within 45 minutes of the initial report, the Deputy Head of Student Support Services responded to the incident, seeking the exact location and an image of the graffiti to be recorded.
The staff member stated that the University’s estates and security team would investigate the hate speech, remove it if possible and be vigilant for any future occurrences similar to this one. This incident has also been passed along to Police Scotland for their awareness and action. The exchange concluded with the student being offered multiple support resources.
When the witness returned to the site of the graffiti later that day at around 4pm, another iteration of the message was identified further up the street, which had not been initially spotted. It appeared to have been splashed with water. The racist message was still legible after the attempted removal. It is not known whether this iteration of the statement was attempted to be removed by University staff.
The Gaudie spoke to the student who identified the racist graffiti:
“Although I’m white myself I thought it was important to report this immediately. Just because it doesn’t target me personally doesn’t mean I should’ve ignored it – otherwise, I’m just as responsible as the person who wrote it.
No one should feel unsafe or unwelcome in their place of learning and I hope whoever wrote it can be held accountable and educated.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) reported that between 2023 and 2024, racially motivated hate crime statistics have risen in the last two years by almost 5% in Scotland.
The online reporting tool is available to all staff and students who wish to alarm the University to any incidents throughout campus. When an individual reports online, they can do so either anonymously or select the option of being contacted by a member of student support. They are then asked to briefly describe the type of incident, details of what happened and who/what it involved. This particular message comes under the terms of a hate crime, as it promotes racist ideals that encourage violence against marginalised groups.
The University and Police Scotland are both aware of the issue and vigilant to ensure it does not happen again. Information about the graffiti was also passed along to the University’s student-led Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) Forum.
The University’s online reporting tool can be found here: abdn.ac.uk/online-reporting-tool/
Other support resources: student.support@abdn.ac.uk; hr@abdn.ac.uk