The University of Manchester (UoM) has launched an investigation into allegations a member of staff said the n-word in lectures and seminars.
After a group of students, named UoM Black Students Matter, published an open later this week claiming that the city’s largest university allows members of its staff to “say the n-word” during lecturers and seminars, the University of Manchester has confirmed an investigation has now been launched and is currently ongoing.
The university says it has “been made aware” of the open letter this week, and is now investigating the matter “as a priority”.
UoM Black Students Matter’s letter was published on Monday (13 February), and details a number of alleged instances in which the n-word was used during education contact hours – which the group says caused “distress to black students”.
Allegations referred to in the open later, and the walk-outs staged as a result, largely refer to the University of Manchester’s French Department.
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Investigation launched over claims University of Manchester staff ‘says n-word’ in lectures / Credit: University of Manchester
The group claims in the letter that one student, who wishes to remain anonymous, left a seminar where the n-word was used and “cried walking down Oxford Road”, and although it’s revealed in the letter that this alleged instance was reported to the university and an apology was offered to the student, the anonymous student was said to have refused a private apology and requested a written one instead – yet the group claims the student did not receive this.
In another instance referred to in the open lecture, another student who wished to remain anonymous said that Dr Barbara Lebrun from the French Department had said the “violently anti-black slur ‘n***** in both French and English”, The Mancunion reports.
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The student also said “Barbara is completely aware of the distress this causes Black students and yet continues to use that racial slur”.
“We really did not think it would come to us having to write this,” the group’s open letter reads.
“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’.”
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The institution says it is investigating the allegations “as a priority” / Credit: University of Manchester
Initially addressing the publishing of the open letter and confirming the launch of the investigation, a UoM spokesperson said this week: “We have been made aware of the letter and the events during the lecture and we are investigating as a priority.
“We are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in all of our activities.”
The University of Manchester has been until Friday 20 February by the group to respond to the letter.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Andy Burnham declares 2025 as Manchester’s year for ‘restoring local control’
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has declared 2025 as the year where our region continues on its journey to ‘restore local control’.
With only a day of 2024 left to go, the Greater Manchester Mayor has been reflecting back on the past 12 months, and is now setting some goals and intentions for the new year – which he expects to be a “busy” one full of change and historic milestones, starting with the introduction of Bee Network buses to the southern part of Greater Manchester from 5 January.
“Four decades of deregulation will be over,” Mr Burnham declared. “We will finally be back in charge of our entire bus network.”
The Mayor says that completing this first phase of the transport network “on time and on budget” is a “huge achievement” for the region, and he hopes this means that 2025 can “begin on a much-needed optimistic note”
“It proves things can indeed be fixed, moved forward, and made to work better,” he added.
Andy Burnham has declared 2025 as Manchester’s year for ‘restoring local control’ / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
Looking ahead beyond the first week of the new year, this is where the Mayor is keen to tackle train travel, housing, and education across the region.
Once all the region’s buses are under local control, Mr Burnham will be shifting his transport focus onto phase two of the Bee Network – which involves integrating eight commuter rail lines by 2028 – as he claims “we all know the railways can’t continue in their current chaotic state”.
When it comes to housing, you may remember that 2024 was the year Andy Burnham declared as the time for Greater Manchester to “get serious about housing”, but its 2025 where some of the most crucial changes are set to take place, especially with the upcoming introduction of the GM Good Landlord Charter in May.
One week today, GM will make the biggest change yet to our buses – completing re-regulation on time and on budget.
This flurry of delivery should set the tone for the rest of 2025.
In a bid to “show a new determination to face up to the housing crisis”, Mr Burnham is urging all politicians to speak explicitly about ‘Council housing’ instead of just saying ‘social housing’, as this is what he feels will help to restore local control to the system once and for all.
Beyond that, the Mayor says local residents should expect to hear much more in the new year about the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate or MBacc – which is Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) plan for an equal alternative to the university route.
Mr Burnham says Greater Manchester is going into 2025 “with a spring in our step and a can-do spirit” that he hopes becomes “infectious” to the rest of the UK.
“If the local control achieved with our buses starts to bring similar benefits to housing and skills, then perhaps the country can draw a line under these dysfunctional recent times and start to look to the future with more confidence and optimism,” he concluded.
Featured Image – GMCA
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‘Unsettled week’ of wind, rain, and snow could greet Mancs into the new year
Thomas Melia
A mix of weather conditions could be expected to hit the north across the new year weekend – including wind, rain, and snow.
As Greater Manchester prepares to enter 2025, it looks like we’ll be bringing our usual moody weather along with us too, as starting today and running right through until the end of this week, Mancs can expect some not-so-pleasant conditions to accompany this party season.
The Met Office has described this period as ‘an unsettled week’.
While forecasters are encouraging people to keep checking for further weather updates where possible, thankfully, this turbulent spell of weather is only predicted to stick around until Thursday (2 January) – with no warnings issued for this Friday (3 January) or the weekend so far.
As we move from 2024 to 2025 the week ahead will involve plenty of rain, wind and some snow
If you have any plans over the New Year/Hogmanay period then check out all the important weather details below ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/qllOnV0cDX
In a video shared to the Met Office’s X account, the visual shows that the most severe cases of wet and windy conditions look like on New Year’s Day itself (Wednesday 1 January), where there is even some snow forecasted for certain areas.
“Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week,” warned Andy Page, who is the Chief Forecaster at the Met Office.
He continued: “With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
Emily Sergeant -
15th February 2023 
