It is actually astonishing what kind of whirlwind a quotation can trigger that, on closer inspection, is a matter of course. SPD leader Saskia Esken had told the newspapers of the Funke media group in Germany at the beginning of June that there was “latent racism in the ranks of the security forces” – and was met with such violent protests that days later she was forced to make it clear that it was not their intention was to “suspect” the police officers.
Esken hadn’t done that at all. She had never said that all police officers, or even the majority of officials, were racists.
The terrifying thing is: if someone came along and announced that there was no racism in the ranks of the security forces, they would probably cause less indignation than Esken with their sentence. And that’s the real problem.
It is not just the police who are well placed to question disadvantage mechanisms
Instead of looking at the Black Lives Matter protests in the USA like events from another star, it would be good not only for the police, but also for other social institutions in Germany, to actively question their own prejudices and established disadvantage mechanisms.
Because of course they exist because they exist in our society. They are also available at universities. And they may even be more pronounced there than in some other countries.
95 percent of university rectors have a German passport
A few figures: 79 percent of university rectors and 76 percent of university presidents were male in 2019. Around 95 percent had a German passport. And anyone who has ever been to a meeting of the Rectors’ Conference knows that people with a history of immigration meet there almost only when clearing dishes.
This should not be a criticism of the rectors. Because they are recruited from a professorship whose demographics are almost identical. And: The vast majority of university lecturers also come from academic families.
“More diversity” is still seen as a threat to “excellence”
Of course that has consequences. For example, that many professionals still see any debate about “more diversity” as a threat to “quality standards” and “excellence” rather than as a requirement. And quite a few of these university lecturers attribute their own careers solely to their outstanding achievements and in no way to their privileged origins. Is it really just ignorance?
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Fortunately, the proportion of women in the professorship is increasing. But does that also apply to the number of university lecturers with Turkish, Russian or Nigerian surnames? And if no, why is that? And what does it lead to among the students? How comfortable do young people who look, feel or think differently than the overwhelming majority of their professors really feel at the universities? How welcome do you feel, how supported in your career aspirations?
One thing is certain: universities cannot become inclusive places only by resolutely rejecting physical or verbal violence or by invoking formal equal opportunities.
The author is a journalist for education and lives in Berlin. On his blog www.jmwiarda.de he comments on current events in schools and universities.
