I am sure that the scenes of violence and rioting that we have seen across the UK over recent days have been deeply shocking for all in our community. These actions go against everything we believe in and can only strengthen our determination to ensure that our university community is welcoming, safe and inclusive for all.
We are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone in our community is treated with dignity and respect. Any form of violence, intimidation, discrimination or harassment is unacceptable – either physically or online – and has no place at ARU.
We have a comprehensive security system and if you feel unsafe at any time, please speak to our Safety & Security team, contact them via SafeZone, or visit Emergency help and crisis support. And, if you have been affected by any incident of harassment or discrimination, please report it by visiting Harassment support at ARU.
If there is any support that ARU can offer you, please let us know: we’re here to support you. You might want to speak to our Counselling and mental health support team or visit Health and wellbeing where you can find details of the support you need.
We will do everything we can to ensure our students and staff feel safe and will act when members of our community feel threatened or if we believe the law has been broken.
Please also take the time to check in with each other, as being thoughtful and considerate can make a real difference to those who are most affected by these distressing events.
We are also reminding students and staff about our social media guidelines, to ensure that ARU remains a safe, inclusive and respectful space.
We will be monitoring the situation closely and will continue to provide support and updates. As I have said before, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is our priority and we are committed to securing racial equality at ARU – nothing less is acceptable.
Professor Roderick Watkins
Vice Chancellor
7 August 2024