The largest study of racism in Australian universities demands a response rooted in both civility and care, writes ACU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Zlatko Skrbis. Source: ACU.
There is a particular kind of leadership wisdom that announces itself quietly. Pope Leo XIV’s recent message for the season of Lent is exactly that kind of message.
Amid its reflections on fasting and prayer, it contains an observation that is modest in tone and considerable in implication: that one of the most meaningful forms of self-restraint available to us is the restraint of our own words.
To fast, Pope Leo suggests, from language that offends and hurts our neighbour. To resist rash judgment and refuse the habit of speaking ill of those who cannot defend themselves. And in place of those words, to deliberately and effortfully cultivate kindness, respect, and the willingness to truly listen and learn.
As a description of what university life at its best should look like, I find this rather compelling.
Last month, the Australian Human Rights Commission released the results of the Racism@Uni Study – the largest examination of racism in Australian universities ever conducted.
More than 76,000 students and staff across 42 universities participated, with some 70 per cent reporting they had experienced indirect racism, including hearing or seeing racist behaviour directed at their community.
Perhaps even more concerningly, only six per cent of those who experience direct racism ever make a formal complaint – many citing fear of consequences and distrust of institutional processes.
These findings deserve our full attention. Universities are a cross-section of society, and as geopolitical tensions ripple across the globe, their effects are felt on campuses, too. Fear and hurt do not stop at the university gate, and our obligation is to ensure they are not compounded once inside it.
ACU’s response to this begins with a conviction at the heart of our mission: that every human being carries inherent dignity – and that dignity is not partial, conditional or negotiable. This is a foundational belief, drawn from the Catholic understanding of human flourishing, which shapes everything we do.
Discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, religion or background is therefore a contradiction of our deepest institutional purpose. Such discrimination harms the notion of the common good, weakening the fabric of our society and our communities.
FULL STORY
Racism and restraint in university life (By Zlatko Skrbis, ACU)
