Durham Uni withdraws three offers for incoming freshers over racist group chat

27 comments

1. “Messages with a strong anti-immigrant rhetoric were sent by Alex including: “I hate immigrants” and “Immigrants fucking suck, apart from the good ones”.”

   Clearly the best and the brightest…

2. Good. Being a racist dickhole should lose you opportunities in life.

3. Don’t put anything that could get you fired or lose you an opportunity in a group chat with your name attached to it. This is basic stuff.

4. Painful reading the response from this guy called Alex. Sounds like a prick

5. >Created by incoming students as an unofficial Freshers’ group chat for 2024/25 offer holders, screenshots from the WhatsApp group were sent to Durham University after members began using slurs and other derogatory language.

   How stupid can you be? Even ignoring the content of what they’re saying, if they’re happy to say that in a group chat full of other incoming students that they’ve never met then what would they be willing to say in person? No wonder they had their offer withdrawn.

6. Look at him trying to weasel his way out of it. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal to be openly homophobic and racist!” Yeah, okay buddy.

7. It’s wild that those people have the confidence to say the edgy shite they did not just in a friends group chat but in a massive one with a bunch of strangers with your name and picture.

8. I see that they’ve lowered their admissions standards…

9. Good the university could teach these twats one lesson that actions have consequences.

10. I hate how the headline just labels it as a racist chat. The media are really trying to stir racism up. These guys were complete cunts to others and should have no place studying alongside others.

    “Durham University has withdrawn its offer of study to three prospective students following the use of racist, homophobic, ableist and misogynistic comments made in an unofficial offer holders group chat.

    In screenshots seen by The Durham Tab, one person used “t*rd” and “f*ggot” to address other members of the chat, well as using emojis to spell “n***a”.”

11. I can’t see which banned student said “how come America has so many Jewish “people” in the Senate, in Hollywood”?

    Was it decided that that comment didn’t cross the line?

12. Lockdown teenagers coming of age having spent too much on their formative years on edgy corners of the internet

13. First they came for the edgelords, and I did not speak out, for I was not an edgelord.

14. > f****t” and “fr****t”

    Maybe I’m just naive or im getting old, but I can’t for the life of me work out which slurs these are

15. The statements they’ve all made to the Tab in response look very lawyered.

16. Who could have guessed that being a fucking racist can have a bad effect on your life?

17. Are half of these crimes? Some may not fall foul of the malicious communications act, but I’m pretty sure the communications act which was brought in after doesn’t require intent to be proven

18. Good. If they don’t like immigrants, they can find a university that doesn’t rely on the fees paid by international students to subsidize their home undergrads.

    I’m sure one exists somewhere.

19. When you see the excuses in their statements you know these idiots learned nothing. There is no “context” in which the words they used become just a joke. This sounds like a bunch of privately educated schoolboys who have yet to encounter real life and for whom there has never been any consequences.

    If they are not careful. Real life gonna f*** ‘em up.

20. > The offer holder also expressed classist sentiments, sending the message: “Why should the poor be able to repopulate?”, later referring to low income individuals as “bloody breeders”.

    I see a career in politics ahead!

21. I spent far too long wondering what is so offensive about turd.

22. Durham has a lot of inbred posh boys with a chip on their shoulder

23. There are a lot of students who share the same rhetoric, one form or another. Others would even go to lengths of creating dog whistles and mental gymnastics to justify their support extreme views. Yes, you can critique the government’s immigration policies without resorting to this kind of rhetoric. Unfortunately, student GCs harbour such infantile and idiot characters that push this narrative. This is also the reason why I avoid such group chats and stick only to official school channels.

24. Its amazing how often this happens. We withdrew an offer for a student who was being incredibly sexist in a Freshers chat…like seriously what an idiot.

25. Should be sent back to primary school to get an education more on their level. 

26. Not to worry lads. I’m sure spending the next 40 years of your life asking “would you like fries with that?” Will be wonderful and fulfilling

27. No one has asked the real question? Wtf is a vanilla gorilla??