A group of Māori and Pacific Island students is calling on universities to do more to break down barriers of discrimination.
They say thousands of non-Pākehā students face a brick wall of casual racism on campus.
Students Sam Manuela and Sehar Moughal talk about racism and identity on campus as part of the 'I, Too, Am Auckland' campaign. Photo: SUPPLIED
A series of videos exploring racism faced by university students from different ethnic backgrounds is being launched today by the 'I, Too, Am Auckland' campaign.
It's the second project by the group, which hopes to generate conversations about the experiences of non-Pākehā students.
Each video is comprised of two students asking each other questions about their identities.
They both come from different backgrounds but share one thing in common: both have faced racism on campus.
Sam Manuela, of Cook Island and European descent, featured on one of the videos, describing encounters he has had in his faculty.
"They were all Pākehā students; one of them was talking about his first time that he went to Papatoetoe."
"He said 'You know, the place is just so hori, everyone's so hori', and I turned around and said 'what do you mean by hori'?"
Mr Manuela, who is currently finishing a PhD in psychology, said the dialogue was important, because it provided a space to talk frankly about shared experiences of discrimination.
"I think it speaks quite widely to the experiences that a lot of people do face in New Zealand.
"No matter what kind of background you come from, the discrimination is still the same, and it's still the same story."
Mr Manuela and Ms Moughal talk to each other about their experiences. Photo: SUPPLIED
Law student and tutor Piakura Tiraa Passfield said there was a backlash within her department against students who came through the Māori and Pacific scholarship programme known as the Targeted Admissions Scheme.
She said trying to dispel racist views about the pathway could often be frustrating.
"I've had these conversations before where I get quite frustrated or I get angry, and people are like 'well, maybe if you were explaining it in a nicer way'."
But she said it was hard to explain to people who weren't willing to listen in the first place.
"I just think it's very unfair to put that burden on Māori and Pacific students when they're the ones who are at the brunt of this."
That, she said, should be the university's role.
"There's a lot of negativity around people at the top of Law School doing these kinds of tokenistic gestures so that they can wipe their hands clean and be like 'well look, we've got these things in place, we've done our job'.
"No, if you've done your job, you'd make sure the attitudes that follow aren't negative ones."
'It definitely impacts your study'
An Auckland University graduate from Hawaii said her experience studying in Dunedin varied drastically.
"My experience down there was a lot more friendly than the Auckland experience, which is shocking because it's whiter.
"The dean makes a conscious effort down there to include all students and get them talking, so there's less segregation."
She said not feeling welcomed made it difficult to work in a university environment.
"Just how you feel in the classroom determines who you're going to feel comfortable working with, whether you approach the lecturer. It definitely impacts your study."
Green Party MP Marama Davidson, right, speaks to a colleague after being sworn into Parliament in November 2015. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Green Party MP Marama Davidson also spoke at the launch event, recalling her own experience as a Māori woman on campus.
"The late professor Nin Tomas opened up her law lecture with a Māori mihi, a very brief and appropriate one.
"But a young Pākehā male behind me took exception to that, and arrogantly blurted out 'this is not a Māori language class'.
"That was my introduction to university."
She said many students from non-Pākehā backgrounds felt public spaces, like the university, weren't created for them.
"Generally the world is a white space, and that's how it has been for a long time.
"It takes some courage and bravery, I think, for people who identify with anything other than white to be able to feel comfortable and valid, that they have a valid place in these institutions."
Ms Davidson said universities reflected society, and everyone has a role to play in actively fighting against racism both on and off campus.
