Racism in sports, when combined with alcohol, is more present than ever now and as a society overall we need to work together to eradicate it. This may take time but as a Union, we can take the first step towards this overall goal. I do believe that stricter punishments need to happen for incidents.
I want to introduce a better understanding of the WIDE training for all committee members especially focusing in more on microaggressions and how actions like these can lead to a breeding ground for ignorance and racist ideas which is not what, as a union, we stand for. I would also want to include within the WIDE the repercussions that events like this can have on students later in life as ‘ banter’ that was seen here will now be following all those involved for the rest of their lives. There should be a zero-tolerance policy against racism incidents and any clubs found doing so should face harsher consequences.
As a current president of a sporting society, I have been working alongside the union to try to bring sports to everyone and if elected VP Sport, I will continue to do so by improving participation to all sports clubs for LGBTQ+, BAME as well as disabilities and continuing to push the important message of inclusivity within sport. I would like to do this by creating events to help encourage inclusion in conjunction with WIDE training to continue to build a safe environment for everyone to participate.
Celebrating our athletes is very important to me, not only women in sports but BAME, disabilities and the LGBTQ+ communities as well. I would love to see, not only the competitive teams being recognised, but I want to celebrate those who partake in intramural teams and all of their sporting achievements by utilising our social media platforms and creating a Team Southampton app that will improve communication within societies, clubs and the information provided to everyone to give everyone the recognition and community that they deserve.
We use expect respect for a reason, not just a banner to fly outside. We truly mean that everyone should be treated with respect and give respect.
This question was also asked to Samuel Tweedle, Luke JefferiesAnswered by Kiera on 27/02/20 12:11