A Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) motion requiring the creation of Ethnic Minority Support Groups (EMSG) passed at the Union of Students in Ireland National Council (Comhairle Náisiúnta), in a recent meeting on the 20th of August.
Thanks to the work of TCDSU Welfare and Equality Officer Hamza Bana the College established the EMSG in March of this year. After passing this motion at the USI National Council (Comhairle Náisiúnta), other Irish universities will now follow suit.
In its report regarding this motion, the Comhairle stated that it is appalled by the lack of support that students from ethnic minorities receive on campuses across Ireland. As well as that, Comhairle praised the TCDSU Welfare and Equality officer; recognising Bana’s substantial part in establishing the Ethnic Minority support group at Trinity. Finally, they referred to Bana’s “How to Get a Black Therapist 101” manual for creating an Ethnic Minority support group. The guide outlines steps that need to be taken for the establishment of a support group on a university campus, such as securing university funding or finding a therapist, for which the service of Black Therapists Ireland (BTI) is recommended.
BTI is a network of Black therapists within Ireland, founded by Ejiro Ogbevoen that aims to provide mental health support that acknowledges diversity and upholds cultural values, by making therapists of black heritage available as a comforting and familiar presence for their clients during difficult times. BTI collaborated with TCDSU on the creation of the EMSG this March, providing their counselling services for weekly drop-in sessions.
In his guide Welfare and Equality Officer Hamza Bana stresses the necessity for the creation of these groups, citing a 2023 TCD survey which found that 90% of its students were in favour of an Ethnic Minority support group should be created. Out of the 90% of students who were in favour of ethnic minority support groups, 84.5% students responded that it is important that the facilitator of this group is a person of colour.
At the USI Council, Bana reaffirmed his reasoning, saying: “The reason why we’re doing this is we’re actually going to make steps into actually bringing equality into USI, bringing equality into Ireland, making sure people are being taken care of, whether the mental supports, whether the physical supports as well.”
