A Phil Udoma debate resulted in a mass walkout of People of Colour (POC) debate speakers in the midst of the debate. The walkout was initiated by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Welfare Officer Hamza Bana.
The controversy began when a debater told the audience that she experienced a committee member of the Phil making monkey noises in her direction during a council meeting.
The Udoma subcommittee holds debates that “aim to represent POC and Ethnic minorities in the spheres of debating, public speaking and discourse”. Following the debate on the motion “This house believes POC solidarity is impossible”, multiple members of the Phil’s Udoma committee spoke to The University Times about their personal experience of racism in the society.
During the debate, Hilary, debate convenor of the Udoma subcommittee, stated that “this will be my last debate”. She said, “I wasn’t allowed to be on council last year, because I was deemed too aggressive for first years and too unfriendly. Because when someone else was making monkey noises towards me on council, up there in council [pointing upwards], I stood up for myself.”
She referenced former TCDSU President Gabrielle Fullam’s statement about racism within the Hist, saying that “everything she said is true”. In the original statement, which was published as a manifesto during Hist auditor elections, Fullam stated, “In both my personal and professional capacity at the Hist, I was frequently subject to demeaning racist remarks.”
Speaking after the debate, Hilary said “as a Black woman I’ve definitely felt a strong anti-Black culture within the Phil”. She further continued that “institutions like the Phil and the Hist, especially in the GMB, have been historically built on racism”.
Anthony, the PRO Steward of the Phil and the Udoma subcommittee stated “hopefully they will wake up to the amount of racism that goes unnoticed”. He further stated that he is currently in the process of making a dignity and respect complaint to the Phil.
Hamza Assaf, a member of the Phil, stated he walked out with his fellow debaters to demonstrate “that we are not afraid to go against the pure, blatant racism in the Phil. When I say racism in the Phil […] I don’t mean that members of the Phil are inherently racist. I just mean that we have faced what is racism, and we call it what it is.”
He further continued “It’s no secret that [in] most chamber debates, it’s white speakers. All chamber debates, I’d say there’s only like one person of colour at most, or two if you’re lucky, that are on that week. So it does feel like as a person of colour in the Phil, you aren’t given the same hand as a regular white person in the Phil.”
Assaf, who is also a Hist committee member, shared that he has not experienced the same level of racism in the Hist as the Phil. He also stated that in the run-up to the debate, a senior Phil committee member expressed his concern regarding “the capability of speakers”.
“You wouldn’t ask that if it were a regular Phil chamber,” Assaf said. “That was just blatantly racist.”
An Udoma subcommittee member who wished to remain anonymous said via text messages “as a nonwhite immigrant, I found yesterday’s debate brought up a lot of my own experiences of being an ethnic minority, while also acknowledging the harsh reality that many of my own actions in the past may not have been as supportive of my fellow humans as they could have been”. He also added that he found what was revealed that night “worrying” as someone “new to debating”.
The debater clarified “In general, if you’re an Udoma subcommittee member, you’re not necessarily considered part of Phil council. This is the same for Phil members. Meetings for the Phil council and Udoma are often separate, but at its core we’re still dependent on the Phil for budget and sometimes event approvals”.
The Phil has an equity policy publicly available online which states that implicit and explicit racism in the society is not tolerated.
The Phil’s sent a statement regarding Thursday’s debate and the allegations made on that evening, writing that “it is vital to note that the Phil has a zero tolerance policy for racism and takes any allegation very seriously”.
The statement continued that “This is the first time this year these allegations have been raised to us and as a result our President and Senior Member of Council are currently investigating this matter along with the Dignity Respect and Consent Service”.
While the Phil says that the walkout was the first time allegations were made, it is unclear if they were referring specifically to Hilary’s allegations or to allegations of racism in the society as a whole.
“Furthermore to address the evening itself, the Udoma chamber debates are for both Udoma and Phil members and by the Udoma Council, with the support of the larger Phil council. Thursday’s debate was organised by our Udoma Chairs, Blessing Kaseem and Grace Kodia, with the support of myself, our President, Librarian and Auteur teams, along with their Udoma counterparts.”
The Phil went on to say that the speaker, likely in reference to Hilary, “is also a valued member of the society; she has been an active member since joining the college and will be representing the Phil for a second year in a row at the World University Debating Championships.”
“While Thursday’s walk-out caused a stir, the Udoma and the Phil will continue to be an inclusive space for people of colour, in pursuit of fostering a safe space for discourse for all.”
The allegations of racism made by multiple POC members of the Phil is at odds with the Phil’s statement that there is a zero tolerance policy for racism in the society.
The Phil’s statement was sent to The University Times on Saturday.
This article was updated on November 10th to include a statement from the Phil.
