Report of racist incident sparks sadness and anger in UWindsor's science department

The University of Windsor's Faculty of Sciencedepartment issued a statement Wednesday evening via Twitterabout a reported incident in which one ofits students experiencedracism and discrimination.

While details of the incident remain unknown, the department said in its statement thatit's "deeply saddened and angered by this and other instances of anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-LGBTQ+, xenophobia, and all forms of racism."

"Racism causes pain to both individuals and communities. Our campus community must come together and stand in solidarity to fight against racism and intolerance," the statement reads.

The university has been under fire inthe last yearfor a number of race-related incidents, including one that took place last month, in whicha person was arrested for allegedly sending harassing online messagesto Black students and professors at the university, according to anti-racism groupExposeUWindsor.

In November2020, the universitydenounced Delta Chi fraternity's Windsor chapter forallegedly exchanging hateful messageswhich included racist and anti-Black comments.

Statement comesamid recent controversies

Just weeks before that, controversy arose when two professors usedthe N-word in class, causing outrage within the university community.

Last summer, following the death of George Floyd which fuelled a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the University of Windsor announced it wasgoing to take several measures to combat anti-Black racism on campus,

Since then, it has established an anti-Black racism task force, created an anti-Black racism website and has been reviewing the school's equity, diversion and inclusion infrastructure.

The law faculty also announcedseveral stepsit plans to take including hiring a clinical therapist to support Black-identifying students and creating more scholarships to support Black and racialized communities.

The university's Faculty of Science departmentsaid it established an equity, diversity and inclusion group last fall which is working to find ways to make the community a more inclusive environment for all.

The department encourages anyone who is struggling and needs supportto reach out for help and seek counselling services offered at the universityand in the community.