Croxford, 23, told BuzzFeed News that many students feel like a "nuisance or token" for wanting to discuss race, gender, intersectionality, and that the only option to write about BME writers exists as an optional "postcolonial paper".



"It is ridiculous that any English student can go through three years of their degree and never be confronted with race, colonial history or postcolonial thought," she said.

Croxford said that the letter was not a campaign, but an attempt to prompt further discussion in the faculty. "There are very few set texts in the course – there is no reason why white male authors will be excluded – and no call for that by the students." She also condemned the "vilification of the students involved".

"The interference of the media surrounding this issue [is] absurd," she said. "They should have no say in our curriculum – that’s for the students and academics.