Two Sheffield universities are investigating four allegations of racism, including claims a black student was hit with a banana during an ice hockey game.

Tyrell Pearce, a PE student at Sheffield Hallam University, said a supporter of rival Sheffield University threw a banana at him at a match last month.

He said it was “the most racially abused I have been in my whole life”.

Three other incidents allegedly took place at Hallam library, according to Luke Renwick, president of Sheffield Hallam University students union.

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One student claimed that someone had written on a library whiteboard that there were “Too many Asians (Brown ones)”, Renwick said on his blog. The comment had been left under a message from the library asking students for feedback, according to a report in the National Student online.

Another said they had been called a monkey by a member of staff after forgetting their student card. This prompted an allegation from another student that the same member of staff may have been racist to someone else the previous week.

Pearce told a student publication that he was wearing Hallam-branded clothing in a section of the ice hockey arena mostly populated by Sheffield University fans when he was hit.

When his friends, both Sheffield University students, went to get some drinks, the problems began.

“A few minutes after they left I felt something hit the top of my head. But I didn’t turn around,” he told the Tab.



“I chose to ignore it until I looked down and saw that it was a rotten banana. And I had the contents of this banana all over my head.

“Immediately I got up and people were shocked as they realised what had been thrown. I knew the direction the banana came from, I shouted: ‘Who threw the banana?’ very angrily, as this is the most racially abused I have been in my entire life.”

The student who claims to have been called monkey at Hallam library told the Tab that he was racially abused by a security guard after forgetting his student card. He said the guard in question got frustrated with him because he suffered from ADHD and regularly forgot his things.

The student, who has not been named, told the Tab: “He proceeded to let me in then turned to his colleague as I walked away and said: ‘You know I get annoyed with that monkey,’ referring to me as the ‘monkey’. I was in complete shock and upset at the way he casually said it.”



In a statement Renwick said: “In the last four weeks alone, I have been made aware of four separate incidents on our campus or at a university event where a student has allegedly been subjected to racism.”

A Sheffield University spokesman said its investigation into the banana incident was ongoing and that it would be inappropriate to comment.

Renwick said the timelag was unacceptable for those involved to wait and called on both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University to hold an extraordinary/emergency meeting of the varsity steering group to discuss the case.

“If we are to take racism allegations seriously, we have to deal with it swiftly and robustly, communicate this back to students and show we are serious in tackling racism with our actions, not just words. Students have a right to know that we are taking these issues seriously and that they’re not being swept under the carpet,” said Renwick.

He would be addressing the issues in a meeting with Hallam’s vice-chancellor on Wednesday, he said, and had also been in contact with the provost of Sheffield Hallam, Christina Hughes.

“University campuses are not the bastion of acceptance and equality that they’re purported to be and that is a reality we all need to face,” said Renwick.

A Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson said: “The recent incidents that have taken place involving our students are in the process of being thoroughly investigated and where possible, action will be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening again. We are in direct communication with those affected by these incidents.

“We take any incident regarding racism, hate speech or other abusive acts extremely seriously. Incidents such as this will never be tolerated by the University and appropriate action will be taken against perpetrators where they can be identified.”