“The international students never mingle.” “Their English is terrible.” “I hate walking behind international students because they walk so slow.” These are just a few of the phrases I’ve heard while I have been at university. I was surprised by the amount of subtle racism I encountered when I arrived three years ago to a place that I thought was going to be liberal, inclusive and universal. Yet racism towards international students is rarely acknowledged.

As a British-Chinese person at university, I quickly realised that people always assumed me to be an international student, even though I grew up in Rugby, Warwickshire.

'A demeaning environment': stories of racism in UK universities Read more

For example, one evening last year I was taking out cash from an ATM. I heard from behind me: “Why is Jackie Chan taking so long?” I had been there for a maximum of 20 seconds, but the student felt the need to say something that would highlight my race. I don’t think he was aware of his own racism or offensiveness, and his intent probably wasn’t to offend me but to make the girl he was with laugh.

Yet this is a perfect example of how microaggressions work in our society and how they are still racially charged, even though my fellow student probably wasn’t aware of how problematic he was being. His intent was to make a joke out of me, by bringing me down in order to lift himself up. Historically, this is not a new story: a white male trying to make others feel inferior to make himself feel superior.

Not every home-student is racist of course, but it is a big enough problem that I have been made to feel inferior or different in the country that I call home.

International students often find themselves the butt of a joke, because for home-students they are an easy target. English is usually a second language and their language abilities are often underestimated. Had the student at the ATM known I was also raised in Britain, would he have said the same thing out loud so confidently behind me? Probably not.

Having experienced the discrimination and prejudice that international students face, I feel it is time for all of us to acknowledge the importance of international students to our universities. They bring diversity, culture and knowledge, and not just to our universities but to our economy and society as well.

• Sam Phan, 22, is a recent graduate in modern languages at Sheffield University