The Power of Support Networks for Minority Students: The story of ACHN
The chances of Amaryllis Lee, a bachelor student in Applied Artificial Intelligence at Hogeschool Utrecht, and Makeda Ferguson, a master student in Sustainable Business and Innovation at Utrecht University, crossing paths were slim, were it not for the African and Caribbean Heritage Network (ACHN). Makeda, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, co-founded ACHN in 2021 to provide a network for students like Amaryllis to feel at home while being away from her native Aruba. “When I got to know ACHN, I just felt in love with being around people who looked like me, enjoyed the same music and shared similar experiences. I didn’t have to be hypervigilant. I could just laugh and relax.”
Choosing where to study abroad sometimes happens on a whim. For Makeda Ferguson, a presentation about University College Utrecht at her high school convinced her. Amaryllis Lee’s sister was already studying in the Netherlands, making it an obvious choice for her. But for both, the decision was fraught with uncertainty.
I had to mentally prepare myself to be a minority.
“I had looked up other universities in the UK and the US. They all had groups for African/Caribbean/black students, but I didn’t see that at Utrecht University. I knew that probably meant that I wouldn’t be well represented here. And that scared me,” says Makeda, a 26-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago. “I had to mentally prepare myself to be a minority here.”
But it is one thing to expect being underrepresented by your ethnicity or skin colour; quite another to experience it. “The first time I saw a person of colour in class was in my second year,” says Makeda. “Nothing really prepares you for the moment when you stand out from the crowd.”
It wasn’t long before she and five other girls decided to set up the African and Caribbean Heritage Network (ACHN). They wanted to make it easier for people of African or Caribbean descent studying or working in Utrecht to find each other. “There wasn’t a lot of mixing across faculties. I thought more people with similar backgrounds and cultures were missing out on meeting each other,” she explains.
Research suggests that social support networks can protect against the effects of discrimination, or unfair treatment based on individual characteristics such as race or skin colour. ACHN was partly conceived to fulfill that role, says Makeda. “We wanted to offer a safe space for people who are a minority in a predominantly white university, so they could feel seen and heard, and share their experiences without being the exception.”
Makeda’s own experiences underscore the need for such a network, but she isn’t comfortable sharing some of them in the open. “It feels very exposing for me to have everyone who reads this know that it happened to me. But I’ll say this, in many of those instances, it was painful to see that nobody stood up for me. That it had to be my responsibility to correct inappropriate behaviour.”
Like that time after an English-taught class. “The conversation continued in the hallway. All of a sudden, one colleague switched to Dutch. I didn’t speak Dutch. Everyone knew that. And even though I was there, they kept speaking in Dutch the entire time,” Makeda explains. “To me, that felt like active exclusion.”
Utrecht University provides an institutional framework to prevent discrimination and support students and staff if that is the case. If confronted with inappropriate behaviour, they can file a complaint, report it to a Confidential Advisor or other appointed contact points. But Makeda believes that is just the beginning in the long-term game of institutional culture change. According to her, effective prevention and combating of discrimination require everyone at the university to understand what exclusion looks like.
“Exclusion can be more or less obvious, even to the victims,” Makeda explains. “We often excuse discriminatory behaviour as a tactless comment made out of insensitivity or plain ignorance.” That’s why ACHN remains relevant. “Having the space to share those individual experiences with inappropriate behaviour help you realise that it’s not just your experience. It’s common. And it’s shared.”
Even though I'm technically Dutch, I wasn’t considered a Dutch person here.
Discrimination can put people at a clear disadvantage, often in less visible ways. As an Aruban, Amaryllis Lee was supposed to have a relatively easy start in the Netherlands. She didn’t require any special visa, she spoke the language and was somewhat familiar with Dutch culture. But when the 18-year-old arrived to start her bachelor’s at Hogeschool Utrecht, things were different.
“At that time, Dutch Caribbeans weren’t allowed to get a BSN [Citizen Service Number]. Without it, you’re not allowed to get a Dutch bank account or healthcare insurance. Even though I’m technically Dutch, I wasn’t considered a Dutch person here,” says Amaryllis.
Eventually she got her residence permit, but had to go through unnecessary stress and worry while pursuing her bachelor’s degree and trying to settle in a new country. “I came to the Netherlands almost as a child and found myself with a lot of adult responsibilities. It was especially hard because I didn’t have a support system,” she explains. “So when I got to know ACHN, I just fell in love with being around people who looked like me, enjoyed the same music and shared similar experiences. I didn’t have to be hypervigilant. I could just laugh and relax. It gave me a warm, homely feeling.”
That sense of belonging was so impactful that Amaryllis wanted to share it with others. She took over from Makeda and is now one of ACHN’s board members. For her, ACHN plays a crucial role in increasing the representation of people of colour at Utrecht University and Hogeschool Utrecht. “Our public display assures people of colour that they are welcome here. That they won’t be alone. And that can increase the likelihood of them coming here,” says Amaryllis.
By opening the network to everyone, regardless of their background, she hopes the network can raise intercultural awareness among students and staff to help make the university more inclusive. “If people don’t have contact with other cultures, how else would they acquire the level of empathy and understanding necessary to prevent discrimination?”, she asks. “As a student, you have all these contact points for support, but the appointed staff need to be culturally adept; otherwise these spaces may not feel safe enough for everyone. For many of us, it can even be difficult to know how or in which specific situations to ask for help.”
To enrich understanding into African and Caribbean cultural heritage, ACHN organizes various activities and events, including the Traces of Slavery City Tour or movie nights for Black History Month. While ACHN doesn’t shy away from tough discussions, the network is also about celebrating the wealth of diversity and having fun. As Amaryllis reasons: “Caribbean, African or not, we just want to be students like everybody else - to cook together, go out dancing, partying, and meet new people. And I think that’s valid too. Otherwise, you put a lot of pressure on affected individuals to having to change discriminatory behaviours, when that should be everyone’s responsibility.”
