Newcastle University apologized to a medical student who was told her dress was too short during an exam.
The England-based university issued a public apology on Thursday after an initial Twitter post of the incident made headlines. A medical student friend first called out the university in June for perpetuating “sexist notions of primness.”
https://twitter.com/MedicGrandpa/status/1408474445694570496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408474445694570496%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-23968740401781154433.ampproject.net%2F2108280007001%2Fframe.html” data-analytics-module=”body_link
Newcastle University responded hours later and tagged the medical student in the statement on its official Twitter page.
“We want to apologise once again to @thegradmedic for any offence or distress caused by this incident.
A role-play patient made the comment as part of an exam. All comments made by patients in exams are passed on to students as feedback,” the university wrote.
—Newcastle University (@UniofNewcastle) September 9, 2021
Newcastle University continued that the student should not have received a yellow card for her outfit.
“However, we agree it should not have resulted in a yellow card from the examiner. This is why, when the concerns were raised with us by @thegradmedic earlier this year, they were investigated, and the yellow card was rescinded,” the statement read.
It concluded by saying Newcastle University would not want “to come away from these exams feeling remarks like this in any way reflect the values of the University and the issues will be addressed in future examination briefings.”