Oxford University issued a hasty apology Thursday after people claimed its newsletter on “everyday racism” discriminated against autistic people.
Oxford released a newsletter last week claiming that a lack of eye contact could be considered a “racial micro-aggression,” reports BBC News. People came out to criticize the statement, saying it trivialized racism and did not take into account those with disabilities.
“This is just discrimination against autistic people. One sign of autism is avoiding eye contact. How dare Oxford be so insensitive,” David M. Davis said over Twitter.
The university responded to the criticism by apologizing for its error.
“We made a mistake. Our newsletter was too brief to deal adequately and sensibly with the issue,” the university said in a series of tweets. “We are sorry that we took no account of other reasons for difference in eye contact and social interaction, including disability.
The university’s newsletter also insisted that asking where someone is from is a form of micro-aggression and could cause mental health issues. (RELATED: University: You Might Be Racist If You Don’t Make Eye Contact)
“Some people who do these things may be entirely well-meaning, and would be mortified to realize that they had caused offence. But this is of little consequence if a possible effect of their words or actions is to suggest to people that they may fulfill a negative stereotype, or do not belong to,” the newsletter stated.
The university also reaffirmed their support for those with disabilities in their apology.
“Oxford deeply values and works hard to support students and staff with disabilities, including those with autism or social anxiety disorder,” the school said.
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