cw, potential tw/ racism: for a little context: I‘m white, have balkan roots and was born and raised in switzerland. For those of you that don‘t know, even though switzerland might seem „neutral“ to the world, the country is actually very much racist towards foreigners and immigrants (if you don‘t believe me, please look up the swiss peoples party, you‘ll understand.) The next thing you‘ll read will be all about that. I‘ve started my first year of uni last september and ever since then there is this one girl in my group that continues to say very racist and hurtful things about immigrants. Initially she thought that I was swiss, but later on I told her that I‘m actually from the balkans. Literally 5 minutes later she said, that immigrats should get deported and that switzerland needs to be switzerland again. Since then she always made some comments that made me feel very uncomfortable, but I don‘t have the guts to stand up for myself. I‘ve experienced racism quiet often in the past, such as being denied jobs because of my last name (even tho I had perfectly good grades and actually being good at my job), being made fun of and hearing racial slurs against me. So far it has never really bugged me because I was a child/teenager back then but now it is unbearable for me. This girl won‘t ever answer to any of my texts, never says thank you to me whenever I help her and actively excludes me from group work. I have been nothing but nice to her, since I believe everyone should be treated equally but she goes out of her way to say the most diabolical stuff I have ever heard. For example she said, that „foreign people should not be allowed to celebrate their home countrys national day, because you‘re in a different country now and if you feel like celebrating that then leave.“ ???? what even is that?? I know I am white, I am very privileged and I almost feel like I dont have the right to complain, since muslims and POC in switzerland are being descriminated against far more often. I just dont really know what to do anymore. I guess I didnt really need any advice, I just needed to rant a bit. Thanks for reading :)

I learned too late in life to be an advocate for myself. I think that is what you need to do. Be an advocate for yourself! If you are too nervous to confront the girl personally, let your professor know. Hopefully they will confront the girl and ask her to stop because it’s rude and inappropriate to speak that way. Or, at the very least, they won’t pair her up with you again. I’m really sorry you are experiencing this. And I know it’s hard to speak up for yourself but sometimes it is necessary.

Does your school have a diversity and inclusion policy, or anything about discrimination and making people feel welcome? Because if so, her comments and behavior are very much in violation of that and you should report her to a teacher. You can tell them she is making you feel excluded and unwelcome as well as discriminating against you because of your background. What you're experiencing is xenophobia and it's totally valid to feel frustrated with that.