I'm a brown woman who went to Cambridge. In my second year at Queens' college the JCR Committee (Junior Combination Room, ungrad reps) announced a special competition.
What is the sum of the number of letters in the last names of all the Sri Lankans in Queens'?
Why? Coz there were a darn too many of them and on average, they had 15 letters in each of their last names. Now, that was just 7 years ago.
Unless Queens' had a preference for Brown over Black or had a disproportionately large number of the Cam Lankans (which is didn't), I think that is a fairly good example of how prevalent all of us ethnics were around the University. I left uni with 6 good black friends and I wasn't even out looking for any of them! Desperately trying to get away from the masses of Indians, frankly, I was stretched to find adequate white company.
Does Oxford have a materially different representation? Cameron, I fear, did mess this one over. His reference to the sole black student admitted by Oxford in 2009 appeared to be missing the word "caribbean". Perhaps that should make it a more reasonable statistic however from my experience at Cam, which had a scholarship arrangement with Trinidad, there were a bus load more around. Why not ask the Oxford African society of their perspective? Does Oxford actually have a restrictive policy?
Well, given that applicants are selected at the individual college level rather than through some omnipotent University level admissions committee, this is unlikely. Getting 30+ colleges at either Ox or Cam to agree to anything is pretty challenging. To execute a unilateral, anti-black acceptance campaign seems preposterous.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was an element of self selection through which fewer black candidates applied to Oxford, even in comparison to Cambridge. It could be anything - arts reputation over a science orientation, etc. In my experience, the black students in Cambridge were Africans rather than Black Brits. There is an important difference. Black Africans who apply abroad, as any foreign student, are doing so from a very different platform to local students. Applying to a foreign university for them means a greater educational focus, scholarship or wealth. In being a local applicant, Black Brits don't need to compete at the same level and I think in many cases that is reality.
What this points to, once again, is a need for reform in the British education system so a comprehensive educated student can develop aspirations and the aptitude to attend university. Where Oxford and Cam perhaps fall short, is in how far they go in encouraging students to apply to them, beyond the top independent school presentations. But then, I don't really blame them. They have finite resources and targets and need to maximise their marketing potential. I don't expect them to replace their day at Eton with a day at Chatham High but perhaps on the back of this attack (another one!) they should consider changing their image. Moreover, projecting a more informed image of themselves where potential students of all backgrounds realise that they will have familiar company and that the door is open for all colours.
If the government wants to see more Black faces at Oxford, the government needs to provide a better system that delivers more worthy black candidates to Oxford. This black row is a lazy argument.
What is the sum of the number of letters in the last names of all the Sri Lankans in Queens'?
Why? Coz there were a darn too many of them and on average, they had 15 letters in each of their last names. Now, that was just 7 years ago.
Unless Queens' had a preference for Brown over Black or had a disproportionately large number of the Cam Lankans (which is didn't), I think that is a fairly good example of how prevalent all of us ethnics were around the University. I left uni with 6 good black friends and I wasn't even out looking for any of them! Desperately trying to get away from the masses of Indians, frankly, I was stretched to find adequate white company.
Does Oxford have a materially different representation? Cameron, I fear, did mess this one over. His reference to the sole black student admitted by Oxford in 2009 appeared to be missing the word "caribbean". Perhaps that should make it a more reasonable statistic however from my experience at Cam, which had a scholarship arrangement with Trinidad, there were a bus load more around. Why not ask the Oxford African society of their perspective? Does Oxford actually have a restrictive policy?
Well, given that applicants are selected at the individual college level rather than through some omnipotent University level admissions committee, this is unlikely. Getting 30+ colleges at either Ox or Cam to agree to anything is pretty challenging. To execute a unilateral, anti-black acceptance campaign seems preposterous.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was an element of self selection through which fewer black candidates applied to Oxford, even in comparison to Cambridge. It could be anything - arts reputation over a science orientation, etc. In my experience, the black students in Cambridge were Africans rather than Black Brits. There is an important difference. Black Africans who apply abroad, as any foreign student, are doing so from a very different platform to local students. Applying to a foreign university for them means a greater educational focus, scholarship or wealth. In being a local applicant, Black Brits don't need to compete at the same level and I think in many cases that is reality.
What this points to, once again, is a need for reform in the British education system so a comprehensive educated student can develop aspirations and the aptitude to attend university. Where Oxford and Cam perhaps fall short, is in how far they go in encouraging students to apply to them, beyond the top independent school presentations. But then, I don't really blame them. They have finite resources and targets and need to maximise their marketing potential. I don't expect them to replace their day at Eton with a day at Chatham High but perhaps on the back of this attack (another one!) they should consider changing their image. Moreover, projecting a more informed image of themselves where potential students of all backgrounds realise that they will have familiar company and that the door is open for all colours.
If the government wants to see more Black faces at Oxford, the government needs to provide a better system that delivers more worthy black candidates to Oxford. This black row is a lazy argument.
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