British | Caribbean
In the context of the University of Oxford, we hope our names; faces and stories will emphasise that there is a place for everyone at Oxford. According to last year’s admissions data, 700 Oxford undergraduates identify as mixed. In 2016, BAME students accounted for 15.9% of the undergraduate intake. Oxford is diversifying, albeit slowly. We hope to empower mixed heritage students at Oxford and foster a community where they can safely share their own opinions, experiences and stories.
I identify as mixed-race, White British and Black Caribbean. I think unfortunately there is an array of challenges faced by young mixed-race people still today, and most mixed-race people will have experienced them. Especially for girls, there can be a continuous stream of comments about your appearance, whether you’re fetishised as being exotic and unique, or told that you think you’re too good for someone because you’re light-skinned. Having that kind of rhetoric present for your entire life definitely effects the way you view yourself, especially in those formative teenage years where all I wanted was to look like all my other friends. The diversity of Oxford was definitely a consideration when deciding whether to attend, I wanted to make sure I was going somewhere where I would meet people form a lot of different cultures and backgrounds, and I had some doubts as to whether Oxford would provide that experience. I consider myself a relatively observant person, but I don’t want to make assumptions about people’s motives for odd behaviour. I’ll say that whilst not experiencing anything more malicious than I have before, there are small things that happen repeatedly in everyday life that I notice, such as being tagged into a debate I’ve not been involved in to speak for all PoC on a certain issue. Oxford has a long way to go with a lot of aspects, but I honestly believe there are serious efforts being made. I have so far felt exceptionally welcome and included, but there’s still more that could be done. Unfortunately, I feel that my experience at Oxford has made me less aware of my status as mixed-race, on the basis that ethnic minorities can often be all conflated into one group for the purposes of debate or general discourse. However, I do think this is something that has been relieved greatly by being a member of Oxford Mixed Heritage Society. It has provided me with a sense of community and belonging.
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