“They’re completely self-obsessed, they think that they’re the most important place in the world, and they think that everybody else is thinking about them”. Surprisingly, this isn’t a quote about Oxford; this was former Deputy PM Nick Clegg’s description of the 3 bubbles of the EU, Parliament, and Silicon Valley.
Now Nick Clegg is far from representative of my upbringing, but something about that bubble analogy really resonated with how I felt first entering Oxford. It was a complete culture shock.
I remember spending the whole matriculation day thinking I didn’t belong here, a thought that stuck through Michaelmas. However, as time went on, I found my people, my voice, and my place in Oxford. So – how did we come from the Bullingdon Club culture to the Oxford we have today? Of course, Oxford has its issues, but I’d argue that the Oxford of today is better than it was 10 years ago. I spoke to 3 people about their Oxford experience and how represented they feel at Oxford.
The first of these was my friend, Robyn Patterson, a 2nd year French student at Worcester College. One of the wonders of Oxford is meeting incredible people from all walks of life. Robyn is one of those people. She’s from Antrim in Northern Ireland and there aren’t many people from Northern Ireland at Oxford:
“I’ve always lived in a council estate in Northern Ireland, two things which I don’t come across often at Oxford.” she says, with only 2 other students from Northern Ireland in her year at Worcester.
“In freshers I struggled quite a lot with being so far from home – I couldn’t just pop home like some of my peers, it was the first time I had been so separated from the rest of my family, without home comforts”
For Robyn, her role as the President of the Ice Skating Society has helped her break down the barriers Oxford offers beyond initial access, giving her friends and a community beyond the college walls that helped her comfortably settle in.
I also spoke to Rosie Crawford, an Archaeology and Anthropology graduate, whose YouTube videos whilst at university inspired me to apply. It was a real ‘pinch me’ moment hearing her journey firsthand, especially as someone who grew up watching her YouTube Videos:
“I was pretty set on going to the University of Manchester and staying at home to keep costs down. But then Oxford appeared as the first search result. My Mum laughed. She said something along the lines of “Well, at least we know we can ignore that one”, and that’s when I decided I was going to apply. Even if I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I had the audacity to back myself”.
Whilst here, Rosie says working in her college bar helped her meet her people. Now, she’s still sharing her journey in education on her YouTube channel, having completed her master’s on a full scholarship, and now works her dream job in archaeological science research at the University of Cambridge.
As an Oxford survivor, Rosie gave some wise advice: “Oxford is hard… like really hard: if you need time to breathe, take it.”
I also had the pleasure of speaking to Matthew Williams, Jesus College’s Access Fellow. Coming here for his master’s and doctorate in politics, Matthew became a lecturer in a few colleges, becoming Jesus’ Access Fellow in 2016.
Asking Matthew about his struggles at Oxford, he said “I have always suffered from high anxiety, so imposter syndrome hit me hard and fast at Oxford! I find the best way around it is to be open and honest”.
It was refreshing to hear a staff member openly talking about this. It’s comforting, in a sense, to know that the people who teach you also have been through similar issues and can relate.
Upon asking Matthew for his advice to state school students at Oxford, he said: “Oxford has this reputation for snobbery that dies hard. I was actually really scared of it too. The last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by insecure snobs, looking down their noses at state educated students.
I was pleasantly surprised at how kind and open-hearted Oxford is. Far from being a cold finishing school for some jet- setting elite, it is a genuinely caring institution that wants to save the world. In order to do that, we need all talents to chip in”.
There’s a community of state educated people, from students and alumni, to staff, at Oxford. You’re represented at Oxford and you belong here.
