Anyone see Oxford's big story yesterday?

[moseleymum]

I don't think the point was to "sell newspapers". The point was that intelligent young people who have managed to get a place at a coveted institution have felt disappointed by the ignorance of other (seemly intelligent) people at the same place.

Rather than be treated on your merits and academic success, they have been made to feel as if they did not really belong (I.e access scheme or some positive discrimination entry route was in effect). Yes you can get ignorant comments anywhere but Oxford isn't just anywhere.

Of course the comments should be handled carefully.

As for the whole "where are you from?" point, it isnt necessarily done in a well meaning way, it was done in a way to cause offence. I'm not Caucasian, but was born and bred here and have a very British accent yet I have been offended by this question as the questioner wasn't showing a genuine interest, just refused to believe I saw myself as British and wanted to satisfy themselves on my ethnic origin. Irrespective of where you're born and brought up, even if generations of your family have been in the UK or Canada or wherever, the fact that you're not white (and never will be) is used to make you feel uncomfortable and am "outsider". I was with a Malaysian, in Malaysia, and this person had about five generations of his family born and brought up there. However he was ethnically Indian but had never been to India as he had no family or attachments there. Someone asked him where he was "really" from and would he ever go back to his own country.....

Being skinny, tall, red headed etc can of course elicit comments but it's really not the same. pushpullmum's experience is interesting.

I wasn't trying to cause offence or bring a whole debate to the table. I was reading this thread and posted the links because the origin of complaint was the students themselves, rather than someone else going in to ask leading questions.

[southbucks3]

You have not caused offence...I was merely giving another perspective, hopefully not offending either.

The newspaper published the article to sell covers.

The campaign itself, like I said, had to shout loud to be heard, and that often means people are overly negative. This would be true of any campaign.

Why is it different to be challenged about your form or stature, if you have to justify yourself and the questions or teasing make you feel uncomfortable.

We have a foreign sounding sir name....whenever it is read out we are asked where we are from originally. I honestly don't care...the name can be traced back 300 years in the uk, it sometimes gets boring repeating myself, but it does not offend.

[jemima]

My DD is in first year at Oxford and hasn't complained at all of prejudice - she bought 3 of her lovely friends back to our modest house. we aren't at all rich - one income - mine as a teacher. She did go to grammar school though. I have 6 children so money is tight.

[KB]

Anecdotally, know several students from 'modest' backgrounds and who were first in family to go to Uni who went to Oxbridge and had a fitted right in with a great lot of friends.
Of course that doesn't mean there isn't prejudice about but I do hope nobody would be put off going for fear of being discriminated against.

[Guest55]

A number of students leave Oxbridge every year because they can't stand the bullying/prejudice.

[Amber]

Sadly, a number of students leave all universities every year because they don't feel they fit in. I know someone who has just left a university very different in all respects from Oxford because of feeling like an outsider. Very sad. And I also know some young people who don't even want to go to university because the laddish/drinking culture frightens them. I gather there is some kind of high-level inquiry into this now. So it isn't just Oxbridge that can make people feel afraid of being different.

[aliportico]

Oxford has one of the lowest drop-out rates in the UK: figures published in March 2012 by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that only 1.6% of Oxford students dropped out, compared with the national average of 8.6%.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_universit ... d_figures/

[KB]

Indeed it isn't fair to pick on Oxford as being alone as an Uni where some students find it hard to feel welcomed and even accepted.
One of my DCs found it difficult to fit in at a Uni where their expectations and life style went against the grain in a different way.
That's not to say its a good thing of course! but sadly prejudice of all kinds is widespread.

[magwich2]

I think one of the problems with Oxford is that it is a place of extremes. DD1 finds that the middle ground is often missing - for example, many of the students are appallingly promiscuous but the alternative is the rabidly moral position of the Christians and other religious societies. Similarly with drinking - either a night out at Park End and then home in the "safety bus" (don't ask!) or teetotal.

She has, however, never come across racial prejudice at any time. There are plenty of students from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds and no-one is in the least interested in this aspect of their identity. The main problem is "lad culture" which is ubiquitous and fairly unpleasant. She feels that most of her fellow students might be ok in about 10 years time when they might have grown up a little but the majority of them are more than a little immature.

[KB]

magwitch2 -
Without wanting to curb your freedom to express your opinions I do find your description of the moral position of religious groups as rabid as bordering on the offensive. You are totally entitled to disagree with their opinions but to say that Christians who believe sex is for marriage are irrational or extremist is perhaps unnecessarily provocative for this thread.