US CIVIL RIGHTS leader and former presidential nominee Reverend Jesse Jackson has warned that the an increased drive to encourage applications from black students is “critical to the integrity” of the University.
Speaking at the launch of the Aspire programme on Wednesday, which aims to recruit more black students to the University, Revd Jackson urged the University to step up its efforts to create a more culturally diverse institution.
“Critical to the integrity of the mission of the University is diversity. If it expects to influence the world, the student body must look like the real world order. It cannot exist as an island and be credible or relevant. The burden on the University is to honour the integrity of its mission of inclusion. Its credibility is on the line,” he said.
In the academic year 2006-7, there were 143 full-time undergraduate students from a black or mixed white and black background at Oxford, which is around 1.3 per cent of the entire student population.
Black students at Oxford agreed that the current system was still failing and welcomed the Aspire’s aims of addressing the situation.
Third-year Brasenose student Katherine Marks said, “I fully support the aims of Aspire because I think it is a great shame that there may be thousands of students out there who have the potential and the ability to come to Oxford and achieve great things but are not allowed the opportunity to do so based on what appears to boil down to skin colour. Now is the time to increase its cultural diversity by encouraging people who wouldn’t normal class themselves as the ‘Oxford type’ to apply.”
President of Oxford University’s Afro-Carribean Society Nennia Orji agreed that the issue was not one of black students’ ability, but rather a lack of opportunity and confidence.
“At the moment we’re lacking opportunity not ability. Aspire will really open up opportunities for black students. Maybe at the moment it’s a lack of role models that makes them think they haven’t got a chance,” she said.
The Aspire programme, a Regent’s Park College initiative in collaboration with Christ Church Canterbury University and the CTBI racial justice team, aims to widen access to higher education for young black students.
It will combine research into the obstacles faced by black participation in higher education with practical support to those who do decide to apply, including mentoring and visits to the University to meet with tutors and current students.
Sukie Watson, a member of the University Access Team, pointed to current statistics as an indicator that more needed to be done. “Last year, we unfortunately only had a 16 per cent success rate of black students. It’s partly to do with the very small numbers who apply, but the simple fact is it’s not good enough. Aspire sets out to work on two aspects: first of all to understand the problem better, and secondly to try and do something about it,” she said.
“It is important for Oxford and for Regent’s Park to develop a more inclusive project to make Oxford more diverse because it does improve our intellectual ability. It makes us able to understand the world from new points of view. And because Oxford is a world-class university, it needs to have students from every part of that world and that’s what will make us an interesting and dynamic place for the future.”
Students agreed that a common problem which put many off applying to the University was the Oxford stereotype.
Michael Isola of Regent’s Park College said, “People think that Oxford’s just for white people, just for middle-classes students, just for boys from Harrow and Eton, and it is dominated by those people, but there’s a place for black people too.” While Jackson was in Oxford promoting Aspire he was named an Honorary Fellow of Regent’s Park College in recognition of his contribution towards human rights.
Major black access scheme launched
