English/Irish | Pakistani
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: English, Irish and Pakistani. My Mum is White, and my Dad is British Pakistani but they both grew up and met in the UK. I would say talking about race in Oxford is often quite difficult as people see it as a taboo or an attack on their privilege, which is not the case. That’s why I am glad Oxford Mixed Heritage Society takes an inclusive stance on discussing race, because Oxford’s access problems won’t improve by excluding people from the conversation. It does try and there are some people who genuinely care about making it a better place, but I can’t say that I will leave feeling like I was fully part of the university in the same way as my peers. We all react differently to situations so some of these sentiments are due to my personality, but equally there is still so much that needs to be done to break down the entrenched privilege that keeps out diversity in all forms at this university. I feel much more aware of my race in Oxford than at home. At home, there is such a large population of people of colour (particularly south Asian) that no one questions my heritage, whereas here I feel like I stick out even if in reality I don’t. That said, these sentiments have allowed me to come to terms with my mixed identity and experiences as a child and incorporate these as part of my identity. I feel a little more represented now that there is a society for my racial category, but I rarely encounter someone with a similar mix to me, so I still feel ‘different’ to some extent. It is hard as a person of colour to feel represented at Oxford at all, but hopefully that will change. OMHS has definitely connected me to people I would never have met otherwise, especially since I had never really done anything extra-curricular outside the music bubble. It is nice to know that there are people who understand your experiences and can relate to them, as well as having their own unique experiences to share.
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