English/Spanish | Indian (Bengali)
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 and Asian). My Mum is Spanish & English, her Father is Spanish & Mother was English. My Father is Indian. He was brought up in India and Mauritius. My heritage wasn’t a factor in my decision to attend Oxford, but I was conscious that I’d be in a much whiter environment than I’d ever been before. Every time I come back to London I notice how much mix there is; something I always took for granted before. I haven’t experienced casual racism at Oxford, but I have felt that people are sometimes more comfortable saying things around me that they almost definitely wouldn’t say if I was darker which can put me on edge as it was pure chance I came out as pale as I did. For me being at Oxford has been great, but for all intents and purposes I seem White. My experiences at Oxford have made me more aware of my status as a mixed-race person. There is a notable lack of mixed or POC people and a divide between them and White people. My friend who is from India calls me ‘mongrel’ which is jokes but also makes me realise how true it is, especially when there’s so few around. The undertone of any racial/cultural jokes that were made back home is different to those made in Oxford. At home everyone had more or less grown up surrounded by this mix and jokes weren’t made for ignorance of the culture. At Oxford, its very obvious that some people haven’t really been around POC’s before. As I said, this doesn’t affect me directly, but indirectly I guess it does a bit. Be aware that these are just observations, I am a big proponent of un-PC humour. It’s just a bit awkward when you’re not sure if people would have made the joke in the first place if they had known your ethnicity/if you’d looked your ethnicity. This is the first involvement I’ve had with the Mixed Heritage Society, but its existence has definitely made me feel more represented.
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