Oxford’s Class Problem Runs Far Deeper Than Money

Phoebe Thomas

Over the past couple of decades, the University of Oxford has taken massive steps in making itself more accessible to students from lower-income backgrounds, and, to the untrained eye, it seems as though the class divides that have plagued the institution for well over a century arefinally starting to disappear. However, the British class system is a slippery beast. Its seemingly endless supply of subtle differences makes it a very difficult form of discrimination to spot, and if it can’t be spotted, it can’t be eradicated. The cultural contrasts show up where you least expectthem, often in some of the most beloved parts of Oxford life. Now, for those of you already preparing to question whether anything is ever really that deep, allow me to present to you my case.

Take the humble cigarette. Widely regarded as a symbol of university nightlife and still seen as at least somewhat romantic, smoking has come to form an indelible part of the university’s culture. What would a post-club Insta dump look like without at least one partially obscured smoking area photo? However, this glamourised indulgence is far from the average British smoker’s experience. A little more than a tenth of the nation is partial to a cheeky fag, and it is a known fact that none of these people are middle class. While they might vape, and they certainly drink, broadly speaking the middle class distinguish themselves from the poor and the posh alike by choosing to steer clear of this particular vice. This separation means, therefore, that Britain has evolved two very distinct smoking cultures, only one of which can be observed at Oxford, where most people’s experience of smoking, regardless of their own class, is a markedly upper class one. It’s far easier to defend smoking as a cultural institution when you’ve never been inside a house with dingey yellow walls and smell that evades all attempts to disguise it. Smoking becomes easier to romanticise when your primary associations are Charli xcx or Brigette Bardot, rather than that unpleasant group of men who used to hang around outside your corner shop. I say all of this, of course, as a smoker myself, making me first and foremost a hypocrite, but secondly making me well situated to point out that, at Oxford, it is often easy to assume that the upper class experience can be universally applied, which makes us forget that something we find fun and exciting can to others be anything from disgusting to life-ruining.

“Alright,” I hear you say, “The average Oxford student might be guilty of living in a bubble, but that doesn’t really do any harm, does it?” Well boy am I glad you asked. And if you didn’t ask, tough, because I’m going to tell you anyway. As we all can agree, Oxford has a wealth of unique traditions, more than any other university in the country (disregarding you-know-where for the time being) which many students point to as a highlight of their time here. Who wouldn’t be charmed by the silly outfits they make you wear for exams, or excited by the prospect of attending a ball or union debate? The problem is that these traditions can often interfere with well-meaning attempts at outreach. When discussing university offers at my sixth-form college, revealing that I had received an offer from Oxford was overwhelmingly met with the same response, which was some variation on, “How will you afford it? Isn’t Oxford really expensive?”.

Naturally, having attended Oxford for two and a half terms I can confirm that this is categorically untrue. In fact, I would be lying if I said affordability wasn’t a motivating factor behind my accepting my offer. Due to the fact that most colleges own large amounts of property and are therefore able to subsidise three years of accommodation, and that terms are kept short, allowing student loans to stretch further, being a student at Oxford works out cheaper than going almost anywhere else in the country (at least for the English). However, this fact is simply not advertised enough, and furthermore, beloved Oxford traditions often give the exact opposite impression. All the various components of Oxford’s culture contribute to the sense that it is fundamentally vastly different from other British universities, when in reality it is nowhere near as unique as its students like to think it is.

Again, this wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that the traditions which hark back to a time when Oxford was dominated by the wealthy give the false impression that it “isn’t for the likes of us.” The silly capes and lavish balls give the impression that Oxford is off-limits for the working class, and it takes a great deal more campaigning than you might expect to persuade young people that this impression is misleading.

Of course, before you all come after me with pitchforks, I should clarify that I’m not advocating for the abolition of all Oxford traditions (well, except sub fusc, which just adds an extra scoop of misery onto exams). I’m simply pointing out the fact that it’s very difficult to truly begin to tackle class disparity at the university without addressing its reputation among the working class.

There is, however, something I think Oxford could stand to lose for the sake of becoming more welcoming to students from all walks of life: the never-ending list of slang terms. Like the traditions, Oxford slang projects an inaccurate image of somewhere working class young people would struggle to fit in. But unlike the traditions, the extensive vocab list doesn’t make life any more fun, and doesn’t seem to provide any cultural value at all. Who’s life would be negatively impacted if we all agreed to say “cleaners” instead of “scouts”? Is the lingo really integral enoughto Oxford life that we should keep using it at the expense of the university’s reputation amongstthe working class?

Ultimately, it’s unlikely that any of these aspects of Oxford culture will drastically change in the near future, but it’s nevertheless important to consider the ways in which the British class systems shapes the quintessential Oxford experience, and how the environment can still be unwelcoming towards working class young people.