'Oxford's Full Of Posh Kids Who Laugh At Poor People'
When will the prejudice about Oxford end? Last week, in a laughable column in The Times, Giles Coren wrote 'Oxford is full of posh kids who have been crammed since birth and think common people are funny' and made pathetic attacks on the Oxford Student newspaper. This kind of ignorance would be funny if it weren't so damaging.
On Saturday, the same newspaper reported a drop in the number of applications to Oxford from both State schools and Independent schools, saying that Oxford was 'paying the price for the controversy over the rejection of Laura Spence' and that the 'row over the Tyneside comprehensive student had revived the image of elitism that Oxford and Cambridge have tried to dispel.'
But who is to blame for the revival of the myth if not Giles Coren of the Times and a misinformed and sensationalist media in general? The Times seemed intent on blaming Gordon Brown and his infamous statement about 'ending the old Britain where what mattered was the privilege you were born to not the potential you were born with.'
But surely it is too easy to lay all the blame at unscrupulous vote-seeking politicians and their soundbites. Surely the daily media portrayal of Oxford as a University of 'Toffs' and articles such as the one by Giles Coren must also bear some responsibility.
University Officials and OUSU Officers alike have been quick to attack Mr. Coren's opinions. A spokesman for the University stated that Giles Coren's statement was simply 'not correct' and that the University was 'hoping all the good work done over the years hasn't been affected by recent events.' OUSU officers too have expressed their 'disgust' at the article and many of you have written to voice anger at the gross misrepresentation of facts implied by the article.
Although it is too early to tell, the signs are, in fact, that the number of applications may yet stabilise and it will be a long time yet before we know the state/independent breakdown of these facts. However although a spokesman admitted that it was 'of course, impossible to tell' what effect the media had had, they nonetheless admit that 'reporting of various aspects of the Oxford admissions procedure may well have had an effect on the number of applications.'
As long as Giles Coren and the rest of the media continue to print this sort of rubbish about Oxford in the same misinformed negative light then they must take their share of any blame for the damage done to the University.
19th Oct 2000