The People of Oxford: A Personal Perspective
Oxford — as an institution and as a city — is never far from the media’s headlines.
As a student observing the last few years in particular, it appears that the university itself has struggled to manage controversy surrounding some important issues, such as the never-ending criticisms of the Oxford admission process and the diversity of its students.
Meanwhile, the city and wider county have to deal with the big problems like the increasingly severe matter of homelessness around the county and the lack of affordable housing — matters that seem to give the area a bad name in some circles and maintain Oxford’s image as an elitist, out-of-touch region of the country, at least to students and others observing from the outside.
While I am sure most (including me) would agree that there are issues with Oxford as a city and as a university, generally, I’ve always felt students do not get the full picture about the people and stories between our famous dreaming spires.
It’s hard to tell some of the remarkable stories because of the big issues being overwhelmingly dominant in media reports, and as a result, members of the community cannot learn, in a clear and formative way, what their area is like from a student’s perspective.
It’s what has drawn me to interview people during my time at the university, something I have touched on before for these media channels, in an attempt to showcase that Oxford is a place full of interesting people and organisations that do brilliant things — from carrying out pioneering research in various academic fields; protecting treasured objects of human history in leading institutions; or notable social and political figures who have sought to bring about change on a local, national and international level.
My new broadcast series Between the Spires is a showcase of this brilliance: I find it is necessary to inject not only some positive energy, but realism, into the conversations surrounding one of the UK’s most famous cities, and who better than to lead the charge than students?
After all, for us students, who on the most part live “our best years” in this city, it is important to maintain and celebrate interaction with local people and the issues that matter to them, and consequently should matter to us.
The series will cover — as implied above — a broader range of issues that are not simply limited to the university. The city and the wider county do exist, something that I fear some students forget.
Of course, this isn’t to say the series is a walk in the park, reinforcing the idyllic view of Oxford; questions of history, social inequality and academic unfairness will be asked of those people in power and that are involved in their respective work in their field.
Above all, I hope to provide a perspective on the people in Oxford.
It is not just the dreaming spires, the formal dinners, or negative media stereotypes that should influence the outside world’s perceptions of us: the people of Oxford deserve some form of platform to engage with their community and others across the country.
I am lucky to have a talented group working with me, who share this vision of expressing some key aspects of the story of Oxford in an honest way, and I hope more students and members of the community can realise the potential of this project.
This series is also unique for students since it brings together young talent in its production. Local media professional Stephen Taylor has done a stellar job with his directing and editing, while I am also extremely fortunate to have one of Oxford’s leading student composers, Gabrielle Woodward, as our film composer for the series. With this talent on display, we can also demonstrate the skill of the young people in the area.
How else are we to change the minds of people about Oxford? I am not so sure.
If you are sceptical about it, do not let me do the talking: watch our features and interviews this term.
By doing so, you may be tempted to believe that we can start to change the perceptions of Oxford locally and across the UK.
Theo Davies-Lewis is a third-year undergraduate at the University of Oxford, and the creator and presenter of Between the Spires. Find out more and watch episodes here: www.betweenthespires.com.
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