St Hilda’s College, Oxford, has become the first Oxbridge institution to pass a motion for the creation of a Class Liberation Officer to represent college members from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 

The motion, passed last week, spoke of the “microaggressions and classism” that students from working-class backgrounds have to face at the University and called for such students to receive appropriate representation and support while they are at university.

Although colleges at Cambridge are yet to consider the position, CUSU Welfare Officer Sophie Buck feels that such a role would be beneficial: “I definitely do think a Class Liberation Officer would be useful in common room committees, as class importantly intersects with the various autonomous campaigns.”

Cambridge and Oxford have faced criticism in the past in relation to their admissions process, with approximately two-fifths of their undergraduates coming from public schools, despite only 6.5 per cent of the population being educated at such independent establishments.

Cambridge still has to increase their respective undergraduate intake by 18 per cent in order to meet the benchmark for disadvantaged students. 

Nevertheless class discrimination within the University has, thus far, not been formally addressed and, although colleges have welfare officers, issues of class discrimination have yet to be tackled. A report by The Sutton Trust released earlier in 2016 found that more than 40 per cent of state school teachers didn’t tell their brightest pupils to apply to either Oxford or Cambridge as they thought their students might be unhappy.

However, CUSU’s Access & Funding Officer, Eireann Attridge, believes the issue should be more widely considered within the University. “The increasing discussion of class at both universities should be welcomed. Although students may be attending these universities alongside their middle- and upper-class counterparts, the inequality of opportunity remains. Support should be available to these students once they are here.”

St Hilda’s College in Oxford is not unique in assigning such a role. Representatives with similar class liberation responsibilities have recently been appointed at other universities across the country, including King’s College London, the University of Manchester and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

In Cambridge, certain groups related to the issues of discrimination are already being established. “We’ve started to see the introduction of groups centred around class which offer discussion and support for students from working class backgrounds,” said Attridge. “These initiatives are coming from working class students who think that that support should be there – it should be listened to.”

The CUSU Access Officer believes that there are wider considerations for the culture of the University as well. “This should make us think about what the environment here is like, what we can do to target elitism, and how we can support students best.”

Despite the current absence of an official position at Cambridge colleges, it is hoped that increased representation and support through working groups can help address the discrimination associated with socio-economic background.