OXFORD, U.K— One of the most prestigious universities in the world is under fire for its dismal record in admitting Black students.
More than one in four of the colleges at Oxford University failed to admit a single Black British student each year between 2015 and 2017. White British applicants were twice as likely to be admitted as their Black counterparts.
During a visit to speak at Oxford, the Rev. Al Sharpton denounced the university’s “exclusionary admissions strategy” and said that more needed to be done to attract Blacks to the university.
“Oxford can figure out the most difficult aspects of philosophy and explore the intracicies of science but can’t figure out how to find Black students,” said the civil rights activist. “How could you be so bright and so dumb at the same time?”
England’s former education minister David Lammy has accused Oxford’s admissions policy as being “social apartheid” and challenged the university to take a more aggressive stance in recruiting Black students.
“Difficult questions have to be asked, including whether there is systematic bias inherent in the admissions process that is working against talented young people from ethnic minority backgrounds,” said Lammy, who is a member of British parliament.
A spokeswoman for Oxford said that it has made an effort to increasing the number of Black applicants.
