My first taste of Oxford College of Emory University was, unfortunately, unsavory. Moments after joining the new GroupMe, I was bombarded by links to an editorial published last spring by the Emory Wheel’s Editorial Board.
“‘We’ll just drop you here and forget about you’: Emory’s terrible case of Oxfordism” flashed at the top of my screen, unlocking a whole new set of anxieties about my nearing transition to Oxford.
As I later learned, the former Board’s perspective on Oxford and its problems was written by Emory College and Goizueta Business School students who had likely never even been to the Oxford campus, much less had personal experience with its community. This editorial, arguing that Oxford has been seriously neglected, underfunded and ignored by Emory University, resulting in negative experiences for many of its students, is an insufferably narrow perspective on Oxford.
Don’t get me wrong — Oxford has its issues, such as mental health and a lack of strong community — and they should be heard and resolved by the administration. However, what’s at the heart of the outpour of negative Oxford student experiences is not academic inequity, unfair funding nor blatant discrimination from the University. Oxford gives students exactly what it markets: a small liberal arts college education, access to opportunities from Emory University and an emphasis on student leadership and involvement. Problems within Oxford’s community are more easily tracked to suffering mental health resources, lacking club culture and communities and a student body that signed up for a different college experience.
Instead of picking at Oxford’s general education requirements (GERs), their differences from the Emory College GER plan should be appreciated. Specifically, the editorial criticizes the experiential learning (“E”) and ways of inquiry (“Q”) required credits. The “E” credit was difficult for the Oxford Class of 2023 to satisfy due to the pandemic lessening options; thus, it was waived for sophomores. Now, as more “E” and “Q” credit opportunities open up, I feel that these requirements are more of a blessing than a curse, providing the chance to learn outside of the classroom and gain more applicable skills to our communities.
The aforementioned editorial compares the experiences of Oxford directly to those of Emory — this comparison is not an apt one. As a small liberal arts college, Oxford provides students with small class sizes, close student-professor relationships and countless opportunities for leadership, internships and research with professors. Furthermore, Oxford totes a beautiful campus and state-of-the-art facilities and dormitories that rival the Atlanta campus’. It’s true, students do not have access to all the classes offered at Emory — but that is simply the nature of going to a smaller college. I do not mean to sound unforgiving, but if you don’t want the small liberal arts experience, then why did you choose Oxford?
From my two semesters at Oxford, I have grown to recognize that the “Oxfordism” editorial was concerned with the wrong things: it compared the academics and atmosphere of a small liberal arts college to that of a medium-sized research university.
For one, scheduling an appointment with the Office of Career and Counseling Services is particularly challenging. Due to the office only employing four counselors, their services are always limited, with few chances for students struggling with their mental health to get the help they need. While it is difficult to dissect the question of why Oxford students struggle with mental health, it is much easier to spot the improvements that can be made to help students have easier access to mental health counseling services. This concern is not new, but I still implore the Oxford administration to take actionable steps to foster easier access to in-person counseling services and to consider the mental health crisis at Oxford as their problem — because it is.
Along with mental health, there is also a semi-toxic club culture on our campus. The double-edged sword that accompanies early leadership opportunities: if you aren’t in a traditional leadership position, you then feel as if you are lacking in some way. The College boasts that 65% of its student body holds a leadership position. Because Oxford clubs are all run by executive boards, there is a popular feeling — acknowledged by the involvement of the Oxford Student Government Association (Oxford SGA) and other student voices — that you are not truly involved in a club’s community if you are not on its executive board. Clubs focus more on planning show-stopping campus-wide events than on creating a community among its members.
As a member of Oxford SGA, I have witnessed the work that Oxford SGA is doing to improve this culture, however, I also believe that this change necessitates action and a perspective shift from the student body as well. To that 65% on an executive board: make your goal curating a community for interested students, not event planning. Only people can change a mindset, and this community norm is making Oxford an overall worse experience.
While there are many other details to pick on and criticize in that original editorial, I think the more important point is that the needed improvement at Oxford is not rooted in its differences from the Atlanta campus but in its own structural issues. The entirety of Emory needs to learn more about Oxford, its history and its own unique culture and community. It may seem inconsequential to students attending the Atlanta campus; however, Oxford is very much a part of Emory University and deserves to be treated as such. Not as a worse experience than Atlanta, but as a different one. One Emory, right?
Emory College, Goizueta and Nursing students, do your best not to be ignorant about Oxford — you’re only perpetuating assumptions about Oxford’s resources, community and rigor. Maybe Google it, read about its history and look at a few pictures. Or, god forbid, make a trip to Oxford and experience it firsthand.
Oxford students, don’t treat Oxford as a backdoor to Emory. I understand the impulse to hold Oxford side-by-side with Emory, however, they are not the same and are not meant to be similar. Appreciate the good aspects and advocate against the bad, such as mental health, club culture or any other problems. If you hate the “E” credit, then hate it — and speak out about it — but do not justify your disdain with a comparison to Emory College, Goizueta or the Nursing School.
My first two semesters at Oxford have not been all sunshine and daisies. However, I am relentlessly reminded by my fantastic professors, ample leadership and research opportunities and the beautiful Oxford quad why I chose the Oxford experience over the Emory College one. You do not have to love Oxford, but use your voices to call for feasible and proactive changes.
“Oxfordism” was not well-captured by the former Board’s editorial. Their criticisms have only drowned out other more legitimate reasons to protest change at Oxford. Instead, they would have served both Oxford and the greater Emory community better if they had pinpointed actual problems and solutions — not just differences.
Ellie Fivas (24Ox) is from Cleveland, Tennessee.
