A group of black and ethnic minority students at Oxford – including Somervillian Emmanuel Amissah-Eshun – have spoofed the famous photograph of the 1987 Bullingdon Club.

The original image featured ten students including David Cameron and Boris Johnson posing in tails and waistcoats on the steps of Christ Church College.

The new picture brings together current and former JCR presidents of black and ethnic minority origin.

Emmanuel, featured above wearing a hat, is reading Law and has been elected as JCR president for the next academic year.

He is one of nine ethnic minority JCR presidents elected this term, according to the photo-shoot organisers.

The presidents said in a statement: “We hope to show that, despite pervasive narratives, you too can be included in a space once defined by exclusion.”

A UNIQ summer school persuaded Emmanuel to apply to Oxford. He said: “The friendliness of everyone there, the interesting nature of the course content and the surroundings of Oxford in general just captivated me.”

He described Oxford and Somerville as a “welcoming place full of wonderful people.”

He added: “Yes, there’s still work to be done to make sure that people from certain backgrounds feel entirely comfortable with applying here and being here – the annual admissions report does not lie – but it’s heading in the right direction.”

Further reading?

Gardener’s blog: Somerville’s Trees and Liquidambar

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09 December 2024
Gardener’s blog: Somerville’s Trees and Liquidambar

Somerville alumna Susan Owens wins Apollo Book of the Year for ‘The Story of Drawing’

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06 December 2024
Somerville alumna Susan Owens wins Apollo Book of the Year for ‘The Story of Drawing’

Professor Lorna Hutson awarded the Saltire Society’s Research Book of the Year award

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04 December 2024
Professor Lorna Hutson awarded the Saltire Society’s Research Book of the Year award