After nearly three weeks working at a telethon, I now see myself as a bit of an expert in this particular area so I decided to create the Kenny guide to surviving a telethon.
1) Have a nap before your shift.
2) Wake up ten minutes before your shift, freak out and question what made you sign up for this.
3) Speed walk to the telethon centre to some sick choons, hating life more and more with each step you take.
4) Waste 15- 20 minutes 'making tea' and eating biscuits with your fellow colleagues, taking comfort in the fact that you have each other in facing this ordeal.
5) Spend five minutes walking to your desk that is less than ten feet away when your boss eventually tells you to start working.
6) Use a further 10-15 minutes to 'boot your laptop' and 'prepare' for your first call.
7) Ah, two voice mails in a row? You're really working hard! You deserve a tea/ biscuit break.
8) After spending more than half an hour talking to an alumnus that decides to make a small one-off donation, you've truly earned another 10/15 minutes for a 'break' and prep time.
9) Repeat steps 7 and 8 until the shift ends.
10) After the shift, head back to college for a compulsory moaning and complaining session with the rest of your colleagues about the shift and share weird moments that you had over the phone.
Disclaimer- Kenny is not liable if any of these steps get you fired.
Sunday 30 March 2014
Wednesday 12 March 2014
I, too, am Oxford.
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| Photo: itooamoxford.tumblr.com |
I'm sure most of you have probably heard of the 'I, too, am Harvard' campaign and the campaigns in Oxford, Cambridge, SOAS and King's that followed as a result, to name a few. Basically, students of ethnic minorities at these universities did a series of photographs holding up boards that highlighted the day to day micro-aggressions that they faced. There are many reasons why I decided to get involved with the one at Oxford. One of them was due to the 'too black' incident, another was the fact that I think at places like my university, there are many ignorant people who are unaware of how insulting their one-off comments can be and campaigns like these are vital in opening their eyes. Also, I wanted to send out a message that the days of 'door mat Kenny' are long, long over and I really think that my university needs to start talking about race and issues like under representation.
I'm also sure that most of you have also heard of the 'We Are All Oxford' campaign that launched as a counter campaign to 'I, too, am Oxford'. Although they claimed that they weren't undermining our campaign, sadly, that is exactly what they did. They claimed that their campaign was necessary in order to show the 'full picture' to potential candidates, that discrimination is rare at Oxford and that the university 'selects on academic excellence'. What really bugged me about their claims is the fact that they completely missed the point and by doing this, they proved exactly why 'I, too, am Oxford' was needed. Nobody is saying that Oxford does not select based on academic excellence. In fact, I think future applicants would be more put off by WAAO's whitewash campaign. Personally, I would feel more comfortable applying to a university where the students stood up for themselves and spoke out against prejudice than one where students tried to pretend that all was fine. This made me laugh- http://weareallawful.tumblr.com/
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| Photo: itooamoxford.tumblr.com |
Also, WHY is Access always brought up when ethnic minorities at top universities are discussed? That's another thing/ fail that bugged me about WAAO. Sure, Access Schemes are great but it is very wrong and presumptuous to assume that all POC are at a top university on an Access Scheme, and that's why I put it on my board. Sadly, yet again, it was someone very close to me that asked me that question and she didn't even know that her words had offended me.
I keep going on about WAAO because the whole campaign just really irritated me and what made it worse was the fact that I know the girl that was the brains behind it all. Everyone's experience of race and prejudice is subjective so I really don't approve when others try to undermine it and say "Well, I don't find that racist" or "That doesn't sound racist to me." Racism is no longer the segregation and Jim Crow laws of the 1960s but it now consists of little micro-aggressions and asides that one should not ignore. It is best to speak now and let your friends know if you're not comfortable with their words. I am so glad that the campaign got picked up by major news outlets such as the BBC, BuzzFeed, Guardian, Telegraph, Huffington Post etc. I've even been stopped on the streets and in clubs because of it and all of my friends have reacted so positively to it.I think the campaign has really opened up their eyes to certain things that are not okay to say to POC and I am so happy that I contributed to it.
I, too, am Oxford and I worked my butt off to get to where I am and I will never ever be made to feel inferior ever again.
PS- I recently found out that my friend, Leo, stalks 'reads' my blog. This is a shout out to Leo and his stalker self x
Wednesday 5 March 2014
"Too Black."
Tonight, I was angry. I was very angry at myself for letting something slide without comment. Now, I am not so angry. I guess to fully explain why I was so angry, I'd better start at the beginning.
Before I started at my university last year, I knew that I'd be a minority due to being black. I knew this because I hardly saw any black people during the interview process and I also knew this due to how taken aback many black people that I knew looked whenever I told them the name of my university. Unlike what the press *coughDAILYMAILcough* would have you believe, this is not the university's fault. I've seen for myself the sad fact that many gifted people of colour decide against applying to my university because they feel like the university establishment itself will look down on them due to their backgrounds and ethnicities. Some people also fear that they will be totally ostracised from the 'posh, rich' people, feel totally alone and alien and that they will not be accepted or fit in. For a very long time, I have tried my best to dispel these rumours in order to prove that this view of the university is false. I have never felt lonely or been made to feel different because of the colour of my skin. However, this all changed tonight.
At dinner, I was sat with someone that I've always seen as one of the people that I'm closest to in my college and we were discussing a club night that the African Caribbean Society is planning for students. My friend then announced that she would not be attending the event as it was "too black" for her. I laughed in disbelief as I couldn't quite believe that I'd heard right and then I said nothing. Nothing.
After dinner, I came back to my room and I just couldn't get her words out of my mind. Too black. Too black. What the heck does that mean? Is there a certain quota of 'black' that I need to be, a quota that's not too much that will make me acceptable to her and others? Am I only accepted because I am supposed to act in a way that some would call 'oreo', that makes people forget that I am of African origin? I thought about all the different things that I could have said to her at the dinner table, words that came belatedly, words that would have let her know that her statement sounded rude and racist and that was when I started crying.
For the first time in my life, I felt completely alone. I always joke about how I'm one of the two black people in college but I can say that I've never felt the loneliness of being a minority until tonight. Her words, "too black",made me feel unwanted, and that it was wrong of me to want to participate in events that celebrate my culture. I also felt like I had betrayed myself and my people by not saying anything and that made me cry even more. I sought advice from a friend, one of the kindest and sweetest souls that I've ever met and my sister and they both convinced me that I had to tell her how much her words had hurt.
After much dilly- dallying, I eventually went to her room, approximately two hours after the incident,and I told her. She had no idea that her words could have been interpreted in a racist way and she seemed genuinely apologetic and contrite. I've forgiven her as I believe that she honestly chose the wrong way to express that she was not into RnB music and I hope our friendship will remain intact, God willing.
So, my long tale has come to an end. I learned a lot from tonight. 1) The best advice and friendships come from the unlikeliest of people (I love you with a fiery passion, Hazza D x). 2) Never, EVER be afraid of speaking out if something has upset you. It is better to speak now and save a friendship than to let things bottle up and explode later on down the line, ruining a friendship irrevocably. 3) I really, REALLY need to stop being such 'doormat' as my good friend Hazza D puts it. I need to man up and stop relying on my sister to fight my battles for me.
Why was I so affected by her words? I guess it was just the shock of something like that coming from someone that was supposed to be a good friend. I was also still reeling from this article that I'd recently read, and as my university is similar to that one, I was worried that I was losing my 'voice'.
I want to end by saying that there is definitely no such thing as being "too black", be it with tastes or physical appearance. Also, despite what happened tonight, I still stand by the view that my university is a safe and welcoming place for people of colour and I will not let the careless words of one person take away the fact that many others accept and love me exactly as I am.
Before I started at my university last year, I knew that I'd be a minority due to being black. I knew this because I hardly saw any black people during the interview process and I also knew this due to how taken aback many black people that I knew looked whenever I told them the name of my university. Unlike what the press *coughDAILYMAILcough* would have you believe, this is not the university's fault. I've seen for myself the sad fact that many gifted people of colour decide against applying to my university because they feel like the university establishment itself will look down on them due to their backgrounds and ethnicities. Some people also fear that they will be totally ostracised from the 'posh, rich' people, feel totally alone and alien and that they will not be accepted or fit in. For a very long time, I have tried my best to dispel these rumours in order to prove that this view of the university is false. I have never felt lonely or been made to feel different because of the colour of my skin. However, this all changed tonight.
At dinner, I was sat with someone that I've always seen as one of the people that I'm closest to in my college and we were discussing a club night that the African Caribbean Society is planning for students. My friend then announced that she would not be attending the event as it was "too black" for her. I laughed in disbelief as I couldn't quite believe that I'd heard right and then I said nothing. Nothing.
After dinner, I came back to my room and I just couldn't get her words out of my mind. Too black. Too black. What the heck does that mean? Is there a certain quota of 'black' that I need to be, a quota that's not too much that will make me acceptable to her and others? Am I only accepted because I am supposed to act in a way that some would call 'oreo', that makes people forget that I am of African origin? I thought about all the different things that I could have said to her at the dinner table, words that came belatedly, words that would have let her know that her statement sounded rude and racist and that was when I started crying.
For the first time in my life, I felt completely alone. I always joke about how I'm one of the two black people in college but I can say that I've never felt the loneliness of being a minority until tonight. Her words, "too black",made me feel unwanted, and that it was wrong of me to want to participate in events that celebrate my culture. I also felt like I had betrayed myself and my people by not saying anything and that made me cry even more. I sought advice from a friend, one of the kindest and sweetest souls that I've ever met and my sister and they both convinced me that I had to tell her how much her words had hurt.
After much dilly- dallying, I eventually went to her room, approximately two hours after the incident,and I told her. She had no idea that her words could have been interpreted in a racist way and she seemed genuinely apologetic and contrite. I've forgiven her as I believe that she honestly chose the wrong way to express that she was not into RnB music and I hope our friendship will remain intact, God willing.
So, my long tale has come to an end. I learned a lot from tonight. 1) The best advice and friendships come from the unlikeliest of people (I love you with a fiery passion, Hazza D x). 2) Never, EVER be afraid of speaking out if something has upset you. It is better to speak now and save a friendship than to let things bottle up and explode later on down the line, ruining a friendship irrevocably. 3) I really, REALLY need to stop being such 'doormat' as my good friend Hazza D puts it. I need to man up and stop relying on my sister to fight my battles for me.
Why was I so affected by her words? I guess it was just the shock of something like that coming from someone that was supposed to be a good friend. I was also still reeling from this article that I'd recently read, and as my university is similar to that one, I was worried that I was losing my 'voice'.
I want to end by saying that there is definitely no such thing as being "too black", be it with tastes or physical appearance. Also, despite what happened tonight, I still stand by the view that my university is a safe and welcoming place for people of colour and I will not let the careless words of one person take away the fact that many others accept and love me exactly as I am.
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