Oxford Asians ‘anti-social’

Asians at Oxford labelled ‘anti-social’ by Cambridge Student Union Vice-President, Julian Tan (pictured).


Asians at Oxford have been labelled ‘anti-social’ by a Cambridge Student Union Vice-President.

Malaysian Julian Tan spent four years in Oxford from 2007 until 2011 when he graduated with a BA and MEng.

Tan..He likes to talk

In a recent article for The Huffington Post, Tan attempted to explain what he and many of his English friends saw as alienation between students from the Far East and those from Europe and America.

He wrote: “One thing always irked me. I couldn’t understand why I was only one of the few Asians making an effort to mingle with the non-Asians.

“My British friends would sometimes comment on this and we would rudely label them as being anti-social.”

Tan described how he strived to integrate into the British drinking and clubbing way of life, “despite never really understanding the real appeal of drinking and getting drunk”.

He claimed many Asian students coming over suffered a the culture shock so great that it drives them back into the comforts of home and brings the Oxford Asian community together.

A second year Law student from Korea agreed with Tan’s assessment, saying that the way of life is “hugely different”. Spending so many months away from home can also make you “feel like a foreigner in both countries”.