The challenges of Brexit (3/6). With its blond stones, its porches ajar on venerable colleges, its students and their teachers on bicycles, the most prestigious of the British faculties has an air of eternity. But like the rest of the UK, Oxford will also switch out of the European Union (EU) on midnight January 31 (Brussels time).
And even if they live in one of the most stimulating environments in the world, a bubble of knowledge and excellence, the students met in mid-January are worried. Antoinette Cowling is 22 years old, she is finishing her fourth and last year in French and German letters at Jesus College, an institution erected in full Elizabethan reign. She gave us an appointment in one of the college's common rooms, with tired velvet armchairs and a dim light. British, from Reading (west central England), Antoinette voted to stay in the EU in 2016 – she was just of legal age.
However, she is not one of those remainers who refuse Brexit. " The problem in recent years has been mainly uncertainty. The country could not remain in this situation. There may be some jolts at first, but we should get there in the long term, our economy is strong enough. " However, the student wonders about the consequences of the divorce. She "Can't imagine" no longer able to move freely in Europe, but hesitates to immediately seek employment in France or Germany, and as a precaution, "While waiting for things to stabilize", she prefers to limit her job search in the UK, "For the transition period".
43% of foreign students
Met in one of the new buildings of Worcester College, another venerable institution, Isabel Chappell also testifies: "I’m very apprehensive, I’m afraid that my opportunities to work abroad will be reduced. " The girl is in the second year of "Philosophy, Politics and Economics", the elite stream followed by many British politicians, including ex-Prime Minister David Cameron. His classmate Tori Watson, in the third year, has already started his job search and claims to have met " employers who say they are not looking for a lot of new hires because of the uncertainty. "
Same college, same specialization as Antoinette, Hannah Scheithauer, 21, testifies to a " feeling of permanent insecurity " since she was in Oxford: "Brexit chased me during all my studies. The administration has tried to reassure us, but it itself has so little information … "
