Equity and Inclusion Officer: Inclusion, Access and Visibility
Photo Courtesy: Mary Hinkley via UCL Imagestore
This year there are 4 candidates for Equity & Inclusion Officer in the Leadership Race. Pi Media’s opinion section editor, Lucy Reade, interviewed three who participated in the Leadership Race Media Afternoon about their manifestos:
Ken Sio’s focus is tackling the unspoken exclusion at UCL. “I think a key part of my campaign that I feel is untouched territory is tackling the classism issue at UCL. Whether it is people's accents or the feeling that they need to assimilate or even the financial options and bursaries available, there's a lot more that we can do to ensure that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds feel supported and welcome in the UCL student culture.”
“I also understand the really big importance and focus on celebrating our identity. So, I want to focus on three pillars: building access to services by providing support for people's mental health, protecting their rights, on a national and university scale, and finally celebrating, sharing our different identities and backgrounds.”
Amanda Ng said that “equity and inclusion is to allow every student to try and study and enjoy their life to the best of their ability.”
“I really want to continue any existing initiatives,” they explain. “For example, the Project Active initiative that is being made right now — I really don't want to shut them down. If I were to be elected, I would try my best to continue them.”
But they also want to introduce new initiatives, particularly for trans students. “Me being a trans officer, I am involved with a lot of trans student populations here. I want to put some policies in for them.” Career support is another major focus, especially for international students. “I have noticed that a lot of international students who hold visas might not get the same career opportunities as home students,” they say. “A lot of employers don’t want to fund or sponsor the work visa.”
They also want to address the divide between UCL’s main campus and satellite campuses. “We have the rest of Bloomsbury students as well as the other campuses. Currently, there is quite a big divide between UCL and One Pool Street and not including them in any conversations or clubs and societies — especially in niche ones who don’t have the resources — is a big problem.” They propose funding to address this: “I would love to get some funding to cover the cost of travel between the two campuses and just to encourage students to mingle.”
Having been trans officer and LGBT+ social secretary, Nestram Ricken’s experience working within the union has shown them that “any organisation like UCL can be a little bit resistant to change sometimes.”
With regards to the policies on improving the network structures at UCL and reforming student support services, they said “I don’t think that they are adequate. The staff that are there are wonderful and doing as much as they can, but just — there is always more to be done.” They highlight the lack of support for students facing serious challenges: “Students going through things like domestic abuse or war in home countries — the support just isn’t adequate. I think UCL needs to do more.”
Nestram also addresses disability access, saying it “is a huge problem with UCL. UCL has a culture where you tell them what accommodations you need — they don’t fulfil those accommodations unless you go back and beg for them … There’s content that some people have lost because of not being able to get to a physically accessible lecture theatre.”
Finally, Nestram wants to focus on ensuring that students’ voices are heard. “It’s the Student Union — we’re here for students. We’ve had cases where sabbatical officers have stood up for exactly the opposite thing that students have voted for.” They also want the Equity & Inclusion Officer to hold regular meetings with students to “find out what their concerns are, where they think the SU isn’t being inclusive enough.”
Please vote in the elections this year – student democracy is integral to student life at UCL.