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Winner Announced: Liberation Officer – Sam Hawkins

Sam Hawkins has been elected as your new Liberation Officer for 2020/21. Impact caught up with Sam to discuss how he’s celebrating his new role and what he is excited for going forward.

What are you most looking forward to in your role?
Seeing as this is a completely new role, I think the most exciting bit is being able to set the legacy for it. I’ll have a handover from Myles for the ‘Equal Opportunities’ side of his role, but seeing as there’s a much larger focus due to the role being split this year, it’ll be very interesting to see what I get up to!
 
What was the highlight of your campaign?
Definitely the support I received from friends. It always put a smile on my face whenever I was going through my socials after a long day of campaigning, and seeing that your mates have shared your branding or commented on your campaign video etc. It’s a really nice feeling knowing people are so willing to support you and help out wherever they can, and it definitely gives you that motivation to carry on through the (long) week!
 
It’s a really nice feeling knowing people are so willing to support you and help out wherever they can.
 
Were there any aspects of campaigning you found challenging?
Taking time off to do my (actual) work, for sure. While online campaigning was definitely better for me, I would always try and do my dissertation and then 10 minutes later somehow end up back on my campaign Instagram (whoops)
 
How will you be celebrating?
I spent the night face-timing my uni mates and a couple of the outgoing and incoming officers, so that was a really nice way to celebrate. However, I’ve got 2 essays and an exam all in the space of 3 weeks, so I’m definitely going to have to hold off any big celebrations until afterward!!
 
The agenda for a Liberation Officer primarily focuses on representing, advocating, and fighting for the rights of students who come from Liberation backgrounds.
 
For those who don’t know, please sum up your new role as Liberation Officer in a few sentences!
The agenda for a Liberation Officer primarily focuses on representing, advocating, and fighting for the rights of students who come from Liberation backgrounds. This includes Black students, Queer students, Asian students, Women* and Disabled students, etc, and of course their intersections! The responsibility of a Liberation Officer will pick up the ‘Equal Opportunities’ half of Myles’ current role, ensuring that the university listens to students’ voices with regards to an equitable student experience!
 

Sam won the election after winning the first and final round of counting with a total of 1,090 votes .

The rest of the election results breakdown can be found here.

Mia Haffety
 

Featured image courtesy of Mia Haffety.

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