Hannah Walton-Hughes
A group of Impact Magazine writers have looked over the candidate manifestos for this year’s Student Union Elections. Harry Chapman, Katie Sullivan, Emma Burnett, Oli Harris, and Hannah Walton-Hughes summarised and discussed each candidate’s main manifesto points, and gave their views on the manifesto overall. Voting closes on 15th March 2024 at 2pm.
Nuri Oluwa:
“Together, we can build a more inclusive and equitable university for all.”
Main Manifesto Points:
- Advocacy for Underrepresented Groups
- Promotion for Inclusive Policies
- Awareness and Education
- Enhanced Support Services
- Monitoring and Reporting- regularly monitoring campus for any form of discrimination/inequality, and reporting that to the administration, with recommended ways to improve it.
- Curriculum Advisory
- Facilitation of Dialogue- “I will […] foster understanding and empathy within our university community.”
- Promotion of Accessibility– “I am dedicated to making our campus more accessible to all students, particularly those with disabilities.”
- Community Engagement– “I will engage with the local community and other organisations to promote social justice and equality in the broader society.”
In terms of advocating for underrepresented groups, Nuri wants to be a “tireless advocate” for marginalised groups, including those from “various racial, gender, sexual orientation, disability and socio-economic backgrounds”.
Implement policies that “foster inclusivity and equality”
Nuri pledges to develop, reivew, and implement policies that “foster inclusivity and equality”, as well as introducing a regular audit of existing policies.
She wants to raise awareness and tackle issues of inequality and social justice by organising a range of workshops, campaigns, and events, to build an aware campus culture.
Enhancing Support Services is another main point in Nuri’s manifesto. She aims to improve access to council services, establish support groups, and setting up mentorship programs.
A more diverse curriculum for students
Nuri also wants to create a more diverse curriculum for students, with different cultural perspectives, reflecting the “world’s diveristy”.
In terms of experience that Nuri believes makes her suitable for the role, she points out her role as Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Office at UON, where she has been “instrumental in championing inclusivity across the university” and has “worked tirelessly to embed inclusivity into the fabric of university life”.
Directly supporting that community
She has also held the role of LGBT Officer, directly supporting that community, and focusing “on creating a university culture where individuals can freely express their identities.”
Finally, Nuri has been the Chair and President of the Queer People of Colour Society, shedding “light on the distinct experiences of queer people of colour”.
This manifesto is very genuine; Nuri clearly has a wealth of experience. Initiatives such as auditing existing policies to ensure they are not discriminatory are important and practical.
I think Nuri needs to be a bit clearer about specific steps she will take to achieve their goals, for example, ways in which she will make the campus more disability-friendly.
Full officer manifestos can be read on the UoNSU wesbite.
Hannah Walton-Hughes
Featured image courtesy of Korng Sok via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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