Nominations: Nominations closed
Voting: Voting closed
Election
Read about what the People of Colour (POC) Officer is responsible for.
Please note that this role has changed from BME Officer following an Amendment to the Governing Documents.
In order to vote for this position you must self-define as a student from a Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) or People of Colour (POC) background.
Category
Candidates
Rawleka Wilson and Rachel Lim
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
Rawleka: Having been a head girl and SU hall rep, my experience and vibrant personality will contribute to exciting events that celebrate POC voices. Navigating life as a black woman makes me more socially conscious about cultural experiences and their intersectionality. I'm excited to be a voice of change so that no one feels alone.
Rachel: As a Student Trustee, I'm responsible & hardworking and understand the need to continuously push to get things done. As an international, it's easy to stay in your comfort zone, but I know fostering a POC network for all can only add to our experience.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
Increase network visibility- changing it from a society equivalent to one of the first safe and dynamic spaces you know of as a POC student. We hope to effectively connect the UCL POC community on a larger scale with:
- Activities e.g. Come Dine with Me
- Talks with POC professionals/artists
- Collabs with cultural societies
- Small family groups within the network
- Diversity fairs
We also plan to:
- Decolonise the curriculum- workshops on challenging stereotypes
- Committee positions for specific ethnicities so many voices are heard
- Destigmatise mental health
- Zero tolerance for racism
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
With Rawleka being a 1st gen immigrant from Montserrat and Rachel an international student from Hong Kong, we have a nuanced platform to better understand and represent POC interests in the SU. We're both fiercely engaged, and because of our diversity, understand the importance of including as many voices within our community.
Our main priority is making sure our narrative is not told by someone else in the SU, as well as building a strong network and UCL identity within the POC community through fun, challenging engagement to question and reaffirm where and how we stand at UCL.
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Audrey Wong and Michelle Teh
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
Hey, I'm Michelle. As a law student, I have placed in several negotiations competitions, advocating for my party’s interests. I have also ran events as a committee member for UCL Gaming Society, and interned at an esports organisation, developing communication and speaking abilities.
And hi, I’m Audrey. I have volunteered at a charity aiding children of ethnic minorities and worked as a transition mentor, strengthening my empathetic qualities and communication skills. My experience in organising events will allow us to work well to represent the POC community.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
Our main goals for this year: (i) increase engagement with the students we represent, (ii) provide accessible forms of communication, and (iii) create a space for POC students through social events. This is how we will achieve this:
- implementing an anonymous feedback forum for students to raise any concerns
- using feedback to make informed decisions for POC community at UCL SU meetings
- hosting social events (freshers’ food crawl, board games nights, arts sessions, historical awareness nights)
- creating a resource for students to find POC opportunities at UCL and other careers events
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
In summary, we hope to better represent you as a community and ensure your needs are met, while also bringing more events to students socially, and from a careers perspective.
We’ve been good friends for several years, from running in a school club together, to being housemates; we’re confident that this will translate to our work as your POC officers. As international students ourselves, we understand the challenges POC students may face that are often overlooked, and we hope to be the ones you can turn to.
Thank you for taking the time to read till the end :) Vote Michelle and Audrey!
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Becky Fay
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
From my experience as Head Girl in Sixth Form, I am able to bring leadership and teamwork skills which I think are key to this role. Organizing multiple events to celebrate Black History Month enhanced my organization and presentation skills.
Furthermore, I have great communication and listening skills which will enable me to echo the voices of POC within UCL to ensure they are heard and supported.
I am very driven and motivated to promote change through this role due to my personal experience as a POC and my empathetic character. Therefore, I will apply these skills to the fullest.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
I hope to enhance the education and appreciation of POC and their cultures through:
- Events, social media, the arts and other accessible forms of media in order to raise awareness of the importance of inclusion.
Enhance unity amongst the POC community at UCL through:
- Promoting more joint events and socials amongst societies that represent POC with the aim of enhancing unity amongst this community at UCL.
Further the campaign to decolonise UCL Through:
- Projects aimed at reducing the BAME awarding gap: new modules, events and speakers to inspire and support POC.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
Growing up with two contrasting identities and cultures, I understand that feeling of not 'fitting in', not being heard or understood. This motivates me to do my part in making sure that fewer POC have this experience so that they can continue to strive and achieve excellence with no insecurities about their place in this community.
I am equipped with the skills and motivation to promote inclusion in order to create a space of unity and comfort for all. Given the opportunity, I aim to enhance this space in which we can celebrate the identity, culture and excellence of POC.
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