Introduction:
Hello everyone! Or should I say: dàjiā hǎo, sabhee ko namaskar, assalam-o-alaikum sab ko, dia duit gach duine, Ẹ kú gbogbo yin, ndewo onye ọ bụla, sannun ku.
I would like to start by saying a big thank you to everyone who took the time in their busy schedule to vote for me. As you are aware, my name is Oluwakemi (and I also go by ‘Joy’) and if you don’t know, now you know. I am going into my third-year LLB Law by God’s grace; I’m also your new Chair of Trustees and EDI Officer for the year 2025/26. My role as your EDI Officer is representing the interests and needs of students from marginalised and underrepresented groups at Birkbeck. I plan to raise awareness and educate the student body on issues of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Manifesto:
-
To ensure that the attainment awarding gaps for all BAME students is reduced to truly develop a more diverse and inclusive environment to all.
-
Improve communications between student and staff members to create access to success, particularly through creating a new policy for communication between academic tutors and their students.
-
Examining, and if necessary, updating, the university policies on underrepresented students, so that they can be treated with respect and fairness
-
Paying more attention to all the network within Birbeck by organising frequent events to rebuild engagement with students.
-
Obtain feedback from students after any event to ensure that we are improving student experience within Birbeck.
A Bit About Me
Fun Fact About Me
I had the opportunity to visit Ferrari’s headquarters in Italy sponsored by Santander Bank. Two other fun facts are that I learnt how to swim at a later stage in life and I wrote in a poem book in secondary school.
Why did you run in the elections?
As a mature student, I chose to study law at Birbeck college, University of London due to the evening classes. Initially, my plan was to study without engaging with any extra curriculum activities as my main goal was ensuring that I focus and achieve the best grade possible: a 1st class degree. Although my original plan was to focus only on university work such as exams and assignments, this mindset did not foster the curiosity, interest in justice and critical thinking that I had hope to strengthen. However, when I joined Santander Bank on their Scholars Programme, it gave me the opportunity to improve my social and networking skills. I also gained an understanding of the importance of engaging in communities at university which can lead to a positive impact on my goals and aspirations.
During my second year, I went through an allegation of academic misconduct, and I was unaware of the huge support that the Student Union could have offered, instead of me going through it alone. There was a lot of disparities during my experience which led to campaigning as an EDI officer and later became the Chair of Trustees for the Student Union after receiving the most votes.
At the time of my campaign, the students who I had spoken to from underrepresented backgrounds had one thing common. They had been through an alleged academic misconduct case or had issues with their grades. Most student did not have an open line of communication between themselves and their tutors. I believe in order the succussed in an institution such as Higher Education, you need to be in contact with your tutors and module convener.
I plan to achieve my manifesto through undertaking the following actions: