My Manifesto

My name is Ogugua Ogbuagu and I would like to be considered for the post of the BME (Black and Minority Ethnic student representative). If I were to be elected into office, my five (5) key focuses would be to:

• Empower students by providing a forum for the sharing of ideas, experiences, information and issues common to Black and Minority Ethnic students. This forum would be seen as a vehicle for professional development, achieving a culture change and disseminating ways of managing diversity to the benefit of students, and also provide feedback system for BME students which allows them to disclose concerns about anything they may feel passionate about from their own personal wellbeing and experience in the university as a whole. The Equality Act places a general duty on public bodies and organisations to ensure that they promote equality of opportunity, good race relations and prevent unlawful discrimination.
• Organise events such as half day workshops, seminars, trainings and conferences where BME professionals from diverse works of life would be invited to speak to students on issues such as Bullying & Harassment, Cultural Awareness & Intelligence, Conscious & Un-conscious Bias, Conflict Resolution & Management etc., and also help equip them with necessary skills sets needed to succeed and excel in their academics.
• The University‘s Equality and Diversity Annual Report highlighted that BME students are less likely to agree that assessment arrangements and marking have been fair to them than their white peers. I will be the voice for BME students and work with the university to explore ways to address potential bias in student assessment processes.
• Work with the university in promoting the health and wellbeing of BME students by raising awareness on important and more pressing health issues like mental health, cancer, diabetes that are more common within the BME community, and get more minority led events to promote the spirit of inclusion.
• Work side by side with the Student Union in resolving BME student issues that they may feel on a grand scale, need addressing by the University.