Nomination to the Role of NUS Liberation Conference Rep (Black Female LGBT+ Students)

I am Wonderful Tomilade Aderibigbe, running in the Leeds Beckett Student Union Leadership Elections, for the role of NUS Liberation Conference Rep. I have a first degree in psychology, and I am currently running a master’s programme in project management. I am a black female LGBT+ student, and so I am running to stand as a queer black female representative at the Liberation Conference, on behalf of queer, black, minority students, and students with disabilities at Leeds Beckett.

I hope to stand as a voice for queer, black, minority, and students with disabilities at Leeds Beckett, and to do this, I need to achieve two things, the first of which is becoming the elected student rep. The second, and the much more important goal is to understand the pain and needs of queer, black, minority students, and students with disabilities. While Leeds Beckett is diverse and strives to be an inclusive environment for all students, it is important to understand if and any challenges students might be facing outside the school, at their jobs or while job hunting, and any need for changes in government policies at the national level. It is also important to start conversations around delivering inclusive education for students with mental and developmental disabilities (disabilities that are not immediately visible to the eyes).

At an individual level, it might be impossible to achieve much change, but with the power of the NUS, there is so much more we can achieve. The Leeds Beckett student population, and in many other schools across the country, is largely immigrants who come from different sociocultural backgrounds from their host countries, and to make their studies and stay here fulfilling, it is important to take this into consideration in designing and planning policies that are immigrant student friendly, especially visa and entry policies.

Voted in as a rep to the conference, I plan to vote on policies that target immigrant students, and to also vote on policies that target queer, black, minority students, and students with disabilities. Beyond the conference, I plan to volunteer with the newly elected student council body to foster conversations and eventually influence school policies that are friendly to and benefit queer, black, minority students, and students with disabilities. I firmly believe that there is so much we can achieve by lending our voices to causes that are important to us.

Vote For LADE For NUS Liberation Conference Rep!!!