Plymouth Gazette are working with UPSU during this student election cycle to bring the candidates to you in their own words, unedited and unabridged to represent their true personalities and passion. These are Takudzwa Mawera’s answers to our questions. Takudzwa is running for VP Wellbeing and Diversity.
Why are you running for your role?
I am running for Vice President of Wellbeing and Diversity, because I want International Students and BAME Students to be fully supported, celebrated and recognised for their presence and contribution to the University Of Plymouth. I am running for this role to establish a foundation which bridges the gap between the local and international students through education, awareness and advocacy to understand, appreciate and accept everyone despite their sexuality, culture, religion, aesthetic and country of origin. I also want to enforce a culture where mental health is respected and should not be treated as an excuse but as a priority through services which will directly support and help students, within time, efficiently and accurately. Mental health is health and no one’s health should deteriorate due to multiple chains and systems which take time for someone to get back to them. My main goal is to unearth the core reasons why no one trusts or believes in the Student Union and correcting the wrongs that the institution has not paid attention to, which will bring a future well established union that students can rely on.
What makes you different to the other candidates running?
My slogan #TriumphWithTaku makes me different from other candidates. I chose the word triumph as I am emphasising that winning this role is not about me, myself and I, it is about everyone who did or did not support me to achieve what they are wishing and wanting to be changed within the university. It would be nice to say vote for me to be your number one candidate, when we all can be number one. Due to my high school experiences leading up to today, I have longed to belong to a community that works together despite our differences and that is where my passion comes from in wanting everyone to feel like we are one and together in wanting to achieve a happy, successful and empowering environment which deeply respects the notion of us being human despite our skin colour, who we love, what we believe in and what makes us unique.
In what way will you improve the influence of the student voice on the way that the university and SU operates?
I would simply need to direct them to the core issues coming from the student body. I feel they have forgotten that everything about who and what they are would not be without the students. A base level of understanding and education is strongly needed for them to realise that being in any position that has a responsibility towards another, it is your duty to serve, guide, protect and be aware of what is happening and take action accordingly. My personal experience would be the main inspiration to showcase how even if a member of a student council like I could get their issues ignored which was publicly shown to everyone then what about an average student who is seeking for justice and help in a time they would need it. That is when the emphasis on mental health becomes crucial, because matters like that could lead to someone’s mental state deteriorating, substance abuse or get to a point of suicide due to negligence and ignorance playing a huge role in not caring or listening to someone’s crisis.
If you could only pass through one of your policies this year, what would it be and why?
A policy I would want to implement is an Educational Liberation and Awareness Talk Series. This policy will give individuals, societies and sports clubs the opportunity to have a platform to address key topics from various perspectives and invite speakers to discuss issues that affect wellbeing and diversity. These speakers can be anyone of their choice and can also include other visiting officers from different student unions across the United Kingdom to speak on key issues and how they have addressed them in their respective unions. This will bring a broader understanding on how wellbeing and diversity has affected students in university and can help bridge the gap in education, awareness and advocacy. Once this policy comes into effect and yields good results in creating and celebrating a diverse environment, hopefully this will be ingrained in the student union and make it a permanent policy to the university as it will bring students together. International and BAME students would be crucial for this project as they can share what happens in their culture and native
countries which will help in supporting, bridging gaps and educating everyone on how important it is to acknowledge that diversity is beautiful.
What approach are you going to take this year regarding working virtually and in person during your time in office?
My approach has already started thanks to my Instagram and Facebook campaign pages. Showcasing education and interaction with the student body on what matters they are going through and what issues need to be addressed. This was an exemplary way to show everyone else the things that are missing. The beauty of Instagram is that people can freely say and express what they want and I would be the only one who knows who it is but when shared to the public it will be anonymously presented which protects the student’s identity to avoid being bullied or victimised for simply speaking out. Virtually this would be a good way to show transparency and clarity upon matters as other posts give information on certain subjects to raise awareness. Physically this would depend on how the pandemic is going. Covid-19 has proven countless times that it is deadly and can easily spread. If we ever get back to normal without the lockdown, we could work with each other and do more physically but strongly enforcing students and everyone to social distance, mask up and sanitize to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Do you think there should be more emphasis placed onto students to either get their work and research published in academic journals or to compete representing the university in their sports clubs/societies? Why?
Yes, there should be more emphasis placed onto students to showcase their work and research in academic journals. This would not only bring a wider or various approaches to a subject but will give every student a fair chance at being recognized and appreciated for their work and could catapult them into careers in ways that one would not normally do. We live in a global and internet era where that would be the greatest advantage to have many people across the globe appreciate and recognise you for who you are. Competition is healthy and at times can drive someone to do better, however I disagree with that notion as many competitions could lead to bias and most students who have the potential will never get recognized. My entire manifesto solely focuses on every student being included, given the current atmosphere. If you have a friend to elevate you, then you’d be continuously praised, not by your talent but simply favouritism. There are ways to get outstanding students to represent the university in a way that everyone is celebrated and this would give a fair chance for everyone to be showcased for what they are good in.
How will you improve the university services digitally and in person?
I will take one key aspect of my manifesto that focuses on inclusivity and my experience of Instagram during this campaign period. This would be a question and answer system, or a platform to voice out matters, to allow students to publicly and anonymously ask questions and raise issues on what is going on. The main issue highlighted by the student body with regards to the university and Student Union is transparency so digitally, I believe this would be a success! The goal is to establish direct communication and show encouragement to let others speak up and open up instead of staying quiet. This would provide information to the student union and other officers on what is happening and they can also use the platform to answer, respond and give information on what can be done or have a person directly communicate with the student on an issue they would need counselling or guidance on. (This system could potentially be developed into an app). Until lockdown is lifted and it is safe for everyone to travel, I would focus on maintaining the Covid-19 rules, to avoid another outbreak of the virus.
Students can vote from the 26/02 – 05/03 on the UPSU website