Hi, my name is Abdulsamad Afolabi, a third year at the University of Central Lancashire, currently studying Civil Engineering. I’m your Black Students’ Representative for this year and this is my story of how I wanted to take up this position and become elected.

It all started in 2022, during my first year when there was an opportunity to apply to become a Course Representative. I was immediately interested and began preparing my speech and deciding what I’d want to work on in this position. I wasn’t sure that I would be convincing enough to win over my course mates, but to my surprise, I did and was elected! I kept to my commitments throughout the year by attending Course Rep training, all scheduled meetings and listened to any feedback and concerns my course mates had about our course. All feedback and concerns raised with me, I made sure to pass on to the team at the chance of it being resolved.

Moving into second year, there was another opportunity of becoming Course Rep. There wasn’t much interest in the role this year, so I emailed my course leader about my interest. No election was held this time and so I was given the role. I treated the role the same as the previous year, attending meetings, training and raising any feedback and concerns with the Students’ Union and course leads.

During my second year, at the time of the Students’ Union Elections, there was an opening for the Black Students’ Representative Position. I knew immediately that I wanted to nominate myself, represent my community and see where the role would take me. I put all my effort into writing my manifesto, drawing attention to what I wanted to work on and the change I could make. Once I nominated myself and published my manifesto, I campaigned across campus and to my surprise, I won! I couldn’t believe that I was elected as the Black Students’ Representative, and now had the chance to enact change for my community.

Once elected, I was contacted by the Advocacy team at the Students’ Union, who spoke to me about microaggressions and the awarding gap for black students. I was shocked to hear that these were issues not widely spoken about or addressed by the University, and so was glad to be contacted in an effort to change how the University mark their student’s assignments.

Fast forward to my third year where I became part of the Student’s Council as the Black Students’ Representative.

The main reason I wanted to be in this role was simply that I wanted change. After the sudden death of George Floyd, the unfairness of the judicial system and the wave of police brutality, it made me sad but pushed me to think about how I wanted to be effective in this role for others and not sit there silent. Although the Equality Act was introduced in 2010 to make sure everyone has a fair chance in life and the ability to work without the fear of being judged, this unfortunately isn’t always the case, especially within law enforcement and the way the black community are treated. I want to ensure that every black student has a fair opportunity when it comes to their assignments and push the university to offer a platform where students can discuss microaggressions that happen to them, with the option to be anonymous.

The second reason I wanted to take up this role was for personal and professional development. I love talking and networking with people, and I knew this role would enhance my communication skills. Furthermore, I wanted the experience of leading and being part of something bigger than me.

My advice if you’re interested in becoming the next Black Students’ Rep, or want to become the representative for your community – If you want to stand up but feel you may not be quite ready or you won’t get elected, but you want to make positive and lasting change – go for it! If you get the role, amazing! You have work to do for your community. And if you don’t get elected, don’t be disheartened, don’t give up, keep trying until you succeed and learn from it – you don’t have to be in a position of power to enact change.

Thank you for reading my article, and I look forward to collaborating with you as the Black Student Representative.

Abdulsamad Afolabi