VP Education – Health candidate Rashikkha Ra Iyer presents her agenda for the 2021 KCLSU Spring Election.
Hello everyone! My name is Rashikkha Ra Iyer and I am running for the post of Vice President Education Health. I am a qualified mental health professional and currently pursuing my second Master’s degree specialising in Addiction Studies.
I was elected to the UDC Sustainability Council and as an MSc course representative during the autumn elections at KCL. I have been very passionate about serving people from a young age – probably the soul of an empath? I have also held leadership roles in all the different institutions I have studied throughout my life. At the institution where I did my undergraduate degree, I was the student representative for the Center for Women’s Studies and empowerment (it was a women’s college). It was a role very similar to Vice President Education Health and I carried the role very well. I brought up revolutionary changes that the institution still speak of and enjoy. Thus, I feel I have the right combination of passion to serve coupled with theoretical/practical knowledge of leadership.
Student and university life is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Living it in a pandemic context is very debilitating, yes! However, I believe that when there is a will, there definitely is a way. I have the fierce urge to enhance the student experience for our whole community at KCL. This is precisely why I gave a very careful thought, time and planning while collating my manifesto. I ask that all of you to spare a few moments to go through my manifesto.
I want to assure all of you that every point in my manifesto is completely achievable in the span of one year if I do manage to get elected as the Vice President Education Health. In the current context, there are extensive conversations taking place about partial/full tuition refunds. However, on a more practical note, I don’t see King’s arranging for a refund. I would definitely work to see how best I can contribute towards the negotiations for a refund. However, rather than taking a road that is going to take us nowhere, I would prefer travelling in a direction where I can find my destination. Thus, I want to strive to bring back all the facilities and amenities that students deserve for the money they are paying at both the campuses and the student halls. I want to work on bringing all of these back rather than making a promise for a refund which I don’t see coming.
This work of mine shall include things such as procuring clinical placements, access to libraries, increased time in study spaces, accelerating research programs in a pandemic context and re-opening existing opportunities and avenues and creating new ones as well. Likewise, I have multiple things written down in my manifesto which I have carefully worked on. Being a mental health professional, I am typically used to dissecting every problem, issue, initiative… just anything and everything in a systematic and organized way. This empowers me to make the best decisions that are not just based on intuitions/guts or hindsight bias. I can guarantee that everything I do comes after extensive thought where I would have already run the situation in my head multiple times. Thus, I believe that I have the capability to effectively deliver everything promised in my manifesto coupled with the proficient handling of other issues students want solved.
Please do raise your voice for the right and best choice – which is definitely me. You all trusted in me and voted for me once, so why not do that again? It is Rashikkha Ra Iyer for Vice President Education Health.
Disclaimer: Roar neither supports nor endorses any candidate/group of candidates in this or any other KCLSU election. Roar reached out to all candidates on this year’s ballot, offering each equal notice and opportunity to write op-eds laying forth their platforms. This op-ed was edited minimally to ensure quality/clarity, and none of the candidate’s views were altered in any way. The candidate’s views do not necessarily reflect views held by Roar or Roar’s editorial board. Further candidate op-eds can be found here.
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