This year the King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held online. Students had the opportunity to learn and ask questions about what the KCLSU had been working on throughout the year.
Following a brief explanation of the structure of the AGM, the meeting kicked off with a recap of what the KCLSU’s current President, Zahra Syed, has achieved in her role. Syed talked about how she has used her time as president to advocate for the under-recognised voices of Black and Muslim students; prompt an investigation into spiking incidents affecting King’s students by writing to Southwark Council; and promote the representation of students in discussions over the University and College Union (UCU) strikes in term one via a general members’ meeting.
Two of the KCLSU Vice Presidents (VP Education for Arts and Sciences Hamza Lone and VP Activities and Development Arslan Zafar) then recapped their goals for their time as student officers, which ranged from: organising a cross-culture ball; enhancing the activities experience at King’s; improving exam support in the arts and sciences; and increasing student engagement with King’s Careers & Employability.
Attendees were then invited to ask Syed, Lone, and Zafar questions. Seeing as there were none, however, the questions discussed were pre-submitted. The first selected question demanded to know why the university has not offered any extra opportunities to students given the large chunk of money KCLSU receives from the university: “Where is the money going?” The SU responded by stating that “funding was a broad issue” and explaining that out of the (approximately) £100,000 they receive from the university each year, 1/3 is put towards representation while the other 2/3 is allocated to activities. According to the SU, money is used for both ‘visible and less visible projects’ such as the Welcome Fair and Black History Month.
“Extortionate rent prices” of the university’s accommodation were also brought to the table. KCLSU informed its audience that while there had been some deduction in rent in discussion, they could not reveal any final decisions on the matter.
Another submission questioned in accordance with VP Hamza Lone’s goals, students had been made more aware of career options. Lone responded that he had been working with career services closely, and that while it is not the SU’s job to ensure this goal comes to fruition, they are able to hold career service accountable and make them aware of issues. He also noted that societies can make students aware of career options.
The questions also shed light on the issue of the surfeit of funding brought about by the pandemic. In response, KCLSU explained that £400,000 of surplus funding is being put towards investments such as the refurbishment of Guy’s Bar and entertainment areas in Bush House. The remaining funds will make up for financial losses this year in commercial activity. If not used, the money will be re-deployed for projects next year. Despite this, certain groups – including sports teams and student media staff – noted that their allocated funds had been cut.
The three remaining KCLSU VPs, Fatimah Patel, Rebecca Seling, and Daniyal Ubaidullah, then recapped what they had been working on leading up to the AGM. This ranged from improving student representation by hiring more staff; decolonizing the curriculum; holding the in-person Welcome Fair; dealing with postgraduate finance; installing bidet showers to accommodate for students from different cultural and religious backgrounds, and helping religious students to organise events, like societies.
A second round of questions was then held for Patel, Seling, and Ubaidullah. When asked what work has been done on supporting in-person teaching and how this work has been balanced with an uncertain future concerning the pandemic, the SU responded that in-person teaching has been supported via the Keep It Real Campaign and meetings with Adam Fagan, VP of Education at King’s, which continue to hold the university accountable.
The AGM then moved on to debate the motions this year’s Student Officers proposed to the NUS, the National Union of Students. The first motion advocated for full support for striking employees at King’s. The argument for this motion emphasised that GTAs are teachers as well as students, and are therefore entitled to support from the Students’ Union. The argument against this motion stated students have already suffered enough due to a lack of teaching during the pandemic. It was further argued that it is more difficult for students to proactively succeed in their education.
The second motion promoted climate justice at King’s. Those in favour argued that research on sustainability let alone discussing climate change is a privilege, and that climate change negatively impacts marginalised people. The argument against evoked that King’s already has good sustainability targets and is already on its way to becoming a carbon-neutral university.
The third motion proposed the enforcement of the in-person teaching experience. When speaking for the motion, one officer stated students were “sick and tired” of studying behind laptops after two years of online teaching. It was argued that on-campus engagement, as well as speaking to fellow students, is essential to being a university student. It was also noted that since wearing a mask and getting a Covid-19 jab has become more normalised, an in-person experience is feasible. However, arguing against the motion, one speaker stated in-person teaching currently enforces a division between students and staff and that teachers should not have to hold in-person classes when they feel it is irresponsible. It was additionally put forth that in-person teaching at universities is mainly impacted by parliament. What is in our control is creating an “education system that works for everyone”, i.e. remedying gaps in pay and accessibility.
The final motion sought to decolonize and diversify the King’s medical curriculum. Time in favour highlighted unethical medical and scientific practices giving the example of Black women being more likely to suffer in medical care during pregnancy than white women. A speaker in favour argued King’s should make an effort to educate students about these issues. Without diversifying the curriculum, it was stated, other problems cannot be solved. However, a student speaking against the notion stated the best way to decolonize King’s is instead to engage with the question of a disparity in pay for lecturing staff along racial lines.
Overall, the KCLSU AGM was diverse in terms of the topics discussed and the various opinions shared within them. It remains to be seen whether these discussions will impact union policy.
