Co-President Activities and Events

Hey, I'm Safia. I’ve been a part of SOAS for nearly four years, currently studying Migration and Diaspora studies, and I’m standing for Co-President of Activities & Events.

We are strongest when we come together as a community.  As co-president, I will commit to building student solidarity, revitalising and democratising events, and empowering student groups and societies.

I remind you, friends, that the SOAS Student Union exists to represent and serve the student body and OUR wider community; it’s a space of radical love, collective liberation and joy. Solidarity and community building should be priorities in an SU that has been neglected for too long and has forced the student body to choose between either the commercialised “university experience” or hyper-political standpoints. 

That starts with challenging the erosion of community spirit and with a Sabbatical Officer who serves YOUR interests above all else. 

If elected I pledge the following:

1. Great parties, for everyone, but that’s just the beginning. 

2. Community-building initiatives:

• Reinstate the food co-op to provide free groceries.
• Establish a ‘SOAS Car Boot’, including clothes swapping, crafts, bake sales, and a platform for campaign fundraising tables.
• Collaborate with other sabbatical officers, student staff, and "Enough is Enough" to create safe and sensory-friendly spaces during late licences, extending welfare support to student staff as well as tackling the hostile gendered environment emerging on campus by holding focus groups to inform and establish women-focused events and spaces.
• Conduct weekly open surgeries, in person and online, to address student concerns and ensure transparency. 
• Demand that security working late licences are both in-house staff and provided with Enough is Enough ‘good night out’ training. 

3. Empowering Societies and Democratising Processes:

• Advocate and fight for an SU budget increase in line with inflation from the administration.

• Being on campus for all of my working hours to maximise my accessibility to students. While sabbatical officers may be able to answer emails from home, that is not a substitute for being available for face-to-face support for students when needed.

• Empower societies and student groups by fostering event coordination, management, planning, and execution skills, including facilitating room booking. 

• Establish a democratic forum for societies to collectively participate in event planning, deciding on late licence dates, themes, and budget allocation. Additionally, ensure clear and timely communication and scheduling for student union events to replace the past year's ad hoc and poorly communicated updates. 

4. Bringing Live Music and Art back onto campus:

• SOAS has a vibrant community of musicians and performance artists, yet both the JCR and Bar space are under-utilised. I will form a committee of creative/performance societies and student groups to democratically decide on a rich and engaging timetable of yearly events and facilitate training to use the audio equipment that is currently in disrepair.