Vice President of Community Interview

The last semester of the year is a time for reflection for many people. Many students are looking forward to finishing off their studies. Meanwhile, final year students, like myself, are finishing up the final assessments for their degree and preparing their next steps. So, I decided to interview Jazmine, the Vice President of Community at DUSA to look back on university life.

How did you get into your role as Vice President of Community?

I ran for election in March last year and I was successfully voted in! It was a great week of campaigning before election results were announced.

You have been greatly involved and invested in the Community Action Forum. So, what have been the best moments of your involvement with the forum?

The greatest parts of the Community Action Forum have been when students have been empowered enough to do things of their own accord. For example, we’ve had a few members chair the meeting who have never done so before and others have gone on to organise their own actions or find groups of students out with the forum to engage with.

Has your role as Vice President of Community inspired you to make this kind of work a career after university?

Yes, absolutely! As I graduate in June, I’m now looking to go into the charity sector more broadly. My dream role would be in community engagement somewhere in Dundee so I can use my skills and talents to help the wider city.

Since you are in your final year of university, how do you want to leave your legacy?

I want to see DUSA facilitating permanent support for student-led campaigning. In the past, students like myself have tried to go to DUSA for help with this and received little response. This year, I have consciously been a person people can go to for help making change in their community and I hope this spirit and activity continues.

From our past articles, I know that you have done activist work before becoming Vice President of Community. So, did this work motivate you to run for this role?

Yes, definitely. Before I was VPC, I was on the committee of the Socialist Society, and I was involved in wider campaigns around housing and the cost of living. It was the lack of this kind of activity in DUSA which motivated me to run.

What would your goals be for the next Vice President of Community?

To be honest, it’s not really my place to set goals for the next VPC. Whoever it is will write their manifesto and it will be down to them to see it through. I hope they feel as empowered and motivated as I have to make real change on campus and beyond.

What advice would you give to a student who is considering running for Vice President of Community?

If you’ve got the passion for the role and time to give, then go for it! It’s a really great opportunity to make real change to the lives of others but also a great experience that will help you for life

Do you think that student experience has been improved through your role?

From your past activist work, what would you say was the highlight? And what have you learned from this?

Possibly my favourite moment was last year when I was involved in the sit in the Tower Building outside the Principal’s office. This was in support of the UCU strikes and some of our demands were met but it was actually the sense of community and comradery that we felt working and being together that I look back on most fondly.

I sure hope so! We’ve received really good feedback on the Community Action Forum and other projects as I’ve been a part of like LGBT+ History Month. Though, ultimately, it is the student body who can answer this question better than myself.

Do you have any other questions you want to include in the interview?

I just hope that my run as VPC has been a good one and I look forward to seeing who’ll be in the role next!

And neither was this academic year. I would describe it as more of a swirl; a whirlwind of first experiences and mixed feelings.

In September, the sun shone, doors opened, and the Freshers fair sparked the campus into life with an energy previously locked away. Now, as we approach the end of the year, the sunset begins slowly, not ready for the night to set in just yet. Social calendars brim at the seams, circles of people gather to stress over their final projects together, and the seemingly endless series of academic firsts and lasts continues. As first years’ experience their first exams, their first “last class of the year”, and their first parting with friends to embark on their summer plans, fourth years prepare for their last deadline, graduation, and post-undergraduate life.