Accessible Education Officer – Evan Newman
My name is Evan Newman, I’m a Sociology and History student, and I’m a candidate for Accessible Education Officer.
“I believe it is vital that all students can access education from the same starting line. Where this isn’t possible, I will be relentless in campaigning for changes, big and small, to create an equitable learning environment. Voting for me is voting for your fellow students to learn equally!”
How do you aim to help students in the midst of financial hardship?
One of my main manifesto points is the expansion of Qwork, which is like an internal job platform for students to get jobs within the university. Obviously, we know that students from certain backgrounds, especially those that struggle with accessibility, struggle to gain and keep part-time jobs alongside their studies. Expanding Qwork will protect those students and encourage them to get part-time work that works around their schedule and any difficulties they might have in a part-time job that might be more rigid in the kind of request of you to be there for a certain amount of hours or do certain jobs that you may be unable to do. And so you’re protected by the uni when you work for Qwork.
What do you think isn’t been done enough by the SU in terms of accessibility, and what are your additional plans for improvement?
I think the SU has done a lot of amazing stuff, but I think a lot of times the job previously was diversity and equality. There’s been a lot of focus on maybe one group that struggles with accessibility at a time. I think there are a lot of things that can be done that will help several groups that struggle with accessibility with one or two really strong policies. And that’s kinda what I hope to do through my work.
What experience – in SU and general student involvement – can you bring to this role?
I’m currently the vice president of Project Choice, which is the reproductive rights campaign group on campus. I’m also the equality and diversity officer of Queen’s Taijutsu, which is a martial arts society. I work with the widening participation unit, which is paid work on campus that helps students who may be less likely to go to university, get a taste of university life, and hopefully encourage them to go into higher education. I feel like I have a fair background in helping students get as involved as possible in university life and the community, and I’d love to bring that kind of passion to the role if I was elected.
What do you do in your free time?
I do a lot of martial arts. At the moment, I’m doing Taijutsu, but I do have a black belt in Gracie.
In 5 words or less, what is your campaign about?
Including absolutely everyone!
You can read Evan’s manifesto here.
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