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Radhika Chond: SU Equal Opportunity and Welfare Candidate

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter.

Radhika Chond: SU Equal Opportunities and Welfare CandidateĀ 

Her Campus Nottingham caught up with Rads on Sutton Bonington, a bubbly returning 4th year student who wants to make your university experience as inclusive as possible. Can this welfare candidate provide you with the American Dream?

Ā 

What are you main manifesto points?

Iā€™m a returning 4th year student doing English and American Studies, so one of the main point that Iā€™m pushing for is inclusivity. I want to make sure that returning students feel as reintegrated as possible- I donā€™t want to bombard people with emails so maybe try and get a mini welfare mini team that can spread the word about services available to students with me- I want to make our platforms available for as many people as possible. At the end of the day I want studentā€™s time at Nottingham to be a home from home experience.

Why did you go for welfare?

Iā€™ve always been involved in the student body, either as course rep or as welfare officer for hindu society or american society, but also as a mentor to students in these societies. Iā€™m always there to provide a hard cup of a tea and a smile- and even a biscuit if Iā€™ve got one in my bag, Iā€™ve got Type 1 diabetes so Iā€™ve always got chocolate or something! I just want to make sure that people know where to go, my slogan is ā€˜putting the WE in welfareā€™, it canā€™t exist without us all working together

Ā 

How important do you deem welfare and equal opportunities to be on campus?

Everyone is talking about mental health awareness this year, itā€™s become a really big thing on campus, which is great! No one should ever have to struggle alone (thatā€™s one of my manifesto points), so I want to bring services to the students, including more welfare into welcome week and beyond would be great. I also want to introduce the concept of ā€˜wel-fairsā€™, three times in an academic year, have a tangible presence of our services on campus so you can see whatā€™s on offer, everything would be in one place.

What do you know of your competitors?

Everyone is really nice, in the collective spirit. Iā€™ve come back as a 4th year returning student so everyone is looking at me like, ā€˜who is this random girl?ā€™, but itā€™s nice to have gotten to know them through the training, Iā€™m really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out!

Ā 

QUICKFIRE ROUND

Ā 

Derbyā€¦ sheepā€¦ the football team? (take that off) Derby Hall? Inclusivity. Ah!

Lambā€¦ mint sauce (is that because you can smell lamb?) yes.

Welfareā€¦ us together

Trent NTU, inclusivity!

Ocean.. Hell yeah, friday nights

Where can you find you on Friday night?

Iā€™ll be in ocean, if you see red t shirts around come and say hi

Ā 

What is your go to hangover cure?

Scramble egg on toast with a big cup of tea and two sugars.

Are your hangovers getting worse?

Errā€¦ no! So far, no! Iā€™m the mum of the flat, churning out the food after a big night out.

What was the last text that you received?

[she checks] aw, it was checking up on my boyfriend telling him to have a good day at Starbucks

What do you miss about last year (abroad)?

The family spirit. Itā€™s something I actually wanted to bring back with me to Nottingham. I was in Vermont so there were mountains everywhere, I miss that too- thatā€™s why Iā€™m back in Sutton Bonington, missing the fresh air!

Anything else Rads?

Vote Rads to be the ā€˜WEā€™ in welfare! Weā€™re honestly just looking forward to meeting everyone with a smile.

Thanks Rads- good luck with the rest of your campaign!

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Fran McKay

Nottingham

  3rd Year, History & French, spending a year working in a primary school in Valence, France. Go on, have a read.