Hi! My name is Kseniia, I am a second-year Media student from as far as Siberia, Russia, and hopefully your next International Officer. Having started with an Integrated degree 3 years ago, I have truly felt the hardships of adulting and growing independent all by myself in London. I believe I have not had the adaptation support that I deserved and I am desperate to be the last generation of Goldsmiths internationals to endure these difficulties.

The UK is currently not the nicest place to be an immigrant in. All the openly discriminatory laws, extortionate international student fees and extreme visa requirements – do they just not want us here? We have all come a long way to achieve our admission to this university.  And we are here to reap our rewards and be treated on equal grounds with home students.

Goldsmiths still gets away with putting minimal resources into international students’ wellbeing. We have some international societies, a formal Immigration office not-too-keen on replies and a yearly meet-up for freshers. Previous campaigns were targeted towards easing international students’ adaptability to the English culture and language. I am here to contribute to the diversity of Goldsmiths by highlighting our unique national belongings instead.

With my long-standing experience as an International Student Content Creator, Student Ambassador, Mentor and Programme Rep, I have developed a wide professional network within the university, gaining key points of contact and vital skills of persuasion and organisation to bring my ideas to the raw and real Goldsmiths international life. I promise to do so with immense creativity and imagination, raising awareness and proudly campaigning through personal and mediated channels, which I mastered as part of my Media degree. 

Here is how we will achieve this together:

1. Levelling the playing field

• Strikes and marking boycotts disproportionally affect international students, who rely on their yearly grades for visa applications and extensions. I will apply appropriate pressure to prioritize international students throughout university crises to minimize the crippling precarity of international students in Goldsmiths. 
• I will vouch for a more efficient system of recording and reporting attendance than Seats.
• I will suggest expansion of international bursaries to negate the impact of disproportionately growing student fees.

2. Local crises

• I will expand the support options available to international students during local crises beyond the Warden’s occasional e-mails. I will organize support groups and safeguarded gatherings for students from all sides of political conflicts. If we stay true to the Goldsmiths’ spirit, we accept no more ‘politically controversial’ identities.

3. Advice and Support

• I will aim to organize a student-led support system outside of the popularly dreaded Immigration office to deal with non-visa-related issues. We will organize welcome and termly meet-ups, discussion boards, and even 1-2-1 mentoring sessions between international freshers and more experienced students to provide practical tips on immigration struggles.
• I will suggestan addition of sessions on culture and British living to the current language-based curriculum of the CALL centre.

4. International events and societies

• While the Goldsmiths SU does offer cultural societies, I will vouch for expanding the range. We will also aim for societies around learning a new language or speaking it on a native level to share and cherish it as an integral part of one's identity.
• I will raise the question of organizing temporary societies for exchange students to improve their experience in the UK through connection with each other in voluntary trips and with permanent Goldsmiths students through SU activities.

Let’s make it happen – vote for Kseniia because Goldsmiths is your Home too.