The Students' Voice
Celebrating the real experiences of British Students Decolonising…
Jay Patel
Creative Skills: Community Artist Antiracist Educator Cross Cultural Broker Graphic Designer Media Production Intergenerational Healing Decolonial Facilitator StoryTelling Creative Writing Poetry & Prose Human Interaction Photography
Facilitating creative workshops to produce provocations for Student-Staff Interactions for this University event:
I am grateful to be co-creating a transformational platform for the UEL community, that encourages staff-student interaction & healthy dialogue around the progressive ways in which academics can actively participate in addressing the ‘Awarding’ Gap in Higher Education. The Innovative short films made by Equity Champions (ECs), Nesmie Konstantine, Jasz Brown, Talyaan Pambou & Louize Williams, stimulates deeper Self-Reflection by, & Increased Accountability from, us as educators. Teaching staff are being invited to reconsider how cultural identities & Eurocentric conditioning, often can subconsciously influence our practices in the setting.
Through hearing the students’ individual, & collective, journeys, of learning, against a backdrop of unparalleled national, & global, transition, I feel heartened by how the Equity Champions are rising to the challenge in bringing their vital voices forward, articulating their respective lived realities as British, & Black-British, students, sharing their stories & spirits, to creatively illustrate how institutional, imperial, dynamics & systems are relevant to the ‘Gap’.
A highlight of this process-based project, has been Witnessing the Passion & Courage with which the Equity Champions are Raising our Awareness of the impact of “Whiteness”, & of intersecting social constructs, such as Class, Gender, Sexuality, Heteronormativity, Ablesim, Afriphobia/ Anti-Black racism, on those of us colonially-categorised as “BAME”, exploring how the Eurocentric practice of ‘othering’ still affects students’ academic experiences & outcomes.
It’s inspiring to see how the Conscious Action of Holding Space for these Experiential Heart-Opening conversations between Students & Staff, & how establishing Safer, Braver Spaces to Be Seen & Be Heard, continues to inform our group process in co-building a more Equitable Legacy of Liberating, & Uniting, at the Human level.
Taking this learning forward, my hope is that more of us will continue choosing to Look Within, to interrogate our own inherited biases with integrity, & consciously-Decolonise Our Own Practices, as well as Our Minds, striving to embody, & embed, shared values of Inclusivity & Compassion for all learners, at UEL & beyond.
I thank everyone who contributed towards this exciting project, including Dr. Martin Heaney, Prof. Marcia Wilson, Esohe Uwadiae, Fitzroy Andrew, the OIE, the Equity Collective, Terri Foreman, Melania Adinolfi, the ACI, & the incredible ECs, with whom we are lucky to be collaborating.
Talyaan Pambou
Creative Skills: Actor Dancer Rapper Poet Song writer Singer
Hi, my name is Talyaan Pambou and I’m a proud member of the Student Equity Champions at the University Of East London.
Now, I could sit here and talk about my love for performing arts, how I’ve been on stage since I was 6, been in various theatre productions around the England and appeared on national Television twice, but that doesn’t seem very interesting. I’d much rather discuss the journey of me finding the same thing we’re all searching for in this life, our identity!
Growing up, identity was a foreign concept to me. I mean, with a Jamaican mother and a Congolese Father, I naturally grew up a little confused, never really picking a particular culture to fall into. Not to mention the dominant British culture I was raised in.
Five different Fish and Chip shops on my road, constant reruns of Coronation Street, and the threat to assimilate into a society that excepted nothing but the gold standard (more like ‘white standard’).
As I got older, the child who wanted nothing more than to go on adventures to Neverland with Han Solo and Spider-Man, realised that being a Black man meant that I didn’t get the privilege to live at Disney.
My reality was a little different.
My reality was being threatened by the white kids before school, every day.
My reality was going to a college on the other side of town, just to get away from my rough neighborhood.
My reality was changing who I was, so I didn’t appear as “too ghetto” for my white friends.
All of this was just to fit into a society that’s been colonising me since the day I was born. Luckily I wasn’t alone.
My reality’s also having three sisters ready to go to war with me.
My reality’s having the warmth and comfort of Caribbean through my mother.
My reality’s having the strength and pride of Africa through my father.
However, now I have the knowledge of who I am through my experience with The Student Equity Champions. While this group is still facing colonisation from overseers, our power is displayed by our choice to fight back against injustice, and let the truth see the light of day, though art.
So now if you were to ask me who I am, I’d tell you I’m just a kid from Birmingham, trying to take my people to Neverland.
Jasz Brown
Creative Skills: Actor Writer Equity Champion
My name is Jasz Brown, I am an Actor, Writer, and an Equity Champion at the University Of East London.
I am from northwest London, & have always had a passion regarding the arts, from my first role at 6 as Father Christmas to this current day. I have been raised in a very creative multi cultural family, where I was taught art another language that very few can speak or fully understand, so I try to use my craft to create real thought provoking content that has substance . The role of Equity Champion has been amazing. It has helped me find a way to bridge & address current issues I feel are overlooked on day to day life. The tools I have gained will last me a life time.
Nesmie Constantine
Creative Skills: Actor Writer Equity Champion
It was hard for me to learn how to become comfortable with my skin. It was hard for me to understand that I was extremely vulnerable in my school community.
At a young age I didn’t understand why I was i othered, condemned, bullied. All because the curls in my hair stood and my skin needed much more attention than others. I was different . But I was much more than that. I was black. I am black. My envision is to lift up my people in a society where the system wants us to remain low. As a black woman, I’ve fought battles unconsciously and only now started to confront the scars. Scars I no longer want for my brother and sisters. I’m here to raise awareness, transform the story and reclaim power. I honestly feel that this my mission on earth.
We’re in the process of adding more experiences, so please keep checking back.