Date embedded:
Proposed by: Annika Ramos (VP Education)
Seconded by: Talhah Atcha (QMSU President), Megan Annetts (BLSA President), Shamima Akter (VP Welfare)
Completed
What do you want?
For QMSU to change the wording of BME to BAME in all future documentation, bye-laws and officer positions.
Why do you want it?
To combat the discrepancies in language used by people at the university and the SU. We must be consistent in our wording so that students do not feel confused and misrepresented by the very structures that are meant to support them. The student experience survey 18/19 conducted by the previous VP Education, Redwan Shahid, indicated that there is a clear issue with self-identification. The survey found that students from BAME backgrounds may not self-identify as BME, due to a lack of consistent definitions across the institution, which may lead to these students not recognizing services and opportunities targeted toward them, and therefore not accessing them. For clarity, BME refers to “Black and Minor Ethnicities” and BAME refers to “Black, Asian and Minor Ethnicities”.
What impact will this have?
his will help students have a better understanding of what BAME is and help them to selfidentify. This will help tackle the issues surrounding being a BAME student and enable access to services and opportunities targeted for BAME students.