The KSU Commissioner elections are taking place tomorrow, May 2nd, with two candidates contesting for the role of KSU Social Policy and Education Commissioner 2023/2024. The Third Eye and Insite have reached out to both candidates to gain an insight as to why they are running for this role and what their plan is should they be elected.
Here’s what Kris Bajada had to say:
What motivated you to run for the position of KSU Social Policy & Education Commissioner, and what do you hope to achieve in this role?
I decided to run for the position of KSU Social Policy & Education Commissioner because I truly believe that I have great experience in the area of policy, being quite an active student for several years both on campus and off campus. While also having a great ability to bring organisations together on common resolutions surely makes me a strong candidate for the position at hand.
Within the roles I have occupied I have always promoted collaboration between different student organisations for us to achieve a concrete goal and I will surely continue with this endeavour if I get elected as Commissioner. I plan on addressing a wide range of issues, to be a strong voice for all students and organisations and to strengthen the bond between KSU and the student organisations and student representatives. Henceforth, I want to foster a sense of community within the commission and through this unity, I strongly believe that the commission can be the engine that drives change not only at a university level but also at a national level.
I strongly believe that together we can be the change!
Furthermore, Bajada mentioned how his greatest achievement “were the talks Extinction Rebellion Malta had started with the Union of Professional Educators as well as with policy makers from both ends of the political spectrum where we emphasized the need to promote an environmental classroom for our future generations in which there is more emphasis on teaching children how to adopt a more sustainable way of living.”
Another notable achievement of Bajada is Extinction Rebellion Malta’s Environmental Festival where individuals and organisations came together to raise awareness on the climate crisis. To organise such an event, Bajada mentioned that three important things were necessary. First, a great team. Second, contacting all the different organisations was essential to ensure community involvement. Third, to make the event about the community, the focus had to be on the community and not on the organising group. Extinction Rebellion intentionally left the name of their organisation off the event banner to show that the festival was not about them, but about the community.
“What does all this mean, you may be asking yourself, and how does this relate to the commission?“
Through this experience I have learnt not only the importance of teamwork but how to work with the various university student organisations for us to reach and achieve a shared goal.
Bajada’s manifesto is a reflection of the issues and concerns shared and brought up by student organisations and representatives. If elected, Bajada will have a clear understanding of the issues which need to be tackled and addressed, while also breaking the barrier between the commission and organisations.
Bajada has been a member of several student organisations, such as UESA, Extinction Rebellion Malta , and his position as the post-graduate student representative for the Faculty of Science. Throughout his time as part of these organisations, he has learnt how to tackle any issues that may arise, work with different individuals, and how to adapt when things don’t go to plan.
He believes that communication is key with any organisation,
By talking honestly, together as a team to each other be it in Extinction Rebellion Malta or in UESA we have always overcome any differences and difficulties we may have faced and come out stronger at the end.
Moreover, Bajada has previously run for the position of KSU president as an independent candidate, however, this year he decided to run for Commissioner as he recognised that his strengths lie within getting different organisations together. Due to his years of student activism, he has come to know several organisations and individuals personally, which would make communication between Commissioner and members that much easier.
His experience being the Social Policy Officer of UESA, Chairperson of Extinction Rebellion Malta and the Post-graduate student representative for the Faculty of Science have helped him gain knowledge and skills in the area of policy.
Although these qualities would make me a strong presidential candidate, I strongly believe that these qualities are better suited for the Commissioner as the Commissioner needs to be an individual that not only is strong in the field of policy but is also someone who is well known by the student body.
Finally, it is evident that Bajada places importance on environmental issues and sustainability, which is why he plans to propose the following plans to the Environmental and Sustainability ad-hoc committee:
- Pushing to set up an environmental taskforce with the goal of developing environmental policies around the University, Gozo, MDH and Junior College campuses with the objective that these campuses as a collective achieve carbon neutrality. Yearly targets would be set up to further increase the likelihood that the goals and objectives set by the taskforce would be achieved.
- Bringing on board several local eNGOs to collaborate with student organisations
- Pushing to implement a community garden within the various campuses
- Seriously tackle the public transport system so that university students will find it easier to use public means of transport
- Work with the canteen so as to reduce any additional waste from being created
- Push so that the environmental awareness will be factored in the RAR assessment
On behalf of The Third Eye and Insite, we wish both candidates the best of luck!