As of this Friday’s meeting, 7th May 2021, Nicholas Aquilina was elected as the KSU Education and Social Policy Commissioner, a role that was recently introduced after the merger of the Education and Social Policy Commissions during the KSU EGM.
With this role occupied, Aquilina is the first person to take up the new role and the final student to join the KSU Executive for the 21/22 term. Aquilina was the only candidate contesting for the role, however, a vote of confidence was held during the first Education and Social Policy meeting, which saw Aquilina secure the approval of the newly merged Commission.
The student activism journey
Aquilina’s journey in student activism started off in 2018 after enrolling at the University of Malta. He started off by attending various events organised by the MHSA and immediately formed part of their sub-committee. In 2019, Aquilina joined the executive board as the Social Policy Officer and in 2020, he served as the MHSA President.
In November 2020, he also became the student representative for the Faculty of Health Sciences which allowed him to further voice the concerns of the students. Together with his team, they also tackled the issue of the COVID-19 vaccine that was not being given to Health Sciences students.
The Third Eye got in touch with Aquilina to talk about his plans moving forward within the KSU…
You are the first person to hold the role of Education and Social Policy Commissioner, what are your plans for the future of the Commission within the KSU?
My plans for the commission is to truly make it the voice that represents the student body. Being the first year that the commissions are joined, ensuring a seamless transition between the two will be the challenge at hand. Therefore, ensuring proper communication between the Commission will be essential.
What is the first thing you plan on working on within the KSU?
One of the first things I’d like to work on within KSU is to meet with the individuals who make up the new Commission and understand the topics that they would like to speak about and discuss.
What is your favourite proposal from your manifesto?
My favourite proposal from my manifest has to be the campaign to promote student activism at university by creating an “Activism Expo” to promote the work of our student representatives and student organisations.
I’d like to thank the previous Commissioners for their dedication and hard work throughout their time occupying the post. I’d also like to thank the Student Representatives and Student Organisations for putting their faith in me, and I look forward to working with them to build a better university.
The Third Eye team wishes Nicholas and the rest of the newly elected team the best of luck for their coming term in KSU!