If You Stand For Nothing – LeadLUU and The Importance of Your Vote

GryphonEditorAdm on 20 February 2025

If you stand for nothing…

My name is Colina Wright and I am currently working as a HE Consultant with Leeds University Union. I’m leading two projects: LeadLUU, the annual process in which the student leadership for the following year is elected, and LUU Everywhere, a project that attempts to bring Union services to the students, regardless of where they are studying.

I describe myself as a woman who is black as opposed to a black woman, because although English grammar would suggest that the adjective is placed in front of the noun, to me it is more important that individuals are able to define who they believe themselves to be, and what is most important about their identity.

I wanted to share some thoughts about the importance of your voice… I recall a friend asking me “if I could travel to ANY time, past or present, when might I choose?”. I thought about this, and suggested a little earlier in my own lifetime- which was obviously not the right answer because it lead to conversations about fragmenting the time-space continuum. What I thought was interesting about this discussion was a sense of privilege. My male white (Professor) friend couldn’t understand why, as a black woman, going back in time might not be the same adventure for the two of us.

I considered the Suffragettes and Rosa Parks to be amongst my role models (along with others including my mum!) It wasn’t that long ago that being black and / or being a woman meant my voice was not legitimate within society. I often reflect on how differently my life might have been without the actions of others fighting for the voiceless, securing my right to speak. I am proud to stand on the shoulders of those that came before me and consequently I always participate in national elections, the option of spoiling my ballot paper is required is still better than being silenced by not having access to a paper to spoil. I intend to continue fighting to ensure fair representation for others, including my mixed-race children.

I want to ensure that students at the University of Leeds know they have an opportunity to be heard. There are several ways- the National Student survey (for finalists), module feedback, your Student Reps … and contributing to the LeadLUU elections… 

I have worked within Students’ Unions since graduating back in 2002. I was an officer at Sheffield Hallam, genuinely attributing my journey to my involvement in the Students’ Union. I didn’t know what the upper floor of the then Nelson Mandela Building contained, I just used the building as a shortcut to get through to university. I became involved with a project that considered breaking the cycle for young girls from a deprived area of Sheffield, encouraging them to consider further and higher education as viable options for them. Saying it was life-changing is not an exaggeration, for me at least. It started my journey within the student movement, it was my Students’ Union experience that got me through university, and I became an Officer … sadly not the Women’s Officer as I’d intended, but the Multicultural and International Students’ Officer. My career then progressed through various FE and HE union staff positions, eventually leading me to De Montfort University in Leicester. I progressed through membership services roles to become the Head of Membership Services, whilst undertaking an MBA. I left DSU to become the CEO at both the University of Sunderland and the Union of Students, Derby, then becoming a HE Consultant, working with SU at the University of the Highlands and Islands and Heriot-Watt Students’ Union (Edinburgh) and finally arriving here at Leeds, supporting the elections.

What I was passionate about within each role was being student-led and realising the impact that the student voice could have.

I LOVE the elections, I enjoy watching students become candidates and develop skills through campaigning. I revel in watching them convey their passion to students, encouraging students to vote for them. Whilst not everyone can be a winner, it is such an achievement to put themselves out there and to stand up for what they believe in. 

My plea is for you to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and support these candidates who are trying to make a difference to the student experience, for you and the other 40,000 students. Please spend some time listening to the candidates to talk what they’d like to do if successful and convert that into voting- the aims of all the candidates will be available online.

You might think I’m leaving this year so it doesn’t make a difference, but for me at least, it’s about having a continued sense of pride in what your university and, by extension, your students’, does. And if you’re sticking around for the next year at least, these individuals will become your representative for the coming year so it makes sense for them to reflect your views as closely as possible… and if they don’t, there’s the option to re-open the nominations. If you have questions please contact the Political Engagement Team at 

Voting takes place online at engage.luu.org.uk/election between Monday 17- Thursday 20 February. 

“If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything”

Words by Colina Wright

Dame Sharon White delivers lecture on The Female Leader

Alice Patterson on 7 November 2023

“The progress I’ve made in my career and doing such different roles is
largely down to that adaptability that has become a part of who I am.”

-Dame Sharon White

The annual Alice Bacon Lecture returned last Thursday, welcoming Dame Sharon White to the Great Hall to deliver a speech.

The lecture, held collaboratively by the University of Leeds Centre for Democratic Politics and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, is named after Leeds’ first woman MP, Alice Bacon, and celebrates the achievements of pioneering women.

As the current Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, and with experience working in the civil service, White was the perfect candidate to speak on this years’ theme: The Female Leader.

White focused on themes of social mobility and the power of comprehensive education
throughout her lecture, and emphasised how lucky she felt to have had the opportunities she
did.

She began, however, by reflecting on the opportunities her parents did not – as part of
the Windrush generation, saying their decision to move to the UK was probably
“the decision that had the biggest impact on the opportunities I’ve had in my life.” Stories of
her mother washing clothes in a river in her youth and having to leave school at age eleven
helped cement her gratitude for the education she received.

White’s parents were from Jamaica, and after migrating to the UK in the 50s, she grew up in
East London. She spoke on always having had a strong sense that she didn’t belong – not in
a way that made her feel without the right to be in the room, she says, but an awareness of
having got there by ways of a different road.

White’s speech was confident and compelling, evidencing the resilience that can come from these experiences. This style has helped her manoeuvre in spaces which are typically less inclusive towards Black women, such as in the civil service, where White pioneered as the first Black Permanent Secretary at the Treasury.

White went as far as to assert that “the progress I’ve made in my career and doing such different roles is largely down to that adaptability that has become a part of who I am.”

On being a woman working in the civil service, White said she could only remember
a few moments of “real unconscious bias or discrimination”, both involving her return to work
after having children. Her insistence on the importance of flexibility in the workplace to allow
people to have a family without sacrificing their career ambitions or receiving lower pay, was moving to hear.

These instances of misogyny followed Dame White into the business sector, receiving a harsh backlash for her actions throughout her time at the John Lewis Partnership.

Whilst she didn’t directly address this in the lecture, she acknowledged the greater scrutiny and higher standards often put on women in business. White also mentioned, with a knowing glance, that her time in Ofcom stood her in good stead in her transition to John Lewis, being a company that attracts “quite a lot of public interest”.

Listening to Dame Sharon White, a woman who has utilised her differences as strengths in her work, left me, and I’m sure most students in the audience, feeling emboldened in my aspirations post-university.

White’s reflections on her experiences in the workplace spoke both to the progress made in terms of diversity and inclusion, and the significant work left to do. She ended her lecture by saying that the importance of women supporting women cannot be overstated, reminding the audience that progress is never linear.

The lecture closed on this quote from former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama:

“You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”

-Michelle Obama