Deputy News Editor
Gregory Kokkinidis’ manifesto has many appealing goals; recording lectures, making curricula that are more inclusive and diverse, and even trying to take on “high stakes” assessments of many courses. Many of these points rely on staff-student relations, which to some extent is the nature of the job. Whilst it is ambitious to say that he will be able to get lectures recorded and lower the value of individual essays and exams, many of the underpinnings of these goals are admirable. Some of these issues cannot simply be done with a single person, but years of consultation. Often these topics, such as recordings have a multitude of problems including, workers’ concerns over rights and the technical capabilities of many parts on campus. He does this for admirable reasons, such as his desire to increase accessibility of students, as well as address many of the root causes for mental health problems of students. Many of these shine through in the smaller points of his manifesto when he talks about representation in course curricula, increasing assessment feedback, and increasing peer-assisted learning. These points seem much more achievable.
In our interview, beyond the manifesto, he notes many things that are appealing. He has much experience, seven years of university across three different universities as well as serving at various capacities within the SRC. He discusses that while many of his points are ambitious, a push in the right direction is still positive progress. When asked about going forward after the strikes, he notes his concern about missed content and says he wants to have discussions about how to prevent this from happening in the future. His biggest goal is increasing mobility and opportunities for students, which he plans on doing beyond the main objectives set out in his manifesto.
Gregory Kokkinidis’s manifesto can be read here.
