Cambridge University’s Pak leader faces prejudice

LONDON: A Pakistani student who made history after being elected as president of the prestigious Cambridge University Graduate Union has been a victim of racial discrimination after a campaign was orchestrated to marginalise him in the union.
In over 800 years of the university’s history, a Pakistani, Arsalan Ghani, from Faisalabad, was elected in March this year to head the student union till July next year representing 12,000 MA, MPhil and PhD students studying at the Cambridge University, most of them international students.
This was a historic achievement and had similarity to what Benazir Bhutto had achieved as leader of the Oxford union but ‘The News’ has learnt of the systematic discrimination against Arsalan Ghani. This position requires Arsalan to suspend his studies and take a full time role as president and head the union offices. He was deprived of his authorities and role in the union, according to his complaint.
Information reveal the student leader faced multiple discriminations from his colleagues, mostly the former board members in the first month of joining his duty in the union. There are reports that he was marginalised, abused, threatened and discriminated in the union to the extent that he was forced to launch a formal complaint to the university in this regard.
A popular figure amongst the local and international students, a fact demonstrated by his sweeping victory, Arsalan promised in his election manifesto to organise events for diverse communities, develop interfaith unity and to initiate a UK wide and global campaign against fee and cuts in education sector. It was through Arsalan’s initiatives that for the first time ever Kosher, Halal and vegetarian sections were introduced in the union’s café.
But Arsalan Ghani’s activism and ambitions to promote student welfare has faced opposition. In a sheer discriminatory move, his powers as a president were cut down immediately after the election results were announced. This is done by making changes to the union constitution overnight by the previous president and board members.
The outgoing president of the union, in a brazen attempt to stay on to power, crafted a new position through the constitutional changes, allowing herself to remain in the union’s trustee board for the next four years to eight years, undermining the rights of democratically elected presidents and attempting to make them dysfunctional.
Previous board members who are still holding office refused to cooperate with the newly elected president and held meetings and took key decisions excluding the president. Not only this, the union staff also refused to get approvals in administrative and financial matters from the president undermining his authority given to him.
Such efforts to marginalise the president have effectively rendered Arsalan Ghani, supposed to be the head of the union, toothless and unable to implement his election manifesto for the student community.
The university’s student elections held in March 2012 were also marred with controversy when the undergraduate candidate of African-Caribbean origin was discriminated and purposely disqualified on the pretence of irregularities during her election campaign.
After initially hesitating to listening to Ghani’s complaints, the university has now accepted his complaint. When approached, a university spokesperson at the External Affairs and Communications department refused to offer comments on the issue.