Larissa Kennedy

Larissa Kennedy is a student politician and President of the National Union of Students 2020–2022.[1] She is the first president elected via online ballot, defeating six other candidates.[2][3] She is due to serve a two-year term to oversee the NUS's three-year plan to financially overhaul its organisation following a £3 million shortfall in 2018.[1][2] She succeeded Zamzam Ibrahim.

Larissa Kennedy
61st President of the National Union of Students
Assumed office
1 July 2020
Preceded byZamzam Ibrahim
Personal details
ResidenceLondon
Alma materUniversity of Warwick
OccupationNUS President, Activist

Biography

Kennedy was born in London and grew up in Croydon, south London. She is a "granddaughter of the Windrush generation", with family roots in Jamaica, Barbados and St Vincent.[4] She studied at Croydon High School.[5]

She has been involved in activisim and student politics since she was 16, when she served on the Girlguiding UK’s national Advocate panel.[6] While studying politics, international studies, and Hispanic studies at University of Warwick, Kennedy founded the "Warwick Decolonise Project".[7][6] She was formerly elected Education Officer and Deputy President at Warwick Students’ Union.[4] Between 2018 and 2020 she served on NUS’ National Executive Council, and she is a member of the NUS Black student's campaign.[8]

Kennedy prevoiously served as Advocacy and Campaigns Officer at Plan International during a sabbatical year from her undergraduate studies, and was a 2017–2019 trustee to the British Youth Council.[9] She served as UK Youth Delegate to the Council of Europe Congress in 2018.[10][11]

Kennedy is a member of the UK committee of the global Youth for Change organisation, which campaigns to end gender-based violence and FGM.[6][7] She is an alumna of the TuWezeshe Akina Dada Fellowship, a young women's leadership programme run by the charity FORWARD.[12]

NUS Presidency

Kennedy entered office during the 2020 pandemic. She campaigned for student safety and greater testing in student communities, as well as greater investment in student mental health services and making online learning accessible.[13][14] She criticised the UK Government's decision to base A-Level exam results on the previous results of colleges and schools - which resulted in students from disadvantaged backgrounds "more likely to be downgraded", commenting that this policy "reproduces inequality".[15] Furthermore, she voiced concern that the government was allowing the pandemic to affect Black communities disproportionately.[16]

References
  1. "Larissa Kennedy elected as NUS President 2020-2022 @ NUS". www.nus.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  2. "Larissa Kennedy elected NUS president". University Business. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  3. "NUS elects new president". Research Professional News. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  4. "NUS President @ NUS Connect". www.nusconnect.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  5. "Croydon High Alumna Elected as NUS President". Croydon High School. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  6. "Larissa Kennedy". Women in Foreign Policy | #wifp. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  7. "Larissa Kennedy". Women Deliver. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  8. "NUS Election Results Announced! @ NUS". www.nus.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  9. Kennedy, Larissa (2018-07-30). "British Youth Council | Blogs | Voter ID at elections marginalises the marginalised". British Youth Council. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  10. "Larissa Kennedy Profile | %event%". The Children's Media Conference (CMC). Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  11. "Youth participation in local democracy: youth delegates present their projects to the Congress". Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  12. "TuWezeshe Akina Dada Alumni". FORWARD. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  13. "BBC Radio 2 Woman's Hour". www.bbc.co.uk. 26 Nov 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  14. "Two in three students do not think Government is acting in their best interests". Salford City News. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  15. "NUS president Larissa Kennedy: 'I worry universities won't put student and staff safety first'". the Guardian. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  16. Correspondent, Nicola Woolcock, Education. "Britain doesn't value black lives, claims NUS leader Larissa Kennedy". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
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