Anita Okunde
Introduce yourself briefly.
I’m a third year PPEist at Magdalen College, and I’m the Treasurer of the Oxford Union.
What is the main reason you are running for president?
The Oxford Union is quite deeply personal to me. My dad, who didn’t finish secondary school, uses the Oxford Union debates to understand English and the British accent. So, having my paper speech be part of that has always been something that I take quite a lot of personal pride in.
I’m sure we’ve all heard the rumors about the Union not being a welcoming space for people like me. So to my surprise, and my happiness, seeing an officer that looked like me in my first term as a fresher made me feel like it was a space I could be welcome in, and a place that I could actually participate in.
What commitments and experiences do you have outside the Union?
I’m currently the SU Women’s Campaign co-chair. Last year, I was the Vice-President of the African Caribbean Society. I’ve been a climate campaigner, as well as a former Member of Youth Parliament.
What’s one thing you would change or improve about the Union?
One of my pledges is a “value for membership” project. I understand the initial price of the Oxford Union membership is very steep, and for a lot of people, is inaccessible. I want to make sure that members and potential members understand what they’re buying into. There are a lot of perks that people don’t know about. … I’m currently working on a survey to make sure the members can actually have their voice heard on this.
What issues do you think face the Union in the future? How would you try to fix them?
The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles and on term cards, alongside insufficient provisions for those with disabilities and other protected characteristics. I believe that strengthening the Union’s financial position is essential to funding initiatives that would open the doors to a more diverse range of students and make them feel truly welcome. In the past, I’ve organised women-focused events, such as professional headshot sessions and social gatherings. While these have been impactful, with additional resources we could dramatically improve the scale and quality of these initiatives.
If you could invite three speakers, who would they be?
Michelle Obama. Burna Boy. Chappell Roan.
What’s one particular debate you’d like to see?
“This House Believes that the ICC is failing to hold global leaders accountable.”
Favorite historical union president?
Geraldine Jones, the first woman President.
What song can you not get enough of right now?
“That’s So True” by Gracie Abrams.
Siddhant Nagrath
Introduce yourself briefly.
I grew up in Delhi in India for the past 18 years. I’m studying PPE at Keble. I’m a second year.
What is the main reason you are running for president?
I think there fundamentally is space for difficult debates and discussions, and I don’t think the Union has been doing that to the fullest extent that it can be. One of the things I pledged in my manifesto is to debate dangerous topics. By that I mean intellectually dangerous topics, the sort of topics that make people a little bit uncomfortable to think about or talk about. The things that actually matter are the ones that make people uncomfortable when they think about it.
What commitments and experiences do you have outside the Union?
I’m Treasurer at the O’Reilly Theater. I am an international competitive debater and competed for Team India at the World School Debating Championships. I work for an actor company. I have run several organisations before.
What’s one thing you would change or improve about the Union?
On the point I said earlier about pushing the boundaries with the topics we debate. For example, one of the biggest debates I can think of is “Hindutva is not Hinduism”. One of the big issues has been this idea that Hindutva and Hinduism are just lumped in together… I want to focus on more intense questions, having the ability to bring in speakers and question them more intensely and under more scrutiny serves Union members better. It also increases publicity the Union receives.
What issues do you think face the Union in the future? How would you try to fix them?
Yeah, I think one of the biggest things we have seen this term is the question of rules reform. Frankly, those reforms were brought in my name, and people voted against them. But I think similar to what the “No” campaign said in their platform: It was not a vote against reform, it’s a vote against these specific reforms. There are systems and rules in society that are broken that allow for action against people from minority backgrounds. I want to work towards fixing that.
If you could invite three speakers, who would they be?
Shah Rukh Khan. Angela Merkel. Sam Altman.
What’s one particular debate you’d like to see?
“This House Believes Hindutva is not Hinduism.”
Favorite historical union president?
Benazir Bhutto.
What song can you not get enough of right now?
“Feet, don’t fail me now” by Joy Crookes.
