"There are no welfare issues facing postgrads"
Luis Hui, Deputy President (Graduate Students), has been placed firmly in the spotlight over remarks made at a Student Activities Committee meeting on 30 January. Hui was recorded as saying that "there are few welfare issues facing postgraduates", however the minutes will be amended to record him telling the committee that in fact "there are no wlefare issues facing postgraduates".
When Felix investigated the matter Hui was defiant of the amendment and questioned the accuracy of the Union approved minutes: "I definitely did not say that. The minutes should be changed; I'm certainly going to find out why this has been misinterpreted." Hui emphasized his role in postgraduate welfare and stated that the issues surrounding postgraduates were proportionately equal to undergraduates.
The exact role of Hui's position within the Union has been unclear for sometime leading to a review of the Sabbatical position. Curiously, given this statement, Hui was recorded at a previous meeting saying he thought the postgraduate role should be welfare orientated.
Union President, Sameena Misbahuddin, told Felix, "There are obviously welfare issues surrounding postgraduate students. A six-page paper has been discussed at the Union Executive Committee concerning these issues; problems such as PhD students juggling commitments with sub-warden duties are readily apparent. What he said was most probably a slip of the tongue."
Henri Ozarovsky, a research postgraduate in Mechanical Engineering, told Felix, "Welfare issues that Luis is meant to deal with must affect all students' College wide. Most welfare issues that PG's come across are personal ones which are very difficult to tackle because it would mean affecting the relationship between a supervisor and a student which is very delicate in general and risky!"
A postgraduate Management student described the comment as "idiotic... he should really think about what he says. To deny ever making the comment makes him look even worse."
Chris Miles
Felix's View:
Luis Hui and the position he fills has come under no end of criticism this year and he has excelled himself with the stupidity of this recent statement. Of course postgraduate students have welfare issues, they may be different in nature to those of Undergrads but they are just as vital.
The Union has been considering the exact role of the Deputy President (Graduate Students) for some time, as it seems unclear what the responsibilities of the position actually are.
Hui himself had previously stated that his position should be renamed DP (Education and Welfare - Postgraduate Students) which makes his recent statement even more absurd.
Felix has been informed by numerous sources that Hui has taken a long time to settle into his role and might be finding the job somewhat arduous. We have also learnt that he has delegated the majority of tasks to post-grad volunteers.
Mediocre Sabbaticals get far too easy a ride at Imperial College. If they are underperforming, the students need to let them know. Remember it's our money that funds them, do you think they're worth £27,000 a year each?
Could that money not be better deployed to improve student activities or further subsidise drinks in the bar?
