Thursday 20-11-2025 - 08:00

Hey, I’m Komal, your Students’ Union President. I was elected last year because I didn’t want to leave university without trying to change the things I struggled with as a student, for the students who come after me.

I honestly didn’t think I would win. I had no social media presence, no campaign team, just me, my manifesto, and conversations with students on campus. But I still stood, because I knew I would regret it if I didn’t try, and I’m really glad I did.

As a Muslim, I believe in putting in the effort and leaving the outcome to Allah. If I had lost, it would have been because Allah had something better planned for me. Being here now means this is what’s best for me at this time, and I’m grateful for the chance to represent around 44,000 students across the University and the Union. It’s a big responsibility, but also a privilege, and I’m genuinely excited about what we can achieve together.

I imagine a campus where every student feels they belong; where people from different cultures, faiths, and backgrounds feel understood, respected, and represented; and where you can show up as yourself and feel valued.

I want our university to live up to the values it teaches and to be somewhere we can be proud of academically and ethically, without students worrying about where their tuition fees are going. I truly believe we can build that kind of environment, and I see signs of it every day in my conversations with students.

 

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One of my main priorities is making life easier for commuting students, both financially and mentally. Commuting can be exhausting and isolating. You miss out on events, lose hours each day to travel, and often arrive more tired than anyone realises. Those hours could be spent studying, resting, working, or being with family.

Support for commuters shouldn’t end with a small discount; it should recognise the time, stress, and energy commuting takes away. The positive thing is that there are real opportunities to improve this, and we’ve already begun.

Before I even officially started my role, I joined the Greater Manchester Student Partnership, which brings together five students’ unions with the Mayor and combined authorities. Together, we wrote to the Mayor asking for student discounts on trams, after research showed students paying around £35 a month on buses but about £101 a month on trams.

Students shouldn’t have to choose between time and money. Your transport choices should reflect your life, not just your bank balance. We’re meeting Andy Burnham to push this further, and our longer-term goal is a discounted student travel pass for all ages that works across buses, trams, and trains.

Alongside this, I’ve been lobbying the University to create proper resting spaces on campus for students with long days. I used to travel six hours a day just to get to lectures, which was practically an extra working day. Many students arrive early because the only train or bus that gets them here on time arrives far too early, while others leave late and get home exhausted. It’s no surprise students fall asleep in lectures they’ve paid for. A safe, comfortable place to rest between classes isn’t a luxury; it’s essential.

I also plan to keep pushing for discounted, or ideally free, parking permits for students for whom driving would significantly reduce commute time, even though I know it will be a challenging conversation around space and sustainability.

Another priority for me is making sure the University’s finances reflect its values. Universities should be places of justice, humanity, and integrity. No student should sit through lectures on ethics, climate, or human rights and then discover their tuition fees are being invested in companies causing harm.

Our University has an Ethical Investment Policy committing us not to invest in armaments, fossil fuels, or companies complicit in international law violations. That’s a strong foundation, but policies only matter when they’re followed. Students have raised concerns about investments that don’t align with that policy. In response, I’ve been working with SOS-UK and students in People & Planet to identify these companies and create a plan to divest from them and reinvest responsibly.

I’ve also had constructive discussions with senior leaders, including our Chief Finance Officer, to understand our current investment structure. Our immediate focus is challenging investments in arms companies and border-surveillance providers. This isn’t only an ethical issue; it’s a welfare one. For students affected by conflict, displacement, or climate injustice, the University’s financial decisions shape how safe, welcome, and respected they feel.

My third priority is supporting students as whole people. Students aren’t just “students.” Many of you are carers, workers, parents, people of faith, international students, or commuters—often several at once. You can’t thrive academically if the rest of your life is overlooked. I’ve been listening closely to what students experience day to day, and our officer team has been spotlighting support services more clearly so you know where to find help when you need it.

We’ve also been running regular drop-ins across campus and asking, “How are you finding things at Man Met?” Some of the best ideas for change come from those everyday conversations. Going forward, I want to keep pushing for better access to support, policies that recognise the complexity of students’ lives, and more space for voices that often go unheard. I don’t want to assume what students need—I want to build it with you.

If any of this reflects your experience, whether you’re commuting, worried about where your fees go, or feeling misunderstood, please reach out. Get involved in a campaign or start one of your own. You don’t need to be an activist to care about something that feels unfair.

 

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My job is to stand alongside you and help turn your concerns into change, and I truly believe that, together, we can make that happen.