KPIRG appoints new Anti-Oppression Officer

Valiani is ready to work for the benefit of students

Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group has recently appointed a new member to their board of directors. With the title of anti-oppression officer, Nida Valiani is ready to work hard to make sure Kwantlen is an open and safe place for students.

Valiani will be responsible for providing, “overall leadership, engagement, and resourcing on anti-oppression initiatives in consultation with the KPIRG Board,” according to KPIRG’s documents about director policies and procedures.

One of the main roles for the anti-oppression officer is to be a liaison between KPIRG and a variety of groups, such as the Kwantlen Student Association or other external groups that operate at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

“A big part of what I do right now is attend all these meetings . . . see what the needs are and help in any way I can,” says Valiani.

In addition, her role of liaison extends to the general student population at KPU. There are many different issues that students face, and it can be helpful to have someone to talk and listen to.

“I’m also available for any student to come in and talk to if they feel they have any issues at school, at their campus, or classroom, or whatever it is,” says Valiani.

Valiani wants to start up a committee of her own, the anti-oppression committee. This committee would be open to all students and is aimed to create a more positive environment on campus.

“I would bring in student volunteers, and students who would want to be active participants,” says Valiani. On what she would be looking for from student volunteers, Valiani says she wants them to be “very open.”

“You can’t be biased,” she says. “You can’t think that one race or colour or class is better than another. Take everything from an intersectional point of view.”

The concept of intersectionality is an important one when dealing with anti-oppression. Intersectionality refers to the concept that there are different layers of systematic oppression in society, and people can be affected by one or more layers at the same time, for example, a woman of colour.

“Some people may not just be oppressed by their skin colour, there could be a few different things,” says Valiani. “This can cause a different type of oppression than someone else of the same skin colour might experience.”

As with any new position, there are a lot of things Valiani needs to learn before she can make informed decisions on what to implement.

“I have ideas, but I’m not so much trying to implement these ideas yet,” says Valiani. “I’m trying to figure out what’s happening at KPU right now already. If I don’t know the situation well, the ideas I have might not address the problem at hand.”

Currently, there are some things Valiani has seen already that she would like to change. She’s noticed that not all students are getting the proper support she believes they are entitled to.

Disabilities is something Valiani believes needs to be addressed more as well. Recognizing there are many different types of disabilities is important, and not all of them are obvious or visible. Valiani has been working with the Disability Action Movement Now a lot recently.

“I’m seeing that a lot of students who do need help aren’t getting the proper assistance they need,” says Valiani. “Whether it’s lack of funding or lack of care. It’s not fair that they are paying the same amount as I am or anybody else is but they’re not receive the same type of education or the same standard.”

Even on the board of directors for KPIRG, Valiani can only do so much herself. One of the best ways to make KPU a better place is for more students to get involved.

“I would like to see more student involvement in KPIRG because the students are paying for it, and they’re all automatically a part of it,” says Valiani.