Current Wellbeing & Liberation Officer, Aisha Akram, sat down with The Mancunion to discuss her time in the role as her second term comes to an end. As LeadMCR 2025 starts to ramp up, Akram told us all about her experience on the campaign trail, some advice for candidates, and her proudest moments as a student representative.
Discussing their first campaign (in 2023), Akram recounted the “really welcoming atmosphere” of the candidate pool. They would gather for breakfast in the morning and tell each other about their campaigning plans for the day. Despite the competitive nature of LeadMCR, “everyone there saw it as really fun and wanted to support each other”.
Akram recounted meeting Hannah Mortimer (2023 Union Affairs Officer) and Katie Jackson (2023 & 2024 Faculty of Humanities Officer) during the campaign period, becoming long-term friends after they all won. Coincidentally, Aisha and Katie had recently taken a short trip to Paris together, a testament to the close bond they’ve developed over their time together as officers.
The one downside to the “very long campaigning period”, both in her first and subsequent year, was how “burnt out” she became by the end of it. This was only exacerbated in 2024 (“It was actually worse the second time”) as Akram dealt with the pressures of running for re-election. A mindset of “If I don’t get re-elected, it’s because I didn’t do a good job” didn’t mix well with the “uncomfortable atmosphere” of a more competitive set of candidates. “Because I was an incumbent there was […] tension towards me too”. But this didn’t deter her from encouraging others to apply to become a Student Executive, nor did it sway her from winning a second term as Liberation Officer.
Moving onto some of the high points of the role, Akram told us about her favourite projects from her time in the role. Most important to Akram is the ‘Gender Expression Fund’ which allows trans or gender non-conforming students to access vital gender products. It was clear how proud Akram is of her work on the project: “I have a lot of conversations with trans students, and it’s something that’s really helped them”. She mentioned the importance of seeing a tangible impact, especially given the anti-trans rhetoric within government and media at the moment.
Akram is continuing to work on another big project, a sensory room in the Simon Building. While it hasn’t yet opened (it is “taking a while[…] with estates”), it plans to be a quiet space for neurodivergent students to access.
Akram was keen to carry on the work of the 23/24 Union Affairs Officer (Hannah Mortimer), increasing bursaries by £2 million: “[I] was very happy with it.”
It can also be a struggle when the team changes yearly, as the “way the team works together” has to adjust to new people. But the SU is not the only team that changes, the Student Leadership Team (SLT) often does as well. Executive Officers and University staff sometimes disagree on policies with there being “justification that we don’t agree with”, which slows down projects. “The bureaucracy” can cause challenges “But I think the new VC (Duncan Ivison) is trying to cut down some of that by creating committees”.
One of the difficult parts of the role is that Officers don’t always get to see the result of long-term projects. “If you push for [a project] at the start of your term, you might not even see it come to fruition until a year after.”
It’s difficult to pin down a day in Aisha Akram’s life as the role changes day to day. Wellbeing & Liberation is “kind of crazy role” as “ it’s a massive remit. Whenever I tell somebody that I have both of them in my job title, they’re like what! Because other SU’s often have Wellbeing and Liberation separate. But I think they work together”. Going through her previous work week, Akram had a packed schedule of committee meetings on EDI, meeting with estates to discuss the sensory room, and concluding ‘Reclaim the Night’ discussions. There was even a scheduled LGBTQ History Month podcast reporting and some merch modelling. “Like, if I showed you my calendar on a week to week basis, like, it would be massively different”.
While some elements of the job can be tough, dealing with serious situations and the feelings of personal responsibility when tackling issues like inclusion, Akram continues to be incredibly passionate: “It’s fun. It’s exciting”.
On the current LeadMCR proceedings, Akram emphasised that people should put themselves “outside of [their] comfort zone[s]” and connect with the students. “I think it can be really easy to just be a passive candidate, which is something that me and Katie talked about in our How to Win session […] it can be really easy to do a stall, or hand out leaflets. But the real positive is if you’re able to speak to people because people want somebody that they’re able to trust and [who] would actually listen to their concerns”.
She recommended that people push themselves from their comfort zones for the campaigning period – not just to get votes, but also to further their own development as individuals. Above everything else, she emphasised that prioritising sleep and wellbeing was the most important thing for candidates to focus on. “Making friends” can help as they are “likeminded people” who “know what you’re going through”.
While she informed us there would be a proper “emotional and practical” handover document given to her successor, she did have some advice she was willing to impart to us. “I think in the […] role, what they’re trying to do is often attached to their lived experience. […] It can often feel really draining when you go into university meetings and it feels like you have to push for them to care about basically your identity”. Advising on this she stated, “be wary of spaces. I’m going to be giving them advice on what spaces I found barriers”.
Reiterating the importance of personal wellbeing, Akram emphasised that anyone becoming an Officer should make “sure you look after yourself in those spaces. And have somebody who you can speak to in the union, whether that’s at a director level or Officer Support Coordinator, to debrief after. Because I think particularly in this role [your work is] tied to your lived experience”. Due to the nature of the job, “It can be really, really draining”, but Akram recommended taking annual leave to “reflect every few months” to see “what the job has taught you and what you’re going to do differently next month”.
But it wasn’t all cautionary. Akram underscored her advice with a positive tone: “There’s some great people in the Union, even in the University, that will be able to support you”. Lastly, she told us that speaking to friends, even if they don’t quite understand the role, and finding things you love to do were the best solutions to a difficult day on the job.
Akram told us a couple of the projects she hopes her successor will continue once she’s left the position. Akram has been developing a men’s mental health talking circle (“Men in a circle. Talking!“) with an external facilitator from the ‘Mandem Meetup’ organisation. Constraints mean that the events can start from next year onwards. While saddened that she won’t be able to see it all the way through, Akram voiced that she believes it will be a “really good pilot” to “see if there is take-up”. She hopes these meetups might help male students tackle the stigma around men’s mental health.
Another crucial project to Akram is the continued push for gender-neutral toilets across campus. While there are a few dotted about, they are not in every building. Akram informed us of plans to add them to the Main Library building. She was disappointed that the only 24/7 building on campus, the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, didn’t yet have any.
Lastly, Akram wants to see ‘Reclaim the Night’ continue with an added focus on producing long-term change. She told us she will start working with the next Wellbeing & Liberation officer on plans for ‘Reclaim 2025’ and ensure student engagement in the cause stays up.
So what does the future hold for Aisha? Well “a lot of everything”. Staying in Manchester seemed to be a key element as did continuing to work closely with campaigns for change. Whilst not stuck to one specific avenue, Akram is looking into further work with marketing campaigns after their time campaigning for election. Studying for a degree in psychology has left her with an interest in working with others to better their everyday lives and championing EDI (Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion) came across as incredibly important to Aisha.
