Candidate: Spark Vulpa

During my university career, I have interacted with and come to appreciate a vast variety of cultures, worldviews and fields of knowledge within the university environment, as well as the larger society as a whole, and I am now more passionate and confident than ever before about incorporating individuals’ backgrounds and personal pursuits in both learning and socializing.

As a University Council student representative, I would make certain to address existing and future issues for the student body and staff, mitigating stereotypes and profiling, whilst encouraging factual knowledge. Today, it would appear that tertiary education students frequently resist in partaking in frivolous encounters, and are becoming more responsive to issues regarding reason and ethics.

It should not be a challenging task for the university and its council to introduce more objective methodologies regarding new ideas and problems that need to be addressed, all whilst considering Te Tiriti o Waitangi, university regulations, respect and probity for all staff, students and interconnected parties.

I trust that I am sufficiently qualified and motivated to take on the responsibilities of a University Council student representative. It would be my goal to sincerely help students and staff engage in social, political and academic proceedings.

I would like to incorporate everyone’s concerns in order to make meaningful and pragmatic contributions in all events and meetings regarding the Finance Committee, the Honours Committee, the Student Appeals Committee, as well as any other parties I would be involved with. It is imperative that the council be well equipped with adequate insight and drive for improving the well-being of students, remedying society’s ills and the underlying damage COVID-19 has caused to tertiary education as a whole.

I would bring my extracurricular skills and experiences to the table in order to further acknowledge and comprehend the ever-expanding options available to us. Outside of my academic pursuits, I am a singer songwriter who delves into multiple genres of music, as well as being a home cook, a mixed martial artist, film and video game critic, in addition to maintaining a presence as an internet artist and author.

My passion for interests outside of academia is largely fuelled by my antipathy towards superficiality and my admiration for ingenuity, which is an integral aspect for my vision regarding the University of Auckland’s future.

In the last 18 months of trying times, much of the university, as well as the staff and students’ daily lives and expectations, have transformed dramatically. I wish to utilize my knowledge of sociology, law, criminology, education and politics to its full extent, in order to not only ease pressure and stress, but also steadily and stably improve our morale.

I would create and continue to evolve a balanced amalgamation of a realistic, financially-sound approach and idealistic equality to maximize opportunities available to all students. Over the past few years, I have both seen and experienced unspoken disparities and misuse of knowledge and power both within and near our institution.

Hence, one of my primary focuses would be to mitigate negative impacts caused by abuse of political correctness that may distort academic objectivity in hopes of improving all aspects of our university lives.

Let us look beyond recovery towards a better University of Auckland.