ACTIVELY ASSISTING THE CHAIR: A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF THE HALL VICE CHAIRPERSON

 By; Aishat Akano

It is no news that the session will almost come to its end, and the baton has been passed to a new administration. It's expected that at this time of the session, a reasonable number of the promises our chosen leaders have made to us should have been executed.

‘If elected into position, I will make sure Queens Hall becomes a hostel to reckon with by producing all-round women who will not only be academically excellent but also do exploits politically…’ This begins the journey of Majekodunmi Doyinsola Erika’s plans for Queenites.

Doyinsola presented her plans to Queenites in a “four-step plan,” which she claimed to be not only strategic but feasible.

It is worth mentioning that the Vice Chairperson has indeed done a lot and carried out her duties well; however, these are the duties vested in her constitutional role. She has managed to achieve some of her plans, but some have been left unattended.

Doyinsola opened the floor of her promises to Queenites with the first on her list - Academic Excellence. She promised that if elected, she would conduct monthly tutorials for Queenites. The Academic Committee was created, and indeed tutorials were organized. However, the tutorials were only enjoyed by the freshers and the 200-level students. It is important to mention that the tutorial that the Vice Chairperson promised to hold monthly occurred about six times for the first and second semesters.

In the second point made by the Vice Chairperson, she claimed she would "empower young ladies not only with money-making skills but also self-discovery seminars." To achieve this objective, she promised to create skill acquisition programs for Queenites, and some of them were carried out such as baking and gentle styling. There was in-house training overseen by the Vice Chairperson and also having Queenites as tutors of the sessions. At this point, she promised that self-discovery programs would be hosted with the presence of outstanding women within the school community. However, this has not materialized during the session. She also stated that there would be an online platform for lectures on mental health so that Queenites can have a safe space to discuss mental issues ranging from academics to relationships and others. There has been no sign of the creation of an online platform for this purpose, not to mention the full realization of this goal. Speaking with the Vice Chairperson, Doyinsola stated that there are few Queenites that she had ‘talked to or mentored on a personal basis’.

She stated in her manifesto that on every last Saturday of the month, there will be "Queenites speak their mind," a meeting that will be represented by floor representatives, the SRC members, and the Executive members. Well, this meeting was carried out in the first semester; however, it was nowhere to be found in the second semester. Speaking with the Vice Chairperson on this, she noted that the meeting could not be held during the early period of the second semester due to “unavoidable reasons.” She also stated there was a hindrance in organizing the meeting due to a congress statement for that particular period.

Furthermore, in the quest of the Vice Chairperson to improve every Queenite, she stated in her manifesto that she would invite political stakeholders and academically excellent students to teach Queenites how to balance academics and politics, and also inform them of the need to be politically active. We can see packed bags at the gates and hear the dragging of boxes across the hall floors, signifying a close in the session. However, we haven't seen this plan manifest yet. Every Queenite will agree that this point from the Vice Chairperson is crucial and would have been one of the many important reasons that she was voted for. It is very clear to even the blind that the political and social spirit of the Queenites needs to be rejuvenated. We can't help but wonder if the Vice President had fulfilled this promise to the Queenites, there would have been more participation and electioneering enthusiasm from Queenites. The Hall Vice Chairperson has been able to make certain contributions to the hall. One of them is the proper education that the freshers were introduced to as soon as they joined the hall. However, certain questions keep popping up in our minds. One of them is "When will we ever attain consistency?"