Rashmi Samant, an alumna of Manipal Institute of Technology, created history by winning the prestigious position of Oxford Student Union Presidency on Thursday. Samant is the first Indian woman to occupy the position of president of the Oxford Student Union. Samant bagged more than the combined votes of the other three contestants for the post. Samant is a student of MSc in energy systems at Linacre College, Oxford University. She ran for the post of Oxford SU president with four main priorities: decolonisation and inclusivity, COVID interventions for all, access to quality mental health resources, and decarbonising the university.
Samant said she intends to lobby for the removal of all statues proven to be imperialist, including Christopher Codrington’s. She further said she would also push for residency requirements to be waived off until the World Health Organisation declares the end of the pandemic, lobby to increase funding for the mental health strategy, and work to convince the Conference of Colleges to divest from fossil fuels as soon as possible. Rashmi, daughter of Vathsala Samant and Dinesh Samant, hails from Manipal. She had early education in Manipal and Udupi. She completed her graduation in Mechanical Engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology (2016-2020 batch), Manipal. She was known for her leadership skills and spirited nature at the institute. She was the Technical Secretary of the Student Council at MIT, Manipal, and was instrumental in initiating a number of constructive activities at the institute.