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Chemi Lhamo took to her Instagram page @Chemilhamoooo to thank everyone for supporting as the new President of UofT Scarborough’s Student Union
The month of February brought the entire Tibetan world on social media, basking in the victory of a young Tibetan woman who rose to become the President of the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Student’s Union.
A spirited activist, youngest board member of the Tibetan Association of Ontario as well as the co-founder of the Tibetan Youth Alliance Committee, Chemi Lhamo has donned multiple roles and responsibilities to serve the Tibetan cause.
Immediately after her election to President of UTSSU was made public, an online hate campaign led by groups of Chinese students attending the University was leveled against her.
The University of Toronto hosts one of the largest bodies of overseas Chinese students in the world, with 12,000 Chinese nationals currently choosing to study there. The Chinese student’s groups reportedly with links to the Confucius Institute took to social media petitioning to overturn the election.
In face of vicious trolls and hate messages, Chemi persevered. A Tibetan Buddhist, a stateless refugee and a Neuroscience and Psychology student at the University of Toronto, Chemi said the trying times were an opportunity to put the values of love and compassion with which she was raised into practice.
The episode gained steam in mainstream media: Epoch Times, CBC News, BBC Chinese, Taiwan News, Voice of America, RFA Cantonese, Voice of Tibet, News.v.daum.net, Reddit, VOA Chinese, National Post, and RFA Tibetan among others. In the period of fewer than two weeks, Chemi’s Instagram profile gained over 6600 followers.
Here are the segments of my interview with Chemi Lhamo.
On your nomination in the presidential election of the University.
Chemi Lhamo: Due to my involvement in the Tibetan community from TCCC, CTAO to SFT, I was eager to bring my experience and skill sets to my campus, the UofT Scarborough community. I was first hired as the Racialized Students’ Collective, whereas part-time staff, I lead a team consisting of up to 15 volunteers throughout the school year and hosted at least one event per month tackling systemic barriers such as Racism, Anti-Blackness, Anti-Indigeneity, and Islamophobia.
Through this experience and my upbringing as a Tibetan, I realized the importance of representation and what it meant to be sitting on the table to be the voice for the often, unheard.
This experience encouraged me to run for the Vice President-Equity role, I work full time on ensuring that the union operates from an anti-oppressive framework to build an equitable campus.
I had the opportunity of working with various marginalized communities, which further strengthened my passion for service. As my term comes to an end, my peers encouraged me to run for Presidency and to be quite frank, I really didn’t want to at first. After putting much thought behind my intention and motivation, I worked with my team to develop a vision for my school. Nominations began on January 7, followed by two weeks of campaigning period and 3 voting days.
How do you plan to lead forward?
Chemi Lhamo: My priority is the Students’ voice and uniting my campus via a revived campus life and meaningful dialogue. In addition to delivering my campaign points, I want to be there for my team to make sure they are supported with their projects.
This achievement is just the beginning, the work has just begun. The provincial government has attacked our students and their unions, it’s time for us to unite, organize, and fight back the attack.
I’m looking forward to applying the wisdom from my rich Tibetan traditions to learning, unlearning, decolonizing and growing.
As the Student’s Union President, what does your role entail?
Chemi Lhamo: I shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Union and all its subsidiaries, as defined in the Act; serve as the official representative and spokesperson of the Union; act on behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee between meetings, and where action is immediately necessary, participate as a voting member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Policy & By-Laws Committee, Clubs Committee, Campaigns & Equity Commission, Events Commission; chair the Policy & By-Laws Committee and the Full-Time Staff Hiring Committee; supervise the Executive Director; responsible for the general management and supervision of the affairs and operations of the Union; responsible for developing a media protocol in cooperation with the Executive Committee and ensuring that this media protocol is implemented.
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MP Arif Virani, Chair of Parliamentary Friends of Tibet (PFT) shared a post on his Facebook handle extending his full support for Chemi Lhamo.
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Chemi Lhamo during her participation in the Five Fifty Youth Forum organised by the Central Tibetan Administration in August 2018.
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Bhutila Karpoche, Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale—High Park, Canada states her support for Chemi Lhamo in a tweet.
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Chemi Lhamo leading a protest rally, Toronto, Canada.
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Starting 1 May, Chemi Lhamo will serve as the President of the University of Toronto Scarborough Student’s Union.
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Chemi Lhamo taking part in a traditional Tibetan dialectical debate presentation.