President Elect Thacher Loutin

By Asha Cumberbatch

Our President-elect of the Guild of Students is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with a minor in Education. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food and Hospitality Management along with being a trained teacher. The ambitious young lady simply wants to take advantage of all the opportunities she is given. Some of these things include working with the Government of Jamaica (where she is originally from) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. back home. She believes knowing a second language is an asset in allowing her to communicate her ideas on a broader platform. She is also very passionate about teaching and would not put it aside.

Thacher Loutin knows that she is unique. In her own words, she goes “over and beyond”, putting service above self. As a spirit animal she would choose the lioness. Why? “Because of the strength, pride and courage the lioness portrays in the forest. I think for me it is the same. People say the lion will never eat grass; it doesn’t matter the economy. It’s not that you won’t adjust to fit the circumstances, but you would try to fix the problem and find a solution before actually giving in.”

“I am definitely moving on to my masters after this degree,” she insists with a laugh. “Any opportunities I get, I will just grab it. If it is in Dubai I will go.”

“Hummingbirds well, they fly and me I always try to soar.”

A: “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”

“Well five more years from now I probably see myself being a lecturer; I love teaching. I also think in studying a foreign language, I need to be in-depth and immersed in the culture, so five years from now I may also see myself living in a Spanish-speaking country and probably teaching English to kids who speak Spanish. To be honest I don’t really have a plan five years from now... but the masters is a good start.” A: “How did you come up with the idea for this Arts Beat room?”

“It is simple. There is faculty pride on this campus as you would see with the Faculty of Law etc. However, at the time when I came on this campus, I realized there was not any space for Humanities students to mix and mingle. Many of them can’t afford lunch so they need to microwave their food. The first thing I did was to identify a space. This was actually the old lecturers’ sick bay and I realized it wasn’t being used. So I thought ‘why not approach the Dean’?

“To be honest the process was quite difficult, and I think if I didn’t have that perseverance, that fighting spirit this room would not be here today. I practically pulled the funding from my own pocket. Yes, we got a bit of sponsorship but not enough to cover it fully. I paid for the decor myself, did everything myself. Up to today we have more Science and Technology students here than Humanities. We have more Social Sciences students using the lounge and I don’t stop them. I really don’t have a problem with it.”

I went on to question the President-elect on what her plans were post-campaign. She replied, “As I said I really don’t have mandates, I am not here to serve myself. I am here to serve the students and I’m open to new initiatives along with solving long-term problems with students. Along with having the University looking in, I want them to become more humane when it comes to students’ financial struggles.” She also said that she wants to lobby for the University to create a comprehensive online space where employers and students can connect so that jobs and internships can be advertised and sought. “I look at the fact that the University of the West Indies, is a prestigious University and employers are not going to look for our graduates. I don’t want five thousand math students leaving each year without a clue of what they are going to do after. It won’t help five thousand, but it will at least help enough.”

Thacher also intends to assist with the shuttle system, security issues, and respect from administration. She also wants there to be more cohesive integration amongst the faculties where everyone understands that their degrees are equally important. “I want the student population to understand that despite the stigma that the Faculty of Humanities and Education degrees are just liberal, it is not true. The world needs diverse people and what makes us that way are the different faculties we come from and the different degrees we pursue. I would have looked into creating more transparency and unity between the Guild and students. Many students don’t know what goes on in the guild. They just pay their fees and don’t know what it is for.” A newsletter is needed, she declares, to inform persons of what occurs. However, she insists that many student outreach plans are provided for, such as those with welfare but some students are often unaware of what occurs. She wants to reignite the promise of the Guild by creating student opportunities for them with regards to scholarships. “Corporate Barbados is willing to help us; and remember we are coming from different islands. Those businesses and corporations from other islands… no one turns away proposals on education.”

She declares that campus policy must align with its ideals of being a ‘smart-campus’. “You can’t tell me you are accepting students with disabilities and then somebody comes in with dyslexia but there is no lecturer with special needs to cater to them. We cater for the blind, we cater for the people in the wheelchairs but what about people with Autism and things like that? So these are things we are looking into.” A: “Have you always wanted to be in a leading position?” “Again, the question is simple. I don’t feel like I can be a normal student; and when I say a ‘normal’ student I mean I don’t feel like I can just come to school and do academics. No. I believe when you come to University you seek holistic development and even if you are not a leader, at least join a club; at least join a society. Most of us who come from an island join the island association. I never thought I would run for Guild President! I have faculty pride and I certainly love my faculty. Even serving as Humanities and Education rep I never thought that I would feel so passionate about it. Up until now I want to let go of being Humanities [Representative], but I have become attached. I love, love the faculty.”

So how did Thacher Loutin end up running for Guild President? “Last semester I had people telling me ‘ohhh you could run for Guild President’ ‘ohh we see you doing this thing’ and ‘you could do great things’, and ‘you could be a great leader, we see you getting things done’ and I decided you know, even if people didn’t tell me I would still have tried. Even at the point where I realized I was going up against three males, I wasn’t discouraged.” Although she couldn’t ignore the issue of gender she did not allow it to hinder her success. “I didn’t tell myself ‘I am a woman and may not get the opportunities. No. I looked at myself as the candidate who I thought was capable to do the job.” Highlighting the corruption which occurs during campaigns such as ‘free pizza, rides home and money’ Thacher insists that her campaign was different. Her approach and strategy relied on communication and reaching out to people on a one-on-one level. She pushed for ‘service above self’ and spoke to many persons from different faculties. Illustrating what she was able to achieve as Humanities Rep, she implored persons to consider what she could achieve as Guild President.

“What advice would you give to women who may want to run for Guild President in the future?” “I would tell them to just believe in themselves and have faith in their own abilities. Don’t just say, do it. Go for it! Bypass gender! If men can do it, so can women and even better.” Gender roles have changed, she insists. Gone are the days where women stayed in the homes taking care of the children and men went out, bringing in the money. Those days have changed where women are electricians, plumbers, Prime Ministers...for example Mia Mottley and Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s first Prime Minister as well. “I remember I went to the Governor General to have a little chat; she said to me:

‘Do not let gender get in your way as a woman. You’re a woman, yes. You know that. . .but in your capacity as serving as Guild President do not associate the position with ‘woman’. Associate the position with you being capable of doing the job and being the Guild President’.

I am taking that forward with me.” Although some persons have been commenting on social media saying she would not receive the respect she deserves due to her being a woman, she says everyone ‘demands the respect’ they deserve. “ “Do you think women should run more for these leadership positions?” “Yes! Absolutely yes. I think society has changed. Women are financial accountants, pilots etc. There are no such things as ‘man jobs’ or ‘woman jobs’; you do a job because you are passionate about it. Our own principal Eudine Barriteau is a woman, the Dean of Humanities is a woman. Let society have faith in us.”