Sheá McCourt

There’s no ‘me’ in equality, but there is a ‘U’.

To me, equality means taking big steps aimed not only at including every individual in society, but also ensuring that they are understood and appreciated as valuable people. It means representing those who may feel otherwise ignored or overlooked. It’s so much more than ‘everyone gets treated the same’. It’s protection, support and actively caring about bringing people together and ensuring that they are heard and seen!

Equality and diversity have been key components of my life for as long as I can remember. From being raised by an amazing strong single mother, who triumphed in the face of struggle and suffering, to caring for a brave and courageous sister with ongoing health conditions, these memories and pictures from my life have acted as an inspiration. They have inspired me to act. To demand change in our social institutions. To fight for a better dynamic for every single person. Throughout life we’ve all been subject to some form of inequality or hate; racism, ableism, homophobia, and the list goes on and on. Now it’s about changing this, it’s about ensuring that students have the support they need. It’s about ensuring those in need have access to the resources that they require. It’s about ensuring that every single student feels safe, seen and heard.

Disadvantages are more abundant in society than most care to admit, being discriminated against for more reasons than one can count. We’re born one day and roll a dice of chance, are we the ‘ideal’ candidate for life or are we not. Does our body, our love, our race, or our existence somehow limit what we can achieve? The answer is no! Fighting for the chance to say we are exactly who we are meant to be. Fighting to show that these social labels do not define us, they do not restrict us. I want to change this hate-filled system, I want to understand people, not for their ‘labels’ but for who they truly are. I want to show everyone that these ‘restrictions’ will not stop us from reaching for the stars or achieving our goals.

I want to help students to have the best experience they can. If this means protesting for change, I’m there. If it means having tough conversations with the ‘elite’, I’ll have those conversations. I want students to feel safe and happy in Queen’s. They shouldn’t have to worry about that dice of chance, they shouldn’t have to fear those labels or suffer in silence. No student deserves to be disadvantaged because of some ridiculous social view or dynamic.

It’s my hope and plan to help change this dynamic. I plan on changing policies surrounding parent and carer support in Queen’s by ensuring that these students are taken into consideration and supplied with sufficient support, enforcing a strong stance on student protection, and continuing my work on protection against sexual harassment and misconduct, by arguing for better support for students and improved prevention measures within the university. It is also extremely important to me that every student feels involved, accepted, and appreciated. I’ll ensure this is happening by hosting regular meetings with chair association members in order to include a wide variety of perspectives.

I am only one person but together we can make the change we want to see.
Let’s not leave the future of equality and diversity in the hands of chance, let’s not roll the dice for a better Queen’s University. Let’s make one!

To see all the candidates running, visit the Queen’s SU website

SU23 - Sheá McCourt for Equality and Diversity officer