Campus confession: The ‘outsider’ label that ended my student leadership bid

For three years, Joseph, not his real name, had watched student leaders’ campaign, debate and eventually take up positions of influence at the college where he is now completing his final year.

However, when he decided to seek a student leadership position himself, he discovered that getting an opportunity to lead could be more difficult when you are perceived as an outsider.

Joseph had secured an opportunity to pursue his college education away from his home area, joining an institution where students from his community are a minority.

With his final year approaching, he decided to participate in the student leadership elections, hoping to represent fellow students and contribute to the running of the institution.

Instead, his campaign was met with hurdles that eventually forced him to withdraw from the race.

According to Joseph, some of the resistance came from students who questioned whether he had a place in the institution's leadership because he was not from the dominant community.

He recalls hearing some students say they could not be led by an “outsider”, a description that made him question whether the election was going to be based on his ideas and ability to serve or his ethnic background.

The situation became more concerning when he says he began receiving threats, making him increasingly uncomfortable with continuing his campaign.

“As much as I wanted to contest, I started feeling that my safety was more important. I did not want a leadership position to put me in danger,” he says.

Joseph says his experience was also informed by what he had observed during his three years at the institution.

According to him, he had never seen a student leader elected from outside the dominant tribe during that period, something he says became apparent as he interacted with fellow students and followed previous elections.

Although he had hoped that his decision to contest would help challenge that pattern, the hostility he encountered eventually led him to step away from the race.

For Joseph, withdrawing was not simply about losing an election before it had even taken place. Instead, it was about navigating an environment where he felt his identity had become more important than his leadership agenda.

“I wanted students to look at what I could contribute, not where I come from,” he says.

Now in his final year, Joseph says the experience has changed how he views student leadership and belonging in institutions of higher learning.

His story also raises broader questions about how students from minority communities experience campus politics, particularly in institutions where one ethnic community is perceived to dominate student leadership.

While colleges and universities bring together young people from different parts of the country, elections can sometimes reflect social and ethnic identities that students carry from their communities.

For students like Joseph, however, the classroom may offer equal opportunities while the political space outside it can present a different reality.

Despite abandoning his leadership bid, Joseph says he does not regret trying.

He hopes that future student elections will give candidates an opportunity to compete on their ideas, leadership abilities and commitment to students, rather than on their ethnic backgrounds.

As he prepares to complete his studies, the experience remains a reminder of the challenges some students face when they step beyond the boundaries of familiarity and attempt to claim a place in spaces where they feel they are still viewed as outsiders.

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