Rokas Morkūnas
Interviewed by Joanna Lancashire
What motivated you to run for student rep?
Well, being a student rep on both national and high school level has been my hobby, my duty, responsibility, my job, my basically everyday routine for 4,5, 6 year. That’s what I do, that’s what I have been doing and I believe that I have been delivering my work efficiently and I believe that’s what I can do here as well.
Do you have an previous experience in your run for student rep?
I’ve been to two high school and I was student council in both of them. I was the vice president of Lithuanian Pupils Parliament which is like a democratically elected student rep, a student rep of national level. Every school elects a candidate, then every city elects a candidate, so I was the vice president of that.
If you’re elected, what sort of challenges do you foresee you might run into?
Well basically to efficiently deliver the message between the students and the administration because sometimes I feel that some student initiatives might not be heard, or the problems are not solved as efficiently as they could be. I believe that’s a challenge I could really face on really well as I’ve been doing that for many years and I think I’m capable of doing that and that I can do it now.
What do you think of the campaign process?
I’m the only one that doesn’t have a Facebook event. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but I’m going to stick to that, stick to being original. Other people are doing a really great job, some of their ideas are some I couldn’t even think about, and there are really great candidates. Maybe just a bit too much spamming on facebook. I’m trying to be the only one doing if the old fashion way, bringing my flag and my hat the other day. I’m not rushing. Some people rushed everything on sunday and now we don’t see them. I’m trying to be as minimal as possible and then in the debate I think that’s the time when you’re supposed to present everything face to face and that’s what I’m going to do.
What is most unique about your platform?
The thing is that I’m honest and responsible and a trustworthy person. Throughout the first months in Sciences Po, the thing that urged me to run for student rep is the feeling of communicating of people regardless of whether I know them for many years or do I just know them for 25 minutes. I feel equally happy and feel the same way of communicating with people. I believe some people also enjoy talking to me and that I’m the guy that everyone could just come to and ask. My platform is that I can deliver the messages to the administration. I could and I would and I believe that’s the most important quality of being a student rep.
If you could sum up in 3 words what the role of the student rep is?
Bring love, bring happiness and trustworthy representativeness
What are you most proud of about your hometown?
My hometown is the second largest city Kaunas in Lithuania and what I’m most proud of is, that I never understood why some foreigners from different continents would go and visit my city. I’m really proud of that, because almost every day if you walk around old town you see some group of different culture of people taking photos of everything. That’s what I feel proud about, that there’s something for people to see and that they see some little sparkle of love.
