A Tibetan girl came victorious in a University student body election and she will be appointed as the president of the Students Union. However, Chinese students immediately started to protest against the victory for her Tibetan identity and even began petition against her election as the president of the Student’s Union of the University.
Ms. Chemi Lhamo, a Neuroscience and Psychology student in her fourth year of study emerged as the winner of the election for the off President of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student Union (SCSU). The Tibetan girl took to her official facebook account to express her gratitude to the supporters.
“Thank you to everyone for all the support and love. I am honoured to share that I will be serving as the President of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student Union starting May 1st once ratified. Driven by my values of wisdom and compassion, I’m looking forward to this new step.” posted Ms. Lhamo on her social media account following her victory.
While Tibetans and many others started sharing congratulatory messages and emerged joyous, Chinese students started protesting against the victory and even started a petition appealing against the results of the election. According to the report in Phayul, the petition is protesting against her involvement in Free Tibet campaigns.
The report explained that the petition outcries at Chemi Lhamo accusing her of firstly “selling miserable stories to students” and secondly for her involvement in the political arena as a part of Free Tibet group, a reference to her Instagram account description.
The petition says, “She has too much political involvement with that outside group, how would international students feel if they have an SCSU leader criticizing foreign countries?” according to the report.
According to the report, an article in the University’s newspaper explained that “Lhamo recalled growing up as a stateless Tibetan refugee in India who ‘has gone through a lot of adversities in life,’ now working three jobs to make ends meet in addition to keeping up with academic requirements and volunteering. She also mentioned creating a mentorship program for Tibetan youth in Canada.”
According to the report, Lhamo pointed to “representation” as her priorities as a president, “I think I have emphasized this enough because representation is so important,” she said. “All my life I have been treated as an outsider. It’s not a sob story — it’s just a reality.”
The victory for the Tibetan girl is a huge achievement for the Tibetan community as well. Evidently, notable Tibetan personals from across the world lauded her victory in the University and extended their congratulations and best wishes.
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