Cambridge SU announced yesterday that Kefeshe Bernard will be stepping down as the BME Sabbatical Officer. 

In the statement, Bernard said that they were “grateful for the people I’ve met while in this role as well as the skills I have learnt.” 

They added that it “has been a pleasure learning more about the university and working so closely on issues affecting ethnically and religiously minoritised students.” 

The statement thanked Bernard for their role in “projects such as Interfaith Week, access work for Caribbean students and working towards a decolonised curriculum.” 

The statement did not state the reasoning for Bernard’s resignation. Bernard will continue in their role until February 10th.

Over their tenure Bernard had also responded to the University’s Report on the Legacies on Enslavement, noting Cambridge’s “complicit[y] in pushing a white imperial narrative” as one of the limitations of the report. They emphasised the under-representation “of Black students and Black people on the whole” amongst those involved in the report. Bernard had also supported the reading week proposal and had explored ideas for a year abroad for all courses.

Bernard’s resignation is the third such resignation in two years of SU sabbatical officers. It follows the resignation of Milo Eyre-Morgan as the Women’s Officer last January as well as Heidi Chan, who was elected as the Women’s Officer following Eyre-Morgan’s resignation. Chan did not take up the role due to personal reasons.