Interview by Alexandra Oh
Photo: Clémentine Mariani
Please introduce yourself.
I’m Arno Bensoussan, I’m from Marseille which is in the south of France. I chose Sciences Po because I’m interested in public relations and international law, so it’s a little broad but hopefully, by my third year, I’ll have it all figured out. Sciences Po is all about openness. You can do what you want to do and discover ways to develop yourself.
What do you think the role of a Student Representative at Sciences Po Reims is or should be?
The role of a Student Representative is, at its core, an intermediary between the administration and the students. I want it to be a platform to get students to express themselves to the administration. Being a Student Representative is not about parties or anything like that; it’s just making sure student life is better on campus. Sometimes when people bring up issues, other students say “that’s just what Sciences Po is like” and they accept it, and I want to change that. I mean, we can find solutions! Stress is not normal, some people think being stressed is normal at Sciences Po, but it’s not and there’s a lot we can do to change it. There is a mental health association, psychologists, and there could be more relaxing methods people can be put into place.
Why are you running to be a student representative?
Basically, being a representative of some kind is something I’ve done for 6 years, and hopefully, I can do it for a 7th! So I know how to get things done. I think it could be great. There are problems on campus, but they can be solved and propositions can be put into place. It’s a really good opportunity.
What makes you qualified for this position?
Again, I have a lot of experience. I also have very concrete propositions and plans for this year.
As a Student Representative, what would be your mission or your main goals this year?
My platform consists of three main points: experience, concreteness, and openness. Focusing on concrete plans, what I want to change is organization. Like for the debates that were Thursday at noon: they were changed. The original plan the administration shared with us a week ago was not for Thursday, and as a result of the last-minute change many students such as myself had to rearrange plans and schedules and it was very inconvenient. This applies to a lot of organizational aspects, such as schedules for final exams, uniformizing math courses, and the implementation of a common calendar.
What is the one thing that as a student representative, you’d like to change or reform?
Organization. I want to make sure everything is scheduled and planned and that there are no surprises. I mean, in high school, surprises are okay because the workload isn’t that heavy, but at Sciences Po there is obviously a lot more work and effort, so surprises aren’t okay.
Finally, if you could visit any moment in time, past or present, where would you go and why?
I think I would want to go to the antiquity. I feel so inspired by this period. Athens in ancient times is so inspiring with all the art, culture, philosophy. It’s so interesting because they were so advanced, especially compared to some eras that followed, like the Middle Ages which were like a step backward.
