Tha Lifestyle Feb,2014 | Page 20

THA LIFESTYLE | UNI LIFE Tamil Student Initiative So what is TSI? The Tamil Student Initiative is a Tamil student union – with the one aim of uniting Tamil societies in universities across the United Kingdom. Our goal is to be the voice of the Tamil students, representing each and every one of them and providing them with a platform to advance themselves. But this also breeds another question – who do we mean by ‘Tamil’ students? Do you have to be able to speak, read and write the language in order to be Tamil? Do you have to be into Gaana dancing and Kollywood music? Do you have to act and speak in a certain way, and only associate yourselves with other Tamil people? The questions Page 16 can go on and on and our answer will always be NO. It is truly impossible and incredibly ludicrous to even contemplate restricting the Tamil identity into such categories. Indeed we believe it is fair to say that our culture is one of the most genuinely diverse, and this is due to the constant evolution of our people. This diversity can be clearly seen in the above, with students taking the initiative to run and host numerous events which promote our students. One major example includes the ‘True Potential’ Personal Statement and Mock Interview workshops. This saw Tamil students coming together to pass on their experience to help aid and develop the upcoming generation. Even in university, this concept of developing the youth can be seen in the successful ‘Life after University’ series, where graduates come in to teach those willing about how to rise up into the best positions they can in the working world, and the skills they