LONDON, 1 August 2025 -- Mr. Baiyu Liu AMBCS FRSA MIoD today delivered the following Inaugural Address after being sworn in as President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the King’s College London Students’ Union (“the Union”):
Fellow students of King’s College London,
I have not come to you with honeyed words or conciliatory phrases. I have not been elected to smile in the face of stagnation or to sit idle while the gears of this university grind against its students.
We are told that progress comes through dialogue. That change is birthed in motions passed, in meetings sat, in signatures collected. But I say this: the great questions of the day will not be decided through speeches and majority decisions - such was the inaction of previous administrations - but by iron and blood.
For too long, this Union has been lulled into the comfortable slumber of bureaucracy, pacified by procedure, silenced by civility. But history does not move for the polite. It bends for the resolute. And we—students of King’s—shall no longer be passive observers of our fate but we shall be the helmsmen of our own destiny.
My administration will embark on a series of reforms that will extend an olive branch to the long serving staff and full-time leaders at our Union. I offer my hand to them to elevate our great Union and provide them with a Presidency that brings forth New Era Rejuvenation.
I will propose an amendment to the Articles of Association, the Efficiency Act, that will be the result of a comprehensive, wide-ranging investigation on the value of all our procurement processes and expenditure, so not a penny of the hard earned fruits of our students’ and their families’ labour is put to waste. Such valuable resources that the university has entrusted to us shall not be squandered.
I will propose the Student Representation Act, which will amend the Articles of Association to give Student Representatives, who toil day and night under the great heat of academic pressure to represent their classmates, a greater voice in our Union.
The NUS Disaffiliation Act will realise that dream which shall never die: a free Union, independent of tyranny for the cause of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On behalf of our students, I say “give me freedom or give me death”. I cannot promise a one-way ticket to the promised land, but I promise my heart and soul towards reaching this endeavour.
The Integrated Transport Act - establishing inter-campus buses - will be the culmination of our promises to the people, for a network to build the metal infrastructure that bridges the gap between the insular campuses. Our university shall be a united front of solidarity, both physical and metaphorical. The first stage of this Act shall see the realisation of the Connecting Campuses Campaign so we can build our own city upon a hill over the foundation of campus shuttle buses.
When our students, in good order, enter the world of post-graduate employment, it is this Union’s responsibility to ensure that they go out into the world on the best footing possible. It falls on us therefore to pursue the advancement of our university’s careers and employability outreach. The first phase of the Student Success Act shall finally see the realisation of the Digital Graduation Certificate so our international students can in good time prove their diploma and get the jobs that they deserve. No longer shall our international students miss strict employment deadlines due to rampant failure and inefficiency caused by the delayed delivery of physical graduation certificates.
This is not the time for conversation, this is the time for action. A new Union shall be formed in the white heat of this Fourth Industrial Revolution that will implement the policies for a New Era. This Presidency is our tryst with destiny, our moment to redeem our pledge to the people.
But we must not be confined to the narrow restrictions of governing by pledges because a mandate is so much more. If you can dream and not make dreams your master, think and not make thoughts your aim - ours is the Earth and everything in it.
If others wish to play a game of cards, they can govern a casino, but we are not mistaken: this is your education and mine, and whoever governs our Union must have that iron in him. That haemoglobin within our blood that yearns for our revitalisation shall drive our people forward into wholesome destiny.
Let them hear this well: we are not content to be ruled by quiet neglect. We shall not submit to governance committees which deliberate endlessly while students suffer in silence. Where diplomacy fails, discipline shall advance. Where apathy reigns, action shall rise.
I say this to the governors of this institution, to those in power who would trade student welfare for financial convenience: you shall find in me neither a rubber stamp nor a friendly mediator. You shall find in me galvanised square steel.
You shall find a Union awakened. You shall find students who do not beg, but demand. You shall find that the age of meek petitions, PowerPoint slideshows and banner painting sessions is ended. And in its place stands will, iron-clad and unyielding.
Let others chatter in circles. Let others complain with futility. As for us, we will unite, we will build, and if necessary, we shall fight.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight from Strand to Denmark Hill, from Guy’s to Waterloo. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in our resolve, we shall defend our Union, whatever the cost may be.
If necessary, for years. If necessary, alone.
We shall fight them with words, with law, and with conviction—and we shall never surrender. And if all other voices fall silent, our movement for grand reformation shall fight on, and our neighbouring Students’ Unions in England shall carry on the struggle.
Let them mark this moment well. This is not an administration. It is a reckoning.
I do not offer peace. I offer purpose.
I do not promise harmony. I promise victory.
By iron and blood, and in God's good time, we shall make this Union great once again.
Thank you.
ENDS
The views expressed on this page are those of Baiyu Liu and unless specified, they do not purport to represent the views of the King's College London Students' Union, its Officers, or its Members.
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