Established in 2015 by College’s then Chair of Council, Charlie Taylor (Fr 1982), the Taylor Scholar program supports and encourages senior students in continuing to engage significantly and meaningfully with College life after graduating. The aim of the program is to increase the diversity and depth of the College experience.
Taylor Scholars develop and implement a new special interest project or continue and evolve an existing project, related to any aspect of College life that will benefit the College community.
Kiran Gupta (Fr 2019) is one of these scholars, with his project “We need to talk”.
Tell us a little about your Taylor Scholar project.
We Need to Talk is a radical discussion forum that I founded in 2020 which aims to promote respectful freedom of speech. This centres around topical issues for young adolescents such as intimate partner violence, homophobia, religious freedom and racism. The aim is to encourage participants to consider all viewpoints and reflect more deeply upon their own beliefs, even if it doesn’t necessarily result in a change of views. The conversation is generally accompanied by food and beverage, provided by College and the Student’s Club. The program also acts as a means of providing freshers who may not identify with the party culture of College with a safe and supportive environment that can introduce them to other aspects of the College. The pastoral role of We Need to Talk is one that I am particularly proud of.
Do you have any collaborators on the project?
Claire O’Connor.
Why is it important to you?
Many students have said that the program is the highlight of their time at College. The program has been especially beneficial to students who may not fit in as easily to College life so I believe that the program will continue to provide for the College community by providing that outlet for those students.
We Need to Talk also contributes to the intellectual atmosphere of the College, providing students with opportunities for insightful learning and to engage in interesting topics with their peers. It also promotes friendships between year groups and introduces the freshers to older students in a supportive way. This is an important supplement to the other College social events like Welcome Week and Soph Scuba as it allows students to connect in a different way: around food, beverage and conversation.
What drove you towards this project in particular?
I initially founded the project in order to address the recommendations in the Broderick Report as I thought that a student-led initiative would be a useful supplement to the extensive mentor training program that the College runs. I also attended Claymore Club sessions, which were run by the SCR and thought they were really interesting and well-received so I designed We Need to Talk based on that premise, with a few adaptations to ensure the project’s success. Claire and I then pitched the idea to the College and the senior student at the time, both of whom were very supportive of the idea.
What do you hope to achieve with it?
My hope with the project has always been that participants consider all viewpoints and reflect more deeply upon their own beliefs, even if it doesn’t necessarily result in a change of views. The goal has never been to change anyone’s view or to present a definitively ‘correct’ viewpoint, but rather to encourage greater reflection and possibly to add nuance to one’s own view. Even if that involves a little bit of googling of an interesting idea presented in the session afterwards, I would consider that to be very valuable.
Any advice for someone thinking about applying for St Andrew’s College?
Go for it and get involved as much as you can. There are so many programs at College and even if you don’t find ones that are to your liking, you can always create your own. I have been the editor of Drew’s News since 2020 and also founded We Need to Talk in the same year, just after having finished my fresher year and now, the two projects are two of the more popular Drew’s programs and have continued well after I have left College. There’s always room to be involved and people to support you.
Read a previous article about Kiran’s internship at the Sydney Morning Herald.