 Maen nhw'n cyrraffodol, cynnig honi, ffamiliau cyd-wympai. Sefydliad iddyn nhw'n arch am prosth잡 ddeunydd hwnnw gweithio ar hynny, ac mae gennym digon i'ch hynny'n go golf o ddiwylliant a pethau ac yn hafydlu'n gwybod i'r ffajffol i gyd-wmianol ac i nhw'n mynd i'r cyfnod. Mae hynny'n gweithio'r Ffagor 2015-i'r lleidwad rydych chi, gyda'r gwasanaeth iddynt iddyn nhw yw'r hynny'n gydwympai, postgraduate taught or research degree, this is a momentous achievement of which you should be incredibly proud and not only proud of these academic achievements but also of the infinite amounts of extracurricular activities that SOE students partake in, running over 250 societies supporting just about every progressive political campaign you can think of and creating initiatives and cooperatives, some of which have become nationwide projects or even evolved into their own charities, SOE students never fail to amaze. My vote of thanks is dedicated to the SOE's community, to the students, academics, non-academic staff, my union colleagues and outsourced cleaning security and catering staff who make up this inspiring, vibrant and unique institution which many of us have come to see as our second home. I'd also like to thank our director Paul, who will be stepping down this year for his dedication to SOE's, his academic leadership and his willingness to engage in endless debates with the students seen in. So thank you Paul. For the parents and families who have spent the last three, four, five, even more years, would you like to hang around? Wondring what this mysterious place is all about, let me try to tell you. But how can anyone summarise SOE's? Capture its fluid and continually evolving identity, its diverse and unique scholarship and political activity, the passion and dynamism of its community. I attempted such a summary when addressing new students in October. I welcome them to an oasis of critical thinking, of global south and subalton perspectives, of dismantling neoliberalism and Orientalism, of deconstructing social constructions and of planning Marxist, Feminist, queer, environmentalist, anti-Abelist, anti-racist, postcolonial and anti-imperial liberated utopias. Exactly. I told them that whether in the classroom in the JCR or Bar, on a protest at a society event, a party in the Hare Krishna queue on the legendary SOE steps, they would find endless stimulation and inspiration that challenges the status quo. In SOE's century in existence it has transformed from an institution of the establishment and instrument of British colonialism to the centre of critical and heterodox education in the UK and even in the world, comprising a community with radical politics who have helped lead countless social movements throughout the decades. Quite a turnaround. SOE's is now the university in which to learn from a truly global rather than Eurocentric perspective, in which mainstream ideologies are challenged and deconstructed and teaching is imbued with a passion for equality and justice. Our community do not merely study issues from distant ivory towers but rather seek to relate our academia to lived experiences on the ground and to use this knowledge and these relationships to advocate for a better world. This happens at three levels. The first is global. The regions that SOE specialises in are not obscure locations on a map that we seek to understand from a detached perspective, rooted in glorified dreams of neo-imperial adventure in the exotic orient or dreams of exploitative profit-seeking ventures in emerging markets. Instead, we seek to understand these regions because we want to understand the world as a whole and from diverse and localised perspectives rather than merely accepting the narratives of the powerful. In engaging with communities around the world, students and staff seek to support grassroot struggles and to create international solidarity from resisting austerity debt and structural adjustments, campaigning against the invasion of Iraq, to combating the destruction of the planet and struggling for free Palestine and Kurdish liberation, to name a few. The second level is the wider community. We do not only study and seek to engage with faraway places and issues out there but also with the communities around us. This involves engaging as staff and students with important struggles within the UK from fighting for free education and resisting the privatisation of and cuts to the welfare state, to fighting for the rights of migrants and opposing increasing discrimination towards international students and growing Islamophobia. The third level is our own institution. We do not merely assess the world around us but also turn our critical gaze inward. This involves self-reflecting on the ways in which SARS is not entirely broken away from its historical links with colonialism and still needs to decolonise itself. As much as we like to see SARS as a bubble, even with efforts by some students to declare it an independent state so that our bar would be exempt from UK laws which criminalise marijuana smoking, we also know that we are not isolated from structures of oppression and discrimination within wider society. We recognise the disadvantage faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues, by women, by black minority ethnic working class and lesbian, gay, bisexual trans and queer peoples, carers and single parents and non-UK particularly non-EU nationals. As a community we seek to engage in on-going attempts to collectively tackle these structures within our institution and educational practice. The SARS community's desire to address inequality and injustice within our institution as well as the wider world is most clearly demonstrated in a number of our on-campus campaigns. Justice for cleaners aims to ensure that cleaning staff are treated with dignity and respect. Fractionals for fair play aims to see fractional teaching staff paid fully for their labour. Campaigns for SARS to implement boycott divestment and sanctions by ending its partnerships with institutions linked to the Israeli military and democratise SARS, a campaign for greater representation, transparency and accountability within SARS's governance structures to ensure that the institution is run in the interests of the entire university community. These campaigns are ongoing but we did win the fossil fuel divestment campaign this year making SARS the first university in London to divest from fossil fuels. So as you can see students and staff are committed to practising the values that we teach in the classroom, which is not always something we can say for the management. Perhaps. So now as graduates about to leave the SARS bubble and enter the big wide capitalist world what advice can I offer you? Just don't do it. No. But as someone who hasn't left yet myself, I can't offer too much advice. But if my time here has taught me anything, it's that I will never really leave this place. Don't worry. I will actually leave. But what I mean, as cliched as it may sound, is that SARS and what we have learnt here will never leave us. A prominent stereotype about SARS students is that we all aspire to change the world. While this is easier said than done, we can as SARS graduates make a positive impact. So my advice to all of us is to take what we have learnt in the special place, to our future workplaces and communities, regardless of the country or sector and regardless of whether it's our dream job, to share the knowledge, passion and values that we have developed here. Don't stop questioning, critiquing, challenging and deconstructing and don't stop fighting for what you believe in. Remain engaged in important debates, continue your involvement in campaigns and struggles, organise in your workplaces, join a union and continue to take part in collective actions and protests which fight for a better world. But as you take SARS and what it has taught you out into the world, don't forget the place itself. The school will be asking you to be an engaged alumni and an engaged alumni you must, be an engaged alumni you must, but not just through an annual direct debit donation to the school, but rather through remaining engaged with students, staff and cleaner struggles for equality, justice and democracy within the institution and through remaining engaged with the future of SARS, which is an uncertain one given the government's privatisation and marketisation of higher education. This is a context in which small and specialist institutions like SARS are struggling and it is an education system which is increasingly elitist and inaccessible to many. So don't forget the SARS community, don't forget the institution itself and continue to engage with their struggles over the coming years. The message I want to leave you with is that finishing your degree is not the end of your SARS experience because you will take what this place has taught you into the world and use it to fight for much needed changes and because you will always be connected to and feel a sense of belonging with SARS and the people who comprise it. To put it simply, once a SARS-ian, always a SARS-ian. Congratulations again graduates. To conclude my vote of thanks, I thank you all for being the amazing minds, the comradely friends, the inspiring and creative society organisers and the passionate activists who make this place so magical and I thank you in advance for all of the vital work you will go on to do to help change the world for the better. Thank you.