Campus Celebrity - Clement Abas Apaak
This week’s Campus Celebrity is none other than Clement Abas Apaak -- former president of the SFSS, founder of Canadian Students for Darfur, Archaeology Instructor and host of CJSF’s African Connection. Born in Ghana, Apaak is one of SFU’s most recognizable personalities and was gracious enough to share with us some of his stories from the past and hopes for the future.
Clement Apaak. You also have a number of nicknames, don’t you?
Oh yeah, I have a bunch. My other name is Chief Apaak, and I’ve also been referred to as the Godfather, and as the Guru. Chief Apaak comes from back home when I used to be the leader of a fraternity, but Godfather and Guru I got from SFU, because people have come to expect me to be championing some interest. They know me as some kind of guru (laughs).
Tell me about where you’re from and where you first went to University.
I studied for my bachelors in Ghana. It was supposed to be three years, but I actually took four because we led one of the most remarkable student protests and therefore the university was actually shut down for one year.
So when you came to SFU, did you go straight into student politics?
Oh yeah. The first week (laughs). One of the things I got involved in right away was the Tuition Action Coalition. We organized the day of action, and I proposed making a coffin and carrying it to Strand Hall and burying it as a sign of the demise of affordable public education. That was before I got on the board (of the SFSS).
But when you finally got onto the SFSS Board of Directors, were things quite how you expected?
(laughs). I got on the board as part of a slate called Access All Stars, which looked really good on the outside, but the year was really tumultuous, so to speak. There were so many very active people with very outspoken natures. It was very difficult to have a cohesive group when you have everyone with the same level of activism. We couldn’t agree on a common strategy. It was very difficult to function in a cohesive way, but it was nonetheless a very interesting experience. The Board was very unpredictable and very controversial.
I actually had to resign from my position as the Graduate Issues Officer because I just couldn’t sustain my family on the stipend I was getting from the Student Society. I had a wife and two kids to support.
So in between having a family, writing a PhD dissertation, being an Archeology instructor, and having a radio show, you somehow managed to get elected president of the SFSS last year?
Yes, I actually ran my campaign from Ethiopia. I was in Africa on my field work and for some reason I chose to run for president. That was very unusual. I ended up being part of a team called Pink. I remember reading about Derrick Harder speaking on my behalf during the campaign, pretending to be a six-foot tall charismatic black man (laughs). It was good to know that our team was confident enough to take on my campaign and run it like that.
It wasn’t the smoothest year either. A number of people threw in the towel and resigned, but you stayed the course. How did you get through it all?
I wanted to do a lot for international students, seeing as I was one myself. The ability to sit on the Board of Governors, the off-campus employment issue, the international student lounge – we’ve been able to see all these things happen, so that definitely kept me going. I was motivated by the sense that we could actually build and keep a foundation that subsequent boards could build upon, making our organization, the Student Society, relevant, not only to the students, but to the public.
In the meantime, you also managed to start a national student organization called the Canadian Students for Darfur.
Before I went to Ethiopia to do my field work, I decided that not only as an African, but as someone who believes in our common humanity, I had to do something about the conflict in Darfur. I thought that SFU would be the right campus to start a national advocacy group by students. We started what we called the SFU Darfur Committee. The incentive was to draw attention to the conflict and to try to galvanize action on the national or international level.
Now CSF Darfur is a national advocacy group and you’ve met with the likes of Romeo Dallaire, Irwin Cotler, Jack Layton, Bill Siksay, Hedy Fry, Stephane Dion, Gordon Campbell and others. What’s this like? Do you fee like you accomplish anything when you talk to these people? Does it go anywhere?
I think so. I’m happy to say that now we have what is called the MPs for Darfur, a sort of loose coalition of MPs who have decided to make Darfur their issue. They presented a 10 point plan on what we can do in Darfur and this 10 point plan is pulled directly from our petition that we’ve had on our website. So they’re definitely paying attention. More recently, we were mentioned not only in the legislature of BC, but even in the House of Commons. They actually mentioned me by name and our group, so I thought that was an indication that they were paying attention to what we were bringing forward and what we are trying to do.
So when will we see the book – the autobiography of Chief Apaak?
(laughs) Actually my good friend Charlie Smith, the editor of the Georgia Straight, has talked about that. I think I need to look at the immediate right now: my dissertation, which would make my advisor happy because she’s not too enthusiastic about my multiple engagements (laughs). But I certainly would also think some day that if I can inspire people to get active in student politics, that would be a good thing.
Any last words for the people?
We as human beings have a responsibility not just to ourselves, but to the bigger community in which we live. We should always take the time to engage in the public discourse. It doesn’t matter whether we agree or disagree, but we should engage in the public discourse. That’s the only way we can being about change. At the end of the day, something good will always come out of the public dialogue, and that’s what motives me to be involved.
Apaak can be heard hosting African Connection on Saturdays from 2pm-4pm on CJSF 90.1 FM.