“Vote for Yourself, And For Those Who Come Behind You”
“Through voting you have a say in what is important to you-that is the essence of democracy,” said Elijah Baksh, Queensborough’s newly-elected President of the Student Government Association (SGA). Though Elijah’s own voting record has been consistent, running for student government or any elected office was never on his agenda.
“I used to be an introvert. My mindset was “go to class, do your work, graduate and get a good job. The hitch was I wasn’t great at scheduling my time and barely passed my first semester.”
“Then my extroverted friend from high school enrolled at Queensborough. He was a natural at meeting new people and convinced me to join him at the Student Union where I started to relax and have fun talking with other students. Over the course of the next few semesters, I formed a wide circle of friends.”
Elijah, who enrolled at Queensborough in the spring of 2024, is majoring in health sciences with the intention to pursue nursing. His decision to attend Queensborough stemmed in part from financial hardship that fell on his family during Covid. “I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t want my family to pay the price for my education. Queensborough stood out from other schools when I learned that a majority of Queensborough students graduate without student loan debt.”
There is another reason Elijah was inspired to enroll at Queensborough.
Both his mother and his father earned their associate degrees at the College, in nursing and engineering, respectively.
“I’m following in the footsteps of my mother who works with people with disabilities across Queens and the Bronx. I feel great empathy for those who suffer and need care. My compassion combined with my knowledge and passion for medicine is ideal for the kind of rewarding career I want to pursue. And wanting to establish meaningful connections with people is also what ultimately drove me to run for office. “
“One day a fellow student heard me speak at a NYPIRG meeting on issues surrounding policy reforms. He encouraged me to run for student government."
“We had a week to campaign. Then it hit me. What do you get when you combine an inner comedian with a large guy? You get a candidate walking around campus wearing a sandwich board with the slogan, Big Man, Big Changes. My artist friend designed the board which included my picture and policies printed on cutouts of food items with bites taken out of the food and the plate,” he laughed. “My friend and I also printed out my policies and cut them to a size that fits in the palm of your hand. I must have handed out hundreds of these printouts to students as they rushed from class to class.”
Elijah leaned forward in his chair. “A marker to the testament of advocacy are students who want to make things better. Those who advocate for the sake of advocacy. That is what I intend to do as President of Student Government.” Elijah also serves as a delegate on behalf of Queensborough in the USS Senate, the body that represents the rights and interests of CUNY’s 240,000 students.
Among Elijah’s many priorities are to establish a town hall that would be held once or twice a year so students can engage with the administration on campus related issues. Elijah has in mind broader issues as well, namely the need for students — for everyone to have their voices heard.
“I know I want my voice heard and these are the words close to my heart: democracy, inclusivity, cultural identity and diversity. To engage with one another increases one’s knowledge of the world. We are all the same, we just have different stories. Work with each other in the time we have been given in this life.”
AND VOTE! Early voting begins Oct. 25-Nov 2.
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