By: Rami Mansi & Jaida Dent
With Brooklyn College’s (BC) Undergraduate Student Government (USG) elections upon us, the candidates for President and Vice President sat with The Vanguard to share more about who they are and what they are fighting for.
Ari Tirado, who is running for President, is a third-year majoring in Philosophy and Puerto Rican & Latino Studies and minoring in Children & Youth Studies. Participating in BC organizations since his freshman year, Tirado co-founded the Pre-Law Society and became involved with the BC Student Union early in his college career. Helping to re-establish the Mexican Heritage Student Association, Tirado would continue to expand his efforts to USG as a senator.
Doha Nemr, who is running for Vice President, is a junior studying Biology on the Pre-Dental track. Starting as a volunteer for campus events, she would land the role of USG senator later that year. Moving through USG, Nemr would join the Cabinet as Club Director and now currently stands as Chief of Staff.
What are your top priorities for your campaign?
Ari: Immigration Services and Student Repression
Doha: Transparency between students and admin, along with students with disabilities.
Together: The pillars of our campaign are as follows: Integrity, Equity, and Student Power. It is through these values that we intend to prioritize what our administration will focus on. […]. Ensuring that all students become familiar with the budget and financing of our college, while promoting civic engagement across campus. Our campaign is not built by merely the two of us, but a symphony of voices from every hall of our campus.
What is your motivation/reason for running for President/Vice President?
Ari: The position of President has long been viewed as that of a vanguard, with themself and their cabinet as the individuals responsible for carrying out all things student-related within Brooklyn College. It is time to move away from that narrative and begin to work as a unified
community. Student government is not a place to be gatekept, opportunities across campus do not need to be inaccessible, and finding community should not be a challenge.
Doha: I understand how the Senate operates, what it needs to run more productively, and how to make sure student concerns don’t just get heard but actually go somewhere. I’m running because I don’t just want to be part of the process anymore; I want to help lead it in a way that’s consistent, responsive, and actually works for students.
What is your vision for running USG, and how do you plan to achieve that?
Increased civic engagement through democratic initiatives, more collaborative events with clubs, programs, and athletics, highlighting marginalized communities, calling on the administration to address key concerns/problems (especially the recent CAIR report on Islamophobia). Along with campus accessibility for students with disabilities, reinstatement of the Fired Fourth, and the protection of students engaging in political activism, and Disclosure & Divestment.
Together: In order to achieve [our goals], we must first acknowledge what factors make it difficult for students to involve themselves. Part of the campaign meets those obstacles and proposes potential solutions, such as the initiatives to help with food security and meet the necessary accommodations to make this campus accessible to all students. […] We demand greater transparency around where institutional resources are going and how decisions are made. The college community deserves clearer information and open conversations about financial priorities, including discussions around disclosure and ethical investment practices.