Anindya Debnath is a freshman majoring in political science.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself — any clubs, hobbies or major plans for the future?
“I’m currently the president of Johnson Hall in Dickinson Town Council (DTC), work for the Student Association (SA) Vice President of Multicultural Affairs Office as the large-scale events intern and am the vice president of the Entrepreneurship Learning Community. I’m also in the DTC Multicultural Committee and Student Culinary Committee. Aside from being heavily involved on campus, I interned at the [Office of the Queens Borough President] over the summer and hope to work for the nonprofit sector after graduating from [Binghamton University]. And like most, I love talking to people, whether it’s with friends or soon to be friends — it really does keep me sane, spending quality time with my friends, who really do keep me sane.”
2. What is your platform?
“You cannot have student success without student happiness. That means that the quality of a student’s work is heavily based upon their happiness at [BU].
That means finally addressing the growing outrage from students regarding the food provided in our dining halls. Food safety has now been brought into question and the fact that dozens, if not hundreds, of students fell ill in the last few weeks from the food served at our dining halls is an outright disgrace. The dining halls need to provide more variety and quality in the food they serve. That also means finally addressing the lack of parking available to students on campus and advocating for increasing the parking capacity through parking garages to accommodate the ever-growing student body. It means increasing the frequency of [Off Campus College Transport (OCCT)] buses back to running every 15 minutes and increase the frequency that operate during Late Night weekend service, which can leave students waiting in the cold street for hours, endangering their well-being. It means addressing the considerably lower four-year graduation rate of 57 percent for [Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)] students and making sure they have the resources it takes to graduate from [BU], through academic and financial support. It means addressing the considerably lower retention rates of international students and giving them the support, they need to feel included in [BU] and succeed academically. Finally, you can’t have student success with student safety. In 2019, there were 13 rapes on campus and 47 percent of female students reported being subjected to sexual harassment. I want to reform and expand the Rape Aggression Defense Program, provide more sections for the program and expand advertising so every student on campus knows of it’s existence. Further, the Campus Citizen Review Board (CCRB) found Black students were 1.7 times more likely than white students to be arrested by [Binghamton’s New York State] University Police Department (UPD). Even more shocking, four UPD officers were responsible for 32.1 percent of arrests of all students and 57.8 percent of Black students. This is disgraceful and we need to make sure these officers were held accountable. We also need to make sure the CCRB has the resources and power to hold UPD accountable, which actively keeps us safe. [BU] has ignored our happiness for too long, and the problems have only continued to grow. Let’s finally make take a stand and make the students a priority.”
3. Why did you decide to run for an SA E-Board position?
“I decided to run for an SA E-Board position because I grew frustrated with the growing problems in [BU]. Throughout my campaign, I made an emphasis to talk to seniors, and the common sentiment shared by all of them was how much better [BU] was when they came here. The complaints we have are not for no reason — we are actively getting the short end of the stick and it’s time we set the SA in position to return to what it once was. I’ve actively seen members of student government not care enough to enact the change they have the power to do. I’m sick of it — people always say, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ I’m running for SA because I’m taking that quite literally.”
4. Why should students vote for you?
“Students should vote for me because I’m a big believer in the power of student government and especially the notion of student government — to serve the students and always protect student interests. It’s that belief that makes me so passionate and hopeful about the change we enact in the SA, whether it’s being the loudest, most annoying voice in the room for the students or talking with administrators to get initiatives rolling. Through my work in DTC, I’ve had to work with [Residential Life] side by side, providing me with the profound structural knowledge necessary for me to work with on larger-scale initiatives. Through my work in the vice president for multicultural affairs’ office, I’ve gained insurmountable knowledge on how the SA is run, and most importantly, how to push for an inclusive community for all. Through my experience in the DTC Student Culinary Committee, I’ve gained experience on making change within our dining halls, through the implementation of a new sandwich station, a future Halal station and more in [Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center]. But, honestly, the most important thing you can do is vote for a candidate that will take the office seriously, and not underestimate the power of change possible through it. As Johnson Hall president, when vetoed by the head E-Board for a hall apparel design of [BU President Harvey] Stenger, I made sure to gain [Stenger’s] personal approval of the design, [Residential Life’s] approval and DTC’s approval to have our design. With the little power I have now, I am able to accomplish more than anyone thought. Through the SA, it will grant me even more opportunities to make change for the students.”