Meet USGLC’s Presidential Candidates for 2023
The elections will occur on April 27 and 28, with a moderated debate between candidates held on April 25
Djellza Pulatani
April 27, 2023
The United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC) is the largest club at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. Every academic year, each office is up for election, with president being one of the available positions. The presidential race for 2023-24 consists of three candidates: Djellza Pulatani, Shadman Sakib and Tanzema Qureshi, all Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24.
Djellza Pulatani, President of USGLC
Pulatani, the incumbent president of USGLC, is running for reelection for the 2023-24 academic year. She joined USGLC as a first-year senator in fall 2020. That same year, she was elected president pro tempore and was in charge of running meetings if both the president and vice president were absent.
In her sophomore year, Pulatani founded the Committee on Sexual Misconduct (CSM) and served as its chair for the 2021-22 academic year. She was later elected as USGLC vice president after Robert Sundstrom, FCLC ’22, stepped down in the fall 2021 semester.
“I really have seen every single perspective and channel that you can throughout a USG career,” she said.
Pulatani added that she is very proud of what USGLC has accomplished this past year and that her reelection bid comes from a desire to continue her work.
The current president’s campaign goals revolve around four main tasks: sustainability, mental health, creating a scholarship for students, and bringing in speakers that relate to USGLC’s mission statement. The scholarship would be the first one created for students by USGLC and would recognize those who are very active in community engagement and advocating for others in accordance with USGLC’s platform.
Her sustainability goal includes working with the Environmental Club to create a coalition to combat student concerns. In terms of addressing mental health on campus, she also aims to create a committee between the Office of Disability Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, and USGLC for students to have access to a wide range of resources.
“The idea of community here is very important, so I think that all of these goals kind of go into that,” she said. “It’s the idea that we have to create a beloved and safe environment as the advocates on their behalf.”
Shadman Sakib, President of Coding Club
Sakib has been involved on campus through his role as president of the Coding Club and tutoring people in computer science, two things of which he is very proud.
“My favorite thing is being able to help all these people and improving their lives one course, one day, one person at a time.”Shadman Sakib, FCLC ’24
“Those little things affecting one person at a time is what makes me keep going and wanting to help more people,” he said.
Sakib explained that he was inspired to run for USGLC president due to a desire to best represent the entire Fordham community. He added that he wants to make sure that all clubs feel included at Fordham, not just clubs that are made up of predominantly white students — a goal he believes he could do best due to his South Asian American background.
If elected president, Sakib aims to make sure all clubs can receive the funding they need to accomplish their goals and put on events. He also wants to increase transparency between USGLC and other clubs through better publicizing USGLC office hours and ensuring that USGLC members are more accessible.
“My favorite thing is being able to help all these people and improving their lives one course, one day, one person at a time,” he said.
Tanzema Qureshi, Chair of CSM
Qureshi joined USGLC as a sophomore senator, which was also her first year in person at Fordham following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She served in that role until she was in a near-fatal hit-and-run, after which she was hospitalized. While recovering in the hospital, she ran for junior senator and chair of CSM.
She noted that she is very proud of herself for continuing to work with USGLC after the accident, saying that her “desire to keep trying to help didn’t diminish.”
The chair of CSM was inspired to run for USGLC president because she has seen what the organization has been able to accomplish over the past two years. If elected, she wants to build on the progress that has been made and help create a more supportive way for students to voice their concerns.
Qureshi was one of CSM’s founding members prior to serving as the committee’s chair. She explained that she has spent this year building on the accomplishments from the committee’s first year, including expanding outreach and events from a single week to the entire month during April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Guaranteeing that students feel comfortable to go to USGLC about issues is Qureshi’s main goal. She explained that she wants students to know that she and other USGLC officers will work to resolve any concerns students present to them.
“I truly believe it is our job to advocate for what the students want, and I want to do that.”Tanzema Qureshi, FCLC ’24
“I truly believe it is our job to advocate for what the students want, and I want to do that,” she said. “That would be my No. 1 priority as president.”
Qureshi added that she wants to ensure students know USGLC is not just one person and that the representatives base their work on what students need.
Throughout her time on USGLC, Qureshi shared that her favorite memory was the formation of the Humanitarian Aid Committee because it highlights what she imagines USGLC to be. She specified that the formation showed how a student could voice a concern and how USGLC could address it — in this case, by creating a committee.
“I want students to feel comfortable and confident in bringing their ideas and their concerns and their dislikes and likes,” she said.
USGLC elections will take place on April 27 and 28.
