Election results for the United Student Government at Lincoln Center (USGLC) presidential race were announced on May 1 in an Instagram post. According to Christina Frankovic-Sepsi, director of the Office for Student Involvement (OSI), an estimated 275 people voted in this year’s elections.
The window to vote began on April 27 and concluded on April 28 at 5 p.m. Results were announced on May 1, through a post on USGLC’s Instagram. Out of the 14 races, only two elections were contested: the presidential and first-year senatorial races.
For the presidential race, Tanzema Qureshi, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24 and president-elect of USGLC, won with 45.80% of the vote. She was followed by Djellza Pulatani, FCLC ’24 and the incumbent, who received 41.50% of the vote, and Shadman Sakib, FCLC ’24, who earned 8.70% of vote. The remaining 4% was composed of write-ins.
“This does not function without you (students), this flourishes with you (students).”Tanzema Qureshi, FCLC ’24
The three candidates discussed several topics, such as increasing student involvement on campus and ensuring student support in a presidential debate on April 25.
Qureshi, the current chairperson for the Committee on Sexual Misconduct (CSM), ran for president after witnessing issues within USGLC that she believes can only be addressed through a complete restructuring of how the student government currently operates. In regard to executing the “restructuring,” Qureshi highlighted that students are detached from the internal processes of USGLC.
“I think the biggest part is being able to take some action so that students are aware of office hours,” Qureshi said.
She emphasized that her presidency is aimed at representing the concerns of members of the Fordham community by ensuring that students are aware of the USGLC resources at their disposal.
The president-elect said she aims to make it known to the student body that USGLC is a safe space for students to voice their grievances.
“Even if we can’t actively get involved and help you, we can show you the proper steps and how you can go forward with the topic that you’re passionate about,” she said.
In terms of potential concerns regarding her restructuring efforts from fellow USGLC members, Qureshi celebrated the accomplishments of committees such as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and CSM, but also noted that additional efforts need to be made to consider student complaints about USGLC’s role on-campus.
The president-elect said she aims to make it known to the student body that USGLC is a safe space for students to voice their grievances. She shared that she is excited to collaborate alongside the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and Campus Ministry to maintain the upkeep of the prayer room.
“This is a community-led effort,” she said. “This does not function without you (students), this flourishes with you (students).”
Karina Amaach, FCLC ’26, said that she voted for Qureshi because she was inclined by her proposed initiatives.
“I really liked her policies,” she said. “She spoke with me and another friend about her policies and being more culturally diverse within the campus.”
Mary Routh, FCLC ’25, said that she voted for Pulatani because of the positive comments she had heard from other students about Pulatani’s presidency.
“I’d heard a lot of positive student feedback about her time as our president,” she said “I figured if I know so many positive things about the incumbent that she’d probably do a good job even more her second time around.”
“Our role is advocating for students, keeping transparency and open communication with the students.”Kennedi Hutchins, FCLC ’25
The only other contested race of this election cycle was that of Zainub Shah, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’26, who beat out three other candidates to win the position for GSBLC sophomore senator. Shah decided to run for USGLC after she found herself dissatisfied with the current state of affairs at the university.
“I realized that I basically just had to stop criticizing everything I hated about Fordham and actually do something to fix it,” she said.
One of Shah’s aims is to ensure that Fordham focuses on helping students as opposed to merely claiming to do so. Shah noted that if improvements are accomplished, they are often only done so at the Rose Hill campus and as a result, she wants to allocate more funding to Lincoln Center student life and activities.
“Rose Hill has so many better things than Lincoln Center does,” she said. “Sure, our campus is smaller, but improvements that they have are not based on size, but based on funding.”
As a result of these observations, Shah aims to work to better distribute resources and fundings between campuses.
Assuming the role of vice president, is Kennedi Hutchins, FCLC ’25, who began her USGLC career as a first-year senator and worked as the student affairs chair her sophomore year. During her time as the student affairs chair, Hutchins worked to create spaces where students can come together and spend time as a community. This experience inspired her to run for vice president, where she can continue creating welcoming spaces for the Lincoln Center student body.
“USG is the governing body of the students, and it should be reflective of that,” she said. “Our role is advocating for students, keeping transparency and open communication with the students.”
Hutchins said that she is excited to work alongside the incoming E-Board since there is an increased number of sophomore members. She shared her hopes to create a multicultural day which didn’t come into fruition last year.
She will also be the president of the Fordham Lincoln Center Black Student Alliance (BSA) during the 2023-24 school-year. She is eager to see how her two roles will intersect in her goals to represent numerous communities at Fordham.
“I definitely have some events in store for other affinity groups to get involved with USG as well, so I’m really excited,” she said.
The inauguration for the new E-Board will be held during the fall 2023 semester.
Insiya Gandhi contributed additional reporting to this story.
