As a senior, I’ve never voted in a United Student Government election and I have a feeling there are a lot of other students who can say the same. But this year’s elections are next week and for the first time, one campaign in particular caught my attention. FU Movement consists of juniors, Adam Hamilton and Eric Chacon, running as President and Vice President of USG. I noticed them, not because of the politics they stand for, but because of the way they’re getting their message across. Eric and Adam came up to me while sitting on Eddie’s one day, and after giving them a quick follow on Instagram, I saw that their social media speaks to college students the way we want to be spoken to. I sat down with Eric to learn more about their reasons for running and the change they want to bring to Fordham.
1) What made you want to run for USG?
Adam and I had been walking into Mcginley having a conversation about all of the ways Fordham could make commuters’ lives easier. In the midst of our banter, I noticed a sign, “Fordham can do… why doesn’t Fordham have… there should be… don’t complain, run.” In that moment, Adam and I decided to run. We want to change Fordham for the better. We truly believe that we can make a difference, shake things up.
2) What are some of the things you’re looking to change for the student body?
Representation: We believe that by amending the election code and opening new modes of communication, we can achieve a government that’s more representative of the student body. One that reaches out to students, gets to know them and reflects the population appropriately.
Communication: At the heart of every issue is the disconnect between the student body, the government, and the administration. In order to amend this there are a few things we would like to do. One, I want to form and encourage an efficient and mindful social media committee. I would like for USG to take a step into the 21st century by having more interesting graphics, and finding new ways to communicate with students. I also want to reorganize the senate to make them more involved with the community. We would do so by encouraging weekly club visits. They would visit various clubs (outside of their normal realm of club choice) and create a relationship with the participants and eboard. This provides a way for involved students to make connections with their representatives. It also provides senators with a good way to develop feedback when it comes to budgeting and seeing the contributions these clubs bring to Fordham. Lastly, I would like to expand the physical communication methods of USG senators. In one USG meeting, Adam and I sat through 10 minutes of various members complaining that not enough students were coming to office hours to complain. I believe it’s because this method is inefficient and needs to change. I would like to expand the office hours that senators have to a centralised 24 hour concern hotline. Whether it is an email, call, or text, I want senators to have constant communication with the student body.
Cohesion: I would like for USG to look for ways to incorporate the brilliant minds we have on campus to solve issues. For one, I want to find ways to incentivize Gabelli students to be more active in the budgeting process. Groups like the Finance Society should have more involvement as their expertise supercedes more Rose Hill students when it comes to finances. And clubs like social innovation should be consulted to find more sustainable methods on campus.
Adam Hamilton
3) How has being a commuter influenced the policies you want to change?
As a commuter, you have to fight to make friends with residents. Given that I have both commuter and resident friends, I have seen both perspectives. Being a commuter has influenced me to look to policies that hurt both parts of the community. The guest policy clearly hurts both commuters and residents. My resident friends tell me how aggravating it is that they have a hard time going over to the dorm next to them to visit a friend and stay the night. I even heard of a girl having a hard time with her brother staying over. On the other hand, I have had to sleep in my car after a late Friday night of going out because I couldn’t stay in a friend’s dorm without running the risk of getting docked. I was smart enough to stay in the car, but God forbid someone decides to drive home. Also, opening the buildings to all Fordham students allow for an alleviation of the commuter-resident divide. If commuters can hang out in the dorm lounges to do work, commuters and residents can mingle and get to know each other. This helps form a more united campus. I hear the concerns from residents on issues like the guest policy, but I’m also living it as a commuter. It allows me to truly see more than my own perspective.
4) What have you done to talk to other students about their needs and wants?
Conversations. Most of my learning at Fordham has come from interaction with the students that make it so great. Learning people’s needs and wants has come mostly from having face time with people, listening, and finding solutions. In addition, Adam and I have encouraged students to reach out to us on Facebook and Instagram, a form of communication that has been extremely successful. From those that came forward, we have added to our platform to better amplify all voices.
5) What do you think sets you apart from the others running?
Adam and I have never held office. We know first and foremost what it means to be a student. Like most on campus we have known what it means to feel like we are on the outside looking in. Being commuters, we really know what it’s like to be forgotten about. What sets us apart is the fact that for so long we have been set apart. But we want to change that. We have fresh and new ideas, a very different perspective than ever before introduced to USG. One that I think would really make change.
Eric Chacon
6) Lastly, how can people vote?
This is the most vital part of campaigning, the vote!
You’ll get an email from the school, take a 2 second break from Netflix, sign onto Orgsync, go to the USG election, fill out HAMILTON CHACON as your next President/VP and join the movement!
You can follow Eric and Andy’s campaign more closely at @fumovement2017.
This is not an endorsement for their campaign.