NSSR CANDIDATES

Lang graduate (May ‘24) from the Liberal Arts self-design major (my focus was Politics, Contemporary Music, and Fashion). Transfer student from the University of Florida, where I fulfilled three credit years, was a club founder (NextGen, Students Demand Action) and civic campaign organizer (led engagement campaign for voter registration in the first year that UF’s student union became a polling location), and had the study abroad experience before moving to NYC to build artistic skills and find queer community. After 1.5 years of living in New York, I found out about TNS by meeting a student ambassador to the Media Studies department on the N train.

Being on the senate for the past two years, I've witnessed the power and access the Senate can utilize and grow into being stifled by a lack of structure and mirror the siloed nature of the institution, its reflection of hierarchy and administrative bloat. USS is the only Senate on campus with a given annual budget, and is extended regular meetings with decision makers and administrators at TNS (President, Provost, Deans, Board of Trustees, Pro-staff), where I believe the USS’s agenda can become a place where students priorities across all schools are advocated for, if led in an efficient and fervent manner by student representatives at the meeting table and beyond into the meetings, hallways, sidewalks and streets. The USS needs leaders who are invested in equitable, transparent, and welcoming practices and operations, who are ready to skill build and communicate as a team to fulfill more comprehensive uses of our resources and budget. 

I’ve been approved as a Dean's Advisory Council rep for the Liberal Studies department, and as a student organizer who has enrolled in a Self Design major for both Undergrad (Lang) and Grad school (NSSR) I am proactive in seeking out and understanding the wide resources and helpful connecting points (and gaps, limitations) in the New School network. As someone who takes classes at NSSR and Parsons each semester and is a student worker at the SLI office, I intend to cross reference happenings in the colleges and shared spaces to make connections and help NSSR feel more connected to the wider University. Being on the ground and open to attending campus events, social gatherings, administrative meetings, and spending the time for meaningful discussions, planning, and organizing events + programming with students, staff, + faculty. Studying in the field of “Alternatives to Carceral Systems” and at the intersection of art + politics, I understand the persistence it takes to push for pathways at the institution that do not yet exist, and commit to showing up with courage to keep asking questions and suggesting expansions of policy and conditions that mutually benefit students on campus and heighten the quality of Uni experience here. 

New Student Workers Union (NewSWU)

Sanctuary Campus Coalition

TNS Union of Students (a part of NYC Union of Students mvmt)

USS Director of Advocacy

USS Vice Chair

USS SGA Conference in New Orleans where we met ppl from Student Govs across the East Coast - NJ neighbors especially 

Student worker at The Welcome Center (Tour Guide, Receptionist)

As a Student Worker at SLI I helped plan Student Leadership Retreats and Events

Soccer Team 

WNSM Radio

March For Our Lives 

Sunrise Movment 

Dream Defenders 

Generation Ratfiy 

I have unfortunately faced restrictive financial holds every semester that push me to self-advocate and find creative solutions to stay enrolled, and I am dedicated to finding new avenues for the University to use its resources in helping students in similar situations so that we can all get the education that we deserve! 

Emergency financial provisions given changes to federal policy and financial aid - working with administrators and deans to concretize this 

Further Instituting legacy programs like food pantry support, wellness collabs w Peer Health Assistants, building on relationship w CESJ, + Senate + Student Autonomy over Budget 

Returning integrity, trust, and student autonomy into the chat!

I’m Mariana, a writer and first-year grad student in the Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism (cpcj) program. I’m originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I studied Political Science and worked in journalism, activism, and within the federal government. I’m a deeply sociable person, I have a passion for connecting people, building bridges between ideas, and creating spaces where dialogue can happen. Whether it’s through writing, organizing, or just bringing the right people into the same room, it was been my life's work to exercise communication as a tool for collective growth. At The New School, I work as an editorial assistant at Africa Is a Country and have recently gotten accepted for an internship at Public Seminar starting next fall. I want to use the internship to link student life with the larger conversations happening both inside and outside the university.

I want to join the Student Senate because I’m eager to get involved in the institutional life of the university.. to understand how it works, help shape it from within, and make sure students like us are part of that process.

I’m interested in becoming a senator because I want to connect more deeply with the institutional life of the university. This is a critical time, and I feel like CPCJ students would benefit from a stronger network that goes from the student roots up to the institutional level. I want to understand what’s happening inside the university as an institution, but also how the university positions itself in relation to the outside world. My goal is to help CPCJ students be more present, more informed, and more active within both the academic and political life of The New School.

I want to build stronger bridges between students and the broader institutional life of The New School. As a student in CPCJ, I’ve noticed we lack spaces of organization and connection. I intend to represent my peers by creating a horizontal network where students’ needs and perspectives are heard and reflected within university-wide decisions. My focus is on transparency, accessibility, and ensuring that what happens “up there” at the institutional level includes us, at least at the level of noticing it! And will make sure to keep my fellow CPCJ comrades informed.

Before joining The New School, I’ve worked within the federal government of Argentina, gaining firsthand experience in institutional communication and policy-making. At The New School, I am an editorial assistant at Africa Is a Country and have collaborated with several faculty-led initiatives, especially within the CPCJ department. These experiences have taught me how to navigate both grassroots and institutional spaces and how to act as a connector between them.

Advocate for designated spots in cross-departmental courses (like fashion journalism and reporting classes) for CPCJ students.

Promote mentorship spaces for CPCJ students with faculty, journalists and public figures 

Propose a Graduate Opportunities Fair specifically for CPCJ students, with participation from media outlets, publishers, nonprofit orgs, and fellow grad programs.

Push for clearer communication between the CPCJ department and students, including regular town halls or student-faculty assemblies.

Support the creation of a shared digital bulletin or newsletter for job, fellowship, and publishing opportunities relevant to our field.

Strengthen the presence and identity of CPCJ within The New School by encouraging CPCJ specific sponsored events and collaborations.

I'm a first year graduate student and completed my bachelor's degree in the Bachelor's Program for Adult Transfer Students program at SPE. My experience of directing a nonprofit organization and prior years of student org participation inform my perspective on both the operational side of participating as a senator and the importance of robust programming to enhance student life.

I value the work it takes to uphold a vibrant student life on campus.

As a student of NSSR, I plan to communicate with my cohort to voice their advocacy interests and encourage their participation in student life.

University Student Senate, Director of Operations/Chief of Staff (2024--25) 

- oversee administrative operations and internal relations and processes

Board of Directors, Rancho Compasion Farmed Animal Sanctuary (2023--present)

Board of Directors and Co-founder, Leaders for Ethics, Animals, and the Planet (2022--present)

- Improve USS-sponsorship, collaboration, and platforming of student organizations---strengthening the efficacy of student orgs and recognizing the incredible work and passion they contribute toward the campus community. 

- Assist with improving organizational structure of the USS by helping to develop policies, procedures, and strategic planning with the aim of clarifying priority to fiscally support and uplift student initiatives

- Secure more funding for student organizations and individuals by legitimizing USS as a partner of the President's office

- increase student participation in student government to ensure a more representational student government