I came to Furman knowing that I would be a minority on our campus in almost every way. As a student who is Black, first-gen, from a low-income family, and identifies along the LGBTQ+ spectrum, my experience at Furman has been bittersweet and challenging. Still, I have come to find a strong sense of belonging and purpose and I have worked to make the spaces I inhabit more inclusive and equitable for everyone in our community. 

During my three years at Furman, I have centered my work inside and outside of the classroom around diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have led advocacy campaigns to provide better resources for students of marginalized identities studying abroad, to create better infrastructure to support low-income students on campus, to implement a diversity GER & CLP requirement, and so much more. Many of these initiatives have led to tangible positive change, and I continue to do this work because I want to make sure students from backgrounds and identities like mine feel at home here. 

In my time here at Furman, I have been inspired by the incredibly dynamic student leaders who came before me. I watched former students like Emilee O’Brien ‘17, Adare Smith ‘20, and Jesse Tompkins ‘20 pave the way for positive change on campus. They were some of my first and most monumental peer mentors on campus. They stood proudly for diversity, inclusion, and equity in their work, and truly, our campus would not be what it is today without their leadership. This summer, I decided that I wanted to follow in their footsteps to continue to advocate for positive change by running for Student Body President.  

I want to use my experience advocating for marginalized students to speak for the student body with a more articulate and inclusive voice – one that is especially familiar with communities that have traditionally lacked representation in student government at Furman.   

But I can’t run in March. Not without your help.

As it stands, the Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution states that a student must have served in at least one SGA office in order to run for Student Body President. 

This bylaw was likely introduced to ensure that whoever serves as Student Body President understands the inner workings of SGA. However, this shouldn’t be the only barrier to student leaders running for SGA. All it takes is the implementation of a formal transition of power to ensure that the next Student Body President is prepared to take office. 

There are many student leaders on Furman’s campus that have improved our community without serving in SGA, but this bylaw prevents qualified student leaders with diverse perspectives and experiences from serving a role with unique access to administration, resources, and other support that could help further necessary change on campus. 

As President Davis stated in her email on Friday, our revised university values state our commitment to “removing obstacles to attaining diversity, equity, and inclusion,” fostering “a sense of social justice” and encouraging students to “exercise their civic responsibility in creating a fair and equitable order.” This bylaw is an obstacle to accomplishing these pursuits, as it prevents many (if not most) student leaders on our campus from having the chance to serve as Student Body President.

But we can do something about it. As a student body, we can petition to vote to repeal the bylaw. We can make it possible for student leaders who have not served in SGA previously to run for Student Body President.

To overturn the bylaw, we need the signatures of at least 10% of our student body (roughly 270 signatures), followed by 20% of our student body (about 540 students) to vote in a referendum, with the majority voting to repeal the bylaw. 

Truthfully, I want to be our next Student Body President and the only way I can run is through overturning this bylaw. Yet, this goes beyond my personal desires – ANY student leader should be allowed the opportunity to enact change on campus through serving as Student Body President. And even if this does not pass, we deserve to have more inclusive student government elections with diverse candidates who represent many different facets of our campus community and who have shown commitment to making our campus a better place. 

Diverse student leaders, who were monumental in the change that has transformed our campus even before I came to Furman, have unsuccessfully pushed for the changing of this bylaw. 

Sulaiman Ahmad ‘18 is one of those campus leaders. Ahmad led major initiatives to increase voting participation on campus and was the lead plaintiff in a successful lawsuit against Greenville County that challenged the handling of voter registration for college students. But even with his profound impact on our campus and in the larger Greenville community, he was unable to run for the office of Student Body President due to this bylaw. Sulaiman could have represented many communities, identities, and experiences on our campus that continue to be underrepresented and unheard today, but he was not given the chance.

We have a unique opportunity to remove barriers to diverse student leadership and to allow student leaders like Sulaiman, myself, and other members of our community have a fair shot to represent our community. 

By overturning this bylaw, we are voting for more inclusivity, the chance for more diversity in our leadership, and a hope for transforming our campus for the better.   

To support this initiative, click this link to sign the petition. Share it with a friend. And, if you’re ready to work for a better Furman, run for SGA too.