Blake Goldstein, the speaker of the Student Association Congress and a junior majoring in political science, is one of three candidates on the ballot for SA president, the office that chairs and oversees the Executive Board and serves as the primary representative and spokesperson for the Student Association. His responses to Pipe Dream’s questionnaire have been lightly edited for clarity.
1. Why are you running for this SA position?
I am running for president of the SA to ensure our leaders are transparent and held accountable to the students. Very few students know what the SA does, and I want to bridge this gap and build personal relationships with club leaders by going to their events. The Student Association works for them, and I know we can do a better job with directly reaching out to ensure everyone knows about our initiatives and feels represented. As the current Speaker of SA Congress, I serve as an ex officio E-Board member and have seen the issues that exist within our organization up close. I have also met with members of the Binghamton University administration to discuss mental health and dining concerns, including President Anne D’Alleva, Chris Downey, the director of health and counseling, and Paola Mignone, the assistant vice president for residential experiences and auxiliaries. With meaningful initiatives I want to take on as president, I have the experience to carry them out and help admin understand the issues students face.
2. Tell us a bit about yourself. Are you a part of any clubs? Any hobbies or career plans for the future?
I am driven by public service and finding ways to give back to our community. As a freshman, I served on the Newing College Council as president of Broome Hall and on the Hinman College Council as an SA representative the following year. I have also been actively involved with the College Democrats since coming to Binghamton, though I have never held an E-Board position. I am also a member of Binghamton’s Greek life community, holding positions in Alpha Epsilon Pi, including health & safety officer, vice president of judicial affairs, and professional development & academics chair. For my hobbies, I am passionate about involving myself in my local community, having held internships in my congressmember’s district office, the House of Representatives, and Mikie Sherrill’s recent campaign for governor of New Jersey. After college, I aim to go to law school, but I may take a year to further involve myself in local government service.
3. Please succinctly describe your platform and what you hope to accomplish through it.
My platform is focused on making the SA more transparent and accountable to students, addressing the mental health crisis, holding our next dining provider to University safety standards, and unifying our campus. In my first week as president, my team will centralize every crisis hotline and therapy option available to Binghamton students on the SA website. Throughout the year, we will also share stories with the administration about challenges students have faced due to a lack of diverse therapists and counseling session caps at the University Counseling Center. We will create a form for students to report Chartwells’ safety violations and a new cabinet position to communicate these concerns with our new providers. We will work to unify our campus and support our multicultural community by building a cabinet that reflects the diversity of our campus, promoting school spirit initiatives through Green Day Fridays, and communicating Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence on campus should it occur while advocating for sanctuary protections to the administration. Finally, weekly accountability reports will be published so students can keep track of these initiatives and how their student activity fee is being allocated.
4. How does your background influence what you are able to offer the campus community?
Coming from a reform Jewish background, I have felt the division that exists on campus since I was a freshman. However, the most profound lesson I have learned over the years is that our core values and humanity are rooted in the same values, and there is so much more that unites us than divides us. I will be a leader who emphasizes our common humanity by bridging the gap between various multicultural organizations and encouraging civil discourse about even the most pressing topics. The mentality of “us vs. them” has torn our campus apart for too long, and I will use my personal background to remind everyone that nobody signed up for a campus that feels divided, and there is so much more we can accomplish when we do it together.
5. What is your favorite memory from your time at Binghamton University?
My favorite memory from Binghamton is the first time that we presented The Noah Project to a Greek organization, Omega Phi Alpha Fraternity. As Speaker of Congress, I created the Noah Project to bridge the gap between students and the mental health resources available to them. In honor of my cousin, Noah, a student at Binghamton who lost his life to suicide last year, I opened this initiative up to the SLA committee to further build an environment where participants felt comfortable sharing their stories and seeing firsthand that nobody is ever alone. OPhiA, in particular, was extremely receptive to our message, and it was important to show up for organizations such as theirs, which very rarely hear from the SA yet engage in similar initiatives. On a personal note, sharing this presentation with OPhiA helped me remember that there are always beautiful things that can grow out of even the darkest tragedies, and I will always carry Noah’s story with me when advocating for stronger mental health resources at Binghamton.