James La Fayette Jr. and Jamal Omoniyi are vying for the coveted ASG co-president spots. If
elected, they would make history as the first consecutive Black co-presidents of ASG.
I sat down with the pair to learn more about them and their campaign. First, I started off with the
question I was sure everyone was asking: why run in the first place? And why together?
[JAMES LA FAYETTE JR] I can say that me and Jamal have very similar goals and very
similar upbringings. My mom treated cancer patients and my dad was a school teacher.
So, they really raised me with the idea that you should make a better space in the world
than how you entered. And I fully believe that running for president and actually making
the change on campus that students want to see is what I should be doing.
[JAMAL OMONIYI] James as well- extremely organized, meticulous, and ready to write on
the drop of a dime. As soon as he hears about an issue happening, he's ready to write a
bill, write a resolution, and get something done. When the charges against the students
in January were brought up against us, I think within 24 hours you got a bill ready to go.
And I know when it comes to supporting student groups, he's always wanted to do it.
And that's my goal as president.
James and Jamal have both served on ASG Senate in the past, including working together on
the Social Justice and Inclusion Committee under last year’s president-elect Ty’Shea Woods.
They said their involvement in ASG has given them a better sense of what change needs to
happen at Northwestern. One of those changes is opening more affinity spaces for students.
[JO] We currently have a Black House, which was hard fought for, and it sets a precedent
on campus now that students deserve a space. And time and time again, we see groups
being pushed out of the way. We saw there was no space for Palestinian students on
campus, and they didn't feel like they had any support within administration. And one of
the resolutions that we came to was giving them a house on Sheridan. With the
renovation of Jacob Center, we're now moving all these advisory buildings, leaving these
houses empty. Which means there's more space for student groups to come and occupy
these spaces and make them their home. Permanently. So currently we're working with
Rainbow Alliance, Alianza, and APAC for some of the first houses that are going to open
up on campus and giving them that space. And as more houses open up, as more
advisory buildings and these older buildings on campus get moved to Jacobs Center,
that leads to more houses.
The pair’s main campaign promise is to better the lives of Northwestern students. Their
commitment to identity-based houses that provide a safe space for students is a testament to
that.
[JL] I feel like we are looking at the bigger picture whereas I feel other candidates are
looking too far within Northwestern. I feel like there's something a lot bigger here, and I
think it's much bigger than food and facilities. It's really like a betterment of people's
lives on campus because this is a home for a lot of people. Everything is connected and I
feel that if we don't care, if we don't support our students, if we don't think about the
injustices that are going on in the world, they will continue. And those who perpetrate it
will face no consequences.
James and Jamal hope to further ASG’s visibility on campus. Last year’s co-presidents Ty’Shea
Woods and Caleb Snead worked hard to make this happen. James and Jamal are continuing
that fight.
[JO] So when it comes to fostering communication, making ASG more visible, because
many candidates talked about making an open forum for a ASG when a ASG is the open
forum. We've worked with groups like NU Fossil Free, they're an outside student group,
no relation to senate. They came in, passed a bill, and are now connecting with different
administrators to get the job. It's not a closed space and it's never been closed. All our
minutes and everything is always publicly available. It's just not well seen and that's
something that we want to work on specifically.
Fossil Free NU isn’t the only student group on campus that is endorsing James and Jamal for
presidents. The pair have also received endorsements from FMO, NU SJP, Advancement for
the Undocumented Community, and the Asian Pacific American Coalition, just to name a few.
While James and Jamal seek to represent all communities on campus, their election would be
history-making in the Black community. I asked them about what that achievement would mean
to them.
[JO] I think it's important that when you have a stance, you stay firm and you stay true to
it, if you truly believe that it's right. And I think having the experience of being Black in
America, I'm a first generation American. My father immigrated here over 20 years ago.
I've seen his struggles with immigration, with facing this new struggle of being Black in a
space where it's disenfranchised. And I've also moved around a lot. I've moved more
than 20 times. So I've seen a lot of the country and a lot of the different issues that we
face. And I think understanding that struggle and still making it here kind of shows that
anyone can really do it.
[JL] I've mentioned my upbringing a little bit. I'm a FGLI student. I grew up low income.
It's had profound effects on my life and how I view society in a way. I see a lot of
examples of people, usually like politicians or like celebrities and stuff, who grew up in
those circumstances and who seek to pull the ladder up and prevent people who are,
who grew up in those circumstances from achieving. And I feel like to be, like, the
second pair of Black presidents at Northwestern, I feel like that's really profound and it
shows that you can achieve. And I feel like if we are elected, during our co-presidency,
we're not going to pull up that ladder. We're going to make sure that every student on
this campus has an equal opportunity to achieve, to be involved in ASG, to give their
ideas to administration.
With the Trump administration’s recent decisions involving immigration, there is a lot at stake for
the almost 10,000 international students at Northwestern. James and Jamal wish to protect
them, too.
[JO] I know Trump recently talked about revoking student visas for those who dare to
use their voice. Northwestern should do everything in their power to make sure that
doesn't happen, at least to our students. I think ensuring that both the students, Senate,
and administration are aligned on our goals and fostering this sanctuary and sense of
community and safety is the most important thing that we can do.
Voting is now open and will close tomorrow, February 8th.
For WNUR News, I’m Jessica Watts.
