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The Student News Site of Stony Brook University

The Statesman

The Student News Site of Stony Brook University

The Statesman

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Najee Simmons – Senate Candidate

Name: Najee Simmons
Class year: U3
Major: Journalism
Hometown: Hempstead, NY

What previous experience do you have?
I served for a year on the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senate as a member of the vetting and legislative review committees. Through my almost two semesters of service, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the internal workings and processes of our legislative body.

Outside of the USG, I interned for three consecutive summers as a legislative aide to the office of Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy L. Goosby. There I first began to learn the legislative process as well as the duties of elected officials.

What skills can you bring to the position? 

I bring to the position the ability to effectively communicate with fellow officers of the USG and students alike in both my speech and writing. Through my experience working in local government, I have developed the professional decorum required of an elected official.

What about USG do you think is good and what could be made better? 

The members of the USG, in my view, have for the most part identified the same problems as issues that must be resolved. We recognize problems and begin to address them in a timely fashion.

The USG could improve by wasting less time in the process of proposing and adopting legislation that might resolve the issues that it recognizes. Too often I have seen our senate entertain meaningless debate, sometimes tangential to the issues at hand. We could become more efficient, and for the sake of the students who elect us, we must do so.

What are your plans if you get elected? 

If elected, I wish to introduce and advocate for legislation that would make the legislative process more transparent. I feel as thought too few students understand the impact of the USG’s decisions on their college experience and I would like to change that. The USG can only benefit from the participation and awareness of the student body that it works for.

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