Senior Class Presidential candidate: Ezra Anderson

Name: Ezra Anderson
Party: The Representation Party
Hometown: Ravena, N.Y.
High school: Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School
Major: Business Administration
Age: 18
Clubs/Organizations: Investment club, Student Senate

Why did you decide to run for this position? 

“I feel like if i’m put in a place of power then I can make a lot of change. I feel like there are a lot of resources here that people don’t know about. For me, when I first arrived on campus, I didn’t know about Investment Club or Student Senate. I didn’t know I could get involved or how to get involved in that case. Mr. Stenard told my class that if we join Investment Club then we can get half a letter grade. You’re stupid if you don’t do that. I did that and I met a lot of great people. It changed my college experience from what it would have been. I think that if I’m in a place of power, I can help people and push them towards getting more involved.

What are your qualifications to run?

“For all 4 years of high school, I was in student government. Also, I just recently went to the NCLS program which is the National Conference on Student Leadership in Florida. We learned about how to become a leader, how to be a leader and I’m a certified student leader.”

Overall, what is your greatest asset?

“My personality. I’m a very outgoing person and I can reach out to a lot of people. I know a lot of people [on campus]. I talk to a lot of people on a daily basis.”

Please provide three adjectives which describe your ability to lead.

“Outgoing, funny and I guess I have a personality that people want to follow.”

Name five initiatives you’d like to focus on in your position.

“Club awareness. Trying to get the clubs out there and getting people more involved. Parking could use some help. My main [focus] is to try and get people more involved. At my high school, this college has a bad reputation. A lot of people think that it doesn’t really means much because it’s a two-year school. I think that if I was in a place of power, I can push people to realize that it’s a lot more. If you just come to get your school work done, it’s not much fun. I think it can be beneficial for the rest of your life if you get involved in clubs and do things to help people.”

What has been some of your greatest experiences during the race so far?

“Definitely the relationships you make. Our party consists of five people. I definitely got much closer to those four other people. I think it’s fun to campaign. We took our own individual pictures at the capitol building in Albany. We took a little road trip down there and had a good time. We’ve been getting food together a lot lately. I didn’t know a lot about campaigning before, but now I know what it takes and how to do it.”

What is the biggest problem with student life at Hudson Valley?

“There is no club awareness. When I first started, I didn’t know there was an Investment Club or Student Senate. I was told what they were and that changed me. I never would have joined Investment Club if I just saw it on a piece of paper. If I knew what they were about and what they did an a day-to-day basis, I would have joined immediately. The main problem is definitely club awareness.”