Our campus is fractured. Anyone who walks through U-Yard sees it: the fences, the tension, the silence. It feels like something unresolved—something unspoken still lingers in the atmosphere. It breaks the space. It disrupts the balance. That tension is not just political—it is academic, social, spiritual, and emotional. And it must be addressed. One of the core principles of my campaign is simple: dialogue over division. I firmly believe that even an enemy is often just someone whose story you haven’t heard.

There are places in the world where people are forced to fight one another—where conflict is tragically inevitable. But GW is not one of those places, and our university should not feel like one. This is an academic space—a sanctuary of intellect, where ideas are tested, challenged, and refined. If we can’t talk to each other here, then where can we? GW should be a blueprint for the world—an example of what it means to heal communities shattered by global divides. This is the power, the sanctity, and the calling of an academic institution. I believe I’m uniquely equipped to help build that blueprint. As part of my journey at GW, I have taken on a regional concentration in Middle East Studies—a region often at the center of polarization and misunderstanding. Through my leadership with Muslim Voice, we worked to foster conversations—critical, important ones that need to be addressed—away from hostility and prejudice. We sought to uproot antisemitism theologically, ideologically, and intellectually.

Muslim Voice has modeled the kind of campus behavior we need to encourage and expand. Previous SGAs have attempted to address the climate through working groups. Some of those efforts were worthwhile—but too often they were short-lived or top-down. The administration, too, has made recent efforts to engage with campus tensions by publishing working group recommendations through the Office of the Provost. These include promoting free speech education, launching new lecture series, creating listening circles, and hosting outside speakers.

But our campus is best served by its own community: its own faculty and its own students represented by student organizations. This is how we heal—by leaning into our existing strengths.GW is home to prolific institutions like IMES (Institute for Middle East Studies) and POMPED (Project on Middle East Political Science). These programs cover every dimension of the region—from political movements to cultural currents to social tensions. Their work is rich, insightful, and widely cited. The issue isn’t the lack of scholarship; it’s the disconnect. For too long, these scholars and institutes have operated in silos, separate from the everyday life of students.

That has to change. I will create structured partnerships between our faculty and student organizations to host forums, panels, teach-ins, and campus summits. These won’t be token events—they will be regular, student-centered programs designed to promote education, listening, and long-term healing through scholarship. And this will be the groundwork for removing the fences—not just physically, but psychologically. Insha'Allah, within a few months.