Christian Howze is the Student Government Assembly’s senator at-large for Black students and students of color and one of two candidates for its 2026-27 chair.

The last few years have been marked by a polarized world and injustices from the NYU administration and the government alike. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” which has been demonstrated here at NYU, across the nation and abroad through attacks on inclusion, academic freedom, free speech and immigration.

My name is Christian Howze, and as a Black, queer student who grew up in a low-income, single-parent household in rural South Carolina, I have experienced and witnessed these instances directly. As the current senator-at-large for Black students and students of color in the Student Government Assembly, I am committed to addressing these injustices and advocating for a better student experience.

I am running for the 2026-2027 SGA Chair so I can accomplish my mission of uplifting the voices of our student body, hold the administration accountable for how their actions directly impact the student experience and bring my own spirit of radical advocacy, service to the community and standing for belonging and inclusion for all at NYU. In this role, I would serve as a representative of the entire student body and meet with senior leadership, sharing my passion for improving student experience. As Malcolm X said, “a man who stands for nothing will fall for anything,” and I plan on standing for the students of NYU.

This academic year, I authored a letter of support for the betterment of the Black community following a racist “hoax” shooting threat in September. My letter criticized NYU’s admissions and recruitment policies, the designation of affinity spaces, Campus Safety’s vague, nondescriptive messaging and several other factors that have since been advocated for in meetings with the administration, the board of trustees and SGA. The letter garnered over 300 signatures from organizations, students, alumni and faculty. From there, I hosted a Black Town Hall in collaboration with eight student organizations and produced an actionable working group that continues to meet with the administration today to address student concerns.

When the affinity graduation celebrations were canceled this semester, I met with the administration to advocate for the celebrations and what they meant. Similarly, I met with student leaders from my constituency to begin organizing our own celebration and ways to ensure our community and the student body felt honored. As chair, I will continue this level of advocacy to ensure that students feel seen and protected.

To achieve my mission, I have outlined the following goals:

• Expanding access and support for low-income, first-generation and rural students.
• Building a greater sense of belonging on campus for all students.
• Fostering greater engagement with student groups.
• Increasing constituency representation and activity within SGA.
• Integrating student groups and student-led organizations in SGA to boost participation and advocacy efforts.
• Building and supporting more SGA programming. 
• Integrating administration, faculty and the student body into SGA initiatives.
• Increasing transparency from the administration on its actions and the reasons behind its decisions.
• Fighting for opportunities for growth in accessibility.

I plan to carry these goals with me throughout my entire tenure and work actively with the student body to achieve them. My boots will be on the ground to connect directly and support student-led advocacy for on-campus and global resistance.

At the heart of my advocacy is a passion for community, and having served as the president of the Black Student Union, vice president of Brown Sugar Brilliance and a program assistant for the Academic Achievement Program, I look forward to bringing that sense of community to and for the entire student body.

All students — including those who are studying abroad but still call the New York campus their home — have the opportunity to vote in the popular election from March 29 to April 3 via the NYU Engage poll. Exercise your right to vote by deciding who you want to be the voice of the student body.

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