ARI MALIK
FWF PRESIDENT
ABOUT ME
Hi there! My name is Ari Malik and I’m a 19-year-old CC freshman from Mumbai, but I grew up in Singapore. Having had an amazing first couple of weeks at Columbia, some lovely friends and I decided to get together and see if we can make our coming 4 years even better! Over the last couple of years, governance and philanthropy have been issues that have really captured most of my attention. From working with the Indian government for a biometric data scheme to document over a billion people, to bringing “Akanksha” (an NGO aimed at providing an education to impoverished children in India) to Singapore, I’ve come to the realization that this what I want to be doing. I’m very passionate, engaged, and good at what I do (did I mention modest?). In terms of student politics, I was chosen to be Vice – Chairperson of the Global Concerns network, a group of NGOs working around the world from Cambodia to China, and was representative of “Forum”, a political and social discussion group. In my spare time, I love watching soccer, listening to James Blake and Earl Sweatshirt, and watching Game of Thrones.
MY PLATFORM
Personally, I’d love to focus on public student spaces on campus, and the impact Columbia has on local neighborhoods, in particular with the expansion into Manahttanville. We live in one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, in one of the world’s most invigorating cities, and it is the integration of the two that makes Columbia so special. However, I do believe that there should be some public spaces reserved solely for students – I and my plans are a roof garden where you could hang out after class, or a 24 hour study space that serves coffee and hot chocolate?
In terms of community impact, I have a “responsive” approach. The first is the examination of Columbia’s impact on the Manhattanville community. In-depth sampling and interviews could be done to assess the true nature of the impact. While the expansion into Manhattanville will no doubt provide countless benefits to Columbia students, I want to make sure that it provides benefits to the residents of the community themselves. After all, we are not merely Columbians or New Yorkers, but both. Through the investigation, I plan to implement a strategy to help address the needs of the community; if children in the area are struggling with Mathematics, or English, for example, why not reach out to Math or English students to volunteer as a mentor figure? If a local soccer team could use a coach or some additional players to practice after school, why not have players from varsity or intermural soccer stop by? If a group of students want to learn how to code, but the opportunities don’t exist, why not reach out to Computer Science majors to help? By actively matching the needs of a community with the vast resources that we, as Columbia students, offer, we can make a vast difference.
I suppose I’d like to end this with one simple message; even if you choose not to vote for me or my co-candidates, just vote. We all know that the next 4 years have the potential of being the most fun, formative, and interesting period of our lives – so make your voice heard, and vote!