Medgar Evers College students soar in New York State CUNY/SUNY Model Senate

By David Gil de Rubio | dgilderubio@mec.cuny.edu

Four Medgar Evers College students participated in the 27th session of the New York State CUNY/SUNY Model Senate — an annual leadership development program run by the CUNY Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force of the New York Legislature and the State University of New York — in Albany on March 8, 2025.Representing Medgar Evers College this year were Nadisha Hall (Class of 2025/Bachelor’s in Biology), Faith Diggs (Class of 2026/Bachelor’s in Biology), James Viafara (Class of 2027/Bachelor’s in Public Administration) and Mamadou Diallo (Class of 2028/Bachelor’s in Public Administration), who is also a vice chair in University Senate.  

Each year, the Model Senate features students from 60 CUNY and SUNY schools. Each student represents a specific New York State district with the idea that they vote on the passage of a specific bill and use the knowledge of their particular constituency to determine which way they’ll vote. This year’s bill was “Housing is a Human Right.” 

The purpose of the exercise is to give students the opportunity to debate bills on the floor of the New York State Senate chamber in Albany. This hands-on approach to involvement in the political and policy processes is framed by students being put in a position to work on a legislative agency that they develop while working on their organizational, research, debating and public speaking skills.

Hall stood in for Jim Tedisco (R) of District 44 (Saratoga/Schenectady Counties), while Diggs represented Steve Chan (R) of District 17 (Dyker Heights/Kensington/Gravesend) represented, Viafara stepped in for Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R) of District 62 (Niagara/Orleans Counties) and Diallo stood in for James Skoufis (D) of District 42 (Orange County). The Medgar Evers students split down the middle on the bill, with Hall and Viafara voting “nay” while Diggs and Diallo voted “yea.”

An admitted political novice, Hall admitted how eye-opening participating the Model Senate was for her, particularly as someone who emigrated from Jamaica with her family.

“I told my mom I got to be a Senator for a day,” she said with a laugh. “I knew nothing about politics. Aside from knowing who ran in the recent presidential race, I didn’t know much about the topic and there was a lot to take in. But I enjoyed hearing from Ernesto Malavé, Jr., who has been with the program since the beginning and was a phenomenal speaker. I also really appreciated the facilitators who helped him out. They took time out of their busy schedule to make sure people like me, who didn’t know anything, came away knowing far more than what they came to this exercise with.” 

This year’s event and luncheon found a number of elected officials showing up to speak with this year’s Model Senate participants. Speakers included New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, CUNY Trustee Sandra Wilkins, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Also present were CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. and Medgar Evers College President, Dr. Patricia Ramsey.

For Marsha Escayg (Class of 2016/Bachelor’s of Psychology), Medgar Evers College’s current Alumni Manager, the CUNY/SUNY Model Senate holds a special place in her heart as she was a representative as an undergraduate back in 2016.

“It was a phenomenal experience because I got to see first-hand how government really works,” Escayg recalled. “My bill had to do with paid family leave and when you watch politicians voting, you think a topic like that is a no-brainer. But when you’re a politician, you have to really vote on behalf of your constituents’ needs. It just so happened that the people living in the district I was representing were already retired, so they didn’t need paid family leave. As person on the outside looking in, I had a better understanding of how and why politicians vote.”

She added, “It really made me appreciate the prep work that went into voting on the bill. On the day of the exercise, while sitting in someone’s chair in the chamber, it made me an advocate to fight for issues or maybe someday want to go into politics. In the meantime, I’m happy to witness students after me participate. I’m invested in it because I want the students to be involved and I’m particularly proud that our students got to do it this year.”