On Sept. 19, the NYU Abu Dhabi Student Government’s Elections Commission announced that Firas Darwish, Class of 2025, was elected First-Year Class Representative.

The Jordanian-Palestinian first year won by a wide margin, being the only candidate to receive votes that amounted to three digits in all eight rounds of voting. At 48.76 percent, almost half of the eligible voters cast their ballots, a 4.46 percent increase from the Class of 2024’s voter turnout.

Election results courtesy of the NYUAD Elections Commission.

Declarations and nominations for the position opened on Sept. 7 and closed on Sept. 14, with the Candidate Forum happening on the following day where candidates expanded on their proposed ideas and debated with one another. A total of 10 first years ran for the position and Darwish managed to clinch it despite the fierce competition.

“When I decided to come on campus, I knew I wanted to participate somewhere, somehow in shaping the place,” said the intended computer engineering major. In his Abu Dhabi high school, he had previously participated in an array of activities ranging from karate to Model United Nations.

“I realized that this is a genuine student body I would love to represent because they’re just as caring and loving towards me and all other students, so it only makes sense for me to try and represent them,” he added.

While Darwish revealed that a lot of programming is yet to be cemented as he awaits the First Year Experience Committee’s formation, two logistical things that he wants to improve on are the laundry situation, particularly in first year Residential Colleges and difficulty in course signups on Albert. He is thinking of organizing workshops to cover the likes of schedule planning to combat the latter problem.

In the grander scheme of things, Darwish also spoke with other Student Government members on topics such as mental health and sexual assault: “[I want to] make sure that students are aware of who to speak to and are able to have these conversations in a comfortable and safe space.”

Just as his campaign video was a fitting blend of informative purposefulness and lighthearted hilarity, Darwish wants to remind first years that he is, at the end of the day, “still a student and not some dignified delegate.”

“Get your voice out there,” he urged, inviting students to speak to him in person or via feedback forms that he will be sending out soon. “We’re designing this year for you.”