Speaking with Senator Gamaliel Madelon and Tariana Little, it becomes clear that they are in touch with their roots and their community – as both these aspects play a role in how they developed as individuals and community.
In their interview with the Mass Media, Senator Madelon and Little stated that they had a multiracial heritage. Senator Madelon is half Haitian and half Dominican. Little is also half Dominican and half German.
Beyond their lineage, they share a love for engagement with their communities and desire to excel in everything they do, both inside and outside of school.
Senator Gamaliel Madelon, the candidate for presidency of the USG, is a songwriter and producer, entrepreneur, community activist, and student senator. He was born in Haiti and came to the US early on in his life. Before coming to UMB, he attended the prestigious Boston Latin Academy, a public school for academically gifted students.
During his time there, he was a notable star on the baseball team and had a promising future as a scholar. Due to an accident, Senator Madelon was unable to continue to play baseball. Since that time he has concentrated on his musical talents and academic interests.
Mr. Madelon is a double major in Psychology and Sociology with a strong GPA. He participates in the Golden Key Society and Psychology Honor Society, Psi Chi. He is also a musician – known on the streets as “Tee Munny” – a songwriter, and owner of a cigar business.
As for his experience in the USG, Senator Madelon states that he’s well versed in the ins-and-outs of the constitution, bylaws, and legislation passed during the past two years.
Mr. Madelon currently serves on the Campus and Community Affairs (CCA) Committee, which is focused on engaging the student body, lending voice to community concerns and dealing with public relations within UMB.
In the past, Mr. Madelon has, from his recollection, “butted heads” with his Chair, Vinnie Brigance, over many things – including a particular bill on dress code for the USG, which would have required all senators to wear suits during general assemblies.
Senator Madelon explained that he felt that, “Students must be students first. The USG is here for the students and not the administration. We are here to help the administration, but not to do their jobs for them.”
In spite of a spirited debate between the two senators, the issue was resolved with grace as Senator Madelon acknowledged that they just came from different backgrounds.
“I come from the inner city, a rough neighborhood. Vinnie is from the suburbs and preppie background. We have our differences, but we work through that.”
Madelon and others defeated the bill, but agreed that it was necessary to wear suits for “public events” where the USG would receive media coverage. This characterization was later found to be misleading, as Senator Brigance didn’t actually vote in favor of the bill.
Tariana V. Little (running for the Vice President position) is a relative “outsider” to the student government scene, though you wouldn’t know it when you talked in depth about issues facing the UMB community.
Little conceded that she had little experience with the business of the USG, but also qualified the term “outsider” by noting that she’s an active, high-achieving student, child nutrition advocate, and Vice President of Club MANGU (the Dominican Club).
A University Honors student with a 3.6 GPA, this Dorchester native is double major in Psychology and Anthropology. Due to her volunteer work as a tutor of young children and her active involvement in several research projects, Little has practical experience of how people approach various situations.
“For the past two semesters, I’ve become more and more interested in getting involved with leadership,” said Little. “Gamaliel told me about [this election about a month ago] and I said that I wanted to get involved.”
Though she has only attended a few USG general assemblies, Little asserted that she can pick things up very quickly – a quality that Senator Madelon confirmed. Madelon noted that he will “teach her about the constitutions, the bylaws, and regulations” of the USG if they are elected.
When asked about their platform, both Senator Madelon and Little had their own individual issues to bring to the table.
Senator Madelon told the Mass Media that the two most serious issues confronting undergraduates at UMB are reflective representation in the USG and adequate funding for student clubs.
As for Little, her platform centers on community building on campus. She feels that ”there is a palpable lack of student artistic expression,” a fact that stood out in her platform statement.
Though UMB has the “Iron Man” and other public works and the Harbor Art Gallery, Tariana Little feels an absence of any spontaneous expressions of art and music.
“When was the last time you saw any student playing music outside? I would love to have a space where students could play music and display their art whenever they wanted to. The [public works] are so old and dated. The Harbor Art Gallery requires you to submit your art first before putting it up.”
What do Senator Madelon and Little think of their opponents?
Senator Madelon stated that he knows Travis Henderson, the current Vice President, and Dan MacDowell, the current Speaker, very well from his involvement with the USG.
He and Little both indicated that they have no major criticisms of either candidate, though they did agree that the opposing ticket’s policy of inclusion in the USG was on the “conservative side” – as they felt that there wasn’t a sufficient amount of diversity reflecting the various groups at UMB.
Madelon noted that, “Diversity is lacking in the USG… I have so many friends whom I know would do well on the USG, but I have not been able to get them involved.”
In addition, he felt that, “We have a lot more resources when it comes to engaging the clubs that [Henderson and McDowell] don’t have… I know most of the clubs and talk to them on a regular basis.”
The other area of concern for Madelon was the origin of the budget for student clubs. Clubs get their budgets “from an overhead budget” and can’t just “get funding by engaging their community” and other means independent of the USG.
That’s why Madelon vows to make it easier for student clubs to get their funding from elsewhere, such as student artistic events that would be open to the public, to give them a sense of autonomy.
In sum, by speaking to Senator Madelon and Little it is evident that they are very engaged and passionate individuals that offer a fresh perspective in the USG.