SOY Presidential Candidate Bios and Platforms

Shua Brick

My name is Shua Brick, and I am the current SOY VP seeking to be re-elected to the position of president. I am a lower senior pursuing a degree in philosophy and a minor in psychology. With two and a half years on campus, and a year on student government, I have a deep understanding of our institution, have developed strong relationships with student faculty and administration.

As VP, aside from continuing the great work SOY usually does, I have started many new initiatives during my year on the SOY board, which you may have been inundated with ystuds about (sorry about that). Searching for ways to improve our Shabbos atmosphere I began the Community Panel Series and launched Anywhere In The Heights.com. I have doubled the Shabbos programming on campus with efforts to install programming geared towards students who have been classically neglected by the standard programming. After being approached by students who thought we ought to speak more about the basic tenets of faith I launched RAFT: Religious Approaches to Faith and Theology.

Thankfully, my accomplishments as SOY VP are too numerous to list here in full, but there is more to be done. I am committed to continue to improve the Yeshiva atmosphere on campus as well as enhance the sense of community on campus. I am a candidate that has heard from  and is concerned for the entire student body. SOY is responsible to all undergraduate students, regardless of morning program, gap year yeshiva, and religious backgrounds and interests.

We need to strengthen the sense of achdus and ruach and foster an atmosphere reminiscent of gap year yeshivas for those students who are looking for that, which is personally what I have been seeking. I think that can be accomplished by further developing the Madrich, Shiur Assistants and RA positions, and having more programming targeting smaller and specific audiences.

Yet, at the same time, we need to strengthen our community to be a warm and welcoming place where people feel included and part of a greater whole, even if they are not interested in the more yeshiva oriented parts of our institution. Too often I hear “I just went to [insert other college here] and there was such a sense of community, why can’t we have that here?”. This is something I struggle with, have been working on, and have plans already in the works to changing that.

When you start working in student government it takes months to really learn the ropes, and fully grasp the issues and the system. Now that I know the system from a full year of working within the system I can accomplish much more, and am looking forward to the opportunities ahead. What I am asking for is more time. There is much more to do and I believe I am the best man for the job.

ET Lustiger

My name is ET Lustiger (my parents are big Spielberg fans), I am an Upper Junior in Yeshiva College studying Psychology. When I arrived in YU two short years ago fresh out of Yeshiva, I was nervous, yet excited to begin a new chapter of my life. Although my transition was relatively smooth, there were bumps along the way. I sometimes felt lost, and although I was surrounded by familiar faces, I wondered where the warmth I experienced in Yeshiva was. Fortunately, after becoming accustomed to my morning Yeshiva schedule, as well as my afternoon classes, I felt much more at home. Throughout my day I was surrounded by supportive and caring friends, regardless of where they were from and what morning program they were in. It was this quality, and this sense of community that truly helped me grow throughout my first year in YU.

A wise man once told me that a community can only be grown when the strengths and talents of the individual are actualized. I believe that as President of SOY, I will be able to bring out the unique capabilities of each morning program while simultaneously creating a strong and unified Yeshiva. Whether that entails continuing the innovative initiatives that SOY and other student have formed over the years, or trying to implement new and exciting programming that allows for inclusivity for the gamut of students at YU there can surely be something for everyone.