On Nov. 4, New Yorkers will decide who will succeed Eric Adams as the city’s next mayor.
It’s an election that is drawing attention far from the city’s borders, not only from New Yorkers living abroad, but also from those interested in seeing whether a democratic socialist can win one of the highest-profile offices in the United States.
Across the pond, Naomi Rea is taking advantage of that attention to engage London residents, Fordham students, and New York City voters living abroad to consider the impact of the election and encourage them to get more involved in politics.
“I just really wanted to give back to the community in some way, and getting people more involved in politics is something that is very important. It shapes all of our lives, even if we don’t want to admit it,” said Rea, a junior majoring in international political economy.
A Course Focused on Positive Change
Rea is studying at Fordham’s London campus this semester and is taking the class Community Organising in London: Justice, Power, and Social Change with Rebecca Farnum, Ph.D.
It’s a community engaged learning class that features seminars and workshops in which students explore theories of social justice and strategies for collective action. As part of the course, students are required to pursue an initiative that advances a worthy cause.
For Rea, politics was a natural choice. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and this summer, she interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.
In London, she connected with Vote from Abroad, an organization that promotes voter registration by U.S. citizens living overseas. She staffed voter registration tables this month, signing up students to vote absentee in elections in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
On Nov. 3, she’s helping to organize a forum at the London campus where experts from Fordham, Vote from Abroad, and the London-based Electoral Reform Society will weigh in on the significance of the New York City mayoral election.
“People here have actually been coming up to me and talking to me about politics, and it’s been really fun engaging with them,” she said. “A lot of them know more than I do about United States politics, which is kind of crazy.”
Photo by Stella Franzia
An Opportunity to Have an Impact
Rea feels that politics gets an undeserved bad rap and that the election is an opportunity to counter cynicism about the electoral process.
“Everybody is depressed and sad and like, ‘Oh, there’s no hope for the future.’ But I see it more as an opportunity for people my age to do good and to have an impact on the rest of the world,” she said.
“People don’t realize that even if they don’t vote, the person who is leading them has such an impact on their life.”
The forum on Monday is a nonpartisan event, a fact that Rea hopes will also allay concerns from people who are cynical about politics. She describes herself as liberal, but makes it a point to stay friends with students who are more politically conservative.
“Their input is as valuable as my super-Democratic friends, because I’m taking pieces from every part of them, and I’m creating one big puzzle that’s in my mind,” she said, noting she hopes to run for office herself someday.
“It’s so important to learn about the other side so that I’m not just trying to speak to one group of people. I want to speak to everyone.”
The panel will take place on Monday from 5 – 7 p.m. at the London campus. All are welcome. For more information, contact Becca Farnum at [email protected].
