Dear members of the Fordham University community,

It is with great pride and gratitude that we address you in our final days as the executive administration of the United Student Government (USG) for the 2024-2025 academic year.

When we started in these roles, we knew the responsibility before us demanded not just dedication but real results. We made it our mission to continue Fordham’s traditions and push forward new initiatives that would leave a lasting impact on campus life. We believe this year marks some of the greatest strides the USG has made in recent memory.

Throughout this administration, we worked to make the USG’s processes more democratic and inclusive. For the first time, Fordham students now have the ability to nominate clubs for Club of the Month, ensuring that this recognition is shaped by the broader student body and not limited to internal selections. We also expanded academic resources for underrepresented pre-professional tracks by creating comprehensive pre-law and pre-health databases, critical tools to empower future generations of Fordham students.

Recognizing the importance of health and wellness, we successfully installed a nap pod on campus, offering a new space for rest and care amid busy student lives. We worked alongside Fordham’s Commuter Students Association (CSA) on this initiative, aiming to remedy the daily exhaustion that commuter students often face. Our collaboration with the University Health Center also resulted in significant transparency improvements, including first-visit information one-pagers, visible testing cost posters and clearer resource access for all students. Additionally, we worked with Fordham Dining and Ram Hospitality to evaluate and optimize current meal plan options. We advocated for smaller and lower-commitment plans for commuting students and options to buy packages of swipes in emergencies. These changes were met with optimism and are currently under review. 

We understood that keeping students informed needed to be a priority. To that end, we launched the first-ever monthly USG Newsletter, providing consistent updates on our initiatives, projects and ways to get involved. This publication has helped foster a stronger connection between the student body and the USG, and we hope it will continue to grow for years to come. 

This year, we also recognized the importance of standing up for our community in moments of fear and uncertainty. In response to reports of deportations of foreign students across the country and concerns about the potential presence of ICE on college campuses, we issued public statements reaffirming our commitment to protecting the dignity, safety and academic freedom of every student. We clarified that Fordham must be a place where all students feel safe, supported and valued. In standing with our international students, we stood for the very values that define our university.

Now we leave you with a call to action. It is no secret that the state of higher education is in peril. Attacks on academic freedom and growing inequities threaten the very ideals universities were built to uphold. We urge every member of the Fordham community to stay engaged to advocate fiercely for a more accessible, inclusive and forward-thinking future and to remember that the power to shape this institution, and the world beyond it, lies in your hands. Fordham’s future will be defined by those bold enough to imagine it and brave enough to build it.

Serving you has been the most incredible honor, and we are confident that our work will create a stronger foundation for all students who come after us. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your Fordham experience.

With endless gratitude and high hopes,
Eron Maltzman, FCRH ’25 and Ava Cascella, FCRH ’26

United Student Government Executive Administration, 2024-2025