CAD Senator

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Pronouns: He/They/Él

My name is Alejandro Esteban (he/they/él). I am from B.C., Canada but was raised in Poughkeepsie, NY. I'm a first-year Illustration major, minoring in Spanish. I have done advocacy work before, starting with advocating for gender-neutral bathrooms in my middle school, to working at my local pride center creating events for teens in high school, to now being part of a disability leadership group. When I'm not working, you can find me sitting on the floor learning a new craft, or playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends.

As a queer disabled person, my platform is focused on making sure that every student has their voice heard and making our college more accessible. I have been, and continue to be, a student who needs to advocate for themselves about accommodations and come up with creative accommodations for art classes. I want to help CAD students not only advocate for themselves but also create a space where there is less of a need for them to advocate for themselves. I want to be someone that students can come to with an issue so that I can address it, no matter how small or big it might feel. I want to work with the other senators to help CAD, and the entire university, become more accessible.  You might not think that accessibility and accommodations affect you, but these are things that benefit everybody and every student deserves an environment that supports their needs, whether it's physical accessibility, academic accommodations, or a culture that gives students the confidence to advocate for themselves. I will work to make all spaces accessible and all online materials compatible with assistive technologies. This can be difficult for studio art classes, but I am devoted to finding creative solutions that make everyone happy.   The responsibility of creating an accessible space shouldn’t fall solely on students though. I will work to help staff and faculty be educated on the challenges that students with accommodations face. Many faculty and staff want to help all students do well in their classes but don't know how, and I want to take actionable steps to help them create an inclusive course.   As your CAD senator I know that together, we can build a campus that is supportive and safe for everybody.