(Photo provided by the Grays-Dubois campaign)

Grays-Dubois are one of four tickets running for Student Body President and Vice President

BY SAM DOUGLAS, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

[Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Q: Can you introduce yourself? What year are you in, and what’s your major?

Isaiah Grays: I am a freshman and majoring in government and international politics.

Why are you qualified to be student body president?

IG: I’ll take you back to my junior year [of highschool]. I was a student representative to my local school board. In that position, although I was in a non-voting position, I was able to yield influence in order to get the board members to see where the students’ priorities are. At the end of that year, I was invited to join an environmental justice council headed by LaTricea Adams, who [was] a President Biden appointee for his White House environmental justice advisory council. 

Also in that year, I was invited to join the Flint Public Health Youth Academy, where we started work on a presentation for the American Public Health Association’s Atlanta conference. In my senior year, I continued my work on those two organizations, but I was also elected president of my high school…[where] student government had a budget of about $10,000 and in that time I believe we spent about $2,000 and then we garnered $4,000 back. I was the first president in a while to not only balance the budget, but expand it from what it was before.

My freshman year of college, I am now working on Capitol Hill because of my experience. I was also a US youth advisor to the United Nations Ocean Decade where I helped work on an education tool kit that was presented in Barcelona, Spain regarding [ocean protection]. I have been working very hard for the past two years to ensure that I know how to speak on behalf of people, know how to listen to people, and know how to get stuff done.

Why should Mason students vote for you?

IG: I was born in Flint, Michigan, that I am sure many people know about. I lived there until I was about three and a half [years old]. They were hit with a severe water crisis where [residents] could not drink the water. I have seen a community damaged by leadership who ignored their voices, so over the past decade, I have been working very hard on how to mold myself into a person who can speak and bring validity to communities. So I would say to Mason students I have seen what it is like for government and administration to ignore its people. I know how to be that mediator, and step in and help.

What sets you apart from the other three tickets?

IG: Number one, I am the youngest. Many people see that as a weakness; I see that as a strength. I see that if the student body elects a freshman in their first year to be their leader, it shows that we are taking this very seriously and that we are wanting change. What also sets me apart from the other candidates is that they are very grounded in the idea that the system works and using the system to push a narrative. My idea is that the system can work, but there are things on the outside that can be brought in to mold it and make it better.

If elected as student body president, what is the first thing you are going to do in office?

IG: Day one for me, I personally want to get to know every person who is in the government. I want to meet and sit down with every senator. I want them to create a list of the top five things they want to get done. And what we are going to do is we are going to create a way to tangibly measure those five initiatives. The biggest thing is communication. We are going to create one of the strongest communication teams that this school has ever had.

If you are elected, how do you see the school being different at this time next year?

IG: I see students talking about the school in a different way. I see people raving about the events that we had that year. I see administration noticeably changing its narrative around Student Government. I see the Board of Visitors having more respect for our student government. So, I believe by this time next year, this campus’s energy, culture and environment is going to feel really different. And they are going to be able to say, the Student Government really got its act together.

There is a lot of pressure on Mason right now, both from the Board of Visitors as well as the federal government. How do you plan to address that as president?

IG: I have the distinct fortune of being a federal employee, and in my time working on the Hill, I have gotten an opportunity to be enriched by various staffers for members of Congress. I believe those connections will be very valuable when it comes to any federal pressure on the university. Being able to get those one-on-one meetings, there is a saying, “it doesn’t matter what you know, it matters who you know.” My boss goes a step further and says, “it matters who knows you.” 

Regarding the Board of Visitors, I want them to see the student body from a different perspective. I do not want them to see us as just numbers or just the rate of acceptance we have on campus. I want them to really see us as customers. I am going to work hard to change that perspective so they can see us as customers who are paying our money to be here.

Anything else students should know about you, your campaign, or your plans?

IG: I want them to know I plan to be available to anyone. If you want my number, I will give you my number. If you need my email, I am going to respond to your email. If you want to have a meeting with me, you can have a meeting with me. I am gonna be available to the student body. I am not going to hide once I get in.

What is one fun fact about you that students should know before they cast your vote?

IG: I am a singer and an actor. I know the suits sometimes may throw people off, but I love to sing and I love to act.