Editor’s Note: After interviewing all presidential candidates who were available, The Sun’s editorial team has decided to abstain from endorsing any candidate for president. The Sun’s editorial team believes no presidential candidate demonstrated both the policy commitments and consistent actions necessary to fully reflect the institutional values of this paper.
Cornell stands at a precipice. With a $1 billion funding freeze from the Trump administration and the Student Assembly entering a byline funding year, the stakes are much too high for the normalized ambivalence the student body holds towards Assembly elections. Student representatives must meet this moment with both courage and competence — and that begins with leadership that understands the magnitude of the work ahead and is willing to do it. At this critical moment, The Sun places its trust in Saad Razzak ’26 for executive vice president of the Student Assembly.
Razzak is the current representative for the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the Academic Policy Committee. He has spent his term working on the kind of steady change that is often undervalued in campus politics. But it’s precisely that seriousness — of purpose, of vision and of follow-through — that sets him apart. He is pushing for tangible academic policies: pushing for resolutions to prevent prelims from falling on Election Day or the eve of breaks and advocating for clearer credit transfer protocols.
He crucially balances this local efficacy with a clear-eyed understanding of broader political challenges. When national politics reached our campus in the form of defunded research and executive orders threatening our most vulnerable students, Razzak authored Resolution 36, urging the University to find alternative funding for defunded research and to take legal action against executive orders at odds with federal and state laws. He worked closely on Resolution 37, which outlines concrete protections for immigrant, undocumented and refugee students — from legal support to mental health resources.
Throughout our interviews, Razzak spoke with honesty about bureaucratic challenges and institutional delay. He did not overpromise or romanticize the role of EVP. Instead, he emphasized strategy: cross-Assembly legitimacy through collaboration with the Faculty Senate, careful rapport with University administrators and early engagement with the Student Activities Funding Commission and byline funded undergraduate student organizations to demonstrate that the Assembly cares about each group’s concerns amid potential funding cuts.
Candidate David Suarez ’27 offered strong rhetorical commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. His proposal to call on Cornell to join the National College Attainment Network is a thoughtful one. We commend his prior Assembly experience, including working on Resolution 17, which urged a campus-wide community restorative day following a string of campus tragedies, and Resolution 37. Though his policy vision is inspiring, he has not always mobilized the Assembly to enact tangible change despite holding what he said was its “third-most powerful position.”
Candidate Ezra Galperin ’27, currently an undesignated at-large representative and chair of the Dining Services Committee, pointed to real accomplishments, including his work on Resolution 31, which calls for the expansion of meal swipe access to Trillium. He offered detailed ideas to improve Assembly transparency — including the use of campus kiosks, QR codes and revamped social media strategy — and emphasized the need for stronger committee accountability. However, Galperin lacks a track record of unifying the Student Assembly to respond to national politics.
The University is facing unprecedented challenges that directly impact the student body, and the Assembly is the most direct representation of 16,000 undergraduates. And at a moment where political instability and financial uncertainty threaten the very structure of student life, we need more than promises. We need policy. We need accountability. We need results. The Sun believes that a vote for Saad Razzak meets the moment.
Editor’s Note: Student Assembly president and executive vice president candidate Christian Flournoy ’27 did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with The Sun and did not attend the candidate forum. EVP candidate Ezra Galperin ’27 is also a Sun columnist.
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