2019 Algonquin graduate Mariam Ibrahimi’s name will be on the Regional School Committee (RSC) ballot on Tuesday, May 11.

If elected, Ibrahimi will use her recent experiences at Algonquin as a basis for her actions as a committee member.

“I think that [the] three candidates who are running really are bringing value to the school committee, but what I have, what they do not have, is that I’ve gone through the district,” Ibrahimi said. “I know what it’s like personally. I know what’s needed for students, and I’m willing to say, ‘I want to listen to you, and I want you to be the center.’ I want the students to be the center of my attention because you are the impact of our decisions on the school committee.”

It was not until recently that Ibramimi realized the importance of municipal government.

“[During high school,] I wasn’t really aware of what was going on at the local government level,” Ibrahimi said. “…[During] my junior year, I got more interested in politics and what was going on in [the state] government… It was only last year that I really realized how much of an impact can be made at the [municipal] government level.”

Ibrahimi spoke about local boards such as the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board as having important jobs, despite being often cast aside by national or state governing bodies. Ibrahimi has experience on such committees, as she currently serves as vice-chair of the Northborough Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Ibrahimi, who is a Muslim woman, hopes to bring a young and diverse voice to the currently all-white committee. 

“The Regional School Committee, composed solely of white community members, is not representative of the student body or the residents of Northborough and Southborough,” Ibrahimi’s campaign website says. “…Over one in four ARHS students identify as AAPI, Black, Indigenous or Hispanic, among others. While in many aspects the committee may be doing a great job, there are important perspectives not present at the table.”

If elected, Ibrahimi will use her personal experience at Algonquin to work towards making the school more diverse and inclusive—a mission similar to that of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

“We need to be giving students a broader knowledge of the world,” Ibrahimi said. “And I think that includes learning about Indigenous people who live on this land, like the Nipmuc… Something else that’s really important to me is the aspects of the Healthy Youth Act. I think our sexual education curriculum really needs to be reevaluated: incorporating consent-based relationships and being LGTBQ+ inclusive is really important to me as well.”

Ibrahimi feels that the RSC often overlooks students’ voices, and she hopes to change that by involving student voices at the forefront of her decisions on the committee.

“I really hope that regardless of whether I win or not on Tuesday, I think I have done my due diligence in awakening our community and letting them know that there are discrepancies in our school committee, in our school community [and] in our district,” Ibrahimi said. “I brought up some really important points about mental health resources needed for students and reevaluation of our curriculums and amplifying student voices. And I hope regardless of whether I win or not, we actively work on that.”