Nick DiSpirito and Amira Abujuma hit the ground running when they were confirmed last spring as College Park City Council’s student liaison and deputy student liaison.
They’ve set their focus on priorities such as passing an early lease ordinance, boosting student civic engagement and creating more paid internships in city government.
Both students bring previous leadership experience with them into their new roles.
DiSpirito, a junior public policy major, has interned with local politicians and was part of both the Residence Hall Association and the Student Government Association.
Abujuma previously served as the student member of the Charles County Board of Education. On campus, the junior computer engineering and public policy major has served as policy affairs adviser for the Business Beyond Borders club, where she researched policies to expand business opportunities for minority students. She’s also active on the steering committee of the College Park Tenants Union, which was founded by two former liaisons.
The two say they have a great dynamic working together.
“He has the ideas and I make them better,” Abujuma said.
College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir said their leadership experience, community involvement and ideas for bridging the gap between long-term residents and students stood out.
The duo shares a passion for addressing housing issues, which shaped their top priority of establishing an early lease ordinance.
Passing an early lease ordinance
The liaisons want to address how early some students are pressured to re-sign off-campus housing leases.
With no local regulations currently in place, some landlords ask tenants to commit to the following school year just weeks after they move in, DiSpirito said.
“No matter which apartment or different group, this is something that’s affecting thousands of students, and not just students — long-term residents across the entire city of College Park,” DiSpirito said.
[College Park officials brace for impact of federal facility closures]
Their proposal would prohibit landlords from seeking lease renewals until 180 days before a lease ends, roughly March for most renters.
That would align with on-campus housing, which requires decisions from students around late February.
DiSpirito said that because students, especially first-time renters, make up a large share of the city’s population, they are disproportionately affected by current leasing practices.
“We have to address the obvious, which is that tenants are being taken advantage of in these situations,” DiSpirito said. “It’s been a common issue for far too long in the city.”
The idea, which previous liaisons have raised, is moving quickly this year. Council members unanimously agreed to draft legislation earlier this month, and the liaisons hope for a vote by November.
Despite the progress, Abujuma said they still expect pushback from landlords as the legislation advances.
Increasing student engagement and civic participation
DiSpirito and Abujuma said they want to hear from students this year. They plan to table at the Wednesday farmers market on Tawes Plaza and grow their presence on social media.
The liaisons hope to host a candidate forum on campus before the city election this fall.
DiSpirito said that when more students get involved civically, it helps both students and long-term residents see their shared interests.
“I want students to understand that your voice just has a lot of power in itself,” DiSpirito said. “We want to make the city a place that we can all be proud of.”
Expanding city internships
Expanding city government internship opportunities is another priority for the liaisons, which they hope will make students more civically engaged.
Most of the few city internships currently cater to graduate students, DiSpirito said. The liaisons hope to create five to 10 paid positions for undergraduates across city departments and work with the university career center to promote them.
One idea under discussion is to assign each council member and the mayor a dedicated intern.
[College Park City Council discusses possible $10,000 pay raise for members]
They also want to expand opportunities beyond government or policy majors to fields such as sustainability, education, social justice, communications and social media, DiSpirito said.
Establishing the advisory council
To expand their capacity and increase civic engagement, DiSpirito and Abujuma launched a Student Liaison Advisory Council.
The council has eight members, with applications open through the end of the month. They hope to grow to 20 to 30 students from a range of majors, Abujuma said.
The council is divided into three committees: policy, event planning and media.
“We wanted to equip that [student liaison] position to be more like a traditional legislative office where they don’t have to do all the legwork,” said Gavin Neubauer, a senior public policy major who serves as chief of staff for the advisory council.
Alongside the advisory council, the liaisons are strengthening ties with the university’s SGA. They plan on attending general body meetings monthly to provide updates on city issues and gather feedback.
“If we can keep that momentum up for the rest of the student liaison positions for years to come, then there’s no way that student issues won’t be at the forefront of the city council,” Abujuma said.
