Transparency for Students

Protecting the interests of students for present and future generations.

Students, especially those who have to support themselves as they attend school, are one of  the most at-risk groups of young people for things such as food insecurity, mental health concerns, and homelessness. As a community advocate and student himself, Samay seeks to address these problems head-on. 

One of the best ways communities can help lower-income groups is to make costs clear up-front. In the state legislature, Samay worked to pass HB0318 - the Textbook Transparency Act of 2020, which requires the University of Maryland to show students upon registration which courses use free or low-cost digital materials. With transparency, we give students the ability to make choices that better their financial futures without sacrificing their commitment to higher education. 

Mental health is something with which most students struggle, and the fight for equitable access to resources is one that Samay takes up personally. For the past two years, Samay has worked on a bill in the MD General Assembly—the Task Force to Study Access to Mental Health Care in Higher Education—which would establish a group that studies and makes recommendations regarding barriers to providing mental health services on campus at all University System of MD schools. With official reports and policy recommendations on mental health, our students will be granted better access to more effective mental health resources. 

Transparency and support are a good start--though there are countless other ways we can support some of our most vulnerable populations. As he continues to work with organized groups of young people like the Young Democrats of Maryland, Samay will echo these actions, and listen to neighbors, many of whom are students and students of color themselves, for solutions.