Two AACC students are running for president of the Student Government Association.
The candidates are first-year engineering student Rabiyatou Bah, 19, and second-year communications student Zack Buster, 20.
The winner of the election, scheduled for May 1 to 5 online, will replace outgoing SGA president Abigail Billovits-Hayes, who will graduate in May and transfer to Towson University in the fall.
The candidates will face off in a debate on May 1 at 2 p.m.
Both candidates agreed that they want students’ voices to be heard.
“I want to make sure that students, even though they have the opportunity to use their voice, [are] encouraged to use it,” Bah, who is SGA’s vice president of campus activities, said. “Because I think a lot of the times students don’t say anything out of fear that they won’t be heard or that their ideas won’t be taken seriously.”
Buster, who served as editor-in-chief of Campus Current this school year, agreed.
“I fought for student opinions to be heard as editor-in-chief and I’ll fight for them as president,” Buster said. “So in the end, what I really want to do is … make sure students have more of a say in decision-making processes around the college and not just in a representative capacity.”
Bah said a vote for her for SGA president will be a vote for a different perspective.
“I’m the only Black candidate,” Bah said. “I’m also Muslim, so all of those different aspects of my identity, I think, bring a different perspective.”
Buster said AACC “needs a bridge between administration and the students, and I want to be that bridge.”
Buster added he plans “to make Anne Arundel Community College live up to the community part of its name. Because it’s a community college, it doesn’t just mean it’s a two-year college. It means it’s a small community atmosphere, where everyone works together, and everyone has a place to belong.”
Bah said her platform is more about accessibility.
“I want to make sure that everybody has the proper accessibility no matter if they’re on this campus; on our other campuses, like in Glen Burnie or Arundel Mills; and then also our virtual campuses,” Bah said.
Billovits-Hayes described the importance of the presidential election.
“SGA is the voice of the student body and is also the liaison between staff and students,” Billovits-Hayes said. “It’s important for students to know who is representing them in that capacity.”

Students can vote online on the Nest.