New City Teen Advocates For Human Rights

Tarik Abdelqader of New City isn't the type of person who can stand by without taking action when he sees a problem.

Whether it was when he on the football team at Clarkstown High School North, or in his current role as president of the Rockland Community College student government, the 19-year-old is known for his willingness to take bold action.

As Abdelqader, an RCC honors student, nears the completion of his studies at RCC, he is expanding his personal efforts to be an advocate for human rights around the globe.

Football captain

While in high school, Abdelqader was a part of the International Baccalaureate program and excelled in advanced and demanding courses. He was also the varsity football captain and competed on the track and crew teams.

When Abdelqader started his freshman year at RCC, he realized the severity of modern day slavery that still takes place all around the world. In spring 2009, he became co-chair to the RCC Anti-Slavery Committee. Together, he and RCC student Mark Svensson of Orangeburg launched a letter signing campaign in support of the Congressional Commission of the Abolishment of Modern Day Slavery Act. If the bill is passed, it would establish the first United States commission aimed solely at monitoring and combating slavery in all its forms.

After collecting letters from all over Rockland County, Abdelqader's committee held a panel discussion at the national headquarters of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Upper Nyack, where their essay "Slavery Now More Than Ever" was published. Based on the work of the RCC students, the Rockland County Legislature in December 2009 unanimously supported a resolution calling for creation of the commission on slavery.

Because of his dedication and efforts toward the cause, Abdelqader was one of two community college students to attend the Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights aimed at addressing urban slums. Out of 40 delegates from prestigious colleges like Harvard, Brown, and Carnegie Mellon, he was selected to lead a panel focused on Rio De Janeiro.

Abdelqader was one of 3,000 students from around the world focusing on the issue of human rights negligence at the Clinton Global Initiative in Miami from April 16-18. He was honored when his commitment, "Be the Key to Freedom" received an award presented on stage by Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek.

His most recent cause is to spread awareness of the growing concern against water privatization. On April 19, he co-founded the Water Justice Alliance with James Borchers and Mark Svensson. Within a week the alliance has raised more than $200 to help fund a clean water drinking well in Africa.

Along with being a young human rights advocate, Abdelqader is well-regarded within the SUNY educational system.

 "I feel that community colleges are the heart of the economic engine," he stated in an interview, "they produce the leaders of both the community and the world."

Shooting for the top

As president of the Student Government Association he organizes many events at RCC, such as the 50th anniversary time capsule burial that took place on Wednesday at the college's main campus in Ramapo. He was also appointed to the SUNY Student Executive Assembly. The event marked the day 50 years ago when the then Rockland Board of Supervisors voted to create RCC.

As a member of the SUNY Strategic Planning Team, he addresses issues encountered on all of the campuses and strives to establish a more efficient system.

Tarik Abdelqader is one of five children from a culturally diverse background. After transferring to Cornell University in the fall, he hopes to take a career path that could lead to him becoming a judge. As for his longterm goal, he'd like to be president of the United States.

Abdelqader will be speaking at the RCC graduation on May 23.