Sial, Thompson Say They Will Not Be the ‘Administration’s Mouthpiece’

Abdullah Shahid Sial ’27 and Caleb N. Thompson ’27 want every student to feel that they have someone to rely on — no matter where they are from.

Sial and Thompson — from Pakistan and Colorado, respectively — said they recognize they come from “very different places.” But Thompson said their differences are “something that we celebrate,” and will enable them to represent all Harvard students as co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Association.

“That’s something I’m really excited about,” Thompson said. “We come from such different points of view, and we recognize that that’s very representative of the larger student body at Harvard.”

“We have such rich diversity at this campus, and people from so many different places, so many different perspectives, and we want to bring that to the HUA,” he added.

Sial said that the pair aims to directly represent the “interests and the wants of the student body” to Harvard’s administrators — something he says “doesn’t happen at the moment.”

“We’re not the extension of the administration by any means, but we are an opposing force where we can negotiate with them and put our interests in front of them,” he added. “I think that’s something which is missing, which is present in every other student body government and most of the universities, and that’s why I wanted to run.”

While Sial said the HUA should largely refrain from making statements on general political issues, leaders should “take a position” on on-campus topics, specifically citing international student visas and winter housing.

The pair said they aim to bridge the “huge disconnect between students and HUA” to increase student engagement with the body.

“I think a big way that we envision doing that is just sending out regular communication to the whole student body,” he added. “Really just clarifying what faculty are saying, what the administration is saying, and also providing forums for student feedback for student feedback that we can relate back to the administration.”

Sial and Thompson said they will advocate for free printing and laundry services, offer summer storage to students through the HUA, and install Harvard University IDs on phones. They also advocated for lengthening dining hall hours, adding hot breakfast in every neighborhood, and alleviating issues around common problems like the early opening of the Crimson Cart.

Thompson believes that HUA can achieve these objectives “if we organize ourselves well and we serve as a powerful voice for student interest.”

To do this, Thompson said he and Sial will bring their shared “hard work, accountability, trustworthiness” to the co-president position.

“We really value these things and that’s exactly why we’re going to bring this kind of an environment to the position,” he said.

As they aim for HUA leadership, Thompson said the ticket aims to represent all student voices.

“In addition to empowering people that when they have something that’s on their mind and something that’s concerning to them, we want them to feel like they have a voice,” he said.

“We’re people that they can trust with that voice,” Thompson added.

—Staff writer Sophia Y King can be reached at sophia.king@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sophia_kingg.