For many Muslim students at CSI, Mamdani\u2019s immigrant background is a major selling point. And they are not alone: about 62% of foreign-born voters<\/a> support Mamdani. The ethnically diverse<\/a> college voter base is a microcosm and may be a harbinger of things to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n While there are no publicly available statistics on the Muslim population at CSI, conversations with students and the campus\u2019 Muslim Student Association suggest that they make up a visible and active part of campus life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sama Abunahla, a freshman in the MLS Program, pointed towards Mamdani\u2019s everyman image. She cited how his campaign videos depict him not only interacting with fellow New Yorkers, but walking through local streets and taking the same trains as them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s relatable, he lives in an apartment, he pays rent himself, and I feel like he knows our struggle and can understand us,\u201d said Abunahla. \u201cPeople like Eric Adams are bathing in money and they\u2019re not going to understand those problems.\u201d<\/p>\n As a Palestinian student, Abunahla believes that affluent politicians do not have immigrants\u2019 interests at heart, especially those of Palestinian descent. She remarked how affluent candidates like Cuomo \u201cwant to suck up to more powerful people,\u201d while \u201cMamdani feels like one of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Others aren\u2019t as certain. Abubakr Raja, a Pakistani business major, doubts that Mamdani\u2019s branding is authentic.<\/p>\n \u201cI like him because he\u2019s Muslim and I\u2019m Muslim,\u201d said Raja. \u201cBut I feel like he\u2019s fake. He tries to act like he\u2019s with the people most of the time and takes the bus, but I\u2019m not even rich and I take my car and drive around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Evelyn, a first-generation Mexican American, pointed towards how campaign funding sources reflect a clear distinction in which groups are showing solidarity with which candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it shows what people can achieve when they come together for a cause,\u201d said Evelyn. \u201cCuomo is funded by other billionaires that want him to stay in power because he\u2019s easier to control.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s campaign centers on tackling NYC\u2019s affordability crisis. One point of contention amongst CSI students is the prospect of city-owned grocery stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rather than corporate supermarkets that price gouge, municipal grocery stores will focus on keeping costs low, not turning profit. Mamdani proposes using city land to build stores exempt from property taxes that will purchase and sell products wholesale.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, food-at-home prices in the New York\u2013Newark\u2013Jersey City area rose 3.5% over the past year since August 2024. While many students cited rising grocery prices as the largest factor placing financial strain on their families\u2019 monthly budgets, some question whether Mamdani\u2019s idea is too good to be true.<\/p>\n Edwardo, a computer science major born and raised in Mexico, addresses how a guaranteed low-price grocery seller could impact local businesses. He draws on a similar state-run supply initiative he witnessed during his childhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBack in Mexico, they have this program that has their own food supply with chocolate, bread, and meat, but it really undercuts small businesses where people are trying to sell their own stuff,\u201d said Edwardo. \u201cAnd that money goes back to the country instead of staying in these little communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Food for Well-Being is a government welfare program that purchases products from small-scale producers and redistributes them through state-run Wellness Stores. Although President Claudia Sheinbaum frames it as a \u201cfair market\u201d<\/a> effort to help small producers reach consumers, critics argue it bypasses local merchants, limiting how much profit stays within communities.<\/p>\n Edwardo, along with other students attending CSI\u2019s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, doubt the financial viability of Mamdani\u2019s more ambitious campaign promises of fare-free buses and no-cost childcare.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s revenue plan<\/a> involves taxing the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers who earn more than $1 million a year at a flat 2% rate, which would raise about $4 billion. A sophomore from the Dominican Republic believes Mamdani will need to \u201cflip the whole system upside down\u201d to succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n He spoke with a fellow sophomore from Puerto Rico about how the wealthy often exploit tax loopholes, making it unlikely that anyone with a financial stake would support Mamdani, let alone remain in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both agreed that \u201cthere\u2019s always a catch with these things.\u201d<\/p>\n Evelyn believes that Mamdani\u2019s bold attitude may not serve the city well in the long term. Although she doesn\u2019t support Sliwa\u2019s candidacy, she agrees with his suggested approach<\/a> of negotiation above escalation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSliwa had a good point that if you outright say Trump is fascist and you\u2019re openly against him, Trump will attack NYC and cut federal funding, which means a lot of [Mamdani\u2019s] policies won\u2019t happen,\u201d said Evelyn. \u201cI feel like Mamdani\u2019s antagonistic stance is good for the New Yorker because we resonate with that, but it can eventually bring harm to us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s revenue plan explains that the city budget depends on $10 billion in federal funding, while the state budget relies on $90 billion. He frames the tax plan as a way to fight back against Trump\u2019s interference by funding programs that help the working class.<\/p>\n A Palestinian psych major explained how Mamdani\u2019s policies would benefit the community she commutes from everyday: Bay Ridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a big melting pot and so many people come from different backgrounds, especially financial backgrounds, and many don\u2019t have secure jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cIf someone like Mamdani is able to notice that people are working to live and [he] takes steps to fix that, I think it\u2019ll definitely help the immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0As of 2023, the change in median gross rent in Bay Ridge\/Dyker Heights outpaced the change in median household income by 10.4 percentage points<\/a>. About one-third of renter households spent more than 50% of their household income on rent in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe pattern of politicians has been very much not representative of the people who actually live in New York,\u201d she said. \u201cI think when there\u2019s the same kind of person who grew up with the same backgrounds and means, they don\u2019t care to notice the other side of New York that is carrying the city on their backs.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0642-872x1024.jpeg\")
Near the corner of Clove Road and Victory Boulevard, there is an empty lot of grass that is filled with multiple political lawn signs and advertisements. This \u201cCommie Mamdani\u201d design has also appeared as small stickers placed on the glass timetables at multiple bus stops across the island.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0714-929x1024.jpeg\")
Edwardo, a Mexican immigrant, compared Mamdani\u2019s free-fare bus plan for New Yorkers to ASAP for students. About 96%<\/a> of CSI students commute to campus, and CUNY\u2019s ASAP program helps alleviate financial barriers by providing students with pre-paid OMNI cards that cover unlimited transportation costs.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0664-874x1024.jpeg\")
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, CSI\u2019s Spanish Club members shared cultural dishes, including Peruvian chaufa, Spanish croquetas, Mexican tacos dorados, and Colombian arepas. \u201cWith everything going on with ICE, I just want a safe space for everyone to feel free to express their culture, especially nowadays when their culture is being oppressed,\u201d said Astrid, a Peruvian student.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vote-5676562_1280-1024x931.jpg\")
The New York City mayoral election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. The candidates on the ballot are Democrat Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Early voting will run from Saturday, Oct. 25, to Sunday, Nov. 2. Poll sites <\/a>are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.\u00a0
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