Yale University Elects its First Muslim-American Student Body President
Students at Yale elected the university’s first Muslim-American student body president on April 30.
Incoming junior Bayan Galal ran on the slogan “building a healthier Yale.” She secured 56 percent of student votes.
She is also the first Arab-American and first hijabi to hold this position on the Yale College Council (YCC).
“It’s very surreal,” she said. “I did not come [to Yale] thinking that I would run for President, let alone win and become elected.”
Galal said her Egyptian identity plays an important role in her life, and was one of the reasons she decided to run in the first place. She said she was nervous at first because she wasn’t sure that Yale students would want to elect a Muslim or an Arab. But her faith and security in her identity pushed her through.
“My background is not a disadvantage,” Galal said. “My background is the reason why I’m doing this, and it’s the reason why I can do this.”
While growing up in the United States, Galal saw a lot of disparities based on political infrastructure. This sparked her interest in policy work and inspired her to join the YCC during her first year at Yale.
While serving in YCC, she worked with Yale Health to set up a reimbursement program that would help remote students pay for COVID-19 testing. This past year, Galal served as the Health and COVID-19 Policy chair.
“We are continuously focused on delivering tangible results for students,” she said.
Natalie Kainz
Galal said that in the few weeks since her election, many people -- especially women of color -- contacted her, saying that they often doubted whether someone who looked like them was able to hold positions of power. They expressed their gratitude for Galal’s resilience.
“[Marginalized people] should see their background as a strength rather than a weakness, and they should be willing to push through and pursue their goals,” Galal said.
This summer, Galal will join the Council on Foreign Relations as a global health studies intern while preparing for her presidency in the next academic year. She said she is excited for future YCC projects.
"I'm just very grateful that I get to take this on and hopefully advance so many issues for not only our communities, but also other communities that have been marginalized or overlooked for a really long time,” she said.
Written by Bareerah Zafar
