New Black Graduate Student Association president looks to revive engagement

Richard Chandler usually has both of his headphones in his ears when he walks across campus and usually listens to Nina Simone or Billie Holiday. But since becoming president of Black Graduate Student Association, he’s had to keep one ear open to interact with new friendly faces. 

“I treat my life like it’s a water jug, just I’m going to keep pouring and pouring and pouring into other people,” Chandler said. “Because I know that eventually, if I keep pouring, they’ll pour and in turn, we can all help each other.”

Chandler, 22, is a first-year master’s student studying business administration and biotechnology. His mission at the school, other than to earn a diploma in his two majors, is to serve, he said.

Chandler’s presidency also marks the BGSA’s return to Syracuse University after a year-long hiatus. 

As president, Chandler hopes to provide resources to help students navigate the everyday barriers to success in their education. They can be daunting, like tuition payments, or mundane, like finding classes, according to Chandler. 

“There’s so many barriers that prevent people from going to school,” Chandler said. “It’s not a certain group of people, it’s everyone that needs that understanding at times of like, ‘How am I doing this? How do I navigate this space?’”

Former BGSA president and fourth year Ph.D. candidate Shaneya Simmelkjaer said BGSA’s hiatus was due to difficulty recruiting and a lack of interest in executive positions. Simmelkjaer, 26, now serves as the graduate liaison for BGSA, aiding Chandler and the new leadership staff in their transition. 

After the Trump administration’s restrictions on diversity programs in higher education, Black students felt fatigued, Simmelkjaer said. Students felt “attacked on all fronts,” which contributed to a lack of interest in BGSA participation, she said. 

“It was hard to get graduate students to be excited about being involved,” Simmelkjaer said. “Because, what are we doing this for? We continue this fight. We continue to be involved. And it feels like no matter which way we turn, we’re still being shunned for who we are.”

Excitement isn’t an issue for Chandler, who Simmelkjaer described as committed, organized and communicative. The new BGSA leadership has transformed stagnation and fatigue into reinvigoration and power, Simmelkjaer said. 

Chandler said he aims to identify how each member of his board needs to be motivated. He enjoys promoting the successes of BGSA members and supporting them when they fall short, he said. 

After growing up in Louisville, KY, Chandler spent his undergraduate career at Morehouse College. He described transitioning from the historically Black college to Syracuse, a predominantly white institution as a “significant 180.”  

Like Chandler, many graduate students are studying far away from home. To him, creating a family atmosphere for students is one of the main purposes of BGSA. 

Though Syracuse is a far cry from the South, Chandler said he doesn’t necessarily miss home. He knows his family is always cheering him on towards graduation in 2027.

For such an optimistic person, Chandler dwells a lot on death. He said he’s motivated by the dash between the year he was born and the year he dies. He hopes the dash represents the people he helped in the years he lived, not money he made.

One of Chandler’s first assignments at SU was to write a one-page paper on a Nobel Laureate in science. None of the options looked like him, he said. 

“That’s one thing that’s always eating at me,” he said. “How do I get that Nobel so that people that look like me can see, ‘Hey, it’s possible, you can win a Nobel.’”

Chandler talks about his goals and motivations in a calm, measured tone. But when he imagines winning his Nobel Prize, he cracks a smile that lights up his whole face. Winning would probably involve a lot of tears, he said.

Chandler said he would invite everyone he knows to the acceptance. After a second of consideration, he decided he would invite the whole country — “from sea to shining sea.” 

One of Chandler’s biggest pet peeves is the negativity he witnesses in his classmates. Before taking a test, he hears his peers constantly guessing that they’ll fail.

“You always have to believe you’ll get a 100,” Chandler said, “Even if it’s delusional.” 

Organizing BGSA can be “thankless work,” Simmelkjaer said. Sometimes nobody shows up to events, she said, and it can be easy to question why to keep going. But Chandler is prepared to handle uncertainty.

“Doubt can creep in, regardless of who you are and where you are,” Chandler said. “You have to have unwavering faith. Unwavering faith can get you a long way.”