The Bronx High School of Science is abuzz with the news that alum Zohran Mamdani — class of 2010 — will be the city's next mayor.
Students told Gothamist they were inspired by his youth, immigrant background and Muslim faith. For the first time, many said, they saw themselves reflected in city leadership.
Yet Mamdani’s meteoric rise also prompted another kind of reflection among some students: Why do so many candidates break their promises once they take office? And will Mamdani be one of them?
Campaigning is one thing, these students said, governing quite another.
Bronx Science senior Keir Horne, 18, who cast his ballot as a first-time voter for Mamdani, said he had doubts about the alum’s policies.
“I don't really believe that they're going to actually work out,” Horne said. “But for me as a young person, seeing someone who is really engaged with young people and [with] that sort of energy and that fiery rhetoric is exciting.”
Horne's skepticism of candidates making lofty promises stems from his experience at the prestigious specialized school. Several students expressed disappointment with student government. From urinal dividers to softer toilet paper, they said, many of the promises made across multiple student government administrations have proved hollow.
Making the impossible possible
During a recent dismissal at the Kingsbridge Heights school, students sounded a cynical note about politicians, both in City Hall and their student council.
“About two years ago now, someone running for [student government] president promised to add dividers to all the bathroom urinals … and this has not come to fruition,” said Baby Doumbouya, a 16-year-old senior.
Doumbouya said student representatives had also asked for “double-threaded” toilet paper, adding, “That hasn't happened either." On the contrary, the 16-year-old said, there’s often no toilet paper at all. “It’s gross.”
Zohran Mamdani has embraced the lofty expectations his administration will face.
Senior Zainab Ahmed, 17, agreed bathrooms “are a very big issue" at the school. But Ahmed noted janitorial staffing and supplies are a budgetary problem beyond the influence of student government.
“People like bathroom cleanliness, which is not something that's really in student control, but people tend to think it is,” the teen said.
Junior Maddox Colon, 16, said it’s not just Bronx Science's bathrooms that leave something to be desired.
“Every year there's someone [who says] we'll put a tub of sports equipment in the courtyard, or we'll make it where you could play basketball in the gym during free periods or after school,” Colon said. “They obviously know that those things are never gonna happen, but they still try to push them anyways.”
Colon said kids — like politicians aiming for higher office — often run for student government as a stepping stone, to pad their college applications.
“I wouldn't call it sinister,” the 16-year-old said. “But a lot of students campaign for issues that they know they'll never be able to fulfill.”
According to the New York Times, Mamdani promised fresh-squeezed juice for all when he ran for student government at Bronx Science. “I promised things that were simply impossible,” he later admitted.
Mamdani’s mayoral platform focused on universal child care, free buses, a rent freeze for stabilized tenants, and government-run grocery stores. But his plans to tax the rich to pay for child care require signoff by state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The governor has said she opposes raising taxes, but supports the goal of expanding child care. Mamdani has said he’s open to other funding mechanisms as long as the job gets done.
Similarly, MTA Chair Janno Lieber has cautioned against “bumper-sticker decision-making,” saying the implications of making buses free have not been sufficiently analyzed.
At his victory speech, Mamdani embraced the challenge of delivering on his plans. “When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them,”he said.
Bronx Science students said Mamdani’s campaign reflected the relentless drive of the student body.
Students at Bronx Science said they'd been burned by candidates in student government making promises they couldn't deliver.
“You have to figure out a way to navigate the competitive environment and still have fun,” senior Siena Ruske, 17, said. “I can definitely see how that would have helped [Mamdani] in the election.”
Despite only 21 Black students and 55 Hispanic students admitted to the freshman class through the specialized high-school admissions test, many kids said Bronx Science is remarkably diverse.
“You see a lot of different backgrounds and viewpoints,” said Doumbouya, whose family is from Cote D’Ivoire. “My friends come from everywhere. I have Greek friends, African friends, Jewish friends, Christian friends. … It’s a reflection of the city.”
Mamdani’s experience with multiculturalism at Bronx Science “was probably a good example for him when he was going out and campaigning," the teen added.
As for the mayoral-elect's platform, Doumbouya noted: “You can offer free things to people and that's good. People want free things. People want affordability … that's one of the reasons he won. But the problem comes to actually implementing them."
Horne, who voted for Mamdani, was swayed by his passion and pledge to stand up to the White House.
“I'm someone who's cautiously optimistic that he's going to surround himself with good people,” the 18-year-old said.
Horne is even optimistic about the school's bathrooms getting urinal dividers: "That's something which I've pushed for throughout the school. It hasn't happened yet, but I think one day it will."
