Claire SooHoo, JE '27

I'm supporting Norah Laughter for Ward 1 Alder because we need someone who will hold Yale accountable to the future of New Haven by investing in education and youth opportunities. Working at the Yale Farm has shown me the potential that exists for amazing student job experiences. The availability of supportive mentors who are invested in making pre-professional opportunities and funding available for working students has been incredibly important to me. Most of all, the caring, involved community I’ve found through my work experience has demonstrated that student work at Yale has the capacity to sustain students not only financially, but also professionally and even socially.

I’ve also had the opportunity to talk to New Haven parents through my job at the farm. As a student interested in housing issues, parents’ discussions of public schools—specifically, their concerns regarding how zoning affected their children's educations—reinforced my conviction that Yale needs to do more to support not only its own students, but also the surrounding community members. Though the predominant landowner in the city of New Haven, Yale pays no property taxes—taxes which would typically go towards funding public services, including schooling. Yale owes it to New Haven to invest more in the community and its youth.