On May 27, Congressman Jamaal Bowman spoke with students for a Non Sibi Day event regarding student mental health. Following the event, while Bowman was interacting with SHS students, Maroon had the chance to ask Congressman Bowman a few questions. The below has been edited for clarity.

Maroon: What made you decide to come visit Scarsdale High School?

Bowman: I visit high schools all the time, so I love going to high schools. I’m always inspired by students. I used to work in education, so it was just awesome to do it. I’m going to visit every high school in my district, so that’s why I came here.

Maroon: Cool. Okay. So the next question is, so what was your favorite part of the visit? What surprised you?

Bowman: No real surprises. The favorite part was the panel discussion and hearing what the students had to say. Loved their support for ending standardized tests, loved their social justice passion for just doing better in the world. Yeah.

Maroon: Okay. So the next question is, what can students take away from your words and what advice would you give to students wanting change?

Bowman: Yeah, so their takeaway is their takeaway. Like, I can’t tell them what to take away. Every student takes away, whatever it is they take away. Um, you know, like I said on stage, find your passion, find others who are passionate about those same things and then work with them to do something and do something just means raising your voice. Just, once you write or speak, you put things in motion towards making the change that you want. So, yeah, just do something.

Maroon: Okay, perfect. And then I got a few more. Does being back at a school remind you of being a principal?

Bowman: Yes! Yes, that’s why it’s always awesome to visit schools, because I love kids. Kids are a huge inspiration to me. And kids will change the world. So we gotta listen to them.

Maroon: Okay. And then this is one last thing that I think I’m going to ask. This is a more personal one… so I’m bi, so I’m wondering, how can we as a community sort of advocate for ourselves and our mental health and how can we really get LGBTQ+ education into the school?

Bowman: Is there a LGBTQ+ club here?

Maroon: We do, yeah. It’s called GLOW.

Bowman: Got it. How long has it been there?

Maroon: I think it started a few years ago, but it was off for a while. And then it went back on but we’re trying to start up again.

Bowman: It’s first of all, connected with elected officials like me who support LGBTQ rights. It’s very important. We should do some events together and workshops together just to engage the larger community. And it goes back to what I said about being seen and heard. Everyone has a right to be seen, heard, and to live their lives fully, regardless of who they are. And that’s the message we want to send across the world. So follow up with me so we can talk about that. 

Maroon: Thank you very much.

Bowman: Thank you man.