Before we can become citizens of Yale, we must become citizens of New Haven.

1. Yale’s Financial Contributions to the City of New Haven

Yale needs to pay its fair share of taxes. The university’s possession of numerous tax-exempt real estate holdings contributes to a growing homelessness crisis while failing to provide the New Haven community with restorative tax revenue.

• Although Yale’s recent pledge of $230 million to the city over the next seven years reflects important progress, we stand with New Haven Rising and local unions’ calls for an increased contribution of $110 million per year that better reflects the university’s endowment and tax-exempt status.

• At the beginning of our term, we will establish regular communication with Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs, requesting monthly reports on the status and recipients of the university’s financial contributions to the city.

• We believe that Yale’s undergraduate student body can sustainably support New Haven’s economic development goals, if local businesses are granted independence from university infrastructure. Thus, we will work with New Haven businesses directly to establish Yale-specific discounts that extend beyond the Shops at Yale bubble, generating economic activity through an eager student population. Alex has done it before with his experience at the New Haven Economic Development Administration; we can do it again.

2. New Haven Public Schools 

Amidst staffing shortages and budgetary pressures, we recognize the important role Yale’s student population can play in supporting services at New Haven Public Schools. We envision the YCC—as the representative body for undergraduate students—serving as a key linkage institution between students passionate about education and public school administrators seeking additional support in their classrooms.

• Brendan was proud to coordinate a student body-wide outreach campaign for the Sophomore Class Council’s holiday toy drive with the Augusta Lewis Troup School last year. We look forward to reconnecting with public school administrators at the Troup School and organizing a larger drive that relies on the YCC’s organization-wide infrastructure during the next academic year.

• We recognize that many Yale students are interested in sharing their knowledge with younger students and supporting education-based projects in New Haven. However, amidst a sea of smaller advocacy and tutoring programs on Yale’s campus, this passion often becomes diluted or misdirected. Thus, in collaboration with Dwight Hall and Yale Education Studies’ partner teachers network, we will develop a centralized database that matches dedicated student volunteers with relevant education-based opportunities in New Haven.

• Recognizing the teacher tourism that often occurs when college graduates participate in low-commitment programs like Teach for America, we applaud the University’s creation of a Yale Teaching Fellowship which requires educators to teach in New Haven public schools for at least three years. Under our leadership, the YCC will pursue collaborations with the Office of Career Strategy centered on exposing undergraduate students to education-based experiences, which are disproportionately underrepresented compared to opportunities in consulting and/or finance.

• Brendan has proudly served as a teacher with Yale’s Hemispheres program for the past two years, teaching interactive lessons on international relations topics to New Haven high school students. We understand the value of extending Yale’s educational resources to local students, especially to those coming from under-resourced backgrounds. Thus, as YCC leadership, we will work with the Office of New Affairs to increase the number of funded slots offered to New Haven students for Pathways to Science and other Yale pre-college programs.

3. Protecting Our Neighbors from Rogue Immigration Enforcement

Earlier this year, a federal immigration agent entered the Elm Street courthouse in New Haven and arrested a man, violating Connecticut state law. As members of the New Haven community, it is our duty to stand up for our neighbors and resist these domestic terror campaigns by immigration enforcement.

• This issue is personal for our campaign. Last summer, Alex worked for the Democratic Staff of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, writing congressional oversight projects to defend New Haveners who had been arrested in state and local New Haven courthouses in contravention of Connecticut State Law.

• During the last YCC Senate session of the year, we both sponsored and voted in favor of a public statement calling on Yale to divest from all companies complicit in ICE’s terror operations, notably Palantir and Target Hospitality. As YCC President and Vice President, we will ensure this issue remains a priority during conversations with President McInnis and members of the Board of Trustees. Any cooperation with a federal law enforcement agency that inhumanely detains immigrants and kills American citizens is inconsistent with Yale’s commitments to our society and humanity.

4. More Than Just a Service Project

We recognize that many Yale students only interact with the wider New Haven community when volunteering. This relationship often precludes intentional engagement with the city’s rich history, cultural significance, and diverse amenities. Under our leadership, the YCC will lead efforts to connect Yalies with authentic experiences in New Haven.

• As a former intern at the New Haven Economic Development Administration, Alex understands the immense value of directly working to improve New Haven through policy work. We look forward to strengthening formal channels (OCS, President’s Public Service Fellowship, etc.) to put Yalies’ academic and professional skills to practice in service of the City.

• As Secretary of the Sophomore Class Council, Brendan was directly responsible for communicating details regarding the New Haven Guinness World Record Pizza Party with the class of 2028. We look forward to working with city officials again to foster Yale student participation in the World’s Largest Pizza Costume Party (scheduled for September 25, 2026). 

• Under our leadership, the YCC Events Director will be required to organize at least one Yale-New Haven collaboration per month. This may range from YCC-led hikes in East Rock to the return of a campus-wide study break featuring New Haven food trucks.