Muhammad is familiar with the conditions of public schools and has close ties to the greater Syracuse community.
When Mark Muhammad was a young child, his father would drive him and other children around local neighborhoods in a garbage truck belonging to the Syracuse Department of Public Works. They took rakes, shovels and brooms and went to work cleaning up the clutter that lay on city streets.
But after a month went by and the mess returned, Muhammad would get frustrated and ask why they were doing it. No one else was out cleaning, and he couldn’t stand the work in the first place.
While many young adults are ambivalent about voting, those at the polls discuss the impact and importance of Election Day.
Polling centers opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 9 p.m. to give voters plenty of time to cast their ballot. For Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF students the polling center at E.S. Bird Library was a great convenience.
"I always vote. I think it’s important to voice our opinions," said Liz Droge-Young, a PhD student studying biology.