The simple act of registering voters pushed Elif Onay ’21 out of her comfort zone, and she’s grateful for that.

Elif Onay focuses on the importance of voter registration.

Now the team leader for Stony Brook’s Center for Civic Justice, the 20-year-old from Staten Island has worked tirelessly to help create one of the most robust college voter registration models nationwide. It hasn’t always been easy.

“A lot of the times when there’s doubt about something, it’s because there’s fear about it,” Onay said. “If you talk about something as dark as climate change, people are scared of it because there’s not enough education on the facts.”

“Elif has impressed me with her work on civic activism on the Stony Brook campus to improve the rates of voter registration.

She has also been very active in the Turkish-American community,” said Nilsu Goren, former program director for the Turkish Coalition of America. “Through the Youth Leadership Congress and Washington internship, she has also gained skills on congressional outreach and grassroots activism,”

Onay’s experience has helped her tap into the Turkish half of her personality, and helped her make friends and connections along the way. Learning about Turkey increased Onay’s appreciation for the Center for Civic Justice, since Turkey, like many other countries, faces challenges in voter representation and civic engagement.

“If you don’t try to expand your horizons, what were you put on this earth for?” Onay said.

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Together, the Faculty Student Association (FSA), CulinArt and the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) are making strides toward reducing the amount of plastic waste produced by the dining operations and shifting to more environmentally friendly materials.

Alternative serviceware was introduced into the campus dining locations.

According to Plastic Oceans, more than 8 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into oceans each year. Plastic waste has an immense negative impact on the environment as it pollutes waterways, its disposal clogs up landfills and litters the land and water, and causes severe problems in marine habitats.

The shift began last spring at Midnight Breakfast where alternative serviceware was used instead of plastic materials and utensils to serve more than 2,900 students.

This academic year dining locations have transitioned away from using disposable plastics and instead are using compostable containers made from sugarcane, paper products and Greenware, drink cups and containers made entirely from annually renewable plants – not petroleum.

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(Summer 2019) Two Stony Brook student leaders are devoting their whole summer to cycling more than 4,000 miles across the country to raise awareness and funds for their respective charities.

Justas Klimavicius and Zachary Shaps prepare for their bike trip.

Justas Klimavicius ’19, President of Undergraduate Student Government (USG), will be biking across the country with The Ability Experience, a philanthropic initiative of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity that focuses on empowering people with disabilities.

For the past 30 years, members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity have sponsored an event called Journey of Hope in which students bike across the United States to raise awareness of disabilities. The cross-country journey is intended to fulfill the vision of The Ability Experience, which seeks to create a community where “abilities of all people are recognized and valued.”

Meanwhile, Zachary Shaps, USG Senator, will also be cycling across the country for 70 days this summer for a cause dear to his heart. His 4,000-mile journey from Baltimore to Seattle is intended to to raise awareness for the Ulman Foundation.

Shaps’s journey is sponsored by 4K for Cancer. The Foundation has raised over $7 million for the fight against cancer since its inception in 2001, and this number continues to rise with the participation of students such as Shaps.

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