Message to the NJCU Community on the 2024 Election

I love our country, its people, and our promise. It’s given me and my family unimaginable opportunity. While imperfect, we persist through struggle to be more perfect.

That’s what defines us. Not individual election results that cause worry and angst for some and pride and vindication to others.  

We are not defined exclusively by who leads us in a particular chapter in our American story. The American people author our story and the most beautiful chapters are penned when we come together in common pursuit of noble aspirations that cross gender, race, ethnicity, orientations, or creed.

Progress isn’t linear. The path to it is riddled with obstacles. We stumble, we fall, we take the longer way for a reason. 

Before striving to be great, let’s be good to one another like we have never been before.

May those who aspire to the highest offices lift them higher and know the greatest title in our land is that of citizen. "We the people" have a responsibility for our collective future.

In American democracy, every day is Election Day. Our freedom to make choices isn’t bound to a single date on the calendar — it’s a continuous right and responsibility. Whether at the ballot box, in community meetings, or through everyday actions and conversations, we’re always shaping the future of our communities. 

Voting is one powerful way to express our voice, but staying informed, engaging in discussions, and standing up for what we believe in are just as vital. Let’s remember that democracy thrives when we all participate, every day of the year.

How we elect to act the day after matters a great deal. We don’t inherit this world from our ancestors, we borrow it from our descendants.

Elections are the not the conclusions of our democratic experiment; they are the tests of our democratic values and ideals. When we love each other, see each other, and hear each other, and even civilly disagree with one another, we pass the test.

Andrés Acebo
Interim President
New Jersey City University