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The Eastern Echo Tuesday, July 29, 2025 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Student leader involved in diversity

Eastern Michigan University’s student government funds a lot of things on campus such as student organizations, homecoming, various scholarships, the Undergraduate Symposium and the women’s center.

EMU’s student government is composed of a body of students that works together through meetings and committees to better serve the campus community and student body. It tends to focus on parking issues, safety concerns and notable state legislation worth being addressed.

It contains the Executive board, the Student Senate as well as several specialized committees. Student body President Antonio Cosme works alongside Vice-President Muayad Mahmoud and the other representatives of the student government to put forth a dedicated approach to serving the best interest of Eastern Michigan’s student body.

Cosme was elected student body President of EMU this past winter semester making him the first Latino male president in the school’s history.

“It’s an honor and a big responsibility,” Cosme said.

Cosme said getting involved with the right people at the right time made this position a reality for him.

Even though his duties are important to the university and do require a lot of responsibility on his part, he tries to avoid all the power and honor from getting to his head.

“I try not to allow it to become my sole identity,” Cosme said.

Cosme hopes to graduate by next winter, majoring in political science. Cosme wishes to continue his education through law school pursuing a career dealing with immigration law.
“I help people dealing with immigration status, miscued paperwork and making sure these people get treated right; all under this immigration law umbrella,” Cosme said.

He enjoys working with the Latino community and wishes to grow in representing the people rather than pursuing corporate law.

“I, one day, wish to use my talents and skills to help out my people,” Cosme said.

Roberto Perez, a student program coordinator for the Center of Multicultural Affairs at EMU, has known Cosme for two years now; just enough time to know Cosme before and after becoming student body president. The two first met through a Latino Student Association meeting and their friendship has grown from there. Perez said Cosme is serious when it comes to school and extracurricular activities and also knows how to be a friend.

Perez said Cosme has been supportive in all of LSA’s projects and events attending whenever he is not busy with being a student body president.

“He works hard to accomplish everything he sets out to do,” Perez said. “Whether it is work, school or activism, his work ethic goes far beyond others.”

Cosme has been very active in the Latino community on issues of immigration rights and the Dream Act, as well as other issues in the community dealing with the Latino community.
From his first year to now, the southwest Detroit, private catholic school graduate, who changed his mind from pursuing a pharmacist’s degree to a degree in political science, Cosme has grown.
“I’m so much more of a people person,” Cosme said.
The boy who walked to school every day and never got robbed continues to walk to school today, and is proud of his Detroit upbringings which helped make him the person he is today.
“Going to catholic school helped me out,” Cosme said. “It kept me out of trouble, but I never sought Detroit out as a bad city. I’m a strong Latino; I guess I should thank my parents for that.”

Cosme grew up in a diverse community with his parent near Dearborn. He says his neighborhood consisted of eastern Europeans, African Americans and Latinos.

Cosme lived with his parents and his siblings growing up. His sister Ramona and his brother Jose, both of attend EMU. He stays in a rented basement apartment with Jose, who was one of the main reasons why he decided to attend Eastern.
“I didn’t know what was here before I came,” Cosme said. “I just knew EMU was close to home, and Jose was the biggest reason why I came; my dad pushed me to go here.”
Ramona said growing up he always took care of her and over time became one of her best friends.
“We’re really close in age so he grew up right with me,” Ramona said. She is a year and seven months younger than Cosme.

Ramona and Antonio Cosme credit their parents for being strong role models in their life.
“My parents are amazing,” Ramona said. “They sacrificed a lot for us to get a great education by sending us to private schools our entire lives.”

Ramona, unlike Antonio, was indifferent about where they grew up.

“I’m sure the neighborhood was not the best when we little, but I never noticed,” Ramona said.
Cosme said his parents were leaders within the community growing up. His mother was a stay-at-home mom who recently started working with real estate after her children went off to college.

“My dad was the head of the PTA, always involved in everything. Then, he was the Athletic Director at my school for a while,” Cosme said.

Now, his father works in a white-collar job, but growing up Cosme saw his dad working a lot of hours as an iron worker.

Cosme keeps busy, like his dad, joining in multiple organizations throughout the year, such as: the LSA, Honors College, Student Leader Group, University Budget Council, Student Success Council and the Diversity Council.

At the moment, Cosme is involved with his regular duties with his presidency and in his free time has joined the Mock Trial team at EMU, that competes around Michigan and surrounding states with other Mock Trial teams.

In the Cosme household, his father instilled a hard-working mentality for his children while his mother preached education to them.

“My mom growing up was like my best friend,” Cosme said. “She’s down to Earth, good to go to for problems, and she’s funny; she has this perverted sense of humor.”
Cosme looks at education like most minorities do.

“Education creates upward mobility,” he said. “Education is the best method for someone who is struggling. It is a precious commodity.”

His mother never attended college, only graduating from high school while his father attended EMU for a couple of years, never finishing his degree.

Cosme’s main priority right now is finishing and graduating from college. In doing so, he will become the first of his family to graduate. His parents pushed him and his siblings to do their best in everything they set out to do in life, but always preached family to being of greatest importance.

“Family always comes first,” Ramona said. “The most important thing is my family, that’s how we were raised.”

Cosme believes in this motto, and practices it every day by keeping in close contact with his sister and brother. He makes it a habit to eat lunch with his sister several times within the week despite his hectic schedule.