North Carolina Newspapers

4 /The Daily Tar Heel/Friday, February 5, 1993 Beyond rhetoric, candidates are people too Adrian Patillo By James Lewis Staff Writer Adrian Patillo learned a lot from his childhood. "I think it was a very lonely experi ence," said Patillo, an only child from a poor family. "I would like to have a had a brother or a sister because I spent a lot of my time alone in the backyard. “You can play a pick-up game with yourself." Patillo said his childhood helped him become an independent person. He said that during the lonely hours, he spent a lot of time thinking, and it helped him to become the person he is today. "There was one tree in my grandmother's backyard, and I would sit under it and think a great deal of the time," he said. He said he never expected, because of the cost of tuition, to be able to go to a university. Patillo said that since he was here, he intended to make the most of the situation. "When I was younger, I never thought that I could attend a university, much less the flagship University of (the UNC system),” he said. That was one of the motivations for running for student body president, Patillo said. "I wanted to leave it in better shape than 1 found it." Patillo said his background has taught him the value of a college education and that he would take advantage of the opportunity "A few years ago, I would have given anything to be rich, but now I wouldn't trade the experience for any thing," he said. While at UNC, Patillo, a native of Kevin Ginsberg By Ivan Arrington Staff Writer It’s blue, wrinkled and has KBG in scribed in cursive thread letters. No, it’s not a bath towel from Woollen gym; it’s the ever-present hat that sits upon student body president candidate Kevin “Cooter” Ginsberg’s unruly brown mop. “I bought this hat when I was eight, when I went to Disneyland. My favorite Disney character is Donald Duck, and I didn’t get to see him there, so my par ents bought me the hat. “I probably haven’t gone two days without wearing it. I only took it off in class in high school.” Still, Ginsberg, ajunior from Colum bia, S.C., has had to make excuses for the hat and his nickname, which some students have labeled as a ploy for the student body president job. “They think the nickname and the hat are not the real Cooter,” he said. As for the nickname, Ginsberg blames it on his Southern accent and takes offense at its misuse. “My name has been mudslung since we started this campaign,” he said. "When I came to UNC, my friends thought I sounded the most Southern, so they nicknamed me after Ben Jones (the mechanic of television’s “Dukes of Hazzard”), who is a drama major from UNC and currently is a U.S. congress man from Georgia. “Apparently in South Carolina and North Carolina, it has other connota tions. The only reason for using it is that more people know me as Cooter.” Don’t tell Ginsberg that prior gov ernmental experience is necessary for the office of student body president. Jim Copland- By Ivan Arrington Staff Writer Listening to Jim Copland brings only one word to mind experience. The junior from Burlington has worked as part of former Student Body President Matt Heyd’s cabinet as coor dinator of Budget Crisis Lobbying. He lobbied with the student government branch that lead the 1991 fight against budget cuts at UNC and throughout the UNC system. Copland is the chairman of the advi sory board to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He also is a member of the Long Range Planning Committee forthe Cen ter for Undergraduate Excellence and the Carolina Union Board of Directors. The only elected office Copland ever has held was Student Congress repre sentative during the 1991-92 school year. Still, Copland doesn’t characterize himself as a political animal. “I don’t really see myself as an in sider,” he said. “I haven’t been in Student Congress this last year, and I haven’t been in (current Student Body President John) Moody’s cabinet. “While I think I have more knowl edge, I don’t consider myself an in sider.” Instead, Copland sees himself as an outsider who has the experience to mold the executive branch into a diverse and outspoken tool. “1 have the energy, and I’d like the job,” he said. “I know most of the other candidates, and I feel I’m the only one who could step in on the first day and do the job.” STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT CANDIDATE PROFILES Chapel Hill, has been involved in the fight for a free standing black cul tural center. At a time when student leaders of the coalition for a free-standing BCC refused to join the chancellor's work ing group, Patillo Adrian Patillo suddenly found himself a committee member with dignitaries like Harvey Gantt and Delores Jordan. "I have no regrets and make no apolo gies," he said of his involvement in the movement. "I'd probably do it again." Patillo said that the experience he'd gained on the working group had been invaluable and that he had learned a great deal about the University through the meetings. "Before I started on the working group I knew little of where the administration stood or how the system worked," he said. "I have learned who controls what and who has the last say and what chan nels you must go through." Patillo said the work had had mixed results. "We've dispelled some miscon ceptions and strengthened others," he said. Patillo likes to enjoy college life too. "The most interesting thing about me is that there are two sides to me," he said. "I like to go out and have a good time. But there's also the part of me that's very serious and worries about the future of this country.” Patillo said sometimes he felt as if he were two different people. "(Part) He prides him self on his outsider status and says his lack of contact with student body government has left him untainted in this election sea son. “My first week of my freshman year, I tried to get involved with stu- 2: W Kevin Ginsberg dent government,” he said. ~, r “I was put on a committee whose ' only responsibility was to recruit others for student government. “We never got anything done; it had poor leadership, and we had no plan; every meeting was the same. I just got dissatisfied and quit.” Ginsberg said he wanted to take the dissatisfaction he felt and to right the wrongs he saw in student government, making it more accessible to University enrollees and opening the governmen tal process to all students on campus. “Ninety-eight percent of the students don’t know about student government, and that is unfortunate,” he said. “A large premise of my campaign is to improve communication.” Ginsberg says he will use the experi ence he has gained from his involve ment with other on- and off-campus groups like the Tau Epsilon Phi frater nity, the little league Rainbow Soccer program and his work as an orientation leader for C-TOPS, the freshman sum mer orientation program, to lead the; University. “I think these things have prepared me for the job,” he said. “I don’t think you have to be a stu- Coplandsaidhe came into his cam paign sporting a sense of pride and hope. He sees the up coming school year as a chance to change the Uni versity and leave a permanent mark on campus.. “It’s an impor- |im Copland tant year, with the Bicentennial, safety problems, the 1995-97 budget appro priations, tuition, the (S3OO million UNC-system capital imrpovements) bond, the BCC and the tenure policy,” he said. “I think I could really make a differ ence.” He says he will target these areas with “real” solutions. “It’s important to have goals,” Copland said.“l’m prepared for the fu ture.” “I’m going to properly address the big issues.” As the former editor-in-chief and the current publisher of the Carolina Critic.a conservative campus newsmagazine Copland has been an outspoken com mentator on student government. Copland says his work won’t stop with the presidential position he wants to reinstill the spirit of coopera tion between all three student govern ment branches, in the process the government’s image. “Student government shouldn’t be a political power play,” he said. “I want to make student government active to make it help students ... make it work for the student body.” partyer and (part) public servant," he said. "I'm a black Ted Kennedy." Patillo said he hoped he could at least increase the voting numbers in the elec tion and get students involved in cam pus issues. "I’m qualified for this job, I can do the job," he said. "I can be one of the best student body presidents we’ve ever had if I'm elected, but the student body has to get together on the issues." He said the group Students for Dr. Paul Ferguson's fight for the embattled assistant speech communication pro fessor was the kind of student involve ment the University needed. Students should be demonstrators, and they should become active and voice their opinion when they want to, he said. "Students have a long history of (dem onstrating), and I think they should be allowed to do that, " he said. Although Patillo is a radio, television and motion pictures major, he said he hadn't yet decided what he would do after graduation. Patillo said he had written a screen play, but had not tried to sell the rights to it. He also is looking into advertising sales. "But, I would really like to write screenplays," he said. Patillo said that he was also a public policy planning minor and would enjoy ajob involving city planning. "Notmany people enjoy city zoning and stuff like that, but I do," he said. Patillo said he wouldn't rule anything out. "I am jut going to keep all of my options open,” he said. dent body guru to run for SBP.” Ginsberg says he is particularly in terested in attracting those students whose interests might never have in cluded student government. He says that as student body president, he will provide all student volunteers with a job. “I will actively recruit freshmen and more undergraduates,” he said. “Anyone who wants a position, I have one.” Ginsberg said that lately he had come under fire for his image, with some students accusing him of purposely building a base of supporters for his run for the office of student body president. Ginsberg drew fire at the Black Stu dent Movement forum earlier this week for sending fliers to all University fresh men through campus mail. But Ginsberg says he hasn’t done anything wrong. “Some people have told me that they think I was already thinking about the job when I became an orientation leader for C-TOPS,” he said. “That’s com pletely untrue.” He does acknowledge that his orien tation work should help him, however. “The (orientation leader) job was an incredible position, and yes, I do expect it will help me,” he said. “A lot of freshmen know me.” Ginsberg says he is not counting on anyone voter group on Election Day but hopes that hailing from a fraternity will help him pick up some of the Greek vote. “Of the six candidates, four are Greek,” he said. “I’m in one of the smaller fraterni ties, but I hope to gain a share of that bloc.” Asa leader, Copland said he saw himself taking a backseat role, delegat ing authority to his cabinet and listening to campus organizations to understand the University’s needs. “My leadership style is not the dili gent motivator style; it is the vision ary,” he said. “I’m a good listener. I’m a delibera tive decision maker.” Copland said that if elected student body president, he would not distance himself from his constituency. “I would hope that anybody could talk to me at any time,” Copland said. “Tbe student body president stays a part of the student body.” Copland says he wants to reshape the executive branch into a more student friendly office, “to give power back to the students.” “The student body president has to be a communicator, a voice of the Uni versity,” he said. “We need to make a voice for the students more accessible. “Sometimes you get lost in the Suite C subculture. It ’ s important to take some regular days and meet with the stu dents.” Copland said he viewed himself apart from the other candidates in terms of character and past governmental work. He raised questions about experi ence and said he thought the other can didates would be less adept at making decisions. “Experience is very important; how are you going to structure the executive branch?” he said. “On the character issues, I don’t take the easy way out. “I think I am a better rational deci sion maker (than the other candidates).” Jennifer Lloyd By Gary Rosenzweig Staff Writer Student Congress Speaker Jennifer Lloyd spent the last year reading her name in newspaper headlines which she learned can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Now she is running for student body president, a title that, if she wins, surely will bring her more headlines. “You would think that I would want to get out of student government,” said Lloyd. “You would think that I’ve had enough.” Her decision to run for the office was more of a decision not to stay out of the race, she said. “I can’t not do it,” Lloyd said. “I don’t know any other way.” Lloyd wasn’t always involved in cam pus politics. When she first came to UNC in the fall of 1990, she said she felt left out. “I wasn’t involved,” she said. “Ididn’t know the system. I didn’t know where to go to get solutions to problems.” Lloyd grew up in Burlington where she began playing the piano at the age of three, going on to win several regional competitions. She said she started be coming involved in leadership roles at school and in the community at a very young age. “As the youngest of six children ... you have to be very outgoing and very assertive,” she said. “There were never any limits in my life. There was never any time when my parents said, ‘We think you are doing enough.’ That made me miserable as a child, often, but I am very thankful for it now.” In addition to being a cheerleader David Cox By James Lewis Staff Writer No one can say David Cox hasn’t gotten the most out of his college expe rience. Cox, ajunior from Signal Mountain, a suburb of Chattanooga, Tenn., said he always wanted to attend UNC-CH. Since enrolling, he has played on the varsity baseball team, has helped start a cam pus social fraternity and has taken an active role in a campus service frater nity. Given his background, it’s no won der Cox says he doesn’t worry about complaints that he hasn’t been a mem ber of Student Congress or that he doesn’t have enough student govern ment experience to be student body president. Cox said he had met lots of people in the other activities he had been involved in during his first three years at UNC. His hometown college, the Univer sity of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where Cox’s father played football, is much larger than UNC. Cox said the atmo sphere at UNC was much closer, and he estimated that he knew at least 3,000 people on campus. Cox, one of three children, said his younger sister also wanted to come to the University. “She’s very interested in Chapel Hill, and I hope that she can come,” he said. “That would be really neat for both of us to be here at the same time.” Cox said he valued the opportunities he had had to meet new people at UNC. “I’ve spread myself out to where I can get a lot of different students’ opin ions on things,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve missed the University experience Carl Clark- By Daniel Aldrich Staff Writer Carl Clark spent every afternoon this week sitting at his table in the Pit, shak ing hands and greeting potential voters and friends. Clark is almost obsessive about knowing people’s names if he can’t identify a potential voter immediately, he apologizes and sets to work learning, and using, his or her name. On occasion, the wind blew away Clark’s pamphlets and “palm-cards” held down by staplers and masking tape. Clark didn’t get frustrated. Instead, he simply walked after them, smiled, picked them up and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. Clark, ajunior from Fuquay-Varina running for student body president, is no stranger to suffering for votes. Clark said he shook hands, asked for advice and talked with the hundreds of stu dents waiting in line at the Smith Center for basketball tickets Saturday night. He talked to squatters from 1 a.m. until 6 a.m. during that freezing night. By the time he finished, his hands and ears were frozen, Clark said. “As I walked back to my dorm, the sun was coming up,” he said, laughing. “I just wanted to hibernate.” Clark describes himself as humble but forceful when necessary. “I take a rather respectful approach to matters, but when I see that things don’t work, that’s when I get busy,” he said. He say s he has no lack of plans for the problems on campus witness his widely circulated pamphlets —and he adds that through his three years as a Student Congress member, he has learned what works and what doesn’t. and yearbook edi tor in high school, Lloyd took part in summer programs working with the disadvantaged. A trip to the Texas- Mexicoborderbe fore her sopho more year in high school changed her life, she said. “So many Jennifer Lloyd people just look at Chapel Hill or are content to live in Burlington, and they don’t realize the problems and needs of the global community,” she said. Lloyd said she was bothered by the injustice she saw on that trip, and she has since found that helping to right injustices gives her energy to keep fight ing. First elected to Student Congress at the end of her freshman year, Lloyd said she saw many examples of injustice in student government that drove her to become more involved. “The same kind of feeling I got in Mexico about injustice I got in Student Congress moral outrage at the kinds of things I saw happening.” Lloyd, a finalist in Glamour Magazine’s competition for the top 10 college women in the country, has had her share of showdowns with other con gress members. She said she was angered in 1991 by the members who were abusing then power to control the upcoming election by redrawing voting districts and ma nipulating the selection of an elections chairman. She walked out of a congress meet ing in protest. A few months later, she like I might have I missed it if I had been involved in student govern ment and limited myself to just one area.” He said he thought the most important thing for anyone at college was “to learn how to think and to have a good time.” David Cox During his first year at UNC, Cox was a catcher for the varsity baseball team. “As an athlete, it was a way to get involved,” he said. Cox said he thought playing catcher —the “quarterback” of a baseball team gave him experience and leadership skills. Cox also is excited about his frater nity, the new franchise of Phi Kappa Tau in Chapel Hill. “It’s the opportu nity to build something from scratch, and that’s very important to me,” he said. Cox said that when the fraternity pledged 42 members, he would be able to sign the charter as a founding father of the fraternity. He said he expected the charter to be filled by next semester. “There’s a lot going, and it’s easy to move into lots of leadership roles and to make a big impact,” he said. He said his distance from Student Congress actually might help his cam paign. “If you take a look at the general attitude of students on this campus to ward student government, I would say (being an outsider is) an advantage,” Cox said. Clark has said he wants his plat form to be an “um brella to unify all students.” Despite Clark’s desire to be a uni fy ing student body president, he has encountered oppo sition from student groups on campus. Clark recently Carl Clark was criticized by Lambda, the newslet ter of Bisexuals, Gay Men, Lesbians and Allies for Diversity, for being “homophobic” and “conservative.” He said that those names were just labels and that labels were nonproductive. “Idon’tlookatsomeoneatsay, ‘Gee, he’s a homosexual,’ or ‘Gee, she has blue eyes,”’ he said. “When you start applying labels, you can’t get anything accomplished. “I may believe that homosexuality is not a belief that I support. I understand that people have emotions and feelings, and I am not here to tell them they are wrong. I just come from a background where I have been taught (differently). “I consider myself a moderate. I see both sides of the coin.” Clark said he was open to other opin ions. “I surround myself with people who have differing opinions than my self,” Clark said. “That is evidenced by my campaign staff, which transcends the barriers we have here on campus.” Clark said his staff included blacks, whites, Greeks and non-Greeks and on and off-campus residents. “I have some arch-liberals and some arch-conserva tives,” he said. Clark has campaign staff members was elected speaker. She said she was surprised she won because she thought of herself as an outsider and because the speaker elec tion was pretty much dominated by factions in student government. “I didn’t think I could ever win be cause I was r.ot in the system,” Lloyd said. “Congress is factionalized, and there are not many bridges between the white, male Young Republicans and everybody else.” Last semester, Lloyd faced impeach ment charges from several members of congress charges that were later dis missed. “I needed all of these experiences to harden me to politics,” she said. Lloyd said she hated being consid ered a student government insider just because she had held an office for the past two years. “I am an insider to the University system to making the University’s rules and regulations and opportunities and resource systems work for student groups,” Lloyd said. “But I am com pletely an outsider in the politics of student government.” Classifying herself as a workaholic and a perfectionist, Lloyd said she only needed about one to four hours of sleep each night. Although she pledged Al pha Delta Pi sorority in her freshman year, she has been inactive since then because congress takes up most of her time. Lloyd, who recently won the Miss Alamance County pageant and will be competing this summer for the title of Miss North Carolina, said she hoped to go to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University af ter graduation next year. Interaction with students is more important than knowing how the sys tem works, Cox said. “I’m pretty sure that people are going to say that I’m not qualified because I haven’t been in stu dent government, and I don’t really know all of the little systems and way things work, but, in my opinion that’s something that can be picked up pretty quick,” he said. The lack of a student voice in campus affairs drove him to run for student body president, he said. “I’m running because I don’t feel that students have been given a voice in campus politics,” he said. He said the student involvement level during the fight for a free-standing black cultural center represented the level of activity he would like to see from stu dents. “Although it wasn’t necessarily stu dent government activity, that was stu dents being involved, and that’s the kind of involvement I would like to see,” he said. Cox said his philosophy of life was to take advantage of all the opportunities presented to him. “Try to get the most of every opportunity,” he said. He said part of his platform, the idea of giving students direct control over some of their student fees, was just an extension of this philosophy into his campaign. “I want to give them the option to take more opportunities,” he said. “Students don’t realize what kind of control or leverage that student govern ment has and especially the student body president’s involvement with the UNC Board of Governors and the chan cellor as a spokesperson for the stu dents.” who support him despite differences in their personal views. Vikki Mercer, a self-proclaimed liberal and a sopho more from Walstonburg, said she had been introduced to Carl through one of her friends and eventually became one of his campaign workers. “Carl has got some great ideas, and I was impressed with his attention to de tails on certain topics,” Mercer said. “He has a lot other candidates don’t have.” Mercer added that she thought Clark was very personal, directed toward stu dents and honest. Clark often goes home to Fuquay- Varina on weekends to play music and volunteer his time and services to hos pitals and rest homes. “I play for morn ing worship services often,” he said. Clark said he had matured a lot and gained compassion and humbleness through his work at the rest home. “It is my most rewarding experience I have ever become involved in,” he said. “People there who can’t talk, can’t hear and can’t move become focused and intent when I begin to strike up a tune on the piano. I believe the experi ence has benefited me more than it has benefited them.” Clark has played the organ, the violin and the piano since he began his musi cal career in the third grade. Community service also is an impor tant part of Clark’s life. “I am serving on the Key Club International Board of Directors and am here on a scholarship from them,” he said. Clark has kept himself busy during his campaign. “I am very intense and persistent,” he said. “I get the job done and know how to get things accom plished.”