2
Wednesday, January 31,1996
Student Body President Candidate Profiles
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■ Bring Government Back to Students
Despite two years of student govern
ment experience, student body president
candidate Sean Behr said he didn’t con
sider himself a “political person.”
“I think students are tired of voting for
politicians,” Behr said Jan. 23.
Instead, the junior political science and
history major from Staten Island, N.Y.,
sees himself as a candidate with whom the
average student can identify. “One thing
that can happen to the student body presi
dent is he can become more of a figure
head,” Behr said. “I’m a student. If it’s
what students want, I’ll go to bat for it.”
Asa sophomore, Behr was deputy sec
retary of executive projects under former
Student Body President Geotge Battle. Behr
helped organize special executive branch
projects such as student body meetings and
Carolina Impressions, a liberal arts fair.
Behr also worked on Student Body Presi
dent Calvin Cunningham’s campaign and
was later appointed executive assistant,
one of the highest-level positions in
Cunningham’s administration. He also
works with Habitat for Humanity and was
a C-TOPS orientation leader last summer.
In watching student government’s in
ner workings, Behr said he had realized he
needed to take on a leadership role of his
own. “If you think you can do something,
then get out there and do it. Running for
student body president is a chance to bring
the issues that you feel are important to the
forefront of discussion on campus.”
Behr said that his administration would
■ SBP Must Be Accessible, Accountable
Michael Farmer, a junior political sci
ence major from Durham, said he was
running for student body president to give
students a voice in government.
“lam running to provide the University
and our students with an inlet to an acces
sible and accountable student govern
ment,” he said. His campaign theme is
' “action, movement, a student use of gov
ernment, not a government use of stu
dents.”
Asa member of Student Body President
Calvin Cunningham’s cabinet, Fanner said
he was active in trying to use state funds to
advertise performances at the Smith Cen
ter. Despite his student government in
volvement. Farmer said he was not politi
cal. “I am. .really a regular student who
happens to be involved in many areas and
different fields. We are probably the least
political campaign going on now.”
Farmer, Carolina Union Activities
Board advertising director, said publiciz
ing events involving student groups was
one of student government’s most impor
tant roles. “Student government doesn’t
really advertise what they’re doing. If you
have a student government that is based in
people, you’re gonna get the word out.”
Establishing a student government web
page and a newsletter were ideas Farmer
said would help give students access to his
administration.
Farmer said his administration would
also try to form relationships with corpora
tions, “ seeing what resources are available
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Student voters will elect one of these four aspiring office holders on Feb. 13.
"I'm a student. If it's what
students want, I'll go to bat
for it."
Sean Behr
focus on the student body’s needs and that
student government’s purpose is often for
gotten. “We’re students. I won’t have as
much interaction with the state legislature.
We need to do what students want. My
thing is going to be people-centered, not
money centered, not legislature-centered.”
To achieve this, Behr said he would
organize focus groups to find out what
students wanted from student government
and would urge student groups to cooper
ate. Behr said he would work to get more
minorities involved in student government,
an area in which Cunningham said he
thought he had done a poor job in his State
of the Student Body report. “I would defi
nitely tiy to have a diverse student govern
ment administration,” Behr said.
Behr said the issues addressed in this
year’s election wouldn’t be very different
from those addressed in years past, such as
"Faith in student
government is not the way
it should be or could be."
Michael Farmer
to them.”
Asa freshman, Farmer was involved in
student rallies-to establish a free-standing
Black Cultural Center. He said he wanted
to provide the unity to make changes to the
University on a similar scale. “Having the
BCC is very important to show what stu
dents can do when they put their imagina
tion and efforts into a project,” he said.
“It’s also a monument to student power.”
Farmer said his administration would
include more minorities in his cabinet. He
acknowledged the balanced representation
of women in the current cabinet but said
“there are very few racial minorities in the
executive branch —very, very few.”
Farmer’s top priority would be to unite
students in pushing UNC administrators
to search for sources of funding other than
tuition and fee increases. “You have to
show them, first of all, what students are
UNIVERSITY
I
the environment, information technology,
campus safety and the academic climate.
“Those aren’t my big issues, ” Behr said. “I
think we need to be more concerned with
people and less concerned with things.”
Behr said he was especially concerned
about student government’s image on cam
pus but added that the problem wasn’t just
on the surface. “Student government
doesn’t need better PR on the job they do.
They need to do a better job, and the PR
will take care of itself,” Behr said.
While Behr is the only out-of-state can
didate, he said he thought that would have
little effect on his candidacy. “I think I’m
going to let the student body decide who’s
the best person for the job,” Behr said. “If
they decide that person has to be from
North Carolina, that’s fine. If they want
the best person for the job, that’d be me.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY JOHN SWEENEY
wanting. In the long run, the fee is helping
the University, and that’s how they see it.
Students right now are paving problems
dealing with the increase.”
Better relations with Chapel Hill and
Canboro andbetterpublicity ofUniversity
activities would improve state legislators’
views of UNC, Farmer said, but it is com
munication between student government
and students that is essential to empower
ing student leaders.
“Leadership is more than just being a
head figure. It’s being accountable foryour
actions and dealing with issues that are
important to students,” he said.
“Students have a problem with student
government. Though there are a fair num
ber of students in our government, faith in
student government is not the way it should
be or it could be.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY SHARIF DURHAMS
■ Student Body Needs Seasoned Leader
Lee Conner, a junior economics and
political science major from Wilmington,
said his vision, experience and work ethic
would make him a successful student body
president. “I’ve always been willing to put
in the hard hours to get the job done right. ”
As student body co-secretary under
former Student Body President George
Battle, Conner said, he learned how to
work with UNC administrators from
Battle’s example. “He built a credible, per
sonal relationship with the other members
of the Board of Trustees. They knew he
had the support of the students,” Conner
said. “They may not listen to one petson,
but they will listen to 25,000."
Conner said he has gained some of his
own experience dealing with University
administrators as former Chancellor Paid
Hardin’s Student Advisory Committee
chairman. Constantly talking to students
helps a leader to gain their support, Conner
said. “You just have to go out there and
talk to them. You show them that with
their help, you really can make changes.”
Uniting the campus on the safety issue
will show administrators students have an
advocate for their concerns, Conner said.
“Everybody wants to feel safe when
they walk around this campus,” he said. “I
can’t imagine anyone standing up and say
ing, ‘We don’t want a safer campus.”’
Conner said he would also try to unite
Student Congress by getting them to focus
on students rather than politics. “Youneed
to propose legislation that’s on track,” he
■ President Should Heed Student Voice
Studentbodypresident candidate Aaron
Nelson believes there is more to life at
UNC than what most people can see.
“We’re not just passing through here,”
Nelson said Jan. 24. “This is our home for
at least four years.”
With that in mind, Nelson, a junior
philosophy major from Raleigh, said his
administration would concentrate on ideas
and people, and on becoming more acces
sible to the student body. “Studentgovem
ment needs to be more responsive to the
needs of students. We need to be enhanc
ing the quality of living and building a
community here,” Nelson said.
Nelson’s list of credentials includes a
term in Student Congress, a year as an
executive dksiSfant in the Resident Hous
ing Association and involvement in a vari
ety of campus organizations, including the
Coalition for Economic Justice and anew
consumer protection group for students.
Nelson is a member of Tau Epsilon Phi
fraternity as well as a resident assistant in
Mangum Residence Hall, a situation which
he said has allowed him to see student life
from both an on- and off-campus student’s
perspective.
“I think the fundamental responsibility
of the student body president is to advocate
students,” Nelson said.
In an effort to learn more about stu
dents’ opinions, Nelson has had his cam
paign staff going door-to-door for the past
two weeks, surveying students on a variety
of issues that affect them. John Dervin, a
"You have to listen to their
(students') ideas, because
they could be great ones."
Lee Conner
said. “The agenda I set needs to be the
agenda the student body wants. If they
know I represent what the student body
wants, that will be a hard voice to ignore. ”
Getting more students directly involved
in student government and holding weekly
office hours in the Pit would help unite the
campus, Conner said. “For the people to
want to be a part of something, they have
to think it’s worthwhile. Give the students
a chance to show their opinion.”
The youth basketball team coach said
providing service to the community was
very important to the University. “The
executive branch of student government
should be out there doing service,” he said.
“One third of the mission of this univer
sity is service. The students should see us
out there working in the community.”
Part of student government’s service
mission would be to register voters during
"We are pro-student, and
that goes across party
lines."
Aaron Nelson
member ofNelson’s staff, said Tuesday the
number of students surveyed should be
more than 2,000 when they finish.
Nelson said he hoped to be just as acces
sible to students if elected and said he
would try to hold regular student body
meetings to listen to students’ concerns.
Nelson said he also wanted to organize
a “university council” to encourage better
communication between students, faculty
and staff, healing a campus he said was
“fractured” by the turmoil surrounding the
recent S4OO tuition increase.
Nelson was one of the students who
spoke in September to the Board of Trust
ees in opposition to the increase.
Nelson said that experience made him
unique among student body president can
didates. “I am the only one who has, when
it came down to it, gone to bat for stu
dents," he said.
mg Elections
I .Notes
Congress Candidates
Announce Intent to Run
The following students ate tunning for Student
Congress. Thirty-six candidates are running for the
37 open seats in the 23 districts
From Dist. 1 (graduate students in the School of
Law and School of Business) Elizabeth Eihardt and
Jamie Kilboume. From Dist. 4 (graduate students in
English, folkloie, comparative literature, linguistics,
Romance languages, Germanic languages, Slavic
languages, speech communication, and leisure stud
ies) Brian Kennedy. From Dist. 10 (Spencer, Aider
man, Kenan, Mclver and Aycock) Kristin Sasser.
From Dist. 11 (Graham, Stacy and Cobb) Shelly Boa
and Melissa Helms. From Dist. 12 (Lewis, Everett,
Joyner, Alexander and Connor) Paul Brezina, Joe
Kledis and Arun Krishnarg. From Dist. 13 (Grimes,
Manley, Mangum, Ruffin, Old East, Old West and
Whitehead) Stacy HermelinandWinstonMcMillan,
Mark Sweet and Ryan Walsh. From Dist. 14 (Win
ston, Parker, Carmichael, Teague and Avery) Michael
Davis, Paul Delamar and Jeff Donald, Dawnielle
Gladden, Ed Page and Vinston Rozier. From Dist.
1S (Ehringhaus, Hinton James) Kendle Bryan, Harper
Gordek, James Hoffinan, Terrence McGill and lan
Campus Calendar
WEDNESDAY
11 a.m. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
SHOWCASE: Embark on a free nip around the
world as international students exhibit artifacts from
their countries and answer questions until 2 p.m.
DISSERTATION SUPPORT GROUP: Handle
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3:30 p.m. KEVIN HARRISON, of the depart
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C-TOPS and have all students vote on
campus for government elections, he said.
“People are afraid if they put a polling site
on campus, they will hear our voice.”
To influence the General Assembly to
fund theUniversity.thestudentbody presi
dent must promote UNC’s service to the
community, Conner said. “We need to be
proactive as students in showing the state
as a whole and the General Assembly in
particular what good things go on here,”
said Conner, adding that he would encour
age legislators to visit campus. “We want
(them) to see what campus is about. It’s not
about the things that are on the front page
of The (Raleigh) News and Observer.”
Listening to students’ needs would be
the key to his strength as a president, Conner
said. “You have to listen to their ideas,
because they could be great ones.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY SHARIF DURHAMS
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Despite his experience, Nelson was re
luctant to classify himself as a political
insider. “I have an outsider’s perspective
and an insider’s knowledge of the system, ’’
Nelson said.
Nelson also said he thought his work
with the Young Democrats would have
little or no effect on his campaign. “There’s
no room for bipartisanship in student gov
ernment,” Nelson said. “We are pro-stu
dent, and that goes across party lines.”
While he claimed he hadn’t made any
decisions regarding potential appointments
to executive branch positions, he did say
his appointees would be “people who are
representative of students.” And it was the
students with whom Nelson believed his
success or failure was inextricably linked.
“I have the skills to get the job done, but
the doing is a lot of people.”
PROFILE COMPILED BY JOHN SWEENEY
Rose. From Dist. 16 (Morrison, Craige) Josh Cohen-
Peyrot, Jason Jolley, Jeremy Piercy and Nathan
Powell. From Dist. 17 (Granville Towers) Scott
Efird, Trey Lindley and Scott Schaaf. From Dist. 19
(area north of East Franklin Street, east of Colum
bia/Airport Roads and south of Estes Drive) Daniel
Siceloff. From Dist. 21 (area bounded by Columbia
Street, West Franklin Street, Jones Ferry Road and
Highway 54 Bypass) Amar Athwal, Michael
Simmons, Andrew Fernandez and Kameron White.
From Dist. 22 (area north of West Franklin Street
and Jones Ferry Road and west of Columbia Street
and Airport Road) Charlie Roederer.
No one is running in the following districts: Dist
2 (graduate students in education, journalism and
social work), Dist. 3 (graduate students in city and
regional planning, economics, geography, history,
political science, public administration, ecology and
sociology), Dist. 5 (graduate students in information
and library sciences, anthropology, art, drama, op
erational research, classics, music, philosophy and
religion), Dist. 6 (graduate students in physics, ma
rine sciences, geology, chemistry, biology, math,
statistics and computer science), Dist. 7 (graduate
students in biochemistry, cellular biology, biomedi
cal engineering, genetics, microbiology/immunol
ogy, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, physiol
ogy, physical education and psychology), Dist. 8
(graduate students in public health and nursing),
Dist. 9 (graduate students in dentistry, medicine,
pharmacy and neurobiology), Dist. 18 (area west of
Columbia Street, south of Jones Ferry Road and
south of Highway 54), Dist. 20 (area east of Colum
bia Street and south of East Franklin Street), Dist. 23
(area east of Columbia Street/Airport Road and
north of East Franklin Street with the exception of
Dist. 19).
FROM STAFF REPORTS
fettilizationon soil catbonstorage in room 05 Mitchell
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SUPPORT GROUP FOR WOMEN GRADU
ATE STUDENTS: Discuss the challenges and ex
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Counseling Center in Nash Hall. Registration is
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4 p.m. STUDY ABROAD will hold an informa
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Caldwell Hall.