8
FRIDAY, MARCH 7. 2008
P|
ANDREW COONIN
CAA PRESIDENT-ELECT
Coonin is a junior public policy major
from Wilmington, Del.
E-MAIL: COONIN©EMAIL UNC.EDU
I am who
I am
because
of Eve
Before Freshman Camp
2006, as the counselors
prepared for the newest
class of students. Eve Carson
came up to me and said, "Hi
Andrew, we haven't met. I'm
Eve." The rest is history.
My freshman year was diffi
cult to say the least. 1 had trou
ble getting involved with groups
and felt as if I could never get a
break.
1 resigned myself to the idea
that the school was just too big
for one student to make a dif
ference.
Then I met Eve. After three
days of Freshman Camp, we
traded numbers and startl'd a
remarkable
friendship.
That fall I
GUEST
COLUMNIST
received an e-mail from Eve
asking me to join her campaign
for student body president.
In the e-mail she continu
ally stressed the importance of
every student’s voice, including
my own.
As the campaign went on
we got closer, and I learned so
much from her. She instilled in
me a firm belief in the fact that
as students at this university we
have the opportunity to do great
things, and we must work hard
for these things to happen.
She taught me that all it takes
is an idea and the willingness to
voice that idea. Great things are
in our hands; we just need to
take that step.
Eve did all of this with the
biggest smile on her face. She
truly loved every minute of the
campaign. She loved meeting
every single student. She not
only loved meeting them, but
loved hearing their stories and
thoughts and sharing them with
all the members of her cam
paign. She would hear an idea
and immediately wanted to find
a place for it in our platform.
Eve taught me how to lead and
have fun. Even moment with
Eve was a party in itself. While
preparing for the election. Eve
would talk about the most ridicu
lous plans for our time in the Pit.
Ideas such as break dancing, bag
pipes and basketball players were
thrown out there.
We all laughed at the
thought. Then the next thing
we knew a bagpiper was walk
ing through campus to the Pit.
She made things happen; she
wouldn't sleep or give up until
she found a way for things to
work. Things like having a
spring music festival, starting
a junior scholarship and being
the student body president.
So, after the election ended 1
decided to take the first step and
voice my ideas to try to make this
University the best it could be.
I applied for Homecoming vice
chairman in the Carolina Athletic
Association. I ended up not get
ting that position.
Instead I was asked to be CAA
sice president. I went to Eve
with a lot of fear and trepidation.
What was Colby Almond think
ing? Eve told me to make the
most of it. Do things that haven’t
been done start with an idea
and go from there.
I came into my own under the
tutelage of Colby Almond and
the rest of the CAA Cabinet, but
without everything I learned
from Eve, I doubt I would have
even applied.
in December I went down to
Eve's office, a somewhat common
occurrence, and told her I was
going to run for CAA president.
She was elated. She was so excit
ed for me and acted as if it was
one of the biggest things she had
ever heard.
She always had a way of mak
ing you feel like everything you
were doing was truly special. I
won the CAA election uncontest
ed, and the first person to write
on my Facebook wall was Eve.
I don't know if she knew how
important she was to me and my
development here at Carolina.
I now and always will work to
better the student body because,
as Eve taught me: If I don’t, who
will?
WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH
A dark cloud settled over Chapel Hill
on Wednesday morning before any
of us knew it.
Student Body President Eve Carson,
ever a radiant, glowing presence on cam
pus, was tragically taken from us.
Without a doubt. UNC will miss her
dearly.
Eve was the kind of person who, just by
nature. was a ray of sunshine everywhere
she went.
That might have been what stood out
most about Eve. The first things she always
brought to the table were her cheerful
demeanor, her smile and her enthusiasm.
/ never knew a more absolutely brilliant person in all senses of the word. yy
J.J. RAYNOR, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT ELECT
** If you took everything awayfrom her ; all her
aeadeniie accolades, she would still be such an amazing person. yy
KELLI CLIFTON, WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH CARSON
** k She loved Carolina and her enthusiasm was so infectious.
H hen she walked into a room she filled it up. Her persona was magnetie.
DOUG DIBBERT, DIRECTOR. GENERAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
She was what you hope your child will become.... She did so many things so well. yy
JOE TEMPLETON, CHAIRMAN Of THE FACULTY
** Let us be the l niversity that Eve Carson envisioned.
Let us shore the Carolina Way that she lived, yy
CHANCELLOR JAMES MOESER
I his is going to leave a terrible void in the community. This is going to affect
everybody who loved Chapel Hill and the University as much as Eve did. yy
CHAPEL HILL MAYOR KEVIN FOY
My wife and / were on the absolute periphery of the people who knew her
and were touched by her: I'm sure that’s a huge number at UNC. yy
MATT CZAJKQWSKI, CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL MEMBER
She just always went the extra mile to be nice to people and show her appreciation.
I just couldn t help but think what tremendous things she was going to do in the world. yy
TOM JENSEN, CHAPEL HILL RESIDENT WHO WORKED WITH EVE
** She was just full of life. II hen she was in a room or part of a discussion
it took on a different dimension. She was full of ideas and wanted to explore opportunities, yy
NELSON SCHWAB, board of trustees member, chairman of chancellor search committee
You knew you were in the presence of someone who cared about you,
who was compassionate and who was passionate about her beliejs. yy
ROGER PERRY, board of trustees chairman
“ Eve is the kind of girl you want your daughter to grow up to be.... She is
one of the most perfect children I've ever worked with.... She was beautiful inside and out. yy
MAXINE EASOM, PRINCIPAL AT CLARKE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL ATHENS. GA
44 There was nothing Eve Carson couldn't do. yy
MARGIE SHEDD, THE MOTHER Of JARRETT SHEDD, A HIGH-SCHOOL FRIEND Of CARSON
She had a rare ability to connect with people that touched many at Carolina, yy
JAMES ALLRED, 2006-07 STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
** She was a genuinely good person. I don't think she's ever done anything bad to anybody, yy
ASHLEY HARRINGTON, vice chairwoman of town relations committee
She became student body president and never lost interest in the little things, yy
DAVID MIKUSH, FRIEND OF FOUR YEARS
44 She hud everything going for her. Everything. Beautiful, smart, talented. •
It's just a tragedy. She was a really good person, yy
CARA GEWOLB, FRIEND OF FOUR YEARS
44 Myfriend and I were just talking, and if you could pick one person
who was just a beautiful person inside and out, it would be her. yy
KATHRYN BLACKMAR, classmate of eve
fcfc /know when I'm up then' tolling the belt it will be hard because I know who I'm playingjbi: yy
DAVID STEELE, master beu ringer
Opinion
DTH FILE PHOTO
- - '"UjBIIIIIIBkl,
DTH/STACEY AXELROD
No matter the issue. Eve was excited.
It's astounding that one person could care
about so many other issues, whether it was
sustainability- or diversity or tuition, and
still have the time to invest in other people
like she did.
The quotes on this page are an attempt
to illustrate her impact on campus. While
no amount of words or pictures can ever
encompass what she meant to so many at
UNC, we hope to provide a small window
into that.
Eve the student body president will be
remembered, and the next administration
will pick up where she left off.
DTH FILE PHOTO
DTH FILE PHOTO
But Eve the friend. Eve the person, is
irreplaceable. Her most lasting legacy will
be in the people who are better off just for
having known her.
Trying to understand what happened is
a futile effort. The senseless, violent death
of someone so young can never have an
adequate explanation.
And yet, for the rest of us, this precious
gift that we call life will go on.
All we can do is make the best of life
while we have it, and that means mak
ing the world a better place for everyone
around us.
That's what Eve did every- day.
Uhr Saiiii iTar Hrrl
m
BEN LUNDIN
RHOOES SCHOLAR
Lundin is a class of 2007 alumnus
studying at Oxford.
E-MAIL: BJLUNDINOGMAIL COM
Violence
cannot
take what
Eve gave
I can't make sense of this; the
world made a w-rong turn.
This is nonsense. I’m dizzy,
and worse, my dizziness seems
empty.
They want 650 words in mem
ory of Eve Carson? I don't think I
can make it that far.
I've lost structure. Speech is
so fragile so vulnerable to vio
lence. Violence is so large. I owe
Eve an apology on the front end:
At this moment. I have so little
to offer.
And Eve offered so much.
I’ve never known someone so
immune to the cold; so confident
against the fleeting. Eve had an
anchor —a hold on something
sincere; some
thing bigger
than rhetoric.
GUEST
COLUMNIST
Eve had found her passion in
student government.
Even in her playful e-mails,
you can identify a sincere intro
spection, a passion that drove
her:
“Last thoughts Ben. if you
were a statesman: how- much
would you be willing to compro
mise? I have been wanting to talk
with you about this so much!!!
I saw an amazing speaker the
other day... and then I've been
reading a lot and meeting so
many incredible alumni.... More
and more. I am LOVING this
year, and I am EXTREMELY
enjoying the student government
work and everything I'm learn
ing."
Can you hear it? Such enthu
siasm seems misplaced at a time
like this. Then again, it always
did. She had so much energy.
Most of us aren't capable of
Eve's sincerity in real life, much
less in our informal writings.
Eve's closing to that note was
even more striking: "But I think
that my ultimate goal is to be
able to have all my friends in a
room and to hear where our con
versation takes u 5.... Yes: that’s
truly all I really want. I just want
to have sincere and interesting
friends and to get to learn from
everyone, all the time."
It’s so innocent so playful
and so sincere. You always knew
Eve meant it when you heard
it; you knew that politics wasn’t
everything to Eve, or anything
really. Eve was interested in
people.
When I graduated. Eve wrote
to me, “I hope we will be able to
keep learning about these ideas,
and I can’t wait to discuss these
themes with you when we are in
our middle ages (as you can see,
1 am now going to count on us
remaining great friends).’
The violence tried to make a
liar of Eve. But it can’t do that.
Violence can’t move every
thing; it can’t displace the faith
in others that allows for a sincere,
loving relationship. I still have
faith.
Today, Eve finally has all of
us in a room together. It’s a big
room; it’s all of Chapel Hill,
Athens and for me, it’s England.
Id like Eve to have the first words
in that conversation she was hop
ing to start. It's something she
wrote off-the-cuff —a feeling she
had one day;
“World, inspire me! Share with
me just hints of your glory and
atrocity!’ Eve believed that on
balance, it was worth the strug
gle. There was always more glory
than atrocity in the world. That’s
how she inspired. We need that,
and we have to restore it, but that
is a task for another day.
For now, this atrocity is deaf
ening. So I reserve the last of
my 650 words for silence. This
silence must have its moment.