UNC student body president race draws 4

Two more students added their names to the ballot for student body president at Tuesday’s mandatory meetings to declare candidacy.

David Marsh and Kathryn Walker will join Houston Summers and Tyler Jacon in the race for the 2015-16 office.

Tuesday was the last chance for students to declare their candidacy.

Marsh, who was the community governor in the Parker community during the 2013-14 academic year, said he is motivated to run because he wants to promote the safety and security of all students. He said he also hopes to restore the University’s relationship with the state of North Carolina, which has supported the University for over 200 years.

“Being a student here the past few years, I want to ensure an equal educational opportunity for all students,” he said.

Walker, the former chairwoman of UNC College Republicans, said she chose to run to ensure each student is represented in student government.

“I am running to give every student a voice in student government and to make sure every voice is heard,” she said.

Walker said she would not comment any further because she did not want to begin campaigning before the official start time.

Marsh said his biggest challenge will be making his message distinguishable from the rest of candidates, because they all want the best for the University.

“We all want very similar things, and we all want to stand out,” he said.

Marsh said he wants to focus on sexual assault and mental health awareness, as well as engage all students in academic affairs.

Jacon, the former chairman of the Student Safety and Security Committee of Student Congress, said he will focus on relevant policy changes such as sexual assault on campus and faculty retention.

“I want to empower the student governance institution so we’re taken more seriously,” he said in an interview Monday night.

Summers, the oldest candidate in the race at 27-years-old, played minor league baseball before coming to UNC. He declined to comment Monday and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

“I feel like I have a unique life experience that allows me to bring lots of different groups together on campus,” said Summers, who will focus on affordability, athletic reform and innovation during his campaign.

“I think the most important aspect for myself and other candidates to get across is that we really have true ideas— really powerful ideas — that want to unite all parts of the student body.”

The candidates began campaigning Tuesday. They need to collect 1,250 signatures before Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. to be eligible for the general election.

university@dailytarheel.com

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly identified Kathryn Walker as currently holding a position that she held formerly. Walker is the former chairwoman of UNC College Republicans. The story has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.