Young's Plan for Presidential Stipend Sets Bad Precedent

That's what will happen if Student Body President-elect Justin Young goes through with his campaign promise to donate the student body president's stipend ($2,400 a year) to one of his platform's centerpieces -- the Student Empowerment Endowment (SEE).

At first glance, Justin's plan sounds great. After all, who doesn't like the notion of a student body president who is serving for service's sake and sacrificing for us without financial reward?

As former student body president candidate Annie Peirce wrote in her endorsement of Justin, "His selflessness shines as he will be giving up his salary to start the Student Empowerment Endowment." Sounds almost as good as Mom and apple pie, doesn't it?

The problem is that not everyone can afford to make the sacrifice that Justin has volunteered to make and his use of the stipend as a campaign issue pressures them to do so.

Many UNC students depend on financial aid, don't have money flowing in from their parents, work part-time or full-time jobs and buy their Ramen noodles in bulk. For these students, they cannot work 40 hours or more per week for us as student body president if there is no replacement for the money they would otherwise earn waiting tables or running a cash register.

Likewise, the Student Code provides subsidies for candidates who have trouble affording the necessary campaign expenditures. Those subsidies exist so that all students will have the opportunity to campaign for and be elected student body president, regardless of their financial status.

Are these two financial mechanisms enough? Probably not. More needs to be done to uphold the principal that every student deserves a shot at our campus' highest elected office. But just because we're not where we need to be doesn't mean we should give up and undo the progress we've made.

Regrettably, Justin's well-intended selflessness will do just that. It will harm access by advancing the notion that the stipend is something to be shunned in favor of a nobler purpose, or at least to get votes.

It will make next year's candidates answer the question: "Do you plan to take the stipend?" That's not fair to someone from a poor family who will have to say "yes" and may very likely be embarrassed to do so.

Justin's student body president platform promised to "Reject the salary of student body president and use the money as a down payment on the Student Empowerment Endowment, a new system to allow any student with a solution to a campus problem easy access to the resources of student government." The use of the word "reject" carries a very negative implication. It makes a meager stipend sound like something former President Bill Clinton would get in exchange for a pardon or a night in the Lincoln bedroom.

Similarly, campaign rhetoric talking about returning student's money also carries an implication that there is something wrong with taking the stipend. Does Justin believe taking the stipend is wrong? No, he doesn't. And he does care tremendously about access. I've talked to him about it.

I also believe him, despite the spin during the campaign, when he says that getting votes wasn't his biggest motivation for turning down the stipend. (Although, it is noteworthy that there seems no reason other than impressing voters to make such a public display during the campaign of "rejecting" the stipend.) Rather, he wants SEE to get off to a good start, and he truly feels he doesn't need the money and therefore shouldn't take it. I applaud his intentions, but they do not negate the unintended consequences.

So what should our student body president-elect do now? How does Justin remain true to his commitment to SEE, his campaign promise and to his belief in preserving full access for all students to the office he is about to occupy?

Simple: Give the money away, but don't give it to your pet project. Break the link between your decision to give it up and your need to get votes. Acknowledge that the proper use of stipend money is promoting access. In fact, glorify it.

How? Give it to the vice president and the secretary, the only student body officers without stipends. They work just as hard and as long as the student body president, and what they do influences students' daily lives in a multitude of ways. Access to those offices is important too.

People like Monika Moore, Lerissa Rentas and Jen Daum are crucial to student government. Fortunately, they could afford to work for us for free. We may not be so lucky every year.

The statement that needs to be made is that any student can work in the highest offices of their government without worry about how they're going to buy their next box of mac and cheese.

Justin, you can send that message by focusing discussion on access and challenging Student Congress to fund permanent stipends for the vice president and secretary.

Such a challenge to Congress to handle future funding also makes clear that your decision to give up the stipend is not intended to set a precedent for other student body presidents but that it is a one-time act by someone who recognizes his own good fortune and wants to insure that any student can afford to serve as any one of the student body officers. That's a legacy to be admired.

Besides, if you and Annie raise the $24,000 per semester she promised in her endorsement letter (and knowing you two I think you can), SEE will be great success.

Your stipend will have a much greater impact doing what it was intended to do -- promoting access.

Lee Conner is a JD/MBA student from Wilmington, a former Graduate and Professional Student Federation president and a former student body co-secretary. You can reach him at lconner@email.unc.edu.