Candidates Consider Development

Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities services, said student body presidents in the past have been involved in a wide range of construction issues.

He said the new student body president and other student leaders will have the chance to work with the administration on projects such as parking and transportation issues and designs for future buildings.

"There are significant opportunities if that's the inclination of the student body president and his administration," Runberg said.

The majority of campus projects stem from the Development Plan, which lays out plans for eight years of future construction at UNC. The Development Plan is the first phase of the Master Plan, a 50-year blueprint for campus growth.

Candidate Fred Hashagen said he is opposed to the concept of the Master Plan. He said he believes that plans for campus expansion should be updated frequently instead of in a one-time decision.

But Hashagen said he acknowledges that he would not have power to change the policy. "I don't know how much there is left to do," he said.

Hashagen said one of his top priorities is ensuring that future projects are completed with attention paid to safety and environmental concerns.

"First of all, what we have to be concerned with is doing no worse than we are now," Hashagen said.

His other goals include making sure that future plans do not diminish student parking on campus and improving the University-town relationship.

Candidate Brad Overcash said he understands that campus expansion is a necessity for the University, but he said he would oppose any project that creates distinct areas of campus with no connection to one another.

"We have to be able to maintain the community of students," Overcash said.

Overcash said he would create a committee to work on environmental issues, including those dealing with development.

Overcash also said he was glad to see that all new buildings are being designed with disabled students in mind. "I was really pleased to see plans for physical access for all students," Overcash said.

Candidate Will McKinney said the future student body president should not fight further expansion but instead focus on how it is approached.

"This university has to grow -- it's a fact of life," McKinney said. "That doesn't mean it has to grow against its students."

McKinney said he would ban construction near residence halls before 9 a.m., near classrooms during the day and during exam periods.

McKinney said he would lobby for new buildings to be built with modern energy technology such as solar panels. "Just because we're not an environmental school doesn't mean we shouldn't incorporate environmental concerns."

Candidate Bennett Mason said he is concerned with improving the town-gown relationship."It's been a very adversarial relationship with Chapel Hill," he said.

Another key issue for Mason is ensuring that the University does not risk financial stability with building projects.

Mason said environmental concerns would top his priority list. He said he is pleased that the Master Plan incorporates green space on UNC's campus.

Write-in candidate Nathan Katzin said he wishes the University would focus on issues other than construction and development. "You can feel shitty in a mansion, and you can feel great in a poor house," Katzin said.

He said he wishes the money being used for construction costs went instead to improving the standards for faculty at UNC. "We need more creative teachers and a more creative curriculum."

Katzin said students will have to learn to deal with construction, although he understands it causes students several problems, including morning noise and on-campus obstacles.

Write-in candidate Charlie Trakas said he thinks the University's methods of expansion have been poorly conceived. "I don't think the Master Plan was thought out thoroughly."

For instance, Trakas said, building one large residence hall on South Campus would have been more efficient than the four smaller halls currently under construction.

Trakas stressed that future building should be done with conservation in mind, such as using metal roofs on buildings instead of the traditional shingles.

He also said the ongoing construction should have involved more planning to minimize student impact. "It's been a larger hassle than it needs to be."

Candidate Jen Daum also discussed the near inevitability of campus growth. "We can't control our enrollment -- that's done through the state," she said.

But Daum said she wishes students knew more details about the process of development at UNC. She said she hopes to improve communication between students and the Sustainability Coalition.

"The only thing I hear about the Master Plan is the jackhammer in class."

Daum also said she has been disappointed with how construction is being done. She said she ended up in the hospital after debris from a building site wound up in her eyes.

Daum said she would address the trouble construction causes disabled students.

Write-in candidate Correy Campbell echoed other candidates, saying many aspects of the Master Plan were not well thought out. He said plans for building $2 million parking decks were made before the financial source was assured. "Nobody knew where that was coming from."

Campbell said that although it's imperfect, construction this year has been handled more tactfully than in years past.

But Campbell said the administration could improve its reputation by showing students they understood the trouble it has caused. "Maybe they could just give a letter of apology to students."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.