Access Advocates To Work to Expand

The program is running in conjunction with GEAR UP North Carolina, a nonprofit organization that stresses the importance of higher education, with the aid of a federal grant filtered through the system administrators.

UNC-CH senior Eric Johnson, who spearheaded the initial program in Chapel Hill, said the expansion has yielded positive reactions.

Johnson said he hopes other UNC-system students will soon participate in the outreach.

"We are trying to get other universities involved ... so that we get more than just (UNC-CH) students going to high schools," he said.

Johnson said the program's mission is similar to the UNC-system Association of Student Governments' Keep N.C. Educated campaign, a program designed to demonstrate the affordability of higher education and encourage N.C. residents to support the system.

He said the UNC-CH chapter plans to contact each UNC-system school's student government and encourage it to seek out interested college students for the program.

"I think long-term we'll have all 16 (campuses) involved," Johnson said.

Although the UNC-CH branch will create a loose organizational model for other UNC-system schools, Johnson said it will not oversee the program's expansion.

"It's not going to be something that's UNC-Chapel Hill-run," he said.

ASG President Andrew Payne said that the mission of N.C. Students for Educational Access mirrors that of Keep N.C. Educated but that the campaigns differ.

"Part of the Keep N.C. Educated campaign is to inform ... about the opportunities for education," Payne said. "We show that there are benefits still about going to college."

Payne said he is pleased with the reactions from various UNC-system schools.

"There was a lot of enthusiasm about doing this and opening chapters across the state," he said. "This is an avenue for students to give back in their community."

He added that N.C. Students for Educational Access should help improve UNC-system fund-raising efforts.

"As we build up the educational foundation, we will then have monies to directly support programs like this," Payne said.

Darryl Willie, the outgoing student body president at N.C. State University, said the Student Government Association will meet with GEAR UP North Carolina soon to discuss the creation of a campus chapter.

He said steps will be taken to develop a similar program on campus even though N.C. State does not have any students involved in the efforts.

"We are going to try ... to keep the access for North Carolina public education open."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.