Student Leaders Support Daum's Emphasis on Diversity in Cabinet Selection

Former and current student body leaders said that diversity is a critical element in selecting executive branch officers and Cabinet members but that it is important not to limit diversity to race and gender.

Daum and past student leaders said they prioritize selecting Cabinet members and officers who are not just diverse by race.

Daum said she chose her officers based on interviews, references and recommendations, but she also said the student body president needs to have a diverse group of people to effectively represent the campus.

"I believe in affirmative action, but this group is also easily the most qualified people for each of these positions," she said.

Daum said her officers consist of Vice President Aaron Hiller, a Jewish man; Secretary Rebecca Williford, a white woman with a mobility impairment; Treasurer Michael Vollmer, a white man; and Chief of Staff Rebekah Burford, a black woman.

Diversity ensures that the people who are charged with representing the campus are as diverse as the student body is, she said. "It's very important to (all of the officers) that the Cabinet look like Carolina."

Hiller said he thinks it is important to have a diverse Cabinet and that this year's incoming group of officers is one of the most diverse ever.

But Hiller said he does not believe that his religion factored into Daum's decision to select him as her vice president. "I don't think it had anything to do with the choice, and I think that's a good thing."

He said the candidates' race, religion and background make them individuals, and he believes Daum based her decision on the individuals, not the races and religions they represent.

Outgoing Student Body President Justin Young made diversity a main point in his campaign last year. "More diversity means better representation for the entire student body," he said.

Young said his Cabinet -- which included two black women and the first openly gay student body officer -- helped the student body president connect to the campus.

Nic Heinke, student body president from 1999 to 2000, also said diversity was a critical factor when he chose his Cabinet members, who he described as a white woman, a minority woman and an out-of-state man.

"I realize there are some limitations to being a white guy," he said.

But Heinke said it is important to have a Cabinet that is not only diverse ethnically but also representative of students with learning and physical disabilities and all socioeconomic levels.

"Too often we box diversity into color and gender," he said.

Heinke said the student body president's Cabinet should embody a variety of backgrounds because those officers serve as the sounding board for critical issues. "It's not so much having a Cabinet that looks diverse in a snapshot," he said. "It's about having a Cabinet that has a diversity of ideas and thoughts and opinions."

Reyna Walters, who was the last female student body president before Daum and served from 1998 to 1999, said having minority students in leadership positions encourages an underrepresented portion of the student body to become active on campus.

"Because I was the first black woman, and the second woman ever, it encouraged a lot of women of color, and women in general, to run," she said.

Walters said diversity among student leaders helps people realize that all students can make a difference, regardless of their backgrounds. "When you have a student body president who understands the importance of diversity, it opens doors for those who have been shut out of student government," she said.

Lee Conner, 1999-2000 Graduate and Professional Student Federation president, said that although diversity is important, it is just one of many factors in selecting Cabinet members.

He said having a diverse GPSF Cabinet helped him to look at issues from different angles. But Conner said his first concern was to find qualified candidates.

"Our number one emphasis was to fill the positions with quality people whether they were black, white, green, brown or purple," Conner said.

"Then we looked for diversity of gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and academic discipline."

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