In the wake of debate over Adrian Johnston’s nomination for student body vice president, a few students have placed increased scrutiny on student government proceedings.
Tonight, Student Congress will re-examine Johnston’s appointment, which failed to garner approval during a contentious meeting last week.
Congress members wrangled over the nomination process, paying particular attention to the closed meetings of the committee that chose top applicants from which Student Body President-elect Seth Dearmin made his appointments.
A few students have railed against the secrecy of such proceedings, questioning whether N.C. statutes or the Student Code should dictate operations.
But student government leaders said there is no solid precedent for open meetings of the selection committee, which filters applications for student body officer posts.
Student Solicitor General Matt Liles said student government uses the state’s open meetings law as a guide: The nature of the body determines if a meeting is open or closed. As UNC is a public institution, it’s implied that student government proceedings should be open to the student body, Liles said.
The Code stipulates that meetings of the executive branch and its constituent committees are open. But the selection committee is not technically part of the executive branch because it includes members from all three branches of student government.
Student Body President Matt Calabria served on the committee and said the group closed the meeting on the basis of three factors — preventing bad blood, averting increased political pressure on committee members and ensuring that too many people didn’t weigh in.
“The legitimate process requires that we don’t talk about it,” he said.
