Legislators mull student vote on BOG

Regulations within the state government prohibit the 193,000 UNC-system students from democratically affecting the organization governing them.

The UNC Association of Student Governments’ president cannot vote on issues before the UNC-system Board of Governors and can only voice an opinion.

It has become the mission of ASG President Amanda Devore to gain enough support for what she says should be the right of her position.

“Certainly I think that a real voice on the Board of Governors would also have to have a vote,” Devore said. “We’re working on it constantly in the trenches trying to gather more and more support.”

But it appears that she might fall short.

Even though a bill promoting such a change passed through the N.C. House with little problem, the Senate counterpart sits idle in the N.C. Senate Rules and Operations Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, chairman of the committee, has opposed similar bills for the past three legislative sessions. He said the bill likely will remain in committee once again.

Rand’s two roles give him the ability to keep the legislation from reaching the floor.

“I do not favor the bill,” he said. “The thought being that the BOG is currently too large and should be reduced.”

The one-year term of each ASG president is also a concern, Rand added.

But proponents of the bill constantly are gaining ground in their hopes to pass the legislation.

Devore and the Senate bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, are rallying support throughout the Senate.

More than half of the state’s senators list themselves as sponsors of the bill.

Zack Wynne, ASG president-elect, said the bill gained two new co-sponsors within the last week, meaning 33 of 50 senators now sponsor the bill.

But Rand noted that the bill most likely would not be discussed within the committee.

One tactic still exists within the Senate that would allow the bill to surpass both Rand and the committee, sending it straight to the floor for approval.

Known as a discharge petition, the measure would require three-fifths of the Senate — 30 senators — to sign a petition approving the action.

But Kinnaird said she realizes signing the petition would jeopardize any Democrat’s relationship with the party leader, a move most would be unlikely to make.

“If you’re not getting anyplace with Senator Rand you’re not getting anyplace with anyone,” she said.

Still, she emphasized the need for students to gain this elementary right in governing their schools.

“It is a recognition of their significance to the university,” Kinnaird said. “Maybe we’ll get (the bill) through someday.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.