Carson administration touts summer progress

Student Body President Eve Carson wants her first progress report to be accessible to students and administrators alike.

The Summer Report, a 123-page document that details committee and Cabinet work on Carson’s platform so far, was released Sunday night.

“I want this to be a workable document,” she said.

Among the platform accomplishments is the new Sophomore Reorientation program, which aims to acclimate returning students to academic and student services.

The report also recaps unanticipated projects, such as advocating for a nearby location for the one-stop early-voting site at the Franklin Street post office.

“This voting thing – it was important, but at the same time we lost some valuable time on our other projects,” Student Body Vice President Mike Tarrant said.

As Cabinet members settle into their offices, they said they’re realizing the time constraint of being in office for just one year. “The pace can be so challenging,” Carson said. “I just have such a tremendous sense of urgency.”

Carson set out her goals in a 43-page platform last semester. Most of her main points then remain her key objectives now.

From a campus community integrated via technology to a big-name speaker series and a junior-level scholarship, Carson said she plans to tackle all of her platform points.

“We’re going to be working on everything this year,” she said. “We’ve already started working on probably everything.”

And though the Cabinet has delegated responsibilities and committees have begun work, Carson said it hasn’t been easy.

She has met with administrators to discuss key ideas, but seeing her plans to fruition requires more, she said.

“Administrators work with a different time schedule than students,” Student Body Secretary Mac Mollison said. “They think in decades. We think in years.”

One of Carson’s planks was to encourage the creation of more study-abroad-exchange programs at UNC, so members of her Cabinet met with Bob Miles, associate dean for study abroad.

According to the report, “Dr. Miles was not necessarily optimistic about the prospects of adding more UNC-led programs outside of summer opportunities due to the inconvenience created for department.”

Carson said she has learned to ask pointed questions and attend meetings with her own agenda because she realized administrators operate differently than student leaders.

So the Cabinet focused its resources on the short-term projects that require student interaction.

To increase transparency, Mollison revamped the executive branch’s Web site to include blogs, videos and online applications.

The site aims to be an avenue for students to connect with leaders and each other, as well as act as a guide to navigate the inner workings of the University.

“It’s such a challenge to find out what’s going on,” Carson said. “There needs to be more consistency.”

In order to achieve long-term goals, such as a UNC music festival, Carson said continuity is key.

“We need to prime people for leadership positions,” she said.

“It’s going to be really important that we make sure our ideas are important to others and that we are educating leaders so that they can outlast us.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.