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The Daily Tar Heel

ASG editorial called for changes that already exist

TO THE EDITOR:

Since my term began last July, we have always welcomed public scrutiny to ensure our activities stay in line with student interests. But I echo most of the delegates and officers of the UNC Association of Student Governments in saying I'm mystified by the bulk of your editorial We need an effective voice"" March 30.

We're all genuinely excited to be working with Jasmin Jones as UNC-Chapel Hill's next Student Body President. She made her presence felt at our meeting this weekend, and her candor and good humor will both be needed in tackling the difficult issues students face next year.

Yet your argument that the meeting could mark the beginning of a change in ASG"" comes about nine months late. The beginning of those changes began in July.

The call for an annual report on expenditures and accomplishments has been done monthly since we took office. The entire budget" with every expense down to the penny has been available for public review for the entire fiscal year. My March report to the UNC Board of Governors on ASG's activities spanned 212 pages — and only covered the activities of one fiscal quarter.

Similar strides have been ongoing with campus publicity.

The Campus Outreach Initiative we started before we even took office has put Association officers on the ground of every single UNC campus multiple times apiece.

These and many other accomplishments — including the Campus Innovation Grants funding Get Out The Vote efforts in September the Association's work on tuition and fees in October and January its successful Students' Day at the Capital event in March and more — have all been well-documented in officer reports well-documented online in our publicly-available Facebook group and Web site and well-documented in more than 25 separate news articles in this very paper throughout the academic year.

And while UNC-Chapel Hill's current Student Body President J.J. Raynor declined to participate herself UNC-CH was with us every step of the way with its other delegates and our three Executive Officers (of 10) who attend your institution.

Any UNC student can also offer their thoughts and opinions directly through our feedback site at www.iwantmydollarback.org.

The Daily Tar Heel has earned its reputation as the premier N.C. college newspaper through its high-quality journalists and competent editorial columnists.

Poorly researched editorials like this one however not only injure that reputation but also grossly misinform the student body.

For everyone's sake I hope you will be more thorough with your research in the future — or at least read the contents of your own paper.



T. Greg Doucette

President

UNC Association of Student Governments



 


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