UNC student body president candidate Ingram accused of missing ASG meetings

The status of a student body president candidate’s position in the UNC Association of Student Governments was jeopardized Monday following a suspected breach of the Student Code.

In an e-mail addressed to members of student government, Student Body Treasurer Dakota Williams said junior Rick Ingram, an ASG delegate and student body president candidate, was no longer a delegate because he missed the association’s October and January meetings.

Williams, who also serves as senior vice president of ASG, cited a rule in the Student Code which states that if a student government appointee fails to attend a committee meeting on two instances, they are no longer a member of that committee.

The accusation, which Student Body President Hogan Medlin dismissed, sparked further debate on inconsistencies within the Student Code.

Medlin said he excused Ingram from missing the October meeting because Ingram notified him ahead of time that he would miss the meeting. Medlin added that it was his responsibility — not Ingram’s — to find a replacement delegate.

Ingram said he was unaware of the Student Code rule.

“Hogan Medlin actually missed three in a row,” Ingram said. “I suppose we would need to take Hogan’s place away as a delegate as well if technicalities are coming down to it.”

Because he is not an external appointment, the rule does not apply to Medlin.

Medlin and Deanna Santoro, speaker of UNC’s Student Congress and associate vice president of ASG’s legislative and public affairs committee, both said the incident was an example of inconsistencies within Student Code.

“I do think there needs to be a lot of changes in the code regarding external appointments,” Medlin said.

Last semester, Student Body Secretary Ian Lee, who is also running for student body president, missed two meetings of the WXYC radio show’s board of directors but only received a warning.

He was not removed from the board, said Santoro, a fellow board member.

Williams said it’s not his job to monitor appointees’ compliance to the rule, but he noticed it after two members of Congress’ safety and security committee were dismissed per the code.

But Santoro said that was a much more extreme case. Those committee members did not attend a single meeting, she said.

Santoro said she will work with Medlin and student body Vice President Holly Boardman to create a policy that makes the rule fair.

Ingram said the accusation might have been motivated by his reputation for opposing ASG.

“Student government has gotten a little corrupt, and ASG is definitely one of those areas,” Ingram said.

“I am a voice of opposition to ASG,” he added. “This looks to me like an attempt to silence opposition.”

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