The newly created student government position of director of state and external relations needs to be physically present during the entire summer in Chapel Hill.
The creation of the position is a great step towards the representation of student interests in the General Assembly.
The current director, Shelby Hudspeth, fulfilled as much of her duties as she could while studying abroad for a month. She was instrumental in removing a proposed 18.3 percent tuition increase for out-of-state students, but she was not physically present for the decision to raise out-of-state tuition by 12.3 percent.
The position needs to represent the student body and their opinions year-round, especially during the summer when a majority of the student body is absent.
While emails and phone conversations to the General Assembly are proactive steps, a physical presence trumps that of words in an email or spoken through the phone, especially when dealing with a body that can sometimes be unresponsive to students.
An amendment that was passed by Student Congress last week will require the director to maintain his or her duties during their summer but, as with other executive branch positions, does not mandate that the director do so from Chapel Hill.
Congress should look towards a summer stipend to attract candidates to the position that may not otherwise be able to remain on campus.
This position is huge in terms of student advocacy and lessens the SBP’s burden, and therefore money shouldn’t be an obstacle for getting the best student to fill the position.
Moving forward, future position holders could make the strongest impact with a more demanding, physical presence in Raleigh during all the summer months.
