Administrators talk scandal in Chancellor Folt's open house

He hears that his athletes don’t have enough time in the day, and Bubba Cunningham wants to help.

Cunningham, the athletic director for UNC, discussed athletes’ intense schedules at an open house Monday organized by the Student Advisory Committee to the Chancellor .

Chancellor Carol Folt and Vice Chancellor for Communications Joel Curran joined Cunningham at the forum, which only drew a crowd of about dozen people.

Cunningham said he wants to give student-athletes more free time because many feel overwhelmed as they try to balance academics, athletics and community involvement.

He said he has found the criticism UNC has recently endured to be somewhat beneficial.

“There is a huge variety of opinion and thought, and getting that helps make better decisions,” he said. “I don’t really look at criticism as critical of me personally; I look at it as critical of an issue.”

“It makes me think about what’s important to me, what I think is the right thing to do, how to communicate the pros and cons of various decisions and choices, and how to move us forward.”

Administrators covered a range of topics including student activism and sexual assault reform.

Harry Edwards , a freshman and member of Student Advisory Committee to the Chancellor, said these meetings are an opportunity to be informed and to be heard.

“I think that it is really important for students to know what is going on around campus and to get to know the chancellor better personally,” Edwards said. “It’s also a chance to say something. She really does listen, and it is a great opportunity to get our voices heard.”

All three emphasized UNC’s efforts to remain united in the face of conflict and criticism, to be as transparent as possible and to provide students with all the resources they need.

“The intent is to make (Carolina Commitment) an active site that makes it easy for people to find their way to information,” Folt said as she discussed the recently launched site dedicated to transparency for ongoing academic and athletic scandals.

“In the long run, I would love to have portals like that that went to public records and that went to other major issues.”

Folt reiterated this idea and said criticism is essential to making good decisions.

“What happens in Chapel Hill is of great value,” Folt said. “We’re trying to make sense of how a great public university stays engaged and finds its way through what are some of the most complicated societal issues. We are a part of that discourse, and we never give up. We just keep trying to make things better.”

university@dailytarheel.com