The editorial board had decided that Houston Summers’ experience on administrative committees, relationships with powerful people and general willingness to listen to student voices make him fit for the role of student body president.
This endorsement comes with heavy reservations. Despite his protestations to the contrary, we do see Summers’ candidacy as a continuation of the Powell administration in a variety of ways. And while Andrew Powell’s presidency has been competent, his leadership has not been as transformative or vocal as we might have hoped.
We anticipate Summers’ closeness to the administration will inspire a similarly cautious approach to student government, one that is adequately involved in student lives but hesitant to take strong stances on the issues of the day.
This board also takes issue with his definition of “unity,” which seems to call for a melting pot of student interests, ignoring the real ways in which the interests of varied student groups are often distinct from one another.
As before, we remain troubled by Kathryn Walker’s political inconsistency. It is difficult to reconcile her activities working for the election of Thom Tillis with her stated desires for a robust system of higher education in North Carolina. Under Tillis’ watch, the University system endured punitive budget cuts that could disrupt the University’s mission of serving the people of the state.
That being said, a Walker presidency would be a competent one. Her experience in the executive branch this year would be useful to her presidency, but her accomplishments in state and external relations to date have not been substantive enough to suggest her presidency would yield the results UNC needs in the face of a hostile General Assembly.
We believe that Summers will be an effective advocate for student voices. We are less confident about whether he will advocate for the voices traditionally heard least in the halls of state government.
Summers claims to have been transformed in his approach to issues of privilege and oppression through discussions with members of marginalized groups on campus. In the absence of a candidate otherwise representative of these groups, we can only hope that this transformation is genuine and that his learning process continues quickly.
Houston Summers will provide an energetic and positive face to student government. His experience advocating for the interests of student-athletes is encouraging, and we hope he is able to expand the scope of his abilities to represent a much wider expanse of student experiences.
