Ah... Welcome back to February. Where the Pit and your social media becomes dominated with one thing and one thing only: UNC’s student body president election. This election is often decided by who has the fanciest publicity materials. It should be decided by the most substantive platforms or approach for effecting some much-needed change.
We urge the four candidates currently running for student body president (Bradley Opere, Wilson Sink, John Taylor and Andrew Williamson) to reverse the trend of SBPs depoliticizing themselves. We urge them instead to understand their position as one inherently steeped in political decisions. Whoever wins will be an “elected official.” Students are voting for an executive; making decisions about controversial issues and being publicly political challenges one to raise their game when one places oneself on the ballot.
Elected officials make choices on behalf of students. When we elect officials for our municipal, state or federal government, they do not try to separate the politics from their decision making. Instead, they often do quite the opposite. If students view student government as an opportunity to engage in government-type bureaucracies prior to entering the real government, why do they have such a radically different, apolitical approach than our other politicians?
We also have selfish reasonings in asking for a more political approach. The tenures of SBPs are largely boring affairs, embroiled with internal politics and supposed meetings with administration. SBP candidates often complain most students lack awareness about the SBP position. Making politically charged decisions can spice up the elections and get students to feel some level of investment in our student government.
Lastly, we recognize SBPs in practice often have less power than indicated by their ambitious platforms. However, you have a responsibility to use your platform as the SBP to publicly and transparently voice a stance — even if it might not be a popular one — on campus issues. This can take the form of releasing a statement or actively attending a rally. As constituents, we have a right to know where candidates stand and what specific issues they value. Also, unlike faculty or staff, candidates are students and will not be fired or removed for their political decisions.
For the sake of our sanity and the future of our university, these candidates must recognize their future as a decision-maker at this critical juncture in our University. Disengaging from these issues only reinforces the existing power forces instead of challenging them.
