(Left to right) Ashton Martin, Jack Noble, Jane Tullis and Tarik Woods participated in the Student Body Presidential Debate on Thursday, Feb.7, 2019. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies hosted the event in New West in front of a small audience comprised of UNC-Chapel Hill students.
Update 12:00 a.m.: Student body president candidate Jack Noble has been disqualified after being found guilty of five violations including: three counts of misrepresentation, one count of falsification and one location violation. There are now just three students left in the election.
UNC’s student body president election is today. The four students on the ballot are Ashton Martin, Jack Noble, Jane Tullis and Tarik Woods. Here are their platforms:
Ashton Martin, photographed by Raymond Tu.
Ashton Martin
Martin said her top priority is making sure all students have a home in Chapel Hill.
“We plan on changing the culture of Student Government so more people can believe in it,” Martin said. “I’m the candidate with the most experience with the executive branch. I’ve been in it for three years, unlike other candidates who have spent time only in external appointments or in the legislative branch.”
Martin’s platform includes focuses on academic affairs, affordability, the arts, civic engagement, environmental affairs, international students, multicultural affairs and diversity outreach, mental health and student safety and wellness, according to her campaign website.
“Student Government is strongest when we can recognize what needs to stay, because your tenure is only about 10 months, and if you don’t hit the ground running you can’t get enough done,” Martin said. “A lot of candidates come in with this idea of breaking Student Government down to build it back up, but if you do that, you waste lots of valuable time.”
She has been endorsed by the Editorial Board of The Daily Tar Heel, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, Embody Carolina and the Carolina Indian Circle.
Jack Noble, photographed by Alex Kim.
Jack Noble
Noble said he considers himself an outsider candidate.
“I have seen where Student Government can miss the ball,” he said. “I believe in expanding the types of students that are involved in Student Government and creating a clearer and more inclusive environment that is not exclusionary or elitist.”
Noble’s platform is divided into main values, positions and policy areas, according to his campaign website.
His main values are Student Government inclusivity, responsibility to the student body and Student Government reform.
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His main positions include diversity and inclusion, opposing Confederate memorabilia, representation for Latinx and Muslim students, making UNC a sanctuary campus and Student Government being involved in student activism.
His campaign has not received any endorsements, and Noble said he is proud of that.
“We have fought for what we believed in since day one, and we will continue to do that,” he said.
Jane Tullis, photographed by Anders Pokela.
Jane Tullis
The three parts of Tullis’ platform prioritize inclusiveness, titled: Update Our Foundation, Affirm Our Identities and Elevate Our Resources. The parts are subdivided into three goals each.
Tullis said the Update Our Foundation portion includes opening communication with the Board of Trustees, having genuine representation in administration and Student Government and fully recognizing graduate and professional students.
The second portion includes creating physical spaces for student groups, implementing research-driven solutions and pursuing tangible results.
Elevate Our Resources, the final part, includes having an innovative approach to sustainability, empathetic prevention and response to interpersonal violence and sponsoring mental health initiatives.
“Everything in the platform, we have a team of people who have already agreed to do it, and we already have those resources lined up,” Tullis said. “There’s things that we’ve never tried before, but they work at other places and we have the plans and the way to get them all implemented.”
She said she has been endorsed by the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council.
Tarik Woods, photographed by Adam Abbott.
Tarik Woods
One of Woods’ main goals is ensuring Student Government serves all of the University’s students. He said he wants to transition Student Government back to its original purpose: representing UNC instead of only representing Student Government itself.
“It’s time we live up to our motto ‘the people’s University.' I’m the only candidate to have ever been elected by students to serve in Student Government," Woods said, referring to his time as a Student Government senator.
Woods’ platform includes getting serious about health care, serving students more effectively, diversity and inclusion and government reform, student safety, focusing on first-years and focusing on mental health, according to his campaign website.
“I want to leave a legacy of progress at UNC,” Woods said. “For generations, we continue to progress as students, activists and mentors, and our University should be supportive of that progress. It’s time we ramp up the progress and empower students to engage in unified activism.”
He has beenendorsed by the Carolina Veterans Organization.
