Junior Reeves Moseley elected student body president in blowout victory
Student Body President-Elect Reeves Moseley (third from left) reacts to learning that he won the vote for student body president in an apartment in Carolina Square on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Moseley won about 70% of the vote.
Junior Reeves Moseley was elected student body president late Tuesday night in a landslide victory. Moseley waited for the results with his friends in a Carolina Square apartment past midnight.
Moseley beat his only opponent, Ryan Collins, by 2,025 votes. Moseley received around 70 percent of the vote. The total number of voters was 4,161 according to the chairperson for the Board of Elections, an increase of more than 644 from last year.
“I have to call my mom!” Moseley said when he found out.
Ryan Wallace (left), a member of Reeves Moseley's campaign, waits as Student Body President-Elect Reeves Moseley (right) receives the call declaring he won the election in a Carolina Square apartment on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Moseley won around 70% of the vote.
Moseley, a junior political science and public policy major, ran on a campaign to support marginalized communities, which Moseley believes the UNC administration has left behind. His campaign slogan, #BridgetheDivide, represented his goal of bringing together a divided student body.
Moseley’s tenure will be during the 2020 election, and a major component of his campaign was student voter mobilization and political engagement.
He also wants to open up communication between the Student Government and the student body, promoting transparency and protecting student activism.
“We can’t expect (the student body) to come to us,” Moseley said in Monday night’s debate.
Moseley noted that his tenure begins in April, when he will assign external appointments.
"I want to start out and establish these relationships with everyone, from marginalized communities to graduate students and undergraduates," Moseley said.
Ryan Wallace (left), a junior interdisciplinary major, and Amol Garg (right), members of Reeves Moseley's campaign, jump onto Student Body President-Elect Reeves Moseley (center) after the discovery of Moseley's win in a Carolina square apartment on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Moseley won around 70% of the vote.
Moseley, a native of Argyle, Texas, is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Institute of Politics.
He has also served numerous positions in student government, including undergraduate senator, a member-at-large in the Joint Governance Council, liaison to the Association of Student Governments, an executive assistant to the Student Body President and the director of Town and Community Involvement for the State and External Affairs Task Force.
Collins, a second-year law student and Moseley's opponent, would have been the first graduate student elected as student body president. He cited his professional work experience, Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF) involvement and role as Resident Hall Association president as an undergraduate for his leadership development and diverse perspective.
Collins ran on a campaign that aimed to reconnect the undergraduate student government and GPSF, which he said faced overlapping issues.
Those issues included campus safety, affordable University education and making the University a more welcoming environment for marginalized communities.
Collins said he will run for GPSF president, whose election is next week. Collins is automatically on the ballot.
"Obviously I'm disappointed in the outcome, but at least it can start a conversation and encourage more future graduate and professional to run," Collins said. "I hope that (Moseley is) committed to addressing the graduate-specific issues he pounded on his platform, especially the second seat on the Board of Trustees."
Student Body President-Elect reacts to learning the margin by which he won the election in a Carolina Square apartment on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Moseley won by around 70% of the vote.
The student body voted in favor of a referendum petitioning for a new student activity fee. The additional $17, which would apply to all full-time undergraduate, graduate and professional students, will help finance BeAM makerspaces on campus.
1,875 students voted in favor of the referendum while 1,495 voted against.
BeAM Makerspace approached the Student Fee Audit Committee, which Collins as GPSF treasurer is a member of, last semester after its original grant money began to dwindle. BeAM was exploring other options, such as charging a membership fee, to continue operating.
GPSF Vice President Michelle Hoffner O’Connor said the initial request had originally been in the $42 range, but a fee of $17 was decided upon since BeAM still has grant money and is able to request more in the future.
The fee must be added to the student constitution, which has to go through a referendum. Hoffner O’Connor said she has not seen a referendum in her time at UNC.
“We chose that because we want students to have a say,” Stephen Wright, speaker of the Undergraduate Senate, said.
