After Deadline – Midterm Report Card Edition

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PART ONE:

The Daily Tar Heel’s Editorial Board issues its judgment of the work of student government leaders in today’s paper. Associate Opinion-page Editor Jonathan Tugman joins us on the program to defend the grades.

Student Body President Eve Carson:
Editorial Board B
Nick and Joe’s Take B-

She performed well when dealing with surprises that came up over the first few months of her tenure, including a battle with the faculty over the achievement index, setting up a new early voting site accessible to students, and creating a student advisory committee to the chancellor’s search committee. She also got the ball rolling on major
platform points like the junior year scholarship and the big name speaker series. However, she was less than stellar on tuition (which is arguably her most important role as SBP), working effectively with Student Congress, and the mishap over setting a special election date.

Student Congress Speaker Tyler Younts
Editorial Board B-
Nick and Joe B-

Congress did well when it came down to performing its primary role as the allocator of student fees. They kept funding on track, avoided major internal squabbles, and addressing any ideological divide that need not exist. We would like to see Younts work harder to mend the partnership with the executive branch, and it would be great if Congress could pass any truly progressive or meaningful legislation this session.

GPSF President Lauren Anderson
Editorial Board B-
Nick and Joe A-

We were quite pleased to see Anderson taking a stand on tuition, addressing the needs of her constituency, and continuing to push her programs from last year. She’s only gotten better in her second year, and though she is not the most dynamic student leader at the table, she’s a quiet force to be reckoned with.

PART TWO: CAA President Colby Almond
Editorial Board C+
Nick and Joe B+

Almond did well with his two Homecoming concerts, and getting the word
out on basketball tickets. His role has been made difficult by trying to define a student leadership position that has become increasingly marginalized as Clint Gwaltney dictates and distributes tickets.

RHA President Brian Sugg
Editorial Board A-
Nick and Joe A-

Sugg demonstrated the most effective leadership this year with progress on every single platform point, streamlining enhancements, and communicating with the Dept. of Housing and Residential Education and community governments. His only setback: scheduling RHA Week on dates that were rained out in the midst of a drought.

Sr. Class Officers Ashley Shores and Veronica Mora
Editorial Board B+
Nick and Joe C+

Shores and Mora lived up to expectations with their bar nights, senior habitat house, and barrage of emails over the senior listserv. However, we were disappointed that the senior class wasn’t allowed any input into the class gift, and the commencement speaker announcement was less than stellar. Planning for the senior class speaker or event will be key to a better second-half.

As always, it’s important to remember that midterm grades can improve with progress later in the year, and with this class of motivated and in most cases experienced leaders, there’s no reason to expect them not to.

-Joe and Nick

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