Races for RHA, CAA, and Graduate Federation presidencies only have one candidate

They’re guaranteed to win. But the three candidates running unopposed in Tuesday’s student elections have mixed feelings about the lack of competition.

With an uncontested race comes a heightened opportunity to focus on the issues, said Johnathan Flynn, the candidate for president of the Carolina Athletic Association.

But Heather Robertson, the candidate for president of the Residence Hall Association, said she wishes she had a competitor to challenge her platform.

And all three candidates — who are running for president of RHA, CAA and Graduate and Professional Schools Federation — said running unopposed has not altered their campaign much.

Residence Hall Association

Robertson said she loves living in Ram Village Apartments, and she wants students to feel the same way about living on campus.

“At first I thought the idea of living at school is a strange thing,” she said. “Then I realized I love making where you live on campus a home.”

In her campaign for RHA president, Robertson aims to share her vision for RHA’s future.

“I want to stress the value and enjoyment of living on campus,” she said.

Robertson said she will focus on community service projects, scholarships that make on-campus living more affordable and training retreats for resident advisors.

“I couldn’t imagine myself not being involved with RHA, and being president seems like the natural step,” she said.

Carolina Athletic Association

Johnathan Flynn said it’s important to acknowledge that there is more to UNC athletics than just football and basketball.

His campaign for CAA president plans to publicize Olympic sports — varsity sports other than men’s basketball and football — to increase attendance.

“It is important not to overlook those,” Flynn said.

Flynn said he wants to partner with other student organizations to broaden CAA’s involvement.

“All a lot of people know about CAA is student tickets, and that’s very little of what we do,” he said.

Flynn is a member of the CAA cabinet. Last year, he was vice-chairman of the homecoming committee.

“If I can take on a bigger role I can spread my passion to other people as well,” Flynn said.

Graduate Federation

Michael Bertucci said he sees a need for a graduate voice in student government.

“I found areas we could better represent our student population to the administrators,” he said.

Bertucci is currently the Graduate and Professional Student Federation’s chief of staff, and is running for president of the organization.

He said he will focus on advocating for affordable tuition, increased quality of student life and improved communication between students and administrators.

He said he will contact students through listservs and publicize campaigns to raise awareness.

“You have to be really motivated to get out there and see what people have to say,” he said.

Bertucci said he also wants to make teaching assistants accessible by moving their office hours to South Campus locations.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.