Platform Basics Endure Through Years

And last year. And 15, 25, even 50 years ago.

These three basic ideas have been at the core of student body president candidates' platforms for almost as long as the office has existed.

But as the student body has grown, new types of issues have been added to candidates' platforms and remain there year after year, even if little progress is made on them.

John Sanders, former student body president, said his 1950 campaign focused on issues such as tuition, faculty-student advising, improving student leadership and having students' voices heard -- issues that continue to dominate candidates' platforms today.

The biggest difference in campus politics is campaigning methods, not platform substance, Sanders said.

"These are always issues of concern to students," he said.

But in addition to larger issues that are directly germane to students, student body president candidates also have learned to include in their platforms the smaller details that affect students' everyday quality of life.

Known to campus politicos as "bike rack issues" because of an early 1990s push to increase the number of bike racks in Chapel Hill, these issues are vital to any successful platform, said Lee Conner, former Graduate and Professional Student Federation president and 1996 student body president candidate.

"You have to talk about those philosophical issues like tuition and parking," Conner said. "But you also have to tell people about the smaller, practical things you will accomplish."

Some of these issues become as standard as the large-scale issues, Conner said, citing examples like ending Saturday reading days and lowering textbook prices at Student Stores.

"There are buzzwords people pick up on," he said. "Some change, some don't."

Conner said some of these hot topics stay around for a while because it takes the work of several administrations to tackle the problems.

"There are always some (issues) that carry over from year to year," he said. "It usually takes a few years to get things accomplished."

Free Internet access for off-campus students, for example, has been a point of interest since the 1996 student body president election.

Expanding bus services while reducing costs for University students also has been a feature of platforms since the early 1980s.

But Conner emphasized that progress is possible. "I think there's a lot of things people do get accomplished. The classic example is Brad Matthews and getting the clocks in every classroom," he said.

In addition to pledging to voice student concern about tuition and parking issues and to work to improve students' quality of life, student body president candidates historically have tried to act as a sort of social conscience for the campus.

Social issues are a standard component of student body president candidates' platforms.

Each decade has its own examples.

In 1962, candidate Larry Phelps campaigned on the national issues of integration and disarmament.

Marcus Williams, a candidate in the 1974 student body president race, called for the institution of a women's studies program and urged the administration to implement affirmative action.

Securing a living wage for campus housekeepers also has been a tenet of most student body president candidates' platforms since 1992.

Ultimately, appealing to a variety of students with their platforms is a constant goal of student body president candidates, Conner said.

"Candidates try to hit buttons with as many voters as possible," Conner said. "Candidates that do well have ... 25 bullet points (on their platforms) because they're more likely to attract a variety of people."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.