SBP-Elect Sets in Motion Preliminary Plans for Term

After celebrating a 416-vote margin of victory in Tuesday's runoff election, Student Body President-elect Jen Daum began on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for when her term begins in April.

Daum has appointed junior Rachel Hockfield, who served as a core staff member of Daum's campaign, to lead her transition team.

Student Body President Justin Young has named Assistant Student Body Secretary Graham Long to work with Hockfield and pass on information from this year's student leaders to the incoming administration, Daum said.

She said putting together a top-notch leadership team is her highest priority. "The first thing I need to do is put together an amazing Cabinet," Daum said.

Throughout the campaign, Daum emphasized that she would assemble a diverse Cabinet.

But Daum said Wednesday that she will not deliberately seek students from various ethnic backgrounds, viewpoints and levels of campus involvement.

She added that she wants many students to apply for Cabinet positions, saying an increased applicant volume would ensure diversity. The positions of student body vice president, treasurer and secretary, as well as executive branch committee chairman posts, are filled through an application process open to all members of the student body.

Daum debunked the notion that her Cabinet would be made up only of her campaign workers or the other candidates who supported her in Tuesday's runoff against former candidate Will McKinney.

"(The Cabinet) is not going to be a group of people who wore my buttons for a month," Daum said.

Daum said she expects the issues of tuition and parking to dominate the early stages of her presidency.

Regarding tuition, Daum said she will work with Young and other student leaders on strategies to educate and mobilize students to counter proposals that would further increase tuition.

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted in January to recommend a $400, one-year increase. The UNC-system Board of Governors is expected to vote on the proposal March 6.

Daum also said she hopes to work with the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee and administrators to improve students' parking status.

She said she supports the current student leaders in their efforts to reorganize the committee before next semester. This year's leaders have asked the administration to both reduce the size of TPAC and increase student representation on the advisory panel.

"I think TPAC needs to be restructured," Daum said. "And it's my understanding it will be restructured."

Daum said she met with Chancellor James Moeser on Wednesday to discuss how the two will work together next year.

She also said the now lame-duck student body president was helpful to her on her first day of a long road ahead.

"Justin has been wonderful," Daum said. "I'm looking forward to a good transition."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.