2 Students Vie For Control of Revamped ASG

Now two students are hoping to make the UNC-system Association of Student Governments better.

A $1 systemwide student fee that will go into effect next fall will increase the organization's budget from what has annually been about $2,500 to about $165,000, which could allow the organization to hire professional advisers and increase its travel budget.

ASG President Andrew Payne said, "The (ASG) will be in a position next year to do things we have never done before, and it needs a strong leader to make sure those things happen."

Greg Drumwright, a junior at N.C. Agricultural & Technical University, and Jonathan Ducote, a sophomore at N.C. State University, both are looking to become president of the refurbished ASG.

James Haltom, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill and ASG's vice president of public affairs, also expressed interest in running for the position but decided to drop out of the race earlier this week. Haltom declined to comment Wednesday about the reason he changed his mind about running.

Elections will be held May 4 at the ASG's final meeting of the 2001-02 academic year.

Greg Drumwright

Drumwright, who serves as student body president at N.C. A&T, said he thinks he has developed a voice within the ASG through his aggressive yet tactful style and that he wants to build on his leadership skills. "(The ASG's) credibility has definitely taken a turn for the better," he said. "I really just want to make sure the momentum of the organization is sustained."

He said that if elected, he will propose constitutional amendments on each of the 16 UNC-system campuses that would require student body presidents to participate in the ASG.

Drumwright also said that while he plans to continue to focus on tuition issues, he also wants to expand the ASG's presence nationally. This year the ASG was involved in actively lobbying UNC-system officials against large tuition increases, including a rally at the March 6 UNC-system Board of Governors meeting.

Drumwright, who is chairman of the N.C. Black Student Government Association, also said he wants to increase diversity within the ASG and will create a diversity task force to work with UNC-system officials.

Jonathan Ducote

Ducote said he thinks his experience as ASG treasurer for 2001-02 will allow him to lead and strengthen the association.

"It's going to be a very big growing year," he said. "I see where the association needs to go next year to take higher education to a whole new level in the state."

He said that he has a variety of experiences working for students, ranging from organizing tuition rallies to meeting with members of the BOG. "I've seen it from two different perspectives," Ducote said.

He also said that if elected, he will strive to improve accountability and efficiency within the association. Ducote said he wants the ASG to help improve individual campus student governments.

"We want to empower the student governments," he said. "By doing that, we are strengthening ourselves."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.