Out-of-State SBPs Face Challenges With Legislature

The out-of-state student enrollment at UNC is capped at 18 percent, yet the last three students elected to the post of student body president -- Daum, Justin Young and Brad Matthews -- have all come from outside the state of North Carolina.

But the trend did not always lean toward electing out-of-state students. The last 10 student body presidents elected before Matthews were all in-state students.

John Sanders, student body president from 1950-51, said that he has been familiar with student government for many years and that he could only remember a handful of student body presidents who might have been from outside North Carolina in the last 55 years.

Former student leaders said out-of-state student body president face challenges that in-state presidents might not, primarily in dealing with the N.C. General Assembly.

Former Graduate and Professional Student Federation President Lee Conner said legislative interaction is the only area in which he thinks student body presidents from North Carolina have an edge. He said that when student body presidents meet a legislator, it helps if they are from the legislator's district or at least from the state.

"Their incentive to care is from a political standpoint," he said. "They care about voters, and you're not one of them."

But Conner said that if student body presidents are from another state but are well-informed with accurate facts about North Carolina, they can succeed. "You overcome that with knowledge, facts and being able to persuasively argue about the benefits of the University to the state of North Carolina," he said.

Young, who is from Stone Mountain, Ga., followed this philosophy and registered himself as an Orange County voter. He said he is aware of how legislators tend to cater to their constituents, so he chose to become one of them. "(Being an Orange County voter) is another way to get involved in issues that directly affect this community," he said.

Young said he was able to make up easily for the fact that he is from out of state.

"The difference isn't as evident to me when it comes to representing the student body," Young said. "I've done a good job of educating myself about North Carolina."

Reyna Walters, student body president from 1998-99, said her status as an in-state student helped her in office because she had a knowledge of North Carolina's history and the role the University plays in the state.

But Walters also said there isn't much of a difference between in-state and out-of-state student body presidents. "The legislative aspect is the only glaring difference I can see," she said.

Daum, who is from Pewaukee, Wis., said she needs to work hard at understanding state politics if she is to be an effective president.

"I'm doing my best to educate myself about the complexities of the relationship that the state of North Carolina has with the University of North Carolina and understand the system schools better," she said.

Daum has participated in the Student Ambassadors Program, in which students visit N.C. counties to offer information to people about educational opportunities beyond high school and about the UNC system.

She also said she volunteered with flood relief efforts in eastern North Carolina.

Daum said she does not see it as a handicap that she has not lived in North Carolina all her life because she considers the state her home now.

"I've been here longer than the chancellor and the provost," Daum said.

Former Student Body President Nic Heinke, who is from Charlotte, said there are definite advantages both for being a student body president from North Carolina and also for being from outside the state.

But Heinke also said Daum's platform issues, namely her plans for student accessibility and tuition, can make voters overlook the location of her hometown.

Daum was not the only out-of-state candidate in this year's election -- Brad Overcash was the only candidate on the ballot for student body president who is from North Carolina.

Overcash, who is from Thomasville, said that in a way he felt honored to be the only in-state candidate. "Maybe I was able in some small way to represent the state of North Carolina," he said. "It's sort of like a state pride thing."

Overcash said he would like to see more in-state students run for the post in the future.

"I honestly think that in-state students should make a better run," Overcash said.

Overcash said some in-state students, like himself, might have a passion for the University. But he said out-of-state students can exhibit the same passion.

Regardless of where candidates live before coming to UNC, many student leaders -- past and present -- said all types of students can solidly represent the student body.

Heinke said there is no reason out-of-state student body presidents cannot do as good of a job as in-state students.

"It's how impassioned you're willing to be about student issues," he said.

"It's taking the experiences you have -- woman, man, minority, non-minority -- and applying them to the issues they care about."

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