Lack of Women's Voice Won't Silence Issues

Although the population of students at UNC is predominantly female, the candidates running for student body president in the Feb. 11 elections do not represent this figure.

All four of this year's candidates are male.

But the candidates do not believe that it will affect their campaigns adversely.

"It would be better if there was a more diverse selection of candidates in the election, but (the lack of female candidates) is not going to affect my campaign in any way," said candidate Sang Shin.

Many of the candidates are planning to include women's issues in their platforms and hope to bring these issues or concerns to the forefront.

"Since the school has such a large population of women, a big part of the platform should be to reach out to women on campus," said candidate Nathan Cherry.

Candidate Matt Tepper said women's issues are important to him, citing his experience with women's groups on campus.

"I worked on the Women's Affairs Committee and contacted a variety of people," he said. "So it's something I've paid attention to."

Candidate Ben Pickett said that although it is unfortunate that there are no female candidates this year, Student Body President Jen Daum has projected a strong voice for female students.

"I think the Daum administration tipped the iceberg to make a fundamental change for women on campus," he said. "I have a really strong women's issues platform."

In the last 10 years, 12 women have campaigned for the position of student body president. When Daum was elected, she became the third female in the school's history to serve in the post.

Women fill the leadership positions for all three branches of student government.

Carey Richter, speaker of Student Congress, said the personalities -- not the genders -- of student body presidents affect their performances in office.

Even if all three leadership positions are filled by men, the elected officials will create a relevant voice for the student body as long as they exhibit an increased commitment to student government and its goals, she said.

A few faculty members articulated similar viewpoints on the absence of a woman's perspective in the upcoming student body president election.

"It's distressing to hear that women aren't throwing their hats in the ring," said Diane Kjervik, director of the Carolina Women's Center. "The campus would benefit from women in leadership positions."

But even though this year's elections for student body president do not include any female candidates, Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff said gender is not the only factor. "I think what we want is a mature, articulate, creative candidate with a sense of humor ... and those candidates come in all packages."

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