A long road ahead

To say Lindsay Strunk has several major projects ahead of her as the Carolina Athletic Association's new president would be a serious understatement.

Former President Will Keith's recent resignation has come at an intense time for CAA members, but they shouldn't let the incidents overwhelm them in their work for students.

It's not like this bunch isn't used to dealing with pressure. Breakdowns in communication marked Keith's short tenure as CAA president.

His quick decision to invite rock band Sister Hazel to perform at Homecoming hit a particularly sour note, as it angered many in the University community and ultimately became burdened with financial problems from flawed planning.

The CAA did manage to secure R&B singer John Legend as a replacement. But the group's initial poor planning, combined with the lack of communication among CAA members, student government and the student body, put an important campus event at risk of failure.

These flaws in planning could have been avoided easily if everyone had been on the same page. Thus, the CAA and other student officials should work diligently to improve communication in the future. Student Congress formed a committee earlier this semester to examine these problems and discuss solutions, and CAA officials should take these proceedings seriously.

Fortunately, signs are promising that the situation will improve, as Strunk has supported increased communication in the past.

"I think it will really tie together the fact that the CAA and Student Congress work for the student body," Strunk told The Daily Tar Heel as CAA vice president in September. "It will be a positive step for both groups as a whole."

Strunk also faces the task of accommodating graduate students. These students pay fees at the University, but many of them have families they are unable to sit with at sporting events.

Speaking of tickets, CAA officials should keep in mind that, if nothing else, most students expect ticket distributions for sporting events to be fair and efficient. Unfortunately, this year's football game against N.C. State was botched, leaving hundreds of students out in the cold - the CAA should work with athletics officials to ensure that such a scenario doesn't occur again.

Clint Gwaltney, assistant athletics director for the Smith Center and ticket operations, explained the thought process behind distribution decisions for The Daily Tar Heel in 2003. "We take it on a game-by-game situation," Gwaltney said. "If we deem it necessary (to hold a pre-game distribution), we can decide at that point and time, but at this point I don't foresee it happening."

If a huge rivalry game doesn't merit distributing tickets ahead of time, it's hard to imagine what would. To prevent this problem in the future, CAA officials should keep their eyes open through all the other activities they might find themselves engaged in.

And of course, there's Homecoming, which starts its events this week. Early concert foibles aside, things look to be on track for the week of celebration.

The CAA has gone through a great deal in the last few months. The change in leadership puts an enormous amount of pressure on those involved, but they are nonetheless bound to their duty to students.

Those assuming new duties should choose to view recent events as an opportunity to start the year afresh. There's a lot to do, and we can only hope the CAA is up to the task.