Race for ASG president to go uncontested again

The race to lead the UNC system’s student advocacy group is a a lot less crowded than it could have been.

Zach Wynne, two-term student body president at UNC-Wilmington, is set to become the next president of the system’s Association of Student Governments.

That’s because Jud Watkins, a junior from Appalachian State University who initially had planned to run against Wynne, dropped out of the race in order to focus on his own campus.

It would have been the first contested ASG race in three years. This year’s president, Amanda Devore, ran unchallenged — as did her two-term predecessor, Jonathan Ducote.

Wynne said his “outside-the-Triangle perspective” will help him develop the ASG into a more credible organization that uses its budget efficiently.

“I want a steady leadership for the group so it can grow itself, so the program we already have become more effective,” he said.

Wynne will begin working on his master’s degree in public administration at ASU this fall, making him the first student from the university to serve as president after Devore steps down July 1.

He also will be the first ASG president in seven years who is not a student at UNC-Chapel Hill or N.C. State University.

Wynne’s responsibility as ASG president will include serving as chief executive officer of the organization and as a nonvoting member of the system’s Board of Governors. He also will meet with members of the N.C. General Assembly and the system’s president, Molly Broad, to lobby for student interests.

But a challenge for Wynne and many delegates in the association is the distance from their homes to Raleigh. “It’s definitely going to be the biggest hill to climb,” he said, adding that he plans to hold conference calls and conduct regular trips to the capital.

Ducote said the most important aspect of the president’s job is working with state government officials in Raleigh. He added that since Wynne has an understanding of state and university policy, he will be able to contribute to the organization.

“He has experience with university issues,” Ducote said. “I also think that Zach has always (had) a good ability to work with the General Assembly. He understands the General Assembly and he understands how to move things to that body.”

In addition to his voice at the capital, Wynne said, he wants universities in the Triangle to help make sure the ASG has a voice in Raleigh.

Another obstacle will be smoothing out what some say are strained relations between UNC-Chapel Hill and the association.

Several ASG members — particularly those on the Council of Student Body Presidents — voiced concern last semester that UNC-CH’s involvement in the group has dropped off considerably.

SBP Matt Calabria sent a letter in the fall to the council filled with suggestions to improve the association’s efficiency, saying he viewed the ASG as a “weak confederation” of student governments participating on a volunteer basis.

And in this year’s student body president campaign, candidate Tom Jensen advocated for the University to pull out from the ASG.

But Wynne said the relationship between the association and the University should be smooth.

“I already have a good relationship with (UNC-CH Student Body President-elect) Seth Dearmin,” he said. “We’re going to keep more schools in this year, and people are going to be more excited.”

 

Staff Writer Elizabeth Dougherty contributed to this article.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.