Several student leaders, both the old guard and new blood, highlighted the importance of reaching beyond campus boundaries at last week’s student government inauguration.
Yet some of those same leaders are questioning recent student efforts to form relationships with members of the state legislature.
Former Student Body President Matt Calabria created an advocacy group last year to engage students beyond student government in lobbying efforts. The Student University Advocacy Coalition, originally and informally still referred to the Carolina Lobby Corps, emerged from student government to become a separate entity.
Students in SUAC took to Raleigh to lobby last summer. But as the year progressed, student government found itself responsible for more and more of the group’s advocacy duties.
“It definitely took a different course than we expected, but ultimately SUAC’s role went back to the student government,” Calabria said.
The Calabria administration chose to make SUAC an independent entity in order to separate student government from particular stances on political or educational issues.
This separation allowed student government the appearance of objectivity, but it also left the coalition with less guidance from the start, causing some student officials to become dissatisfied with the group’s efforts.
While the group did not accomplish all of its tasks, including scheduling a seminar on lobbying this semester, it effectively complemented the UNC Association of Student Governments’ efforts to increase student presence in Raleigh, said Charlie Anderson, former speaker of Student Congress.
Ashley Castevens, chairwoman of the coalition, said the organization had some successes during its first year.
