Planks slow to reach fruition

Student Body President Seth Dearmin had mixed success this summer — tackling some of his platform planks but letting others slip by.

While some students have applauded Dearmin for his approachability, others have criticized him for failing to kick-start several promised initiatives.

During the spring’s student elections, Dearmin pledged to work with the Chapel Hill Town Council to introduce wireless Internet to Franklin Street.

While members of the Town Council made strides to implement the plan, Dearmin did not attend a single council meeting this summer.

There were three council business meetings during the summer. Dearmin intended to go in August, but was unable to because there were no meetings, he said.

He said Tuesday he would be there when the council reconvenes in September.

Dearmin recently helped form a University task force composed of administrators and student leaders to examine the matter.

The task force is preparing to set a date for their first meeting.

Adrian Johnston, student body vice president, said the task force will look into combining efforts with the Town Council.

While Dearmin has not made substantial strides toward implementing his wireless plan, he has had successes in other initiatives this summer.

This summer the N.C. General Assembly approved a bill that will allow the Chapel Hill township to revise its voting precincts into a larger superprecinct.

The change will make voting more accessible to students, Dearmin says.

He inherited the initiative from his two predecessors and saw it through completion this summer. He made several trips to Raleigh to lobby legislators.

Kevin FitzGerald, chief lobbyist for the University, said Dearmin and Johnston’s ability to foster relationships with representatives helped them gain credibility.

“I’ve worked with some students that are very confrontational, but they have a very good way of interacting,” FitzGerald said.

This summer Dearmin and Johnston also made preliminary steps to complete other platform planks such as creating a comprehensive online University calendar and establishing a mental health task force.

But, Dearmin said he emphasizes quality more than speed with his projects.

“We’re not going to be pushing through with things just to check off a list to get it into a report by October,” Dearmin said.

“We want to make sure we fulfill our promises to the best of our abilities, and if that takes until March, so be it.”

While some students criticized last year’s student body president Matt Calabria for not being a presence on campus, Dearmin has purposely tried to be more visible.

“There are more big picture things than platform planks,” Dearmin said. “What face do we want to present to the students?”

Dearmin was the first student body president in three years to be a counselor at Freshman Camp.

He said he also made a point to talk to as many groups as possible. Dearmin said he was present at every C-TOPS session to greet freshmen this summer.

“I’ve made a point to really go out to students and talk to them,” Dearmin said. “That’s what we want student government to be.”

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.