An inside view to the BOT

During the year-long term, a student body president takes two oaths.

First is an oath to represent the interests of the student body. But the student body president also must swear to serve the University as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Today, as Student Body President Seth Dearmin sits down in his third meeting as a member of the University's governing board, the campus is waiting to see how he will juggle the conflicting roles.

As a member on the board, the student trustee can best fulfill the second oath by earning the respect of fellow trustees, past student body presidents say.

"You're in a room full of heavyweights, and you've got to prove you are one," said Matt Calabria, 2004-05 student body president.

But at the same time, the student trustee must not forsake student interests.

"The student body president has had to earn the trust of the students before entering the room," Calabria said.

When the board faces the issue of campus-based tuition increases later this year, Dearmin will have to define both his roles.

Students in the past have fallen on opposite ends of that spectrum - with mixed success.

When Nic Heinke served as student body president from 1999-00, he fell back on the student voice to fight a several thousand dollar increase for several years.

Standing up against University bureaucracy, he rallied more than 400 students in protest of the proposal and was one of three trustees to vote against the proposed hike.

Trustees approved a reduced increase for all UNC students for five years, but Heinke's efforts set the stage for future presidents charged with fighting the tuition battle.

Others, however, have chosen diplomacy - the trustees' language - when fighting against tuition.

Calabria opted not to oppose tuition increases outright, and he instead compromised with trustees.

While the trustees approved a lower tuition hike than they initially considered, many students accused Calabria of too readily accepting the increase.

Many former student body presidents say it is effective for the student trustee to find a balance between the two roles.

"There are times that working within the system was most effective," said Aaron Nelson, student body president from 1996-97. "And then there are times when it was our responsibility to bring outside influence into the discussion."

In finding that balance, the student body president's two oaths can come into conflict.

Dearmin said he has conveyed the interests of his constituents to trustees personally - rather than in the formal meetings.

"The way I operate is behind the scenes where two people get to sit down, talk about the issues and hash them out," he said."

Though Dearmin has been a trustee since May, he has been largely silent during meetings.

During Dearmin's first trustee meeting, he stayed silent while the board discussed Carolina North and pushed for closing the Horace Williams Airport - an issue admittedly more near and dear to Chapel Hill residents and University administrators than to students.

But as the year progresses, trustees undoubtedly will debate issues that are more pertinent to students' immediate concerns.

Last year, items that went before trustees during the school year, such as tuition and corporate advertisement in UNC sports arenas, were contentious among students.

And University administrators hope that by November's board meeting, they will present a proposal for campus-based tuition increases.

In tuition talks the student trustee usually is most active in vocalizing students' interests.

Dearmin said the fact that he has been largely silent up to this point in trustee meetings should not indicate that he is an inactive trustee.

"Just saying something for the sake of saying something is completely pointless, in my opinion."

In that sense, the student body must trust its president to represent its interests to the board, said Reyna Walters, student body president from 1998-99.

"Because when it's all said and done, no one knows what happened in the room except for the trustees."

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.