Commission seeks to unify

At a University as large as UNC, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.

But the newly created Class Commission aims to unify each class, beginning with 2012 graduates.

The seven commissioners introduced themselves to about a dozen sophomores Wednesday evening at a meet-and-greet in the Student Union Gallery.

“Our whole purpose is to emphasize the class and offer something a little bit different,” said Ian Lee, commission vice president. “We all feel like Carolina students but we rarely identify as a class.”

The commissioners were chosen by the General Alumni Association staff and student leaders after an application process and will plan events and a forum in an attempt to draw together the sophomore class.

Each commissioner will serve through the class of 2012’s graduation. The GAA is planning to continue the commissions for future classes, and a 2013 commission has already been selected.

The 2012 commission is the first of its kind but not a completely original idea, said C. Hawkins, coordinator of student membership for the GAA. He said each class used to have a permanent president that represented the students for all four years at UNC.

“It’s kind of an old concept that we’ve revived and made fresh and new,” Hawkins said.

The commission is required by the GAA to host at least three events: a social event, a service project and a pertinent issues forum.

“The main issue is to have class cohesiveness,” said Mario Benavente, service director of the commission. “The senior class president can’t do it all.”

Benavente said he got involved to make a difference.

“I was never part of class officers in high school,” he said. “I knew that if that idea was applied to the University where I could make a difference, that I wanted to get my hands in it.”

While many of the students present didn’t know much about what the commission will do, they were optimistic about the concept.

“I guess they just push for our ideas as a class,” said sophomore Matt Dibble, who attended the event. “They’re just our advocates and have our voice as a class.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.