Medlin to work with ASG

Student Body President-elect Hogan Medlin says he will be heavily involved in a statewide student government organization but shares the concerns the current administration has with its use of student fee money.

The UNC-system Association of Student Governments has a lot of potential, Medlin said, but the group needs to spend less money on officer stipends and expend more of its energy on campus-based initiatives.

The organization is funded by $1 from every student in the UNC system.

While in previous years ASG officers have complained about the lack of involvement from UNC-Chapel Hill, they have praised Student Body President Jasmin Jones’ role in the organization this year.

Medlin, who attended his first ASG meeting last month, said he hopes to continue Jones’ legacy.

But Medlin said it upset him when he saw ASG’s budget at the last meeting and realized how much of it went to salaries as opposed to campus projects.

About $82,000 is allotted for stipends and compensation for officers.

About $5,819.13 goes toward projects and programs on the campuses. The full budget totals $206,750.

It’s important for ASG to figure out how they can reach out to students because if students do not see results from the organization, they won’t trust it and wouldn’t want to pay for it, he said.

“It’s definitely an institution that has a lot of potential, but it can be tweaked a little bit to be a lot more effective for the students,” Medlin said.

“If you come in with the right mind set, ASG can be productive and be used to benefit our students.”

Medlin said he will continue to be an active participant in the monthly meetings, which are composed of student body presidents and their delegates from 17 schools across the state.

The meetings are held at a different campus each month to discuss issues concerning the UNC system.

Both Jones and ASG President Greg Doucette said it’s important that Medlin continue to attend meetings to strengthen UNC’s relationship with ASG.

“My hope is that he is going to take the ball and run with it,” Doucette said.

In the past UNC hasn’t always put much effort in attending the ASG meetings, Doucette said.

Former student body presidents J.J. Raynor and Eve Carson kept UNC’s involvement with ASG to a minimum, which resulted in a lack of respect from other delegates, Doucette said.

But Jones, unlike her predecessors, took on an influential role in the organization, helping lead efforts to lobbying legislators about tuition.

Doucette said Jones’ attendance at meetings and activism with tuition petitions has brought UNC more respect within ASG.

Jones said it is important Medlin attend every meeting next year and participate actively in conversation.

“I would like to see him come up with something innovative for next year so that ASG continues to build and have a presence on everybody’s campus,” Jones said.

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