Whether they were contested or not, the elections of the past month should lend students both reassurance and encouragement regarding their role in local politics.
Less than a week after recent graduate Lee Storrow won his bid for a seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council, UNC political science major Matt Hughes won an uncontested election to serve as chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party. Their elections set an example for students to follow, regardless of political affiliation.
While Storrow, Hughes and others before them have taken an electoral route, students should know that it doesn’t take an election to give feedback to the town and county. It’s this kind of feedback that is particularly relevant at this time for Chapel Hill, as the town solicits input from all members of the community in order to update the Comprehensive Plan — its roadmap for the next decade.
It can be easy for students to become trapped in the campus bubble and feel disconnected from the larger town. It can be just as easy for the Town Council and various Chapel Hill advisory boards to then grow out of touch with the desires of a rather large segment of the town’s residents.
As transportation board member Mirta Mihovilovic said, the “University’s campus is not in a vacuum.” Rather, it’s closely tied with the daily affairs of town government, as students benefit from local infrastructure, transportation, law enforcement and other services.
Students should see to it that their priorities are vocalized and represented, whether they’re sitting on a town board or raising an issue at a public hearing.
The town, to its credit, has taken steps toward drawing students into the process. The transportation board recently reserved a spot for a UNC student and its chairman, Augustus Cho, is continuing to look for ways to make student participation easier. He suggested shortening term limits so that a student doesn’t have to spend a majority of his or her college career on the board.
Students must take advantage of opportunities like these to prove the value of their contributions to the town.
Student Body Vice President Zealan Hoover currently serves as the UNC student on the transportation board. Students must follow his lead and be active and devoted participants, not only to the transportation board but also to the many other boards.
