Why not Will Leimenstoll?
Leimenstoll is a solid candidate and would do a decent job as student body president. He has assembled a very capable team of advisers and managers, and he delegates very effectively. He is also exceptionally likable and strikes us as a genuinely kind person.
Our concern, however, is that Leimenstoll is too hands-off in his leadership style and would acquiesce too easily when faced with opposition from members of the Board of Trustees.
When it comes to advocating for students at BOT meetings, his tendency to look to others for expertise could prove to be a liability. Students need an advocate with more conviction than Leimenstoll’s leadership style suggests.
This is not to say that he lacks passion. Leimenstoll clearly wants to give back to UNC, and we are confident he will continue to do so regardless of whether he is elected. His environmental platform is especially notable, and we hope to see the winning candidate implement many of Leimenstoll’s excellent ideas.
Why not Calvin Lewis?
Lewis has shown his capability as a manager through his extensive work with SafeWalk, but he lacks the powers of speech and persuasion that will be integral to the success of UNC’s next student body president.
Though he is clearly a quick study, Lewis also lacks the institutional knowledge necessary for an SBP.
Lewis is friendly enough and seems to have good intentions, but he has a long way to go in his conversational skills. His narrow approach to leadership would pose an obstacle to true discourse, and it is unclear how well Lewis would perform in the setting of a Board of Trustees meeting.
