UNC's Campus Y wants to increase communication in 2012-2013

Nearly a month after its new leadership took office, the Campus Y is beginning to establish a vision for a more inclusive social justice movement.

The Campus Y’s executive board held a retreat on Sunday to discuss plans for the upcoming semester and to help the new leadership transition over from the old one.

Co-Presidents Mackenzie Thomas and Jagir Patel, who took office March 12, said they have several objectives for next year, including heightened fundraising and better communication between committees and with non-members.

“Our goals definitely stem from the successes of this year but also recognize where we could have made improvements,” Thomas said.

In the February election, Thomas and Patel ran against Laura McCready and Joseph Terrell, who campaigned on a platform of more unified social activism. The Campus Y has united this year in support of a set of issues, including gender-neutral housing and lower tuition.

Thomas said that members are spread out over 30 committees, all with different goals that change on a daily basis. This makes communication crucial for collaboration among members, Thomas said.

Emilio Vicente, director of internal relations and programming, said his focus next year is to bridge the gaps between committees and members of the executive board.

This will help solidify the Campus Y’s focus on social justice, he said.

He said he hopes to meet with all committee co-chairmen at least once to get feedback on current issues.

Vicente said he is planning several workshops to help educate students on social justice issues and will create an informational listserv to help get students involved.

Patel added that they are working to create a brochure with information about the Campus Y to be distributed to incoming freshmen at summer orientation.

The co-presidents have also started holding office hours on Wednesdays to encourage members to come to them with questions and concerns.

Thomas said they also plan to fundraise for the Y Fund, a micro-grant which was created last fall to support and foster social justice initiatives.

The two said they will continue preparations for the coming academic year, and that the retreat helped them plan for the constant work that comes with the job.

“We wanted to ensure that we, as members of the executive board, thought of our positions as fluid throughout the summer — it’s not an on-off switch that we are turning off,” Thomas said.

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