Association of Student Governments meets at N.C. Central

Amid a backdrop of institutional changes, the UNC-system Association of Student Governments got down to business at its Saturday meeting.

Mental health, parking ticket forgiveness and extending library hours were some of many topics discussed at the association’s monthly meeting, which was held at N.C. Central University.

The association, which is funded by an annual $1 student fee and represents the interests of students throughout the UNC system, has faced criticism in the past for ineffective advocacy and inefficient use of funds.

But with its new administration, the association voted to implement structural reforms, intended to reduce contention and increase productivity and transparency at its August meeting.

Cameron Carswell, president of the association, told members she was very pleased by the association’s increased productivity.

“All of the visions of each of the committee chairs are in the right direction,” she said.

Executive members said they were working to issue $1,700 in owed campus innovation grants after learning that the previous administration failed to do so.

Mark Hatcher, the association’s chief finance officer, said he would work with the association’s officer manager to send out the grant checks.

The association voted on a resolution to research the state of mental health services and resources across the UNC system.

John Secrest, vice president of student affairs for the association, said there will be an investigation into the ratio of students to counselors at each campus, the number of veterans on each campus and coordination of counselling services.

The association will also advocate against reducing funding for these services.

“The mental health initiative is going to have huge implications,” Carswell said. “It’s going to be advantageous to students who didn’t even know that people were looking out for them.”

The association’s reorganized committees also discussed grant funding for voter mobilization efforts and investigating compliance of campus sexual assault policies with new federal guidelines.

The association is also working to draft a letter praising the decision by the UNC-system Board of Governors to grant campuses more flexibility when setting aside tuition revenues for financial aid.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.