Black Student Movement’s new president Trey Mangum focused on campus visibility

UNC’s Black Student Movement will have a booming voice on campus next year if Trey Mangum has a say in the matter.

Mangum, the recently chosen BSM president for 2014-15, is a three-year member of the organization and said he is excited to start work based on his platform of accessibility, activism and effective programming.

“It’s going to be a very big year for BSM,” he said. “And right now we’re just working to get people excited.”

Mangum said one of the organization’s most important jobs for the coming year is to keep the dialogue surrounding underrepresented students active. He said the best way to do that is to work with other campus organizations.

“There needs to be unity, not just with the black community, not just with the minority community, but with the campus as a whole,” he said.

Mangum said he thought his biggest challenge during his term as president would be member retention and engagement.

“People have to make choices I guess,” he said. “And we just need to make sure people could make BSM a priority.”

BSM faculty adviser Taffye Clayton said the role of president is an important one because whoever holds it is responsible for one of the biggest student organizations on campus.

“BSM continues to be very integral to the fabric of the diversity at Carolina,” she said.

Clayton said the coming year will be mainly a time of celebration for Carolina’s minority community and BSM, with the anniversaries of organizations and programs like Project Uplift . She said Mangum has been involved in the development of the academic experience for the project, which brings minority high school juniors to campus.

Clayton said she is excited to see Mangum utilize his leadership skills and build upon his prior efforts to bring light to the issues facing underrepresented students.

“Having him now in a leadership role in BSM seems like a natural continuation of his work over time,” she said.

Mangum, a journalism major, writes for The Daily Tar Heel as a columnist and often writes on the obstacles facing minority students. Clayton said she anticipates that he will continue to bring those issues to the forefront of conversation through BSM.

“I expect for them to continue to identify the issues of the day that are important to black students, important to underrepresented students, and to all students,” Clayton said.

Current BSM president Darius Latham said it is important that whoever holds the position takes a stance on issues surrounding minority students.

“A lot of time, because of the publicity of our organization, we are often asked to give a minority opinion,” he said.

Latham said he felt sure that Mangum would utilize his past experience with BSM to leave a positive impact on the organization.

“If he just keeps doing what he’s been doing, he’ll be fine,” Latham said.

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