Student body presidential candidates react to freeze on campaigning

With an injunction on student body presidential elections, candidates have had to adjust their strategies.

The freeze will end Thursday at 5 p.m. when the UNC Board of Elections announces which candidates received the required 1,250 signatures.

Candidate Elizabeth Adkins said the hold on campaigning has given her team the chance to take a deep breath, catch up on school work and prepare to campaign again.

“For us, the break — it’s been interesting to say the least, but I think that this hold has been beneficial for all of us,” she said.

“Everything was very crazy there for a period of time, and very hectic.”

Another candidate, Maurice Grier, said he has also used the time to focus on school.

“The majority of the time, I’ve advised my team to kind of use it to focus on schoolwork, make sure that grades are good and that we’re not falling behind on the number one priority, which is our education,” Grier said.

Travis Broadhurst, another candidate, said the hold has been positive in that it allows for a break from the time-consuming campaigning.

“Particularly for our campaign, the freeze has kind of been a good thing,” he said. “Running a campaign is a great experience, but it really takes a toll on your grades. I’ve been able to catch a break on that, and I think the rest of my team has too.”

Adkins said her team is excited to start campaigning again on Thursday.

“We were going very hard and, you know, everyone was hitting the ground and then we kind of just had to stop because the injunction was in place,” she said.

“So we’ve all been kind of waiting around, but we’re very excited to be able to get back started tomorrow and get the ball rolling and start attending debates and, you know, talking to voters and things of that nature to get ready for the election next week.”

Broadhurst said he is happy with the way the election process has worked, and that the hold was not a bad thing.

“I think although many people see it in a negative way, there is a positive side to it,” he said. “I think the fact that since the (Student) Code is being enforced, and being enforced on all candidates, it really adds a sense of efficacy to the process.”

Grier said the complications with the elections and the way that candidates have been running their campaign has proven why he decided to run and what he is running against.

“There’s been a lot of dishonesty and ambiguity with what’s been going on,” Grier said, “and as an outsider, as a candidate that’s running who hasn’t been a part of student government in the past year, it’s been very difficult to navigate — especially when I’m given misinformation and I’m kind of kept out of the loop, and then in addition to that, just noticing all the politics that are being played.”

Grier said he has been disappointed in the way that student government has been run, especially in regards to the recent hearings and injunction.

“The entire hold has been about (Joe Nail), so for two and a half weeks, if that were me, this wouldn’t be the case — like I would have been disqualified and they would have moved forward with or without me,” Grier said. “So that just goes to show the elitism that we have in student government and it goes to show the privileges that a lot of people have.”

Broadhurst said student government has tried to abide by Title VI, the election regulations, and hopes they can just have a fair election.

“I mean, we’re all running to make Carolina a better place,” he said, “so the sooner we can get to that, the better.”

Staff Writer Nic Rardin contributed reporting.

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