• Campus
    • Campus
    • Student Life
    • Administration
    • Faculty
    • Higher Education
  • City & County
    • City & County
    • Chapel Hill
    • Carrboro
    • Education
    • Public Safety
  • Politics
    • Politics
    • North Carolina
    • National
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Men's Basketball
    • Women's Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Golf
    • Men's Soccer
    • Women's Soccer
    • Swimming and Diving
    • Men's Tennis
    • Women's Tennis
    • Field Hockey
    • Rowing
    • Volleyball
  • Culture
    • Culture
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Food
  • Opinion
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Cartoons
    • Columns
    • Letters
    • Kvetching Board
  • Multimedia
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Galleries
    • Audio
  • About
    • About
    • Hiring
    • Board of Directors
    • Alumni
    • Corrections
    • Contact
    • Meet the editors
    • Policies & Bylaws
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Donate
  • Story Collections

  • HeelsHousing
  • Offline Chapel Hill
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obits
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Newsletter
  • Classifieds
  • Campus
  • City & County
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Donate
  • HeelsHousing
  • Search
The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893.

The Daily Tar Heel
    • Campus
      • Campus
      • Student Life
      • Administration
      • Faculty
      • Higher Education
    • City & County
      • City & County
      • Chapel Hill
      • Carrboro
      • Education
      • Public Safety
    • Politics
      • Politics
      • North Carolina
      • National
    • Sports
      • Sports
      • Football
      • Men's Basketball
      • Women's Basketball
      • Cross Country
      • Golf
      • Men's Soccer
      • Women's Soccer
      • Swimming and Diving
      • Men's Tennis
      • Women's Tennis
      • Field Hockey
      • Rowing
      • Volleyball
    • Culture
      • Culture
      • Arts & Entertainment
      • Food
    • Opinion
      • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Cartoons
      • Columns
      • Letters
      • Kvetching Board
    • Multimedia
      • Multimedia
      • Video
      • Galleries
      • Audio
    • About
      • About
      • Hiring
      • Board of Directors
      • Alumni
      • Corrections
      • Contact
      • Meet the editors
      • Policies & Bylaws
    • Advertise
      • Advertise
      • Policies
      • Events Calendar
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Donate
    • Story Collections

    • HeelsHousing
    • Offline Chapel Hill
    • Shop
    • Buy Photos
    • 1893 Brand Studio
    • Alumni
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations/Obits
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Southern Neighbor
    • Newsletter
    • Classifieds
  • In the News
  • Men's basketball
  • The OC Report
  • Football
  • Business
  • Franklin Street

4/7/2017, 5:58am

New split constitution plans for increased governance for graduate students

New split constitution plans for increased governance for graduate students Buy Photos

Student Body President Elizabeth Atkins speaks at her inauguration on Tuesday. Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Atkins.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print
BY Preston Lennon

With a new student government administration comes a new constitution and a new set of rules.

The principal change under this version is that there are now two student governments, both with their individual structures and chains of command, separately serving both the undergraduate and graduate populations.

Starting next year, either president will be able to run for the position of student body president. This year the role is being served by Elizabeth Adkins.

While the new constitution was being drafted, it was decided to give Adkins the position after her counterpart in the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, Madelyn Percy, turned it down.

“This year was different in that I didn’t have to run for student body president, given that our new constitution was just enacted last night with our inauguration,” Adkins said.


Editors Picks

‘We have made progress’: How UNC has advanced women on campus this past decade


Here's how studying has evolved throughout the decade


The Campaign for Carolina initiative allowed for fundraising growth over the decade



The SBP previously received a stipend, and this practice will continue. The only difference is a new provision stating, “If serving a dual role, the student body president shall not be eligible for multiple stipends.”

Cole Simons, speaker of Student Congress, said the stipend levels won’t change from last year.

“The money is paid from the same student fee money that pays for student organizations and everything else.”

Percy and Adkins have already formed a strong working relationship and have begun to put the theoretical changes in the new constitution into practice.

Sam Green, the student body vice president, was part of the group responsible for crafting the new constitution.

He said having an undergraduate serve the double role while Percy serves as the GPSF president will not pose any issues moving forward, but the two presidents will have to work together to make sure that graduates are represented adequately.

“Madelyn will be making sure that Elizabeth is briefed on graduate issues and that her speeches to the Board of Trustees will pertain to graduates,” Green said.

The role of the student body president on the Board of Trustees is to inform the board of the needs of the students, both undergraduates and graduates.

“The trustees and hired administration want to know what the students are talking about,” Green said. He said he thinks the split will make the SBP’s presence on the board more significant.

A checks and balance system enacted with the new constitution is the establishment of the Joint Governance Council, a body designed to advise both the Undergraduate Student Government and GPSF. The student body president will serve on the Joint Governance Council as a non-voting member.

“It’s a new compromise, hoping that there would be codified conversation between graduates and undergraduates not only in the executive branch, but in the legislative branch as well,” Green said.

Moving forward, the new administration will look to utilize compromise and conversation in making sure the new constitution is implemented with minimal resistance. Adkins said she is excited to be the first person to serve in a dual capacity.

“I think it’s going to be very much a learning year for a lot of us, testing out this new constitution and seeing what works and what doesn’t work.”

university@dailytarheel.com


Next up in Student Life

  • Student Government hosts workshop featuring professional lobbyists and state senator

  • 'It’s totally surreal': UNC's fourth astronaut graduate recalls her path to NASA

  • From holiday gifts to clothing lines: How UNC students use BeAM makerspaces


Next up in Campus

  • Guskiewicz sends letter to BOG, UNC System addressing Silent Sam settlement concerns

  • Police presence, settlement plan and UNC donations brought up at Silent Sam rally

  • 'From every single possible direction': Environmental steps over the decade


Next up in Student Congress

  • Meet your 2019 student body president candidates

  • February Senate meeting fails to fill speaker pro tempore vacancy

  • What does Savannah Putnam's administration look like after eight months?


Next up in Student Government

  • Student Government hosts workshop featuring professional lobbyists and state senator

  • Mental Health Monday addresses body positivity during the holiday season

  • Your One Card could work as your voter ID — if UNC makes the deadline


Next up in

  • Student Government hosts workshop featuring professional lobbyists and state senator

  • Mental Health Monday addresses body positivity during the holiday season

  • Your One Card could work as your voter ID — if UNC makes the deadline


Next up in Student body presidential election of 2017

  • New Student Code up for debate at student government

  • Election cycle shows holes in Student Code and process

  • Elizabeth Adkins officially sworn in as student body president


The Daily Tar Heel welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic.

Latest Print Edition

Print Edition Print Archive

Decade in Review

Special Print Edition

Start the Presses!

Thank you for reading! You are someone who appreciates independent student journalism, support that work with your tax-deductible donation today!

Donate Now!
    • Front Page
    • Campus
    • City & County
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • Donate
    • HeelsHousing
Daily Tar Heel To Homepage
109 E. Franklin St. Suite 210, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Offline Chapel Hill
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Classifieds

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2019 The Daily Tar Heel

Powered by Solutions by The State News.

A Century of Champions

The perfect gift for the UNC fan in your life. Celebrate UNC basketball's years of success with "A Century of Champions," a keepsake poster from The Daily Tar Heel and 1893 Brand Studio.

Buy Now