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The Daily Tar Heel

Letter: SBP: Limited powers make limited change

TO THE EDITOR:

I couldn’t care less who is elected student body president. 

I once did, to the point of obloquy, but now I want to posit that SBP elections are an experiment of governance rather than a proxy to redress the grievances of the student body.

Although much has been said about the utility of this office and its seat on the Board of Trustees, most students grouse that the opposite is true: that student government contributes nothing of real value. 

During my time at UNC, I was among those who were not included in the minutia of government so I often objected to its entirety. 

It wasn’t that student government was inherently flawed in design but its capacity to include.

I realize that student government is not an experiment to proffer more inclusion but rather an answer to the question: What can a small group of students accomplish within a brief span of time given institutional power? 

Unsurprisingly, student government is designed to boost a platform of ideas from a select few not execute upon the radical desires of a diverse student population. 

This shocking truth is what I suppose most students are dissatisfied with even though the function of student government was never to furnish inclusivity in the first place.

If there is anything to take away from this cursory op-Ed is that every year presents a new opportunity to elect a new class into power. 

I suggest taking part, running for office or in the very least, taking notice.

Ishmael Bishop

English Literature

Class of ‘16

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