Platform

Below, we have posted the abbreviated version of Eve's platform. If you are interested in reading the platform in its entirety, please download the Word file here or the PDF here. These documents are quite large but contain lots of great information. To view the PDF, you must have Adobe Reader installed. It can be downloaded for free here.

Untitled Document

Academics [top]

Advising
1. Create follow-up survey for advisor review
  1. Right now, there is a survey in the works for students to take after their advising appointments. This would be like the email that students get after an appointment after going to the Writing Center or University Career Services. For example, after students finish their advising appointment, they will be emailed with a form explaining the problem addressed in this meeting and the course of action the student and advisor took. Students can then respond directly on the message as to whether or not they found their advisory session satisfactory. In order to better respond to student frustrations, Eve will work with Dean Cannon and Dean Stenross of Academic Advising to implement this follow-up survey in which students could evaluate their advising session.
2. Direct messaging system for consulting with advisor
  1. Eve will work with Advising to develop a program for students that will allow students to directly message specific advisors. In this way, students could get simple questions answered without having to go meet with an advisor.
3. Develop program so that advisors can know student issue ahead of time
  1. There is a program in the Study Abroad Office that students use when signing up for a session with a study abroad advisor that informs the advisors about why the student is coming to meet. Eve will develop this program for use by all academic advisors so that advisors can learn why the student is coming, and be prepared to help them.
4. Follow-through on James’s ‘peer advisor’ system
  1. Eve will also make sure that the much-awaited “Peer Advisors” come to fruition! At the beginning of the year, this service was publicized and many students were excited about learning about great courses and helpful college-success tips from other students. But where have they gone since then? Eve will ensure that the student body has access to peer advisors, and will work with the directors of advising to develop their place within the academic advising system.
General
1. Clarify new curriculum changes
  1. With the recent changes in General College curriculum, many students are at a loss of where they stand along their academic trajectory and have no idea about what courses can count for GC or Arts & Sciences perspectives. Eve will work to clarify these changes in curriculum, partnering with the Advising Department and Associate Dean of the Office of Undergrad Curricular Jay Smith to develop measures that students could use on their own to verify whether or not they have satisfied required perspective courses; and Eve will publicize the provisions of the new curriculum. This will be beneficial even (and often, in particular) for upperclassmen, who may find out that according to the new curriculum they have satisfied all their perspectives, even though under the old curriculum they might have still needed to take certain courses.
2. Promote academic programs such as C-START
  1. There are many academic opportunities available on campus that the majority of campus has never even heard of. The Carolina Students Taking Academic Responsibility through Teaching (C-START) program, for example, allows undergraduate seniors to design and teach their own classes. Many students would have taken advantage of these programs if they had ever heard of them. Eve will publicize these programs, emphasizing the many unique academic opportunities that UNC offers. Eve will achieve this by including these possibilities in more campus literature and promoting them to first-year students, starting even at C-TOPS.
Registration
1. Add a ‘shopping cart’ function to smooth the process
2. Give priority to the ‘weights’ people assign to each class: ie—distribute 100 points among classes, those who assign the highest points to a given class have priority
Course Offerings
1. Improve course offerings by researching the highest demanded classes, and allocating more resources to these classes
  1. The process of improving courses offered at UNC could begin in the fall. It will work in this way: after part one the registration, departments and administrators can look at which courses have been most selected and most-highly prioritized by students. If they do not have course capacity to serve all students who most-need this course, departments will be able to plan ahead for the next semester, creating schedules that will reflect the needs of more students. Furthermore, using the features of the SIS, UNC could learn greater academic information about classes—for example, that 20% of the junior class needs to take a gym before the spring of 2008. So if 800 students need to take a gym class over the next three semesters, departments could prepare and plan for more of these courses ahead of time—instead of leaving hundreds of students in the lurch. Over the course of a few semesters, the University will be able to add more sections of the most-wanted courses and smoothly transition these courses from year to year on an as-needed basis. Eve will advocate for this system and bring student attention to how these changes will empower students to more effectively control their academic experience.
2. Delete courses from the course bulletin that have not been taught in the last four semesters.
Teacher Evaluations
1. Move toward full online course evaluation system
  1. After every course we take, we evaluate the class and we evaluate the teacher. But what happens to these evaluations? Students deserve to know that their evaluations are seriously considered, and they should also be able to access information about professors of classes they want to take. Eve will galvanize efforts to implement an online course-evaluation system and will push for sections of this information to be made open to the public.
Research
1. Promote research opportunities in the Humanities
  1. UNC is a leading “research institution”—but it may sometime seem that at the undergraduate level, research is only done in the sciences. But research in English or History is just as valuable of an experience for undergraduates as it is in biology or chemistry! Eve will work with the College of Arts and Sciences and with the Associate Director of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Patricia Pukilla, to promote research opportunities for undergraduates in the humanities.
2. Update “Research Opportunities” webpages in the Office of Undergraduate Research website.
  1. Many of these opportunities ‘expired’—years ago. Eve will go through the research entries to make sure they have been maintained to date!
Practical
1. Give professors incentives to order textbooks on time
  1. Textbooks at Student Stores continue to be marked up around 20% above market price. While this mark-up goes to a worthy cause—supporting financial aid and student scholarships for students—students deserve to pay a fair price for their textbooks. It is still the case that some teachers have been ordering their books late, making the prices higher. Eve will work with Department Heads and Dean Bobbi Owen to find incentives for professors who order textbooks earlier and thus lower textbook prices for all students.
2. Keep more classroom buildings open on weekends (for study)
  1. In the past, students have been able to study on the weekends in certain classroom buildings, such as Murphey and Saunders. These empty classrooms were much-appreciated by students who encountered crowded tables in the Union and libraries. Last fall, however, these buildings were often closed to student use on the weekends. Eve will work with academic departments to find ways to keep more classroom buildings open on the weekend so that students have more room to study and learn.
3. Replace the loud door on the upstairs of the library!!!
  1. Eve will also replace the loud door on the upstairs floor of the library with a quiet one! It was always disruptive to have our studying interrupted by the open and shut of the door every time someone entered or left. Eve will make sure that this unnecessary noise is quieted!

Arts on Campus [top]

Performance arts series for general campus (like Thursdays on the Terrace at Graham Memorial)
1. Many students enjoy the Thursdays on the Terrace music/performance series at Graham Memorial during the fall. Because it’s held in the Honors Building, however, the shows were often only known about or seen by honors students. Eve Carson will work to create a similar series that all students on campus can enjoy, in the Pit or in another central location on campus. The performers could be student groups or local bands, and the entire student community would be able to appreciate the many talented and interesting performers throughout North Carolina and the Chapel Hill area in particular. And if you are in a band—this could be a gig for you!
Decorate printing lab walls with student artwork
1. There are so many talented artists among the student body that it is a shame that there are also so many blank, white walls on campus! While it is understandable that walls in classroom buildings (controlled by departments) are blank, the walls in the printing labs or other library spaces could be used to showcase the talents of our students. In the printing lab in the bottom of the Union and in other printing locations, Eve will get student artwork up on printing lab walls, allowing students to present their work and making the walls a little less dreary!
Coordinate organized campus dialogue about the arts
1. It is such a privilege to have such a beautiful facility as Memorial Hall on our campus, and the performers who have come (and will be coming!) to UNC have made the campus music/performance scene exciting. One of the main concerns of Emil Kang, the Executive Director of the Arts at Carolina and the man in charge of bringing artists to Memorial Hall for the performing arts series, is trying to connect and engage artists and students together. He wants to create community in which groups of students can talk about the arts, and Eve Carson will foster this dialogue. At Yale, for example, there is something called a “Masters Tea” series, where students have tea with different celebrities, artists, thinkers, and performers to discuss their art, work, and otherwise. Eve will work with the Carolina Performing Arts series to create a similar program for UNC’s campus—and will find the funding to connect these students and artists. Perhaps the artist could even be paired with a professor to facilitate the discussion! This will be an exciting initiative for both students and visiting artists!
Work with CUAB and CAA to make sure student voice is well represented in selection of performers
Collaborate with local venues and Duke to bring in top-notch musicians (back-to-back performances)
1. With so many great music venues in the Chapel Hill area, as well, Eve Carson will develop a closer relationship with the people who can bring great artists to the Triangle—such as Frank Heath at Cat’s Cradle, who was responsible for bringing Sufjan Stevens and Wilco to campus—in order to bring more musicians to UNC in the future. Many people, too, have heard of the performers that Duke brings to campus—Eve will encourage collaboration with Duke’s Student Union to investigate scheduling musicians and artists for back-to-back performances.
Negotiate bringing MTVU to campus
1. On a lighter level, universities across the nation are teaming up with MTVU to bring MTV-sponsored concerts and events to their campus. Eve has spoken with MTVU coordinators at other schools, and beginning this partnership with MTVU could bring popular artists to campus every semester! Eve will continue to talk with other university MTVU coordinators and the new UNC coordinators to well-represent UNC in MTVU.

Big Ideas [top]

Develop annual music festival (weekend or two; like MerleFest)
1. How awesome would it be for UNC to have its own music festival?! In the 1970’s, there was a big music festival at UNC and around the Triangle where the biggest bands of the time would come and play for three straight weekends. Dr. Kang and a couple of other UNC professors and administrators are interested in re-creating a campus music festival by collaborating with the organizers of MerleFest, the bluegrass and folk music festival that takes place in North Carolina every year. But students could help create this festival with any other theme! Eve Carson work with these school officials to begin developing a music festival that could arrive on this campus within the next couple of years.
Creating scholarships for juniors based on college achievement
1. Some students work to support themselves financially in high school, and are thus unable to hold leadership positions or participate as deeply as other students in extra-curriculars, preventing them from being considered for merit scholarships at the college-entrance level. And many students’ eyes are opened after coming to college, when they discover an activity or a cause which particularly impassions them—but at that point it is too late to apply for merit or honor scholarships, and so they help fund their college education by seeking financial aid or a work-study program.
  That is a shame, because many of UNC’s greatest leaders and public servants found their passion after coming to college—and many also have to face the choice between getting more involved with their student organization or activity, and working to contribute money towards college. UNC rewards very few students for anything other than high school activities and accomplishments.
  
  Eve Carson will create two scholarships that are based upon leadership and community involvement at the collegiate level. Students at the junior-level only could apply, and awarding of the scholarships would be based on demonstrated financial need and on leadership and service activities done only while attending UNC-Chapel Hill.
  
  As students, we want the best possible leaders for our campus leadership positions, regardless of their financial standing. If the best student suited for these positions can not run for them because they have to work to supplement their financial aid package, we are severely limiting our campus community. Eve believes that we have the responsibility to the development of the student body, and the future health of our University, to promote the best possible leadership—and this scholarship would help to do that.
  
  The contributions of our non-merit scholars who “discover their paths” in college and give much to UNC, even in the face of financial obstacles, must be honored. The creation of this scholarship will bring attention to these fantastic UNC students and exemplary citizens: these students who win the scholarship would be financially rewarded for their enthusiasm and service to the University and to the student body. But just as importantly, they would also receive the recognition that UNC’s other premiere scholars receive. This scholarship would be prestigious and garner the sort of attention that UNC’s Morehead, Robertson, Pogue and other scholars receive.
Creating an endowment for a ‘Big Name’ Speaker Series
1. There are many sources on campus for bringing speakers/lecturers to the University, but most of them operate on a smaller budget—a few thousand dollars for a speaker here, another few thousand there. Often they collaborate, and in doing so, are able to bring some truly national speakers to UNC’s campus. Over the past few years, UNC has been privileged to hear Jeffrey Sachs, John Edwards, John Ashcroft, and Ralph Nader among others speak on matters relevant to UNC and to their work. Having these personalities has provoked the campus to deep discussion and brought new ideas to the student body.
  
  Eve Carson plans on doing the same thing by the creation of an endowment for speakers who will enrich and challenge the entire student body. This endowment will be used to develop a renowned speaker series that can draw the sort of speakers that often attend private schools.
  
  Eve wants to bring acclaimed, thoughtful, even provocative speakers who require a little more money to speak than what separate student organizations are used to allocating for campus speakers. Picture bringing the sort of speakers that the UNC community could rally around, and would provoke teachers and student organization leaders to hold lectures or meetings dedicated to discussing the ideas this speaker would address. This would not only bring all portions of the student body together, but it would serve as a huge source of pride for the entire campus community.
  
  For this project, Eve Carson will reach out to UNC’s community of distinguished alumni—not only inviting them to participate in this fund-raising process, but also to contribute their knowledge and understanding after years of experience towards the students currently at UNC—by speaking at UNC themselves.
  
  As UNC continues to gain respect and popularity among students, parents, lawmakers and educators across the nation, it is right that we bring these names to campus. The University could achieve greater recognition and support by bringing this level of speaker to campus—and the eyes of UNC’s smart, interested student population deserve to opened by the sort of speakers this fund could attract.

Athletics [top]

General
1. Create more field space by deal with Rainbow Soccer Club
  1. While James Allred has worked hard to secure more fields for sport club and IM athletes, intramural teams and sports clubs continue to struggle for the limited field space available on campus. James’ goal of “doubling the field space available to sports clubs” will not be completed by the end of his term as SBP—but Eve will build on the partnerships he has established with Dean of Student Affairs Peggy Jablonski and Director of Campus Recreation Marty Pomerantz to continue this search to acquire more field space. Eve will also continue to speak with Rainbow Soccer administrators to work out a deal whereby sports clubs, IM athletes, or regular students could use the Rainbow Soccer fields for recreation events whenever RS teams are not using them.
2. Plan for field space in Carolina North
3. More fans on the racquetball courts in Fetzer
4. Allow club sports to submit their schedules to UNC official calendar
  1. Representatives of sports clubs have expressed that UNC sports clubs would appreciate more publicity. Eve will invite sports clubs to submit their game schedules in the comprehensive UNC calendar of events so that all students can learn about them.
5. “Every Tar Heel Game on TV!”—Get every UNC Men’s B-ball game on campus cable by adding ESPNU and FOX Sports South to the cable package!
Ticket Policy
1. Group seating
  1. It is imperative that UNC develop a group seating option for students, and by time 2007-2008 basketball season comes around, Eve promises that students will have the option of signing up with 5 or 7 other friends to attend games with. One of the most disappointing aspect of this ticket distribution system was that it took away the social aspect of going to games, and prevented us from cheering on the team with our best friends as we had done under the old policy! Eve Carson will make group seating an immediate priority and work with the Ticket Office to achieve this before the beginning of next school year.
2. Penalty System: “Three Strikes” System for missing games
  Attending games at the Dean Dome is such a privilege—and there should be a penalty for students who waste this opportunity.
  1. On the first strike, there is no penalty—things come up and accidents happen.
  2. On the second strike, this student’s PID number is removed from the lottery for the next four games.
  3. On the third strike, this student’s PID number is removed from the lottery for the rest of the season.
3. Institutionalize ticket redistribution—develop, with CAA, a standard site that every student could be simple to use for every student
4. Uphold senior privilege for Duke Game
5. “Making the extra effort”
  1. Flag system for each game—have to go to the Dean Dome at the beginning of the season to have flag removed
    1. All students would start off with ‘flags’ preventing their registration for bball ticket registration. Before the start of the season, students could walk down and present their PID the Dean Dome Ticket Office to get the flag removed. This is a minimally time-consuming activity that would not prevent anyone who wants to from attending a game. This would also allow ticket-distribution administrators to verify the students’ school years—so that seniors, later on in the year, could see the Duke game!
  2. Registering in lottery for every game—one time for all games is too easy
    1. This year, students were allowed to register for the lotteries of all games before the season even began. Eve proposes that students register online for each individual game. This way, students would be sure to only sign up for the games that they would be certainly able to see.
6. Willing to reward exceptional student input by giving away basketball tickets
  1. Some have asked Eve whether or not she will attend games with the tickets the SBP receives. Attending the games is valuable for both the SBP and the student body because it is at these games that the SBP is able to talk with the Board of Trustees and other supporters of the University in a less-formal setting. But Eve is also willing to use her ticket as a reward for students who bring great contributions to campus. She would be happy to share tickets with students who well-represent issues important to the University, so that they would be able to bring these thoughts to the BOT and other UNC leaders, too.

Students with disabilities [top]

Evaluate bus stops to makes sure they offer convenience for all students
1. There are several bus stops on campus which do not provide equal access to all and make transportation for students with physical disabilities or injuries extremely difficult and unwieldy. At the bus stop in front of New East, for example, students exit the back door of the bus to find themselves off the sidewalk, in the equivalent of a flower bed. For students in wheelchairs, therefore, who must use this handicap accessible exit of the bus, this off-the-path area can present an unfair challenge. Eve Carson will evaluate all bus stops on campus to make sure that they offer equal convenience to all students.
Provide an up-to date map with areas currently under construction highlighted
1. Construction on campus impacts most students, but it can present extra frustrations for students with disabilities. While UNC maintains a list of updates of on-campus construction work, it is sometimes unspecific on where or how certain paths are affected by the construction. Eve Carson will streamline this website to make it more readable, and update it weekly with a map simply highlighting the affected or closed pathways. In this way, students (with or without disabilities) can more easily plan their routes ahead of time.
Make UNC web pages more readable for vision impaired by making them more compatible with ‘site readers’
1. Many of UNC’s most important websites, such as Student Central and the campus calendar, are also the most difficult to read for students with vision impairment. Many students with vision impairment are given “sight readers,” which notify students of the various links and categories present on web sites through a computer-generated voice. Due to the design of certain web pages, however, it is often confusing for “sight readers” to interpret the words, leaving vision-impaired students without access to this critical information. Eve Carson will coordinate site design between university web services and the Office of Disability Services better format electronic websites whose current format is challenging for “sight readers” to read.
Make bathrooms handicap-accessible by installing handrails on all floors of buildings
1. Often, bathrooms for handicapped students are placed on the first floor. That creates tremendous inconvenience for students who have a class on the third floor, who may not be able to easily travel from the third to first floor and back. In order to make many bathrooms more accessible to students with physical disabilities, however, all that is necessary is a small handrail in the stall. This would greatly decrease the inconvenience some students face. Eve Carson will make more bathrooms handicap-accessible on all floors of buildings.
Install automatic doors in especially popular locations
1. Eve Carson will also remove unnecessary doors and install automatic door openers in places most convenient for students with disabilities. Students with physical disabilities may have great difficulty in opening doors without automatic openers, but many buildings on campus continue to present challenges even in entering them. Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense that most handicap- and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms have doors that must be opened by hand—thus prohibiting many students with disabilities from using them. Eve and student government will take on this issue, identifying handicap-inaccessible doors and making sure that doors most necessary and helpful for use by students with disabilities—such as the bathroom doors on the Top of Lenoir—are replaced by automatic doors that all students can use.
Promote the findings of Project A.C.C.E.S.S., share them with University Administrators to inform future contruction

Diversity [top]

Make more of a concerted effort to express the ways in which we, the student body, are committed to diversity.
1. One of the biggest goals of the Diversity Plan is to continue to attract members of underrepresented populations to UNC’s student population, faculty and staff. To reach out to underrepresented populations and invite them to join our community, we, the students, must show that we too welcome and appreciate the added experiences of those with different backgrounds. Eve will work with administrators and student leaders to come up with ways that the student body can express our own commitment to diversity as well.
Extend “Diversity Week” by having numerous activities like “Mix it Up” days in which students and faculty members are encouraged to sit with members of a different ethnicity.
1. “Diversity week” during fall semester was a huge success. But appreciating diversity shouldn’t be a one-week-per-year activity. Student leaders have expressed their desire to see activities like these happen more frequently, perhaps once a month, like a “step out of your comfort zone” day on campus. It may sound silly, but they could be like the “Mix It Up” activities you might have participated in when you were younger—when the members of your middle or high school were encouraged to sit with members of a ddifferent race at lunchtime. Students were interested in whether or not the student body president would support this initiative. Of course! Eve would not only participate in this activity, but would invite members of the Administration and Faculty to publicly lead by example as well.
Educate about implications of the new Diversity Plan
1. Along with the new Diversity Plan and the changes in General College curriculum have come a host of implications for the course bulletin. Eve will work with the Academic and Advising committees of Student Government and University Administration to make sure that students are aware of the new course requirements, and how the former ‘cultural diversity’ perspective has been redefined as “U.S. Diversity” and should affect students’ choices of classes. She will also educate students about the fact that students may petition for appropriate courses not listed as fulfilling the diversity perspective to get counted as such.
Set aside money for student organizations who organize a multi-group projects with groups of different goals or members.
1. At the “Melting Pot” forum hosted by the Committee for Diversity Affairs, students expressed their desire to see more events co-sponsored between highly-different student organizations—for example, a dance performance co-hosted by BSM and SANGAM or a discussion led by the Self Knowledge Symposium and Advertising Club. Right now, there is money in the Office of Diversity and Multi-Cultural Affairs for student groups to put on events. But Eve will designate a pot of money to go expressly towards student groups who plan big events with other, dramatically different student groups. This will explicitly reward student groups who coordinate events to bring distinct parts of the student population together.
Support the expansion of Carolina United
1. Last summer, the first Carolina United program was initiated—and was a huge success. It has now been integrated into UNC affairs and has annual funding. But more students would be fortunate to have the experience of attending Carolina United, and Eve will support efforts to expand CU so that it can be brought to more members of the student body.
Personally visit, meet with minority organizations to invite members to be part of Student Government

Environment [top]

Present definitive student stance urging end for Mountaintop Removal
1. Mountaintop removal is an extremely destructive mining technique practiced in West Virginia, Kentucky, southern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee. According to Appalachian Voices, North Carolina consumes the most coal mined using mountaintop removal (http://www.appvoices.org). Eve Carson will present a definitive student stance to show student body and University support for an end to Mountaintop Removal, backed by student petitions and the student government of UNC. She will also work to collaborate with other universities in the Appalachian states to further policy change at the state or federal level. This is a continuation of James Allred’s platform and the work done by Student Government’s Environmental Affairs Committee and S.W.E.A.T., but it is important to keep gaining publicity and support from students while the issue remains relevant. This will not only benefit UNC’s image as a progressive leader on the environmental front, but it will also undoubtedly benefit the residents of Appalachia.
Install recycling facilities in Greek houses; create prize for “Green-ness” in Greek Affairs Office
1. “Green Games” are contests in which residence halls compete to be the most environmentally sustainable. Eve Carson will finish installing recycling facilities at the houses of all Greek organizations and give Greek organizations an incentive to recycle through a contest similar to Green Games and through a new accolade for “green-ness” given by the Greek Affairs Office.
Work with Granville Towers to place recycling bins in dorm rooms
1. Eve will work with Granville Towers directors to have recycling bins placed in dorm rooms. There are recycling facilities there now, but implementing a recycling program would well serve UNC’s identity as an environmentally-minded campus.
Establish campus incentives for recycling white office paper
1. Interested in gaining value for being eco-friendly? Eve Carson has been listening to the ideas of UNC students and the Environmental Committee of Student Government who propose a way to earn money by recycling white paper. The idea is this: white office paper is in high demand by companies who make recycled paper. If UNC students meet a goal of recycling a certain quantity of white paper, Orange County can send this paper to a recycling company, and the profits from the increased recycled pages can be put towards student printing fees. Beyond this measure, however, Eve Carson will establish incentives for recycling white paper around campus—essential to maintain the fiscal health of our campus, and the environmental health of our community.
Work with Housing and C-TOPS to present recycling information at orientation
1. Students have been clear that they feel it is extremely important that incoming freshmen are informed of the logistics of recycling and sustainability in Chapel Hill, and it is vital that student government use its weight to attract support to these measures. Eve Carson will work with the Residence Hall Association to make sure the Housing and C-TOPS present information about recycling and sustainability at orientation.
Replace energy-inefficient light bulbs in Davis with energy-efficient ones

Graduate Student Issues [top]

Expand Grad Student/TA stipend to include dental coverage
1. As part of their stipend, graduate students and teaching assistants receive a limited health care plan that covers check-ups and emergency visits to see a doctor. This plan, however, does not include any dental care coverage.
  
  Including these services for all graduate students would cost the University $300 per student. UNC has recognized a dire need to improve Grad Student/TA stipends—and at a low price, this would be a valuable way to increase the services provided to them. Additionally, this plan would be immensely helpful to the 1500 graduate students at UNC who have children.
  
  Presently, the University is conducting a trial run of offering this coverage. When the trial is over in August, Eve will work with Mary Covington, the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Campus Health Services, to evaluate the option. If data show that is financially feasible and that graduate students are interested in taking advantage of this service, Eve will partner up with Campus Health Services to include dental coverage as part of the health plan for all graduate students.
Search for a location for Graduate Student Social Lounge
1. Graduate students need a place to socialize! They should have an on-campus lounge or meeting area the way certain other campus communities do. As the Cabaret in bottom of the Union is transformed into offices and classrooms for more student use, Eve will research whether Graduate Students could have a room in this newly-designated area.
Examine printing data according to school, graduate program
1. Some graduate school representatives have said that they need to print way more pages than the current printing policy allows. Eve will break down printing data according to academic department or graduate school to learn if this printing allotment is appropriate for all academic and professional programs.
Create publicity for first-year Graduate Students about social, service, professional organizations and extra-curriculars around campus
1. Above all, graduate students are just members of the student body, with all the privileges and services that any undergraduate can receive. Graduate students can study abroad, they can use University Career Services, and they can be leaders in the Campus Y—but many graduate students don’t know this. Eve will work with the Graduate and Professional Student Federation President and leading campus organizations, to develop publicity tailored for graduate students about the many service, social and professional services here for them.

Greek Affairs [top]

Foster better communication between the University and the Greek community
1. Meet with Greek Leaders to create direct line of communication
  1. Eve will meet with leaders of the Greek Alliance Council (GAC), Interfraternity Council (IFC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and Panhellenic Council in order to create a direct line of communication between these organizations and the Executive Branch of Student Government; and attending meetings so that other students can meet the SBP and bring matters to her attention that she could evaluate.
2. Publicize Greek events, such as Greek Week and Greek philanthropies
3. Highlight Greek recruitment as a positive way to get involved
Work with Greek Leaders and UNC administrators to find a better place for the bid-day festivities
1. Until last fall, Panhellenic sorority Bid-Day was held in the upper quad of UNC’s campus. This past fall, however, Bid-Day was held outside of the Morehead Planetarium. Many students reported that the event seemed cramped and anti-climactic. Eve Carson will work with Greek leaders and administrators to come up with a better location for Bid-Day celebrations, restoring the excitement an enthusiasm of the ceremony.
Research the idea of providing alcohol and drug services for students facing a medical emergency
1. Last year, James Allred advocated “moving incident report forms from the Assistant Dean of Fraternity and Sorority Life's office to the Assistant Dean of Students' office” so that students would not have to worry that their charter would be threatened by “taking a student to the hospital or calling an ambulance.” This can go further. Eve Carson will discuss with University leaders, Greek leaders, and student groups the idea of providing alcohol and drug services for students facing a medical emergency. This could take the form of creating EMT-trained leadership positions within Greek organizations, which would both benefit the students holding those positions in their Greek organizations and their chapter. This could benefit all students, but in particular it could alleviate the fears of Fraternity and Sorority leaders that their chapter might be punished for doing the right thing. Most importantly, however, it is imperative that student leaders get involved in addressing this, and Eve Carson will initiate greater student dialogue on this problem—the problem that students won’t get help in the case of an emergency for fear of the consequences.
Does it make sense that kegs aren’t allowed at frat parties?
1. New rules prohibit UNC fraternities to have kegs at parties. It is understandable that the University doesn’t want to promote a culture of alcoholism, but this rule does little to address that. It is often the case that only harder and cheaper liquor is served at parties instead. Eve will initiate talks with administrators about whether or not allowing kegs at parties is the right way to deal with underage and excessive drinking.

Internationalism [top]

How could we bring more international students to UNC?
1. If we are really to become an ‘International University,” as UNC-System President Erskine Bowles has expressed, one of the most important things we must do is continue efforts to attract international students to the undergraduate and graduate student community. Eve will work with the Office of International Student and Scholar Services to research ways that UNC could bring more international scholars to Chapel Hill. Some students have added that international students interested in attending UNC have often found it difficult to apply and coordinate all of the requirements necessary to come here. Eve will direct this Office to more effectively communicate the details of applying to and attending UNC, and will look at the OISS website specifically as a way of improving services to international students.
Encourage creation of more study-abroad exchange programs
1. Eve will encourage the creation of more study abroad-exchange programs at UNC. In an exchange program, students from one university are “traded” with students at UNC, and programs are established from the outset about the course credits that will count for both schools. This would bring more international students to UNC while simultaneously addressing student concerns about transferring courses from their semesters abroad.
Publicize events of UCIS; perhaps collaborate to find excellent speakers
1. Eve will publicize the work and events of the University Center for International Studies (UCIS). UCIS often brings speakers to campus, and they offer scholarships as well as internship and outreach opportunities for students—but few students know much about their presence. Eve will establish a relationship with UCIS so that the opportunities they offer can be brought to a greater number of students. She will also collaborate with them to bring more internationally-known speakers to campus—perhaps this collaboration could further the goals of the Speaker Series. (Please see “Big Ideas” for more information)
Work with minority organizations to increase number of underrepresented students going abroad—final goal is 50% of all students
1. And finally: studying abroad at UNC is one of the most rewarding experiences that thousands of students have. Provost Erskine Bowles would like to see 50% of the student body study abroad within their four years here. Among higher socioeconomic groups of students at Carolina, a great percentage study abroad. Of less-wealthy and minority students, however, very few students do. Eve will work with the Study Abroad Office and with the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs to increase the percentage of minority students going abroad. With the cost of study abroad covered in financial aid, and with many study abroad semesters costing less than a semester on UNC’s campus anyway, no student should ever feel like they can’t go abroad because of financial constraints. Eve will publicize these facts to the student body and work with minority organizations to advance the number of underrepresented students going abroad.
Encourage Board of Trustees to fund the Study Abroad office—helping the staff and students!
1. As of now, the Study Abroad office is funded only by the study abroad fee. But with this goal of raising the number of students who study abroad to 50% of all students, Eve will also encourage the Board of Trustees to fund the Study Abroad office—allowing the staff to expand and service more students.

LGBTQ Issues [top]

Advocate for efforts to extend nondiscrimination policy to transgender students
1. Eve will be a vocal advocate of LGBTQ efforts to extend UNC’s nondiscrimination policy to transgender students. This is an initiative that Allred supported, and Eve will continue his outreach to conservative and religious groups, as well as all other interested organizations on campus, in order to find a way that all students can be protected and comfortable on this campus.
Follow through in establishing gender-neutral bathrooms
1. Continuity will also be important in two other areas of LGBTG interest. To ensure that the UNC follows through in establishing gender-neutral bathrooms for all single-occupancy bathrooms on campus, as promised, Eve will continue to back this initiative to University Administrators and oversee the set-up of more gender-neutral restrooms. And Eve will continue to support the extension of University insurance benefits to same-sex partners. This University must be exemplary of the highest integrity in civil rights, and Eve will highlight the obligations our non-discrimination policy demands of us.
Encourage prominent campus personalities—faculty/staff and students—to take part in SafeZone trainings

Undergrads in Pre-Professional Programs [top]

Promote pre-professional informational event for students interested in, but unsure about, the requirements for enrolling in a pre-professional program (Public Health, Business, Journalism)
1. Eve will promote a pre-professional information event near the end of fall semester for interested students who are unsure about the requirements for doing so. This is a good time to schedule the event—at this time, students have gotten a taste of college and many have already altered their ideas about what career paths interest them, and there remains time to take the pre-requisites necessary for entrance into the business school, journalism program or public health.
Encourage greater collaboration between pre-professional schools and College of Arts & Sciences
1. Eve will also publicly encourage greater collaboration between pre-professional programs and the College of Arts and Sciences. It is great that many students have multiple interests and want to connect their business or journalism bachelor’s degree with another major in a foreign language or social science, or anything else! Eve will advocate for the unique combinations of student interests.

Public Safety [top]

Advocate for creation of a rape crisis/sexual and relationship violence center on campus
1. Although several student groups and administrative offices work with the prevention of sexual and relationship violence, the transitory nature of student groups and the administration’s already heavy workload makes it difficult for them to be truly effective, and to publicize these efforts. But UNC can address sexual and relationship violence by institutionalizing preventative education for all students, as well as coordinating advocacy and response services on campus. Specifically, UNC can take responsibility for the safety of its students by creating a center for campus-wide violence prevention efforts.
  
  This issue has been brought to the attention of administrators and school officials. Eve Carson will work intensively with Dean of Students, Dr. Margaret Jablonski, the Sexual and Relationship Violence Training and Education Task Force, and certain student groups to advance the goal of coordinating and enhancing sexual and relationship violence services on campus. And she will specifically advocate for the creation of a sexual and relationship violence (SRV) center on campus.
  
  UNC remains almost alone among its peer institutions in not having an on-campus rape/relationship violence center. When sexual assault and violence remain such significant issues for students across the nation, it is vital for UNC to speak against it by supporting this measure. Eve Carson will work to concretely and immediately support these efforts.
Publicize Project S.A.F.E., online resource center for rape survivors and family/friends
1. The Carolina Women’s Center has recently developed Project S.A.F.E., an online resource center for survivors of sexual and relationship violence as well as their family, friends, or advocates. Most students, however, are not aware of this powerful online resource. Eve will publicize this information and will facilitate site use by promoting a more visible presence of the webpage.
Promote work of the HAVEN Program
1. Eve Carson will work to publicize the work of the HAVEN Program, which “trains faculty and staff at both UNC and Duke University to become informed allies for students who have been affected by sexual and relationship violence.” This program was created in the fall of 2006, and has received outstanding reviews by all participants. Eve will also with the Residence Hall Association to create HAVEN trainings for Residential Advisors (RAs) working in undergraduate dormitories.
Ensure that funding continues for Victim’s Assistance Fund
“Emergency Numbers” worksheet—linked to main UNC page
1. When students face emergencies on campus—whether physical, emotional or psychological—they must often search through many departments and offices on the web, pulling up multiple pages before they find the correct contact number for the services they need. Eve will create a page of contact information for all types of UNC emergency services, and will link this page to the main UNC webpage. In this way, students will be able to directly access the numbers of programs that can help them respond to a crisis—when every second counts.
Create temporary sidewalks for when construction projects have blocked the sidewalk
1. Recently, construction has forced the closure of several sidewalks along campus roadways. In some cases—such as behind the Student Union along Raleigh Road, during the fall—sidewalks were blocked immediately before curves in the road, without the creation of temporary crosswalks. This often left students with the obligation of crossing the street as unseen cars were possibly coming around the curve, putting them at great risk of physical injury. Eve will make sure temporary sidewalks will be created for all construction projects in which sidewalks are blocked.
Demand adequate lighting on campus; fit dim areas with safety lights
1. You have heard this before—but poor lighting on campus remains an easy-to-address, but very important, safety issue on campus. In particular, as new construction sites are opened and certain pathways on campus shut down, certain areas of campus have dim lighting. Eve will demand adequate lighting on all areas of campus, and will work with the Department of Public Safety to make sure identified dim areas are fitted with safety lights.

Public Service [top]

Develop and Circulate Disaster Relief Response Plan
1. Recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, mobilized the UNC and surrounding Chapel Hill community into action. Students worked to provide relief with poise and dedication. However, the many student groups, community organizations, and individuals involved in relief efforts lacked overarching leadership and a comprehensive plan of action. Overlaps and gaps in public service efforts could be avoided with immediate dialogue and cooperation after a natural disaster. Eve Carson will work to develop and circulate a disaster relief plan that will call leaders in public service together for dialogue immediately after a disaster occurs. Student Government will work to provide a forum to facilitate collaborative, effective, and comprehensive student efforts to best address the needs of communities affected by disaster.
Public Service Brown Bag Lunch Series
1. Students should have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with leaders of interesting, creative public service organizations. Leaders of non-profits like Carolina for Kibera, Teach for America, and Breakthrough Collaborative could provide important advice for students about how to develop and improve their own organizations. In addition, such representatives could expose students to careers in public service and connect students with summer internships and post-graduate opportunities. Eve Carson will work with the UNC Center for Public Service to develop a monthly brown bag lunch series that will bring students together with leaders in interesting domestic and international non-profit organizations for accessible, informative public service lunch discussions on everything from education to developing-world health care.
Involvement Peer Counselor
1. Eve Carson will create an involvement peer counselor position to serve as a point-person for the various extracurricular and service opportunities at UNC. This peer counselor will be available to students who know that they want to get involved, but don’t know how—or don’t know what’s available. Presented with a few adjectives of the students’ personality and what their interests and talents are, the peer counselor could make a suggestion as to what organization the student might enjoy working with. Student organizations who need help could also go to this counselor to request their help in attracting volunteers. The peer counselor will be part of the Public Service and Advocacy Committee, a committee which is already a part of Student Government, but they will collaborate heavily with the APPLES office, Campus Y, Student Organizations Council, and the Center for Public Service. Through one-on-one advising, the counselor will empower students at all levels to make informed decisions and develop leadership skills by actively engaging in the community around them.

Outreach [top]

Immediate divestment from Sudan
1. As the Darfur region of Sudan continues to suffer ethnic genocide—with 2000 people dying there every day as a cause of the conflict—one of the most important ways that UNC can demonstrate its commitment for human rights and [international justice]is to terminate all relationships with the Sudanese government. This would entail removing funds from Sudanese-owned businesses or stopping working with individuals or companies who work with the Sudanese government. Eve Carson will call for UNC’s immediate divestment from Sudan.
Investigate way that the student body might address Chapel Hill homelessness
1. At the local level, students and faculty express concern about the homeless situation in Chapel Hill. As the recent panhandling article in the DTH talked about, too, panhandlers have come to carry significant presence on Franklin Street. Eve will work with the Town of Chapel Hill and Orange County administrators to investigate ways that the student body might help in addressing both of these problems. In her home town of Athens, Georgia, town leaders put up meters where passers-by could place their unwanted change. This money was redistributed to food banks and homeless shelters in the area. In this way, members of the town were able to contribute to the needy without supporting a culture of panhandling on downtown streets. Would this be an appropriate measure for Chapel Hill to take?

Services [top]

Housing
1. Support the building of more environmentally-friendly structures
  i. Morrison Dormitory was built with solar panels in its roof and “[added] hardware and software to monitor energy consumption.” Morrison is a great example of where UNC could head with its focus on building lower-energy, more sustainable building designs. Eve will support the building of more environmentally-friendly structures around campus.
2. Publicize Theme Housing
  1. Residence Hall theme houses offer hundreds of students the opportunity live, learn and socialize according to a certain theme. There have even been two theme housing options created in the past two years: the Connected Learning Program in Cobb dormitory and the new Sustainable Learning community in Morrison. But many students do not know about these programs. Eve will work to publicize the opportunities and events that theme housing options provide students.
3. Transfer Students will have same priority in housing registration as first-years
  1. As described in the “Transfer Students” section of the platform, Eve Carson will make sure that transfer students receive priority in registering for housing, just as freshman do. In this way, transfer students will have the opportunity to sign up to live in a main-campus dormitory—and not be stuck in married or graduate student housing, as they have thus experienced.
4. Wi-fi connection and cell phone service in every dorm room!
  1. We wish she could say she was going to install air conditioners (finally!) throughout every dorm on campus, but she can’t. But what Eve can do is make sure that you can talk on your phone and get a wi-fi connection in every dorm room on campus! Finally—no more having to go outside to answer that call from mom. And no more having to use the Ethernet cord when you’re at your own desk!
5. Printers in residence hall communities!
  1. You also shouldn’t have to go to the library to print out a form—Eve will place printers in residence halls and other buildings throughout campus so that you can’t print documents closer than ever!
Transportation
1. Add abbreviated bus-routes to South Campus (from South to middle campus) route or add ‘shadow bus’ on rainy days
  1. We all know how busy the buses can be on South Campus—on rainy days, you might as well walk before you’re going to get a spot! And with the addition of 2000 beds set to open in Morrison next fall, buses on South Campus are sure to be more crowded than ever. Eve Carson will work with Chapel Hill Transportation to add more buses to the South Campus lines and will look into the feasibility of adding an abbreviated bus route, from Hinton James up through Middle Campus, and of adding a shadow bus, on inclement-weather days.
2. Would faculty and staff be better served by trading parking spaces?
  1. To address parking needs, Eve will examine whether student and faculty/staff parking needs could be better served through several changes in parking-spot allocation. Perhaps faculty would prefer parking in the covered-lot location of Ram’s Head parking facility instead of outside on Stadium Drive, for example—and then faculty/staff could trade spaces. What other trades might be possible? Eve will investigate these questions.
Dining
1. More late-night dining options!
  1. Eve Carson is dedicated to working with Carolina Dining Services to come up with more late-night dining options. Right now, Alpine Bagel is the only place open on campus after 8:30pm. Eve will extend the operational hours of already-existing dining locations, or will look into other proposals to help hungry students who finish extracurricular activities or labs that end past operational times.
2. What to put in the End Zone?
  1. What would be a better restaurant to go in the End Zone location in the Ram’s Head dining facility? What about a Bojangles or Taco Bell? Those are possible options! Eve will include student opinion and replace End Zone with a better-tasting, better-serving food station.
3. Café or dining station in new SASB
  1. Eve will also push for a café or dining station to be included in the new Student and Academic Services Building (SASB) the corner of Manning Drive and Ridge Road. Now, for students to grab a bite to eat on South Campus after coming home from the library late at night, most students have to call the nearest Papa John’s. Walking over to SASB to get a sandwich would be a healthier and cheaper option for all.
4. Place nutrition labels and preparation information above salad dressings and food in Lenoir and Ram’s Head Dining Halls
  1. Many students, such as vegetarians and others with dietary restrictions/allergies express the need to see nutrition information and preparation descriptions about the food served in dining halls. Eve will work with Carolina Dining Services to place nutrition labels and descriptions of food preparations above foods served at Lenoir Dining Hall and Ram’s Head Dining Hall.
5. YOGURT PUMP in the Union!
  1. University officials believe that there is a better use of the space the Printing Store uses at the bottom of the Union, along South Road. So does Eve. She will recommend installing a local food company to complement the social nature of this junction and to serve all students with something they really love… ice cream or frozen yogurt!! Eve will push to get Yogurt Pump or another local business (such as MapleView Farms or a Weaver Street outpost) in this location.
Printing Allotment
1. Monitor to see whether students are satisfied by this new quantity of printing sheets
  1. This year’s drastic decrease in printed pages—7 million pages printed in Fall ’06 as compared with almost 17 million pages printed in Fall ’05—has been admirable, and James Allred has tried to address student complaints about the new printing restrictions by upping the page limit to 800 pages per student, per semester. Eve will monitor this operation to see whether or not students are satisfied with this quantity of printing, and is prepared to reevaluate this number of 800 pages after this semester is finished. As this printing system is smoothed out, Eve will push for one semester of roll-over pages so that students can budget pages over a full school year.
2. Break down printing data in different ways
  1. Eve is willing to break down printing according to academic department or graduate school to learn whether or how this printing allotment might be restructured in the future.
“Looking Ahead,” UCS
1. Create Career Awareness Committee to advise, shape growth and change University Career Services
  1. Eve Carson is interested in developing UNC’s career services further. While all students could benefit by more deeply utilizing what UNC already offers, it is certain that this campus’ career services must continue to grow with the career interests of our ever-more-successful student body. Eve Carson will create a Career Awareness Committee with diverse representatives of the student body to help shape the growth and changes in UCS. This student board will help UCS decide what themes UCS should push, the topics of new sessions they should host, and how better the student body could utilize UCS’ online and library resources and job recruiters who come to campus. This representative council will not only contribute to UCS growth, will also help in planning how to advertise to the student body and increase student participation in UCS.
2. Create “Sophomore Orientation” for needs of the sophomore class
  1. A sophomore orientation addressing the distinct concerns of this class would be helpful for many students as this is the year students declare their major and shape their college career. While there are many singly-focused events for undergraduates—“Major Fair,” “Study Abroad Fair,” “Resume Event,” this orientation would be comprehensive of the needs of sophomore students and hosting information booths by University Career Services (UCS), the Study Abroad office, and other applicable services that can enhance the newly-found interests of sophomore students.

Student Organizations [top]

Make holding, publicizing events for student organizations:
1. Give student organizations their own OneCards
  1. …So that student leaders can more conveniently print publicity materials for the organization’s events. Student leaders could then more-easily split up publicity tasks amongst themselves, and funds for printing and other expenses would be kept separate.
2. Build more Cubes
  1. At the moment, there are Cubes in front of the Student Union, and there is one Cube outside of Hanes Hall. Many student organizations, however, wait weeks to publicize their events on a Cube! Why shouldn’t there be more than just a few? There could be Cubes on South Campus, in front of Ram’s Head, and on the corner of the quad between Wilson Library and Dey Hall. Eve will place Cubes on more locations around campus so that organizations can have more chances to pub what they are up to.
3. Improve The Student Life Interactive Calendar of Events (SLICE) and make it easier to use
  1. SLICE was initiated years ago, and Mambo is a website organizing service that is available to all officially-recognized student organizations. Many organizations still do not know how to use them. Eve will work with the committee on Technology to facilitate usage of SLICE and Mambo. All student organizations, and all students, would benefit from being able to learn more about what’s going on campus!
Restructure student organization website, clear out old entries
1. Many students say that they have a hard time finding out about clubs on campus, or finding a student organization which they really love. It’s not hard to see why—the student organization website is way outdated and almost impossible to navigate. Because of this, there are often 5 or 6 versions of the same club on campus—people with similar interests simply can’t find each other! Eve will restructure the student organization website so that students can more-easily find campus activities that they are interested in. Eve will also update contact information in the student organizations descriptions, and will remove entries of student organizations that no longer exist.
Publicize and further streamline the room reservation process.
1. Until now, students and student organizations have had to go through many different departments and reservation centers even to find an available room. Student government has been working hard this year to make the reservation system simpler, but it is still necessary to have to attend a training in order to access this service. Furthermore, many students haven’t become aware of this new system. Eve will bring attention to this service and continue progress on making room reservation as simple as possible for all students.
Invite student organizations’ leaders to make improvements in Student Government relationship with student body
1. Above all, Eve will reach out to leaders and students involved in student organizations to learn more about what’s happening on campus, how student government could better different parts of the student body, and will attend student organization events and invite other groups on campus to join her too. Although this section is all about “student organizations,” we see student organizations as representative groups for many different student populations, and it is a priority for Eve to familiarize herself with the needs of all sorts of students. Eve will meet frequently with members of student organizations and will personally invite the input of student organizations which may have experience with something she’s researching.

Technology [top]

What is the future of technology at UNC?
1. Eve Carson will use this entire year to speak with students, student leaders, media/press outlets on campus, and administrators about what students really need out of their technology and how it should be best and most-effectively offered to them. For example, over this past semester students have voiced their desire to see the printing labs be put to better use. Eve Carson agrees: she urges that printing stations be placed all across campus—a printer in every residence hall, for example, and in some of the biggest classroom buildings. Students could send their documents to the printing network, where they would access and print the document using their OneCard. Printing documents would be faster and easier than ever: instead of having to trek all the way to the library to print, students will be able to go to the first floor of their residence hall to print out their documents!
2. Furthermore, the centralized printing stations we use now are a poor use of space. With multiple printing stations across campus and the printing labs freed up from only printing, they could be transformed into technology workstations or into classrooms for web design and digital media manipulation. As we have reached a time when classroom space is stretched to the maximum and there are few locations for new (and especially different) course offerings, this could free up valuable space for UNC students to experiment and learn about cutting-edge technology programs.
Using technology to improve course offerings!
1. Perhaps the most exciting proposal that this change in technology could entail would be providing students with more appropriate and more desired courses. Eve Carson will begin improving course offerings! This is one of the biggest ideas of her entire campaign. It is thrilling to think of how the SIS could be structured so that more students are more satisfied with the classes they sign up for! Incorporating the graduation audit (the “what if?” tool on your StudentCentral account) and other key features into a new registration system will lead to a better course catalog for all students. Not far from now, all students should be able to structure their semester in a way that better-addresses their needs. Please see the “Academics” portion of this platform for more information!
Reorganize most challenging-to-navigate websites
1. Eve will create a taskforce that will sequentially analyze all UNC official departments and programs and make recommendations for how that website can become more organized and student-friendly. How long has it been since our main UNC webpage has changed? As these webpages become increasingly important in establishing our involvement and success in college, it is imperative that they are structured for student use.
Condense many campus calendars
1. Eve Carson will work with UNC’s technology services, the Technology Committee of Student Government, Academic Departments and Administrators to restructure SLICE to include the events of academic departments, administrative dates of the UNC calendar, and the events of all other groups on campus. She will also create a webpage on which all of the current separate calendars are linked; and she will make submitting information to the calendar as simple as possible so that it won’t take more than a few minutes to bring an event to the entire campus community. Finally, she will also link this calendar to the main campus webpage so that this page will be more visible—this calendar should be a main resource for students across campus.
Place wireless and cell phone service boosters all around campus!!!!!
1. Students receive wireless coverage only in very specific areas, and often cannot access the network in dormitories, classrooms and sometimes even the Pit. Eve will lead a walk around campus to see where we do a do not get wireless with CCI computers. She will subsequently make a top-50 or more list of places where wireless connectivity must be boosted on campus. If we are going to use our computer for almost every single assignment at UNC, and write on facebook walls at least several times a day, we have be able to receive wireless coverage at every location on campus!
2. And have you ever tried to pick up a phone call in your dorm room and lost service? There is no reason why any area on campus should not provide cell phone coverage. Eve Carson will place cell phone boosters around campus, along with the wireless boosters. Many students complain that they often cannot take phone calls even in their dorms at all, and this is one of the easiest ways of improving communication and quality of life on campus.
Recommend using technology in a more fun, creative way?
1. Webcams between UNC study abroad programs and the Union
2. Webcams in the gym so that you can see if it’s too crowded to work out, or if there are already a few games of basketball going on
How could VISA be brought back to campus?
1. UNC is prohibited from using Visa because of Visa’s contract stipulation that the company using it to bill customers may not add its own surcharge. As we know, we are charged an extra 2% when we pay for services and charges online with debit or credit cards. But how might we be able to re-structure payments so that all students could have the convenience of using Visa?
Would Gmail be more appropriate for our school emailing needs than webmail?
1. Eve will meet with administrators to discuss how UNC Webmail could be developed into a better student email service; or how students could access other emailing services. Perhaps this would take the form of teaching students how to set up “sent mail” folders in their webmail accounts during C-TOPS. But several schools around the country have moved their email accounts, en masse, over to Gmail (GoogleMail). Would this be an appropriate step for UNC to take?

Transfer Students [top]

Give them the same priority in registering for housing as any other first-year student
1. Odum Village is probably the worst place to house transfer students, making it difficult for them to become integrated into the regular undergraduate student population. Due to its distance from the rest of UNC’s campus and its different population demographic, it isolates transfers geographically and emotionally. It’s time to change this! Eve Carson will ensure that transfer students receive the same weight in housing registration as first-year students and that they can therefore sign up to live in a main-campus dormitory
Help Tar Heel Transfers to find/create resource center/main offices
1. Half of all transfer students who come to Carolina in a given year end up returning to their old school, and a student center will provide them with greater access to all of the opportunities to get involved and find their place at Carolina. Eve Carson will help the Tar Heel Transfers securing major student organization status and create a Transfer Student Center so that transfer student leaders can have a general meeting place, such as a room in the Union.
Add directions to transferring documents so that transfers can get more credit hours!
1. In order to transfer course credit, UNC needs a course syllabus and other documents from the previous school to award class credit. Unfortunately, these syllabi are often hard to get after the student has un-enrolled from their previous school and arrived at UNC. Transfers therefore end up losing most of the course credit that they earned at their previous institutions. Eve Carson will direct the Admissions Office to include a small paragraph in the ‘Transfer Admit Guide’ (which they send to students before they finish at their previous institution) that instructs transfers to gather syllabi and other major documents from previous courses to send to the University before the fall semester begins. This will allow transfers to receive more hours of credit at UNC—and make life a lot easier during those first couple of months after transferring.

Tuition [top]

Background
1. Tuition is, without fail, one of our most heated topics of policy debate. As it stands, UNC has been at or near the top ‘best college value’ lists for the last decade. This is deservedly a point of pride for our school, especially given UNC’s mission to serve North Carolinians by providing ‘the best education at the best price.’
  
  However, it’s difficult to sustain both affordability and quality. We strive for both, but the reality is that to keep pace with other premier institutions, we need funding. A University can only be as good as the classes it offers and the professors it employs: but presently, UNC has a dire need to offer more sections of intro-level Spanish and smaller science courses; and we need to pay our teachers more so that ‘peer institutions’ such as University of Virginia and Michigan peer institutions can’t continue to lure them away. Since tuition is the main way to pay for these needs, it is a ‘necessary evil’ that tuition go up in the future—and for these reasons, twelve (out of 13, the last being the SBP) voting members of the Board of Trustees will consistently propose tuition increases.
  
  [….] In short, Eve Carson does not pledge empty promises such as the end of all tuition increases forever. While this may be nice in theory, it would be dishonest because it is not realistically within an SBP’s power to make such a guarantee, nor is it in the best interest of UNC’s immediate or long term future.
  
  What Eve does promise is honesty, openness, and engagement with the student body throughout the tuition process. Furthermore, she is committed to the fair treatment of current and prospective students—both resident and non-resident—in the inevitable tuition raises of the future.
Eve’s Plan for Tuition
1. Predictability: Eve advocates a “5-Year Tuition Plan” for tuition. In this plan, the amount of tuition is different year by year, but is set five years in advance. This would mean that a high school senior, for example, would be able to see how much tuition he will be pay for his entire four years of college. However, after every year, the Board of Trustees and other administrative bodies will be able to evaluate whether the tuition amount for that year effectively met the needs of the University. From this analysis, they can set the amount of tuition added to end of the 5-year sequence that next year’s class of high school seniors will pay.
  
  In this way, there is predictability for students, but University administrators are also able to pen the tuition amount most precisely to the needs of the school—which ultimately saves money for students, too. Also, potential students are able to see the total amount of tuition required of them over their college careers and can budget for these tuition rates ahead of time.
2. Accountability and Transparency: Eve will demand an “Expense Report” of the BOT which will itemize tuition expenditures and explain where each dollar of the change in tuition will go. When your electricity bills go up, most power companies issue a statement describing the need for the increase: for example, “We had to build a power plant in South Carolina, therefore we are charging your 4 dollars more this month.” In this way, consumers recognize that the increases were absolutely necessary for the operation of their services. It should be the same when paying for college. Students should be allowed to know how their tuition is being spent, and Eve will publicize this information through prominent campus media.
  Eve will work hard to serve as an effective and rational liaison between students and administrators. She will present the issues of the tuition debate and will publicly invite student response to these proposed measures, which she will then express as a student representative to the Board of Trustees and Administration.
Protecting the Student Voice
1. Eve will also defend the inclusion of the Association of Student Governments (ASG) in the Board of Governors (BOG) for the UNC-System. The BOG makes funding and policy decisions for every public college or university in North Carolina. Right now, the BOG is scaling down to 16 members, and there is talk of the ASG losing its spot on this council. But there are presently one million college and university students currently in North Carolina—and it is imperative that students retain their voice in this assembly. Eve will work with other UNC-system Student Governments and current members of the Board of Governors to protect students’ interests throughout the entire state.

Women’s Issues [top]

Eve will advocate for the creation of a rape crisis/sexual and relationship violence center on campus; will work to ensure that funding for the Victim’s Assistance Fund, which pays for the medical expenses of rape survivors immediately following the assault, continues; and will promote Project S.A.F.E., coordinated by the Carolina Women’s Center.

But sexual violence and other “women’s issues” do not affect only female students, and these initiatives will be valuable for the entire student body. Throughout her platform, Eve addresses her ideas to all gender-identifying students—and Eve will stand up to address women’s safety needs on campus, as she will work hard to support all matters of equal rights and access on campus.

Please see “Public Safety” for more information on the above initiatives

"“Party in the Pit”[top]

You said you wanted one!! Eve will organize a deejay-ed, Saturday-night “Party in the Pit!”