It’s nearly election season again for Student Government, as filing for candidacy opens Feb. 8. With NC State preparing to find its newest leader, the Technician spoke with Student Body President Khari Cyrus to discuss his accomplishments thus far and what he plans to do in his final semester at the helm.
Q: What were some of the highlights of your presidency last semester?
A: I›ve had a great time serving as student body president. Being able to sit on the Board of Trustees and advocate for students is an amazing experience, and last semester I was able to work with the Trustees a decent amount. People will debate about what the most important aspect of the office is, but a major highlight for my term was being able to shape the conversations taking place. Conversations about race and diversity have been occurring for quite some time now, but I’ve been amazed at how we’ve been able to make this front and center for a lot of different people across campus.
Q: What do you have planned for this semester?
A: This semester I really want to focus on smaller initiatives that we’ll be able to accomplish before the year’s end. I’ve charged each of the executive departments with planning and executing a diversity-related event, and we’ve heard some awesome ideas thus far. Students pay fees toward Student Government, so my number one goal is to make sure every student sees where their money is going and how it’s being used. A decent amount of my time will also be dedicated to following up on the Student Government Town Hall on Racial Climate. I was serious when I told people that the town hall would not be the end of the conversation, and I hope that the next student body president will pick up where we’ve left off.
Q: A big tenant of your platform during your campaign was inclusion. What have you done to foster this on campus? How do you feel it has gone?
A: Inclusion was indeed a major portion of the platform, and it’s something I’ve challenged the executive cabinet to think about as we plan events. Our first effort for inclusion was with Respect the Pack at the beginning of the semester. My goal was to make this event less of a celebration of how far we’ve come, and more of a call to action to highlight how far we still have to go. We held it in Talley and made students complete several tasks before they could receive the brand new Respect the Pack T-shirts, and I think this is a model that encouraged interaction and engagement with the message of diversity and inclusion. While Respect the Pack is just one example, I think it speaks to what I’ve been trying to do all year. Not just hold programs where students are being talked at, but instead plan events where students are a key part of the conversation. You saw this with Respect the Pack and even more so with the town hall event. Overall I’ve tried my best to push inclusion in just about all I’ve done. Even little things like the promotion of a wide variety of events in the HOWL can go a long way in helping students experience different backgrounds and in turn become more welcoming to diverse backgrounds.
Q: In an interview with the Technician last April, you said you had plans on:
• revitalizing UNC rivalry week for both fall and spring
• having TransLoc monitors installed at bus stops across campus
• creating dual-lot parking passes and reaching the goal of obtaining $10,000 in grants from the UNC Association of Student Governments.
What are the statuses on all of those plans? Do you expect to make any more progress on those?
A: Our UNC Rivalry week has actually transformed into a revitalized Traditions Week that will incorporate even more aspects of NC State’s rich history. The week is being planned as we speak by the Traditions Department, and I’m confident that all students will find something worthwhile to participate in. As far as the Association of Student Governments, ASG, we’ve done a decent job in maintaining relationships with the organization and finding ways that NC State can continue to maximize our benefits of being a part of this body. We haven’t hit the $10,000 mark, but we have submitted multiple requests to ASG to receive funding for various projects. There’s a proposal currently being drafted that might push us over the $10,000 mark, but we’ll have to see how that plays out over the next couple of months. Finally, in regards to our innovative ideas on transportation, we’ve yet to see much progress. With that being said, it’s something that students have consistently cited as one of the things they’d most like to see, so again, I want to encourage the next student body president to pick up where I’ve left off. A year in office isn’t a significant amount of time, something I quickly realized, and I think it’s vital that we have some continuity on major initiatives like these. But the year isn’t over yet, so I will continue to work to achieve all of the items on my platform.
Q: You also said you were working to get discounts on Hillsborough Street by using the debit card feature on the Wolfpack One Card. How is that going?
A: Hillsborough discounts are something I really want to see happen. Our focus has slightly shifted to a physical discount card that students will be able to use at various businesses up and down Hillsborough Street. I hope to incorporate this into the Student Government budget so each year we’ll be able to purchase these discount cards and provide them to students that attend various SG events like Respect the Pack and Campout. The budget process is beginning later this month, and I think members of Student Government will see it as a great way to put students’ fees to good use. So stay tuned!
Q: What do you think about the current racial climate on campus, in light of the diversity town hall talks?
A: I think as we hold more events discussing the level of diversity on campus, we’ll see/hear of more instances of people acting in ways that aren’t consistent with the type of community we want here at NC State. As students become more aware of what is and isn’t acceptable on campus, and more aware of how to deal with instances in which diversity isn’t being valued, we’ll see more cases of students calling each other out on social media and other platforms. If I had to give a range of the racial climate on our campus, one being abysmal and 10 being utopian, I’d say it’s fluctuated between four and six. I see situations where students use their various positions of power to combat racism and try to move NC State in a positive direction. However, I also see situations where people like to assume how they’d react if they were in a marginalized population and feel the need to tell others how they should feel about racism and bigotry. I would like to believe that I, alongside countless other student leaders, have helped move the needle in the right direction. When I come visit campus 15 years from now, I hope that some of the battles I’ve fought this year will have had a lasting impact on the climate of the university, but only time will tell.
