March 31, 1998

Ready to meet the demands of the future: Meister-Barrick '98

Mike Daniels, Managing Editor

On March 18 and 19, supporters of Boone native Ehren Meister and  running mate Christy Barrick of Raleigh flooded ballot boxes across campus and elected the two juniors by a margin of more than 800 votes to the offices of Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president, respectively.

Meister and Barrick garnered 1,458 votes, while their opponents, Jo Lee and Brad Manning, took in 620 votes.

Yet, Meister says that he and Barrick were very nervous about their chances of winning.

“We were very surprised by the margin,” said Meister. “I thought it was definitely going to be closer than that,” he added.

Barrick explained that neither of the candidates found out the results until Friday morning at a Board of Trustees meeting.

As for why they were able to win in such a convincing fashion, Barrick credits the fact that she and Meister have been planning their campaign for almost two years.

“We’ve been thinking about doing it for two years, so it’s not like we just threw (the campaign) together,” said Barrick.

The vice-president elect also credited their campaign staff which blanketed the campus with Meister-Barrick paraphernalia.

As for their goals, of which they have many, Meister and Barrick want to do everything from increase class availability to provide legal counsel for students.

Of their opponent’s goals, Meister said that the one they would most like to see implemented is the addition of more card-scanners on residence hall doors.

Experience-wise, both Meister and Barrick appear qualified to head SGA.  Meister was an on-campus senator for two years, from 1995-97.  As a freshman, he represented Hoey Hall, and as a sophomore, he represented Frank Hall, where he was also named student-of-the-year.

This year, Meister is serving on SGA cabinet as External Affairs Director.  He is also a member of the Steely Pan Steel Band, which his father, Scott Meister, directs.

Barrick, a marketing and management major, served on last year’s SGA cabinet as Public Affairs Director.  She was the director of the student orientation program in 1997 and serves as the Academic Chair for Delta Zeta sorority.

She is also a Plemmons Leadership Fellow and attends ASU on scholarship.

Meister and Barrick’s main concern before the end of this year is how they will fill their cabinet positions.

“We want diverse students, not just people involved with SGA (to apply),” said Meister.

Applications for next year’s cabinet are available in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership office, and any student can apply.

Meister and Barrick want to have their cabinet finalized by the end of April, so that they will be able to meet with them as a group before classes end.

Meister and Barrick also want to create a new cabinet position that will coordinate on-campus students’ concerns and activities much like the External Affairs Director does for off-campus students.

“There’s no on-campus (student) representatives other than the senators which cannot really coordinate what goes on,” said Meister.

Overall, Meister and Barrick hope to see SGA become more student-friendly, and they encourage students to come to them with problems that they might have.

“We’re willing to answer any questions, and if anybody has a concern, we want to know,” Barrick said.

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