The Nubian Message endorses Lance Williams for Treasurer. Williams was the only candidate who supported a fee increase for student organizations, many of which are under attack nationally due to anti-DEI initiatives. 

Williams’ proposed increase totaled one dollar or less, meaning it would not impact students’ pockets but would have a large overall effect on the organizations that play a vital role in the important work of building community and connecting students. This is particularly important on such a large campus, where students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, may have trouble finding a sense of community otherwise. 

The other candidates, Emery Skolfield and Jon Carter, suggested that these student organizations be more “financially responsible,” as Carter said, and raise funds themselves “from the ground up,” as Skolfield said, which many already do, Williams actually acknowledged the discrepancy in the treasury’s current funding for student organizations. Organizations can ask for up to $2,000, but right now, they are typically receiving $600 at most. 

Williams was the only candidate to advocate for helping these organizations access more of the funds possible for them through student government instead of essentially telling them to do it themselves and not look to student government to be “a significant funding source.”

He also wants to make it easier for student organization leaders to understand the process of requesting funds through the treasury, saying, “In short, let’s get more money for our student organizations through the Treasury Branch and make sure we are equitably sharing those funds to our student organizations.” 

Adding to the differences between the candidates, Carter was one of the senators in attendance at Taquan Dewberry’s secret meeting against fast-tracking R29, the “Call For a Permanent Ceasefire Act.” He said that people who went up to speak about the legislation would probably be “very emotionally charged” and their statements would be “well-worded,” but that this did not detract “from the fact this is not the appropriate time or place right now to consider all of this.”

The Nubian Message believes there is never an inappropriate time for showing you stand with students and that, in fact, there is no better place to do so than within the forum of student government.

During the September student government meeting to vote on passing R29, Carter said that unless he “had the reading comprehension of a kindergartner, nowhere in our statutes is this Senate charged with the duties of the United States Department of State” and said the calls for NC State to divest from Israel were “fundamentally flawed and impractical” as well as “unreasonably difficult.” He said “I oppose both the spirit and the wording of this resolution, and will be voting against its passage. I implore you all to do the same.”

In that same meeting, Williams, on the other hand, in response to other senators’ point that student government does not typically address international issues and aims to stay out of conflicts, said, “This absolutely is a time and situation in which we should break our precedent.” He added, “We have to realize that we are dealing with a genocide here and that this is a real world issue going on, and I speak from a point of privilege, if I just said no on this bill and moved away, then I get to keep living my life. But that is not a reality for so many students at our university, and they are reliant on us, so I think this absolutely is a reason that we as student government and senators should take a stand and put our support behind Palestine.” 

Williams has continually shown his empathy and solidarity, not just through his words but through his voting record as well, from saying he believed it was “extremely important” that the senate pass R29 and urged his fellow senators to vote yes on advocating strongly for DEI. The Nubian Message believes he will make an excellent Treasurer who will go above and beyond to support all students and create real change for our many vital organizations on campus.

The Nubian Message endorses Naila Din for Student Senate President. Din was the sponsor of the “Call for a Permanent Ceasefire Act.” She’s also helped put forward legislation to protect freedom of speech and the rights of student protesters. This is particularly crucial as campuses nationwide, even within the UNC System, have cracked down on student protests in recent years. 

Din is the senior-most member of the Student Senate, having served since Fall of 2022. She has held roles as Chair of the Diversity, Inclusion and Outreach (DIO) Committee, College of Sciences Senate Delegation Head, Student Senate Press Secretary and more. 

Din has also helped raise funds to supply more NARCAN drug, which reverses opioid overdoses, to the NC State community for free and is the founder and president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a student organization dedicated to increasing education on safe drug use and harm reduction strategies. Additionally, she has served the senate as part of the select department on mental health intervention.

Her opponent, Chloe Webster, is a first-year senator and as such, has only been with the NC State Student Government since October of this past semester. While there did not appear to be any stark differences between the two candidates’ answers during the debate, The Nubian Message believes that Din’s years of experience and extensive record within NC State Student Government make her the best candidate for Student Senate President.

Furthermore, Din has said that DEI is something she is “very passionate” about and showed this through the actions she has taken throughout her time in the senate. As DIO Committee Chair, she worked to put together a presentation on the ways that the UNC-System’s anti-DEI measures have already impacted our campus, and she says it is something that “needs to be addressed” on a system level.

In a time when politicians want a greater say in public instruction and continue to attack institutions of higher education, Din has said that she wants professors to be able to both teach and speak freely in their classrooms, advocating for, “students to be able to get a proper education for any issue.”

Senator Din has been an especially fierce advocate for all students, particularly underrepresented ones, and has continued to do great work despite the chaos and letdowns of the 104th senate. She aims to ensure that students’ “voices are heard and represented” and has the record to support that mission. The Nubian Message believes she will do a great job of helping senators and students alike to create positive change and she is exactly the kind of empathetic leader the Student Senate could stand to learn from.