Student’s speech as CFCC board meeting bring up long-held concerns

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As student body president, PJ Eby acted as a mouthpiece for students. But this year, Eby said she felt most board members didn’t pay much attention to student needs.

“The disconnect begins with the board and the students at me,” said Eby. “Because if the students come to me in need of something, My responsibility is to take that to the board. But every report I gave, no one paid attention.”

Eby said she repeatedly asked the board to address simple problems on everything from diversity to infrastructure, all issues important to students (though many were removed by officials from her report before meetings started, according to Eby). But without a vote, Eby said she was unable to do much.

“I’m a non-voting member,” Eby explained. “So I can go, I can talk at meetings. But I can’t make any decisions. I can’t vote on anything, I can’t second anything, basically everything I say doesn’t really matter.”

Which is why Eby addressed the board in their meeting May 27 and challenged them, saying they tend to prioritize rubbing elbows with one another instead of addressing student needs.

Board chair, Patricia Kusek said she was surprised by the speech.

“My concern and the rest of the board’s concern was if someone has an issue, that’s why we have a student body president as an ex-officio on the board,” Kusek posited. “We can address things that come up, but I am not aware of any feedback that’s come up positive and negative.”

She felt much of the board’s work for the school was done outside of the boardroom.

“We give thousands of dollars to support scholarships through the foundation. We attend events, graduations, pinnings, take class tours and campus tours. We are involved with the students.”

Eby is not alone in her frustration. Former student president, Sam Brouhaugh said not having a vote can lull board members into apathy.

He posed this question to the board: “When was the last time that you were working on an opportunity to save money or a new intiative on campus, and you intentionally sought out student feedback?”

Though Eby has graduated, going forward some board members say they’ll remember her challenge and attempt to bridge the gap she spoke of.

“It’s all about learning and growing,” said board member, Jonathan Barfield. “And there’s no perfect board member and no perfect person, we all have areas to improve. And so, if we can take or learn anything from what she said, I think it’s going to make the whole organization and school better.”