James Allred Named Next Student Body President
By Tara Higgerson

University students cast their votes for student body president on Tuesday. The polls closed at 10 p.m., and candidates and their campaign staffs anxiously awaited the results.

When the Board of Elections announced James Allred as the new student body president, he thought to himself, “get ready.”

“We have so many great ideas we’re ready to go on, and I want to make sure that I’m ready, that Carolina’s ready to see the kind of improvement that we’ve been talking about
all year,” said Allred.

The race for SBP began in January. It was a race with only two contenders, Chapel Hill-native James Allred and out-of-stater Bernard Holloway. The results weren’t as close as students expected.

Allred captured 3,296 votes beating Holloway by nearly 1,000. With red eyes, Holloway received hugs from supporters, but says he wasn’t going to cry.

“It hurt it was like a shot in the chest or stomach. But it’s OK; I mean you’ve got to pick up, keep moving on,” said Holloway.

Allred says he wants accountability from the administration regarding tuition increases, dorm storage space and improved academic advising. But first, he’s going to take a deep breath.

“I’ll be spending the next few hours with my staff and relax for a little bit. We’ve been high strung all day – and really for the last several weeks – so we’re ready to kick back a little bit, let our hair down and really enjoy the success,” Allred added. He will officially take office the first week of April, but he’ll be meeting with current SBP Seth Dearmin on Thursday and other campus officials this weekend to get himself ready for the big challenge.

Starting Wednesday, Holloway says that he’s going to start getting his life back in order – returning to classes and cleaning his room. Allred will probably be doing the same, in addition to preparing for office.