Student legislature takes home “best delegation” at Raleigh general assembly
Student members of the NCSL. WCU students Adam Harp, fourth from left; and Hayden Burris, third from left.
By Shane Ryden
ĚđąĎĘÓƵapp’s chapter of the North Carolina Student Legislature was less than a year old when it took home the statewide title of “best delegation” this April.
Since its founding in 1937, the NCSL has invited politically-minded youth at colleges and universities across the state to form bipartisan delegations to engage with the legislative process.
Members conference monthly to share and discuss proposals with their colleagues at other institutions, and all gather once a year in Raleigh for a model general assembly.
The model weekend has real implications; legislation passed by the assembly and signed by the governor, the NCSL’s head, has the potential to reach real legislators in the state government and be passed into law.
Hayden Burris, founder of WCU’s delegation and current president of the club, champions the chapter as a way for students to have a real impact on the lives of North Carolinians. Their first meeting took place in September 2024.
“I, in the past year or so, have heard a general sense of apathy among college students, where they feel that, in this current political climate, their opinions are not important, where they feel they can’t voice their opinions,” Burris said.
“When I started reaching out to people with the idea for this club, it kind of made us realize that this is actually a platform for us to potentially have a real impact on state policy and actually get practice as potentially some of the future leaders of our state.”
The storied program has seen many prominent North Carolina politicians in its membership, including former governors James Holshouser and Jim Hunt, as well as former U.S. senator Jesse Helms.
It’s a jumping off point for those looking to wet their feet in the world of politics, and, as Burris describes, it’s also a space for people to come together and discuss difficult ideas without fear of retaliation.
“I think that a lot of people just have had this general sense of apathy with politics, especially because it’s become so polarized, divisive and bitter, that to have a space to just express their political opinions in a way that is professional and will not cause any hurt really attracts some people to this club,” Burris said.
Adam Harp, delegation treasurer, took home another victory for WCU at the general assembly when he was appointed attorney general of the NCSL’s Council of States. He described a shared goal among the delegates he met at WCU and beyond, and his vision for the future: “We’re all seeking the common good.”
“Each delegation from each school brings something unique to the table and to themselves. We’re not like Campbell. We’re not like UNC Charlotte. Our delegation’s goal is to be the best Western Carolina delegation possible,” Harp said.
“We are a growing organization, and as a growing organization, there will be tension. There will be disagreements. There will be new people that show up. There will be seasoned people there. But moving forward, my goal and my duty is to preserve what we have and to work with others to ensure that we do grow.”
By the conclusion of April’s general assembly meeting, three of the four pieces of legislation WCU’s students brought to debate were passed.
Their resolutions proposed creating a new parking pass system for North Carolina state parks, increasing the pay of the general assembly, reverting judicial elections to be nonpartisan and increasing privacy for individuals recorded by law enforcement.
Other universities brought issues facing underserved communities and the nation’s moral fabric to the table of debate. Six different delegations were in attendance.
“All political opinions are welcome in that space, not just one side or the other. And yes, sometimes things get heated, but at the end of the day, we are able to discuss things with compassion, with humility, and are able to reach a common understanding that we are impacting North Carolina in our own way,” Burris said.
The conclusion of the event saw a unanimous vote for Western North Carolina to be awarded “best delegation.”
“All the other delegations had agreed they were going to vote for WCU because we showed up with so many people consistently, we continued to grow throughout the year and we were constantly stepping up our game in terms of how we were debating, how we were handling ourselves and how we were conducting business with other schools,” Burris said.
The feeling of accomplishment was shared between the delegation and those professors in the Haire Institute for Public Policy that made it possible. Chris Cooper, professor and director of the institute, and Bob Boylan, professor and assistant director, managed the group’s funding so students could devote their energy to the work alone.
“I feel like it was an absolute success for our first year, and I’m excited to keep it going in the future,” Cooper said.
“These students are getting no course credit. The incentive for them is just to have this experience, and the fact that we’ve got roughly a dozen students interested in doing that – I think it’s a pretty remarkable comment on them.”
Members of the NCSL continue to prove that Western North Carolina students have no problem going the distance to make an impact.
