Mr. President

A day in the life of ASUN President Lane Carr

By Frannie Spouls Published: Thursday, November 3, 2011 Updated: Friday, November 4, 2011 04:11

Sitting in front of a computer, the room only lit by lamps and the light filtering in from the window, Lane Carr stares at the screen for a second. He begins to type in a number but quickly deletes it. He turns to the phone next to him, picks up the receiver and dials a number.

“Hi, Paula,” Carr says, a small grin on his face.

Outside the room, a voice yells, “I’m right out here! Just yell!”

Carr laughs and asks the question over the phone anyway. After hanging up, he turns and explains the phones are paid for, so they might as well be used.

“Paula doesn’t see it coming,” Carr said.

Carr, a senior political science and history major, is the president of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska.

Spending most of his day working for ASUN can be stressful, Carr said. As president, he has several projects to work on, such as a master plan for sustainability and creating a budget for next year’s ASUN senate.

Carr serves as the student voice on various committees, such as the Academic Planning Committee, and is also a student regent.

Matt Hilgenkamp, external vice president of ASUN, has known Carr since their freshman year when they were in Freshman Campus Leadership Associates (FCLA) together. Hilgenkamp, a senior accounting major, said he has always been impressed by Carr’s work ethic.

“He’s just a hard worker,” Hilgenkamp said. “He works until he gets the job done. He just really commits a lot of time and energy to the things he is passionate about.”

Jeff Lopez, internal vice president of ASUN, said he’s amazed at how much Carr has done since becoming president.

“I tell Lane he’s not allowed to die, because I couldn’t handle what he does,” said Lopez, a senior chemical engineering major.

“Everything that he does is so much.”

To get an inside look at how busy Carr’s day really is, the Daily Nebraskan followed Carr around for an entire day, from when Carr walked to school in the morning to when he headed home for the night.

Nov. 2, 2011

8:20 a.m. – Nearly ready to go, Carr packs a small lunch before making the 10-minute walk to campus. “I don’t have time to walk back here during the day to eat lunch.”

8:30 a.m. – The first one in the office, Carr drops his backpack off and ventures to the University Bookstore for coffee. Then it’s down to business checking email. His Mumford & Sons Pandora radio station plays in the background.

9:30 a.m. – The main lights are switched on and Carr opens the door to the office. While hand-writing congratulatory notes to the UNL speech team for its tournament championship, Carr keeps a post-it pad nearby. “I have to write stuff down or else I’ll forget because I’m 80 years old.”

10 a.m. – Carr walks the block through the rain to the admissions building to turn in New Student Enrollment recommendations. Walking back to the union, Carr jokes about how the rain makes his hair look bad. “I wish I could use the ASUN money to buy some Rogaine,” he said.

10:30 a.m. – Carr walks to the office of Marlene Beyke, administrative director for ASUN, to discuss election and budget concerns but forgets to bring his cup of coffee. He explains they usually share coffee because Beyke gets Starbucks.

11 a.m. – Carr, who has been avoiding studying for his exam at 12:30 p.m., begins to study his notes. He explains he’s missed this class a lot because of ASUN duties (three times for Board of Regents meetings), but the professor is understanding. “I get mad test anxiety. It makes me do better, but I hate taking tests. I’d write a paper instead any day.”

11:30 a.m. – Jessie Matthes, an ASUN administrative assistant, finds out Carr wrote an article about her in the ASUN Alumni newsletter and used her picture from the ASUN website. Carr says he thought she knew about the article and apologizes for using her picture. “I’m not really sorry,” he says with a grin.

Noon – Finished with studying his notes, Carr makes a lunch of ramen and pieces of chicken in the microwave. The other ASUN administrative assistant Paula Allen, Matthes and Sen. Eric Kamler, a junior agricultural economics major, join Carr for lunch.

Jokes and stories are exchanged, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

12:30 p.m. – Carr heads out to take his test, still a bit nervous. He returns about 1:30 p.m., saying he prepared for the wrong essay question. He shrugs it off and says he’s just glad it’s over now.

1:30 p.m. – Two old friends and former roommates, Mike Sholes, a junior broadcast journalism major, and Drew Partridge, a senior civil engineering major, stopped by the office to chat. One needs a sound bite from Carr about the Campus Recreation Centers being approved by the legislature. At one point, Carr leaves the office. Sholes and Partridge tell a story of the prank war all three of them were in. When asked about it, Carr says, “Did they tell you I won?”

2 p.m. – Carr meets with Juan Franco, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, in the glass room by the coffee shop in the Nebraska Union to discuss ASUN issues. Franco mentions that, at a meeting he went to, there was an honors student who decided to live in Abel Hall because there was a slushie machine in the Abel C-Store. Carr says he would buy a slushie machine for every residence hall and, when Franco reorganizes Student Affairs, a slushie person should be included. “We’re needy, Dr. Franco, I’m sorry.”

2:30 p.m. – Hilgenkamp and Sen. Kristen Wallace are in the office when Carr returns. Carr and Hilgenkamp get into a discussion and Wallace comments that they fight like a married couple. “I got out of that as soon as possible,” said Hilgenkamp, who had lived with Carr for a year. “It’s a love-hate relationship.”

3 p.m. – Carr attends the Academic Planning Committee meeting for a little more than an hour and a half. Throughout the meeting, Carr listens and participates, asking questions and offering suggestions.

Even though some issues are difficult to understand, Carr says he’s glad for the chance to participate in academic affairs as well as in student affairs. “It’s so ... ugh ... but I love it.”

5 p.m. – Carr eats sesame chicken from Imperial Palace and chats with senators Kaitlin Mazour and Natalia Santos, junior English major and junior nutrition and health sciences major, respectively. Carr goads Mazour to tell the rest about an inside joke, leaving everyone in the room laughing.

6 p.m. – Carr rushes to print off enough copies of an emergency bill and get ready for the ASUN senate meeting.

6:30 p.m. – Attends ASUN senate.

7:30 p.m. – Carr attends the first 20 minutes of the town hall meeting, walking around the room, taking pictures of people who came.

8 p.m. – Attends the second half of the Civic Engagement Panel at the Wick Alumni Center. At the end of the panel, there is a raffle for tickets to the Husker volleyball game against Michigan State University. Carr crosses his fingers, but his ticket isn’t chosen. “I never win these things.”

9 p.m. – On the way back from the alumni center, Carr jokes with Lopez. “Now who’s the one who should have a cane?” Carr asks with laugh when Lopez complains about his knee hurting. After a long day of ASUN duties, Carr heads home for the night.

Often when Carr goes home, he doesn’t go to bed right away. He said he stays up and answers emails.

Beyke said because of her and Carr’s jobs, they tend not to sleep a lot.

“We’ll email at 2 a.m.,” Beyke said. “So I’ll know he’s up working on stuff.”

Carr works for ASUN, even when he goes home.

“(Being president) makes for a busy day, but that’s OK,” Carr said. “I like my days busy.”

Despite the stresses, Carr said he has never wanted to quit, but there have been frustrating times.

One of those times was hearing ASUN was not doing a good job representing graduate students on campus. As the leader of the student government, Carr said he takes it personally that those students feel they are not represented well.

But, during the years, Carr said he’s learned to channel his frustration into motivation.

“It’s my job and it’s real life,” Carr said. “Real life is something that happens. It’s a real measure of how I handle myself.”

Carr began his career at ASUN as an FCLA member and has not looked back since. But there are times where he wonders what life would be like if he weren’t a part of ASUN. “I do sometimes wonder, but I fear what I would be like without it,” Carr said.

He also said he feels like a bad friend because of his many commitments. But his friends are very supportive and understanding, knowing to actively seek Carr out during his busy schedule.

One of his college goals is to win an intramural T-shirt, even though his days don’t leave room to participate in intramural sports. His last chance, he said, is to fill out which college football teams will win over the weekend the Campus Rec Center’s Pick ‘em. Different organizations fill out sheets to predict the outcomes of the weekend’s football games.

“This is the most important piece of business of the day,” Carr said, waving the bright green paper in the air.

Despite the challenges ASUN presents to Carr, he said he’s always excited to start the day and go into work.

“It’s a joy for me each day,” Carr said. “That’s sounds really corny and cliché, but that’s exactly how I feel.” franniesprouls@dailynebraskan.com

Three things Lane loves: 1. The Nebraska State Capitol Building — “I want to become mayor just so I can knock down that blue building that gets in the way of my view from the ASUN office,” Carr said.

2. The Broyhill Fountain — “The Broyhill Fountain has a special place in my heart. When they drain the fountain, it’s one of the saddest days of the year,” he said.

3. Wine — “You’re a wine connoisseur. His first and only love is my comment there,” Hilgenkamp said.

Interesting Facts about Lane; 1. His favorite character from “The O.C.” is Sandy Cohen, but he really likes Seth too.

2. He has swum in the Broyhill Fountain.

3. His vocabulary can be random, like “willy-nilly” and other little “ditties,” according to friends.

4. Instead of heating up ramen when a microwave isn’t available, he’ll eat ramen noodles dry.

5. His pet peeves all bother him equally, like when people belch in his face or there are a lot of emails in his inbox.

6. He hates florescent lighting.

7. He is a prankster: He once put all of his roommate’s underwear in the freezer during a prank war.

Quotes about Lane: “Lane Carr is an old man.” Jeff Lopez, a senior chemical engineering and ASUN internal vice president

“I’ve always appreciated how he can get along with different kinds of people and, depending on the situation, he can find a sense of humor that fits with that group.” Matt Hilgenkamp, a senior accounting major and ASUN external vice president

“He has more pet peeves than anyone I know.” Jacob Schlange, a senior international studies and political science major, ASUN Campus Life Committee Chair and Carr’s roommate

“If you’re out of line or not up to par, he’ll hold you accountable.” Eric Kamler, a junior agricultural economics major and ASUN Government Liaison Committee Chair

“I have a picture of Lane Carr next to my bed.” Natalia Santos, a junior nutrition and health science major and Communications Committee Chair “He wants to leave the office better than when he came into it.” Marlene Beyke, ASUN adminstrative director http://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/a-day-in-the-life-of-asun-president-lane-carr-1.2665228