The Duke Student Government Senate met Wednesday evening to discuss its year-long agenda.
President Alex Swain said her priorities for the year include addressing the statute of limitations policy, revamping the DSG website, continuing to improve football tailgating and finding a sustainable way to support Senior Sendoff, which replaced Beer Trucks, because the Duke Alumni Association has pulled most of their funding from the event. Each vice president who was present took the floor to present priorities to the senate. Many presentations focused on building better communication on campus.
Sophomore Tre’ Scott, vice president for services, said he hopes to enhance student awareness of on-campus events through the institution of a mobile app called “Campus Quad.” Scott said he believes many events are not well attended—not because there is a lack of interest, but because current methods of promoting events are unconsolidated and inefficient. Campus Quad is a mobile app that allows users to post electronic flyers and search events based on time, location and category, Scott said. Scott and representatives from the Duke Innovative Design Agency are leading the charge to spread the app to Duke students.
“I’m excited to see Duke students have control over their social environment and to have one place to go to for events from free food to frat parties,” Scott said.
Junior Marcus Benning, senator for Durham and regional affairs, said he is looking forward to the opportunity to exchange ideas with neighboring student governments.
“I’m most excited for the upcoming Unity Dinner,” Benning said. “This dinner brings the student governments of [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill], [North Carolina Central University] and Duke together to discuss potential opportunities for collaboration.”
Representatives from NCCU will be a new addition to the 2012 Unity Dinner, which previously included just two schools. Benning recalled that the 2011 dinner inspired Executive Vice President Patrick Oathout, a junior, to bring UNC’s “Fix My Campus” project—designed to allow students to voice their suggestions and concerns about campus life—to Duke.
Sophomore Derek Rhodes, vice president for Durham and regional affairs, said he is planning to place Durham’s local newspaper, The Herald Sun, in more newsstands around campus. In addition, he is working with the Office of Durham and Regional Affairs to start a Duke-Durham internship program designed to to expand internship opportunities for Duke students.
Nikolai Doytchinov, vice president for academic affairs, said he hopes to cultivate more dialogue between students and faculty. He proposed the institution of “Bookbag Sunday,” a catered event that would involve students and faculty discussing engaging class material. He also hopes to form committees that will address inconsistencies in the designation of Modes of Inquiry and Areas of Knowledge.
Senators for equity and outreach are working on a campaign to improve accessibility on campus by giving administrators insight into the experience of a student with physical disabilities, alerting them to the difficulty these students have navigating through campus.
In other business:
Oathout proposed that DSG change its dress code for meetings, eliminating the mandatory business casual dress. The senate failed to approve the amendment after a 20-minute debate.
Junior Daniel Strunk, a columnist for The Chronicle, was named chief justice after running unopposed.
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