Duke Student Government President-elect Stefani Jones, a junior, was sworn into office.
At the last DSG meeting of the academic year, Jones and the elected vice presidents for the 2013-2014 academic year took an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Duke Student Government” during their time in office. The Senate also confirmed the presidential cabinet members, class council officers, Board of Elections members, Board of Trustees representatives and Student Organization Finance Committee members.
“I am excited to start next year and I feel like I have some big shoes to fill with [senior Alex Swain, the outgoing DSG president] being gone,” Jones said.
She added that there were more than 50 applicants for the presidential cabinet this year.
“I feel confident in the cabinet that we swore in today,” Jones said. “We are going to accomplish big things next year.”
Alex Swain, a senior, addressed the Senate for the last time as president. “This has been an amazing experience being [the Senate]’s president,” Swain said. Senior Class Council President-elect Andrew Leon Hanna, a junior, was also optimistic about beginning his term as president. He added that the Class of 2014 junior class council was successful in increasing the overall sense of belonging within the junior class.
In other business:
The Senate did not pass legislation to give The Chanticleer’s staff more control over how they spend their SOFC allotted budget.
After conferring with senior Felix Wibergh, editor of the Chanticleer, Executive Vice President Patrick Oathout, a junior, said previous legislation may have infringed on the autonomy of the group.
The DSG executive board also discussed possible implications of the Judiciary’s ruling on Dinner and Wang vs. Board of Elections, which eliminated campaign deadlines.
“It is a serious question, but it is a question that cannot be answered because we don’t know how it is going to play out,” Oathout said. “We don’t know if a candidate will start campaigning seven months ahead of time or not.”
Oathout presented legislation commending the DSG vice presidents on their accomplishments this year.
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