The inaugural set of semester-long focus questions for the Duke Student Government Research Unit were set Wednesday—drawing from six areas of campus and academic life at Duke.
The weekly DSG Senate meeting was broken into short debates that allowed for presentations in favor of and against the proposed questions. Senators considered each of the more than 15 questions enumerated in the first draft of the bill. The list of questions was cut down to four "big" questions and two "small" questions.
DSGRU and will break into small groups to focus on one of the six total questions. Every member of the group of 15 students confirmed to DSGRU has a background in mathematics, statistics or public policy.
“If someone is really passionate about something, they can choose to lead that question by themselves if they want,” DSGRU Director Kshipra Hemal, a junior, explained after the meeting. “Ideally, we will have three or four members per question.”
See below for a rundown of the major issues DSGRU plans to tackle.
Race and greek life
The first big question concerned the disparities between the racial and socieconomic make-up of Interfraternity Council fraternities and Panhellenic Association sororities compared to the student body as a whole. This question was introduced by junior Keizra Mecklai, and vice president for equity and outreach, and her committee. It was subject to heated debate—led by junior Max Schreiber, senator for services, who also serves as IFC executive vice president.
Schreiber questioned why DSGRU should be sent to find information that he claimed was readily available via statistics collected by the IFC and University about greek participation. When prompted as to why this information had not been turned into policy yet, Schreiber responded that a need for policy change had not been identified by the IFC and also claimed that DSGRU should be impartial and not take a role in fixing anything.
Equity and outreach committee members responded that the purpose of DSGRU is to provide a statistically grounded source for policy change. Eventually, debate was cut short as there was overwhelming support for the question’s inclusion in the bill.
Residential infrastructure
Another big question focuses on the varying levels residence quality around campus and how it impacts the Duke experience. It was proposed to investigate why and where the University invests in infrastructure and whether all students are treated equally by residential infrastructure. The question was introduced by junior Abhi Sanka—executive vice president—senior Ellie Schaack—vice president for facilities and the environment—and sophomore Zach Gorwitz—vice president for residential life.
Edens Quadrangle was presented as an example because it is sometimes seen as relatively undesirable in comparison to dorms in closer proximity to the center of West Campus. This question would attempt to answer what contributes to that undesirability and what the University can do to remedy it. There was no negative speech against the question.
Freshman meal plan
First-year food points were also the focus of a big question. The question—introduced by junior and Vice President for Services Billy Silk—his committee and Sanka, is meant to determine whether or not the first-year food plan is sufficient for most students and if it is unfair toward first-years on financial aid who have limited ability to add food points. There was no opposition to this question.
Curriculum influence
The final big question came from junior and President Lavanya Sunder, senior and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ray Li and his committee, and will ask students to what extent the University curriculum affects their academic choices, how they choose courses and what additional factors influence students’ decisions to take a course. There were no opponents to this question.
Small questions
The first small question addresses how and why communities form in unaffiliated houses and how unaffiliated students are incorporated into Duke social life. This question was introduced by Gorwitz and Sanka.
The final question, introduced by Hemal and the equity and outreach committee, asks what existing knowledge of CAPS and Women’s Center resources students have and how this would change after the introduction of an information sheet about CAPS, sexual misconduct and mental awareness. Neither of these questions faced any opposition during debate.
The bill containing the finalized six questions passed almost unanimously, with Schreiber acting as the only opposing vote.
The final bill did not incorporate questions the Duke-Durham relationship and how socioeconomic status impacts a student’s experience at Duke, among others.
In other business:
The Student Organization Finance Committee approved approximately $30,000 of funding for upcoming student groups’ activities. Blue Devils United received $7,200 to pay a photographer to work on their “What I Be” project, which raises sexual assault awareness and will result in a mosaic of photos of students standing up against sexual misconduct. The Black Student Alliance received $3,000 to pay for the movie rights to screen “Dear White People," a new film about race relations in elite universities. Develle Dish received $3,000 to hold a panel discussion led by the leaders of Know Your IX, an organization that advocates for sexual assault policy change.
Additionally, the Duke Business Society received $4,000 for a seminar led by the educational organization Pillars of Wall Street, the Duke International Association received $9,100 to fund FoodFest, a showcase of international food and Duke’s diversity, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity received $4,000 to hold their annual Casino Royale Charity Ball for the March of Dimes, which works to lower infant mortality and prevent premature births and birth defects.
David Robertson, a senior and vice president of Durham and regional affairs, emphasized that with the Supreme Court’s upholding of North Carolina’s voting laws that limit out-of-precinct voting and recently eliminated same-day voter registration, the last day for students to drop off a voter registration form in a dropbox is Friday, Oct. 10.
SOFC approved the formation of four new groups. They include Spoon University, a group that publishes a culinary magazine and holds events on campus featuring chefs and food; the American Medical Women’s Association, which advocates for women who want to work in medicine; the Duke Pre-Pharmacy Union, which networks and is a resource for pre-pharmacy students; and the Marine Science and Conservation Leaders, which is a pre-professional group for those planning on working in ocean sciences.
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