John Guarco cites DSG experience in EVP race

Next Tuesday, the student body will elect a new Duke Student Government president, executive vice president and Student Organization and Funding Committee chair. The Chronicle's Neelesh Moorthy sat down with executive vice president candidate John Guarco, a sophomore, to discuss his goals for DSG Senate and his personal experience.

The Chronicle: Why do you want to be executive vice president?

John Guarco: I want to be executive vice president because I think I can do a lot more to help the community than I can currently do as a senator. I am working on environmental sustainability by banning pesticides on campus and creating green spaces on campus. I'm working on simplifying and clarifying sexual assault and misconduct policies, and I'm working closely with mental health related matters.

In my experience writing legislation over this past year and working with the senators on collaborative projects, I think I can bring this experience and help the incoming freshmen next year, because the primary role of the EVP is to preside over the legislative process of the Senate and to ensure a smooth transition for new freshman senators and senators-at-large so that they can be as productive and efficient as possible. I think if I was elected I'd do a very good job of that.

TC: What projects are you working on with regards to sexual assault?

JG: I launched the Duke Against Sexual Assault [Facebook] page earlier this year, which is meant to release information gathered over the past ten years by the Women's Center to give a more accurate understanding of the severity of sexual assault. I also meet regularly with administrative officials, like Title IX Director Howard Kallem and Dean [Stephen] Bryan in order to modernize the sexual assault and misconduct policy. We're currently working on implementing what is known as the "Amnesty Policy," and this is also part of my platform which involves if, for example, if someone was doing drugs or alcohol prior to being sexually assaulted, they would not be penalized by law nor by university punishments. Instead, the entirety of the crime would fall on the perpetrator, and this is a policy that many administrators have taken a liking to.

I'm also working on getting funding for a "UASK" app that would make it easier to report sexual assault through an iPhone application as opposed to reporting directly to the police or to the University. I also played a large organizational role in the "We'll Speak Up" campaign, which is bringing awareness to sexual assault by uniting greek leaders, independent leaders, and [Selective Living Group] leaders and all regular students to promote the problem of sexual assault and raise attention for how much of an issue it is.

TC: How would you go about facilitating the transition for incoming freshman senators?

JG: I am advocating the banning of a certain pesticide which poses a threat to campus green spaces, and I am working with environmental student leader [senior] Anne Martin by contacting law students at the Duke Law School to draft a binding agreement with our administration to ban this pesticide on campus, as well as with the [manager] of the biology department Randy Smith. I was planning on introducing the legislation this week, but that was cancelled due to the snow days, but I am planning on introducing it next week.

With regards to Student Health, I would like to see a transportation system for freshman on East Campus to get to the student health center, because if they're too sick or too ill to take the bus I think it would be a wise decision to provide some sort of transportation from East to West in order for them to get the medical care they need. I know that this past year [Vice President for Services, junior] Billy Silk, has introduced a policy where women who have had a bad sexual experience can travel through Duke Vans to pharmacies to acquire contraceptives, and I think that if we can implement a system like that for women we can also create a system for freshman on East to get to West. This is already something I've been working on with Billy Silk and its something I'd also like to see implemented next year.

I also want to extend [Prevent.Act.Challenge.Teach] training to all incoming students who matriculate to Duke in their first year, and I would also like to oversee some changes to PACT training. A recent Harvard Law School article states that victims of sexual assault undergo certain neurological changes after the assault called "tonic immobility," and I think an important step in changing the PACT training would include letting potential victims of sexual assault know that if they are ever sexually assaulted it is imperative that they seek help and seek to punish the perpetrator as soon as possible so that they will able to get their stories as accurate as possible.

I also support an open-door alcohol policy, similar to what Washington University and Stanford University have. Essentially, this policy states that if your door is open and you're drinking alcohol, so long as there isn't any dangerous or flagrant activity going on, you won't get in trouble or be written up. I think this would be an effective policy because I think Duke students are capable and responsible enough as adults to oversee their own drinking, as opposed to the current policy we have now. I understand there are schools like Dartmouth [College] that outright ban hard liquor, but I think that is the wrong approach to take, so ultimately I would advocate to the Board of Trustees an open-door policy. Obviously I can't promise it will be implemented or initiated immediately, but I will definitely be fighting for it.

I'd also like to see another form of transportation, and i'm currently working on this with senator Jared Katzen, to the Duke Farms, so students can get a greater appreciation of the Duke Farms as well. This past year, I've also worked on several campaigns like the "We'll Speak Up" campaign and the "What I Be" project, and in all these campaigns I have played an important organizational role in helping it as a whole in order to benefit the student body. I'd like to continue working on that as much as possible and moving forward with helping the student body through various initiatives.

TC: What do you think of the current proposals to restructure the senate?

JG: I think that the current proposals to restructure the senate shouldn't be done now, especially with such a politically hot climate, but at the same time I think students should have a more communicative part in it, so I think the senate, EVP, and president next year should be holding town halls, and students who care enough to put in their opinions as to what they would like to see implemented with regards to senate restructuring. Ultimately, if DSG is to serve the students, I think they should listen to the students instead of focusing amongst themselves. I think this brings up another point of communication amongst students in regard to the [Housing, Dining and Residential Life] rules. Three years ago, the housing guidelines were created by administrative officials without the input of students, without the input of greek leaders, without the input of SLG leaders, without the input of independent leaders, so I would like to ensure that their opinions and outlooks are able to be incorporated into policy and avoid something like the HDRL rules in the future.

TC: What do you consider to be DSG's biggest priorities in the coming year?

JG: To be honest, I think we have a whole slew of important priorities in the upcoming year. First and foremost, maintaining the success of the current administration and ensuring we can do whatever we can to take pragmatic approaches to implementing policy proposals, and I think a lot of that falls on the role of the EVP to foster a communicative atmosphere amongst new senators to ensure that their policy proposals are able to come to reality through legislation. But, like I mentioned before, sexual assault and misconduct policy, environmental sustainability, student health, as well as advocating for an open-door alcohol policy and for more transparency with regards to student punishments would be the top priorities for DSG next year.

With regards to greater transparency involving student punishments, I would like to see in written language exactly what types of punishments for certain actions are available to students. For example, smoking marijuana may lead you to your first disciplinary action and a warning, whereas if you get caught again you'll be on disciplinary probation until graduation. I think that, while most students know the consequences and punishments for these actions, not only drug use and alcohol use but also academic dishonesty, it would create a more transparent environment to help them avoid doing it in the future, so I would like to see that in writing.