​Forward, DSGRU

The Duke Student Government Research Unit was established by DSG last September with ambitions to help Senate representatives tackle persistent, large-scale campus problems. The vision for the unit was to infuse DSG-led initiatives with more data by creating a home within DSG for quantitatively inclined students to investigate methodically pressing campus issues.

We applauded the creation of DSGRU last fall and acknowledge the progress it has made in building relationships on campus to overcome the logistical hurdles of its first year. Building a student-led research group in a university setting comes with tremendous challenges, and we believe DSGRU’s decision to dedicate its resources to a smaller set of research projects is wise. Connecting with research already being conducted on campus is important to avoid being overburdened by the size of projects, and research by undergraduates without administrative and faculty department partnerships could easily be overwhelming given demands already on students.

So as the research unit embarks on its second year on campus, we add three areas to DSGRU’s consideration of research topics.

First, how do students at Duke engage in student government, local, state and federal elections? Close to home, why is turnout for DSG elections so low? Are there ways that DSG can change election ballots or adjust election procedures to increase student turnout? Students would also find value in understanding the political makeup of campus in terms of both broad political leanings and distributions of students across issues. Off campus, how students participate in voting and political events can inform us in how many and what kinds of students are engaging in politics during college.

Second, how do social communities at Duke manifest themselves? What makes some independent houses tighter communities than others? Community is often built in social and residential spaces, but students also tend to build community in curricular and extracurricular spaces, like academic societies and dance teams. How can those interactions shape housing policy? Housing is central to the student experience, and metrics on what students can gain or lose via housing models are vital in policymaking.

Thirdly, we invite DSGRU to consider tackling questions around academic life. What combinations of majors, minors and certificates tend to arise in a class’s four years? Are there trends in switches in majors at certain points in student careers? What majors are not reaching students until later in their careers? With continuing curriculum revision discussions, it is important to have data on how students are actually filling Trinity requirements, which ones are filled with interest versus apathy and other basic academic questions.

While the original vision of DSGRU was to investigate issues that would inform specific student government initiatives, we urge DSG to also consider it as a tool to help students understand campus and themselves as they navigate the Duke experience. A well-known campus research study on gender norms conducted by Duke Inquiries in Social Relations continues to inform campus thought even though the investigation was not tailored to a specific action on the part of DSG or the University administration. DSGRU continues to hold great potential to produce the same kinds of conclusions for the undergraduate experience. We look forward to seeing the new set of studies that DSG will commission to the research unit this fall and encourage input from all corners of campus with careful consideration to what will benefit DSG, administration and students most.