Trio of seniors named Young Trustee finalists

Seniors Jamal Edwards, Wills Rooney and Max Schreiber have been named finalists for undergraduate Young Trustee.

The three were selected from a pool of nine semifinalists after interviews with the Young Trustee Nominating Committee. The student body will be able to vote for Young Trustee Feb. 9. Junior Annie Adair, YTNC chair and chief of staff of Duke Student Government, said that the interviews with this year’s finalists were the strongest that she had seen in her two years on the YTNC.

“Each of them brings something different but equally meaningful,” Adair said. “They were all incredibly thoughtful and analytical. We really think each of them is going to be successful on the Board [of Trustees] and the Board will seek out their opinion.”

Adair also emphasized the diversity of the semifinalist pool and the many areas of campus that they represented, from duArts to Panhellenic Association to Blue Devils United.

As a first generation college student, Edwards said he was grateful for the opportunity to be selected as a finalist for Young Trustee.

“As a freshman arriving to Duke and watching my first Young Trustee election, thinking, ‘Wow, these individuals are incredible,’” Edwards said. “Four years later for that to come full circle, I’m truly humbled.”

Edwards—the former president of Black Student Alliance and a Robertson scholar double majoring in global health and journalism—was named a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow in May 2015, which he said would give him a more global perspective if he were voted Young Trustee.

Rooney, who is a member of the varsity track team and columnist for The Chronicle, was also excited to be named a finalist and said he hopes that he can help Duke establish an “institutional identity.”

“Duke has given me a wide range of opportunities to reflect on what it is that an education ought to be and what it is that a university ought to do for students,” Rooney said. “I view the Young Trustee opportunity as a chance for me to give back to a school that has given me a ton.”

Rooney was also named a George J. Mitchell Scholar, which supports one year of study at a university in Ireland or Northern Ireland. He plans to study the philosophy of religion and pursue a master’s degree in theology at Maynooth University in Ireland.

Schreiber, the current president of Interfraternity Council and a former columnist for The Chronicle, noted that as Young Trustee he would focus on issues relevant to undergraduates such as accountability and the protection of free speech.

“I’m really excited about the chance to go at it with two great guys about the direction of the University,” Schreiber said. “I’m looking forward to making my case why I’m the best person on the ballot to represent the undergraduates.”

Schreiber also noted that another important part of his platform would be increasing socioeconomic diversity.

This year, changes to the Young Trustee bylaw—including the selection of the YTNC by DSG president Keizra Mecklai and Richard Riddell, vice president and University secretary—were implemented to reduce the influence DSG had on choosing the finalists. Schreiber is the only finalist this year who has ever been affiliated with DSG.