Several first-semester student demands remain unaddressed

Administrators have worked to tackle certain demands presented by students last November, but many remain unaddressed.

At the “Duke Tomorrow: Student-Organized Discussion with Brodhead and Administration” forum Nov. 20, students presented a list of demands written by Concerned Students 1969 to President Richard Brodhead, Provost Sally Kornbluth and Valerie Ashby, dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Since the forum and the preceding gathering organized by administrators, changes include the creation of a task force on bias and hate issues, the renaming of the main quadrangle to Abele Quad and the proposed Duke Experience course for freshmen that could feature race and diversity issues.

“The University is starting to take these issues more seriously,” said sophomore Bryce Cracknell, a member of Concerned Students 1969. “Generally speaking, people are in a more understanding mood and are willing to work on these issues. However, we have hit obstacles within the administration in regards to university politics and the extent to which administrators can implement changes on a mass scale.”

Concerns regarding student life

One demand presented in November was that members of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association undergo “additional bias and diversity training.” Junior Mitchell Grant, president of IFC, wrote in an email that there is “no need at this time for increased diversity training” because of efforts it has pursued to be more inclusive.

“IFC is always looking to increase its appeal to every freshman who steps on Duke’s campus,” Grant wrote. “We have done this through increasing the amount of scholarships awarded this past year, hosting a diversity panel last year, as well as having a recruitment process in which potential new members and brothers alike devote hours of time to get to know each other on a personal level.”

When asked for further comment on diversity, Grant replied in an email that he did not “have much to add.” Junior Anya Ranganathan, president of the Panhellenic Association, could not be reached in time for publication.

The demands also focused on increasing Duke’s socioeconomic diversity by amending financial aid policies so that students with families earning less than $75,000 would not have to pay for tuition, room or board.

“Our current financial aid program eliminates any parent contribution for families earning under $60k,” wrote Alison Rabil, assistant vice provost and director of financial aid, in an email. “I don’t believe we have plans to change that award policy.”

Rabil also emphasized the impact of the new Washington Duke Scholars program, which will provide approximately 30 scholars in the Class of 2020 with financial assistance and other opportunities before expanding to include more students. The scholarship program was announced before the demands, however.

“We would also hope [the scholars program] will highlight Duke’s welcoming environment, regardless of socioeconomic background, and that high achieving students from more varied financial backgrounds will consider us a college option as a result,” Rabil wrote.

Dean of Admissions Christoph Guttentag could not be reached in time for publication about a demand that reporting SAT and ACT standardized test scores be optional in the admissions process.

Another demand asked that the Short Term Illness Notification Form (STINF) include a section for “mental health trauma and debilitating conditions.” Ashby noted in an email that students could reach out to their academic dean about diagnosed mental illness accommodations or feelings of being overwhelmed.

“When a student is incapacitated due to illness, including mental illness, students can use the Short Term Illness Notification,” Ashby wrote.

She also noted that the STINF policy is currently being evaluated.

Although a specific university course was not part of the demands presented by students at the forums, as part of the ongoing curriculum review process, a “Duke Experience,” course has been proposed to replace Writing 101 for freshmen. The proposed course may include topics of race and inequality.

Administrative changes

Several of the student demands related to the University’s task force on bias and hate issues, which is chaired by Linda Burton, dean of social sciences and James B. Duke professor of sociology, and Kelly Brownell, dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy. The task force began its work in January and hopes to release a report with findings later this semester, its co-chairs explained in a previous article.

The 10 student members were appointed by the co-chairs as well as Duke Student Government President Keizra Mecklai, a senior, and Abbe Labella, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council.

The last demand called for increased transparency about the University’s progress. Administrators emphasized a new website that will be launched shortly and allow community members to contribute ideas for the task force.

“Communication is being coordinated by the President’s Task Force as well as through the new ‘Inclusive’ web site created by Duke Office of Communications,” wrote Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, in an email.

Despite attempts at transparency, Moneta noted that addressing the demands would require “persistent dialogue, authentic interaction and more.”

Brodhead explained that the administrative process of responding to the demands is complex.

“We are not organizing our response by taking the list of demands and going down them,” he said. “The demands can be grouped in various kinds of issues. Some are higher priority. Some are lower priority. Some need to be dealt with in student affairs. Some need to be dealt with in academic affairs.”

Cracknell noted that Concerned Students 1969 had been keeping in touch with minority groups on campus. He said that he understands the difficulty in achieving the various goals of the demands, especially given that there have been many attempts to make demands at Duke.

“Many have said the demands are unattainable,” Cracknell said. “I would disagree, but more importantly, the demands must be given in order to work toward the goal of a better, more diverse, inclusive, and just Duke. Historically, I don’t believe that each of these demands will be met, however, I do believe that progress will be made and I know that there will be students that hold the University accountable and move these issues forward.”

Faculty diversity demands

The demands presented in November highlighted faculty diversity as a major concern, but Brodhead said in a recent conversation with The Chronicle that administrators had already been studying the issue.

A report presented to the Academic Council from its Task Force on Diversity in May 2015 found low levels of minority representation among regular rank faculty and tenure track faculty, based on data from 2012.

“The issues that were raised about faculty representation were already under intensive internal study by the faculty and administration,” Brodhead said. “There’s a group bringing forward recommendations of implementation of those issues that I think we’ll be looking to hear pretty soon in the future.”

Ashby wrote in a memo to undergraduate and graduate students Jan. 13 that she had created a Diversity Advisory Committee for Trinity, comprised of faculty, administrators and staff that meets bi-weekly to discuss diversity issues.

Cracknell noted that the students who presented the demands have also been working to push Duke’s graduate and professional schools to increase their diversity.

“There aren’t any black faculty that I know of at the Nicholas School,” Cracknell said. “We’ve looked at several different ways to create that diversity through different partnerships or fellowships and ways to bring more people of color to the decision-making table.”