DSG rejects opening Trustee committee seats to general student body

Student government vice presidents will remain on committees

<p>Duke Student Government elected not to open spots on Board of Trustee committees to the general student body Wednesday night.&nbsp;</p>

Duke Student Government elected not to open spots on Board of Trustee committees to the general student body Wednesday night. 

In a meeting Wednesday, the Duke Student Government Senate failed to approve legislation opening applications for seats on Board of Trustees committees to the student body.

Junior Tara Bansal, president-elect, and junior Tanner Lockhead, vice president for Durham and regional affairs, introduced legislation last Wednesday that would broaden the applicant pool for spots on the Board of Trustees committees usually reserved for vice presidents. After amending the by-laws to allow vice presidents to pick which committee they wish to serve on, the Senate voted for the legislation 19-17, falling short of the required two-thirds vote needed to pass.

“I’m really disappointed that Senate decided to retain these spots for DSG,” Bansal said. “I think that if we as an organization want to become more open with the student body, this would have been a really great opportunity to better serve them and create more opportunities for them.”

The measure's opponents argued that DSG’s mission is to be the voice of the student body to administrators.

“Liberal arts institutions are best served when they have strong student voices at the table,” wrote senior Bryan Dinner, vice president for social culture, in an email. “DSG's mission is to be that voice. If we really think DSG is not the relevant voice to have, we should not give up on this responsibility. Instead, we should work to become that relevant voice.”

Bansal said that because the legislation failed, she hopes that the vice presidents will try to rise to the occasion with their service on the Board of Trustees committees.

“We can take this in stride, and we can make sure that this is an impetus for our vice presidents to reach out to more student groups and connect with other leaders to make sure that they are better and best representatives,” Bansal said. “Now that my amendment has failed, that’s what I’m going to focus my energy on for Board of Trustees.”

Two of next year’s vice presidents—freshman Will Hardee and Lockhead—voted for the legislation, according to DSG's voting records. Four vice presidents—sophomore Riyanka Ganguly, junior Basil Seif, freshman Kayla Thompson and freshman Sean Bissell—voted against, and Michael Norwalk, vice president for facilities and environment, abstained.

In other business:

The Senate voted to uphold President Keizra Mecklai's veto of a bill that would move $20,000 from the DSG surplus to the Chanticleer, Duke's yearbook.

Although another bill modifying funding for the Peer Advocacy for Sexual Health was on the agenda, its sponsors decided not to introduce it to save time.

By a 19-18 vote, junior John Turanchik—senator for facilities, environment, and the arts—was elected senate president pro-tempore. Earlier this month, Turanchik lost an election to serve as Executive Vice President to Ilana Weisman, vice president for equity and outreach. 

The Senate voted to fund $5,000 for Zagster, a bike-sharing program, and $7,300 for a wellness room in Perkins Library from the DSG surplus fund.

Correction: This article was updated to indicate that the legislation to broaden the applicant pool for spots on the Board of Trustees committees was introduced by both Tara Bansal and Tanner Lockhead and to correct the spelling of Tanner Lockhead's name. The Chronicle regrets the error. 


Likhitha Butchireddygari

Follow Likhitha on Twitter

Class of 2019

Editor-in-chief 2017-18, 

Local and national news department head 2016-17

Born in Hyderabad, India, Likhitha Butchireddygari moved to Baltimore at a young age. She is pursuing a Program II major entitled "Digital Democracy and Data" about the future of the American democracy.

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