Editor's note: We picked a claim that we could fact-check from each candidate's statements at Monday night's debate. We are not adjudicating how truthful each claim is—we're just providing facts surrounding that claim. All candidates were given a chance to comment or clarify their debate statement.
The Chronicle: Sean, for your last scenario: Your chief of staff informs you that he has been accused of sexual harassment. How do you respond?
Sean Bissell: “So the first thing that I'd do is that I think it would only be fair and right to let the process that the Undergraduate Conduct Board and the Office of Student Conduct have go through. At the time, I would ask the chief of staff to step down and have a new chief of staff just while the process goes through the Office of Student Conduct....”
Although the Undergraduate Conduct Board is part of the Office of Student Conduct process, a student making a harassment claim does not necessarily have to take that route. It’s possible that they have an administrative hearing or resolution, in which case an Undergraduate Conduct Board is not necessarily involved.
Jamal Burns: “With the current structure of DSG, there is nothing particularly I can say that I disagree with and that’s because of how opaque DSG structure is…."
DSG's website lists their current projects and the organization's different branches. DSG Senate meetings, Judiciary hearings and DUSDAC meetings are open to the public, and The Chronicle reports on those events.
One area of the organization with less transparency is the Student Organization Finance Committee, which does not make funding requests for less than $1,500 public. We are not fact-checking the accessibility of this information or these events, but rather whether it is publicly available.
Yemi Kolawole: “I think it’s often unprecedented to join DSG as a sophomore and then become chief of staff as a junior.”
Annie Adair, Trinity ‘17, was chief of staff as a junior after joining DSG as a sophomore.
Sabriyya Pate: “Actually, I haven’t paid dues since I’ve been involved. I don’t think I’ve gone through the formal channels, but I’m not involved with my SLG..."
Currently, Pate is listed as a member of Round Table on its website. However, in a Tuesday night email, senior Sarah Jacobs, co-president of Round Table, wrote that as of Monday's debate, Pate was not a member of Round Table.
"According to the Round Table Constitution, a member who does not pay dues for 2 semesters is automatically deactivated from the SLG. She should have been notified by our treasurer last year when this occurred, but the treasurer at the time did not do this (our bad—not Sabriyya's)," she wrote.
Pate wrote in a Tuesday night email that she attended one rush event “for fifteen minutes” this year, but was not involved with Round Table rush.
Kristina Smith: “The Daily Devil Deals, which are meals under $5 at every on campus vendor that make eating on campus for affordable for all students and all staff members, is a project I first started with a policy proposal that I then sent to Dining...”
Formally launched in November, the Daily Devil Deals is a program run through Duke Dining that aims to offer $5 meal options at vendors. Dining’s website includes a full list of the available options. The program only necessarily applies for lunch, but some of items fall within that price range anyway.
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Bre is a senior political science major from South Carolina, and she is the current video editor, special projects editor and recruitment chair for The Chronicle. She is also an associate photography editor and an investigations editor. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief and local and national news department head.
Twitter: @brebradham
Email: breanna.bradham@duke.edu
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.