At Tuesday’s Duke Student Government Senate meeting, Senate confirmed 41 members to DSG for the 2018-19 academic term.
DSG held their last meeting of the year Tuesday.
Senate confirmed junior Analese Bridges as chief justice in addition to nine senators, ten members of the executive board, four members of Duke Student Government Research Union and 17 members of the president’s cabinet.
Incoming President Pro Tempore Avery Boltwood, a sophomore, said that he wanted to promote a culture of collaboration in Senate during his upcoming tenure.
“I think people get lost in their own little world, in their own little project and literally get lost in the sense of they do not know what to do,” Boltwood said. “I want to try and make Senate more of an open place where people are open to ask questions about policy but also ask questions when they don’t know what they are doing. Because I think we have all been there, and that is not typically been openly addressed.”
President-elect Kristina Smith, a junior, added that she was excited about the upcoming cabinet. Emphasizing the importance of reaching out to students and student groups, she said that she chose applicants who have connections to student groups and are directors and experts in their specialties.
She said that this strategy encourages DSG transparency and ensures that the cabinet can inform students of what is going on and have a say. In turn, Smith said that the cabinet will collaborate with students to push policy to push projects and work with the administration to achieve those goals.
“That is why there are so many people,” Smith said. “That may seem like a lot, but that is how we stay informed with what is going on in the student body and how DSG does the best work that we can.”
Cabinet members include:
General Policy Advisor Luke Farrell, a junior
General Policy Advisor Kushal Kadakia, a junior
Co-director of Racial and Multi-Cultural Outreach Michelle Li, a junior
Treasurer Nick Santangelo, a sophomore
Chief of Staff Steve Hassey, a junior
Executive Secretary Ahmed Alamansoori, a sophomore
Attorney General Anna Kasradze, a first-year
Director of Communications Alec Lintz, a junior
Disability Rights Advocacy and Policy Advisor Ariel Friedman, a sophomore
Director of Gender Equity Rebecca Torrence, a first-year
Co-director of Racial and Multi-Cultural Outreach Maryam Asenuga, a sophomore
Religious Advocacy and Policy Advisor Usamah Chaudhary, a sophomore
Engineering Student Government Liason Feroze Mohideen, a sophomore
Technology and Innovation Advisor Pranav Ganapathy, a sophomore
Director of Low SES/1G Advocacy and Policy Advisor Elle Winfield, a junior
Head Line Monitor Peter Potash, a junior
In other business
Because some Board of Trustees committees within the executive by-law no longer exist, Senate passed an amendment to the by-law to remove references to those. Dellinger described this amendment as a non-substantive change, as it does not “fundamentally change representation or placement on the Board of Trustees.”
Senate presented five awards to distinguished members of the Duke community. The Paul Edwin Harner Award was dually provided to Kadakia and sophomore Ivan Robles, senator of equity and outreach. Chief of Staff Yemi Kolawole, a junior, won the Reginaldo Howard Award. Senior Kevin Mutchnick, senator for academic affairs, received the Graydon John Forrer Award. Senate chose Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, to win the Dean Suzanne Wasiolek Award. Phaill Wynn, Duke's vice president for Durham and regional affairs, was given the Nannerl O. Keohane Award. The David Pittman Award was given to senior Elizabeth Barahona, vice president of equity and outreach.
Correction: This article was updated Wednesday afternoon to reflect that Mohideen is the ESG liaison. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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Stefanie Pousoulides is The Chronicle's Investigations Editor. A senior from Akron, Ohio, Stefanie is double majoring in political science and international comparative studies and serves as a Senior Editor of The Muse Magazine, Duke's feminist magazine. She is also a former co-Editor-in-Chief of The Muse Magazine and a former reporting intern at PolitiFact in Washington, D.C.