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The pursuit of wellness

Life as a Duke student can feel surreal—from morning rock climbs and lunches with Nobel laureates to nights cheering on the most storied basketball program in college sports, capped off with twilights in Perkins. With the surplus of opportunities on our campus far outpacing the number of hours in a day, many students are told early on to “pick two”: school, sleep, and social life. Forget about every achieving all three. As a result, personal health and wellbeing often take a backseat on campus, as students race between scholastic and social extremes.

Seven groups appealed their annual budget recommendations this year, which is less than last year. 

Duke Student Government passes annual budget at Wednesday meeting

The Duke Student Government Senate unanimously passed its annual budget with little debate at its Wednesday meeting.

Duke Student Government, class council elections draw 49 candidates

Later this week, undergraduates will cast votes for the newly-restructured Duke Student Government.

Board of Trustees make surprise announcement on proposed natural gas plant

The university’s Board of Trustees, in a secret meeting with Duke Climate Coalition, Duke Seize the Grid, and Duke Green Devils last Saturday at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club, has reached a historic compromise regarding the proposal by Duke Energy to build a new natural gas plant on campus.

And Now Her Watch Has Ended

To the outside world, DSG appears to be on its last legs. Vastly outnumbered and cut off from its Enzo's and Domino's deliveries, the various senators, VPs and patronage recipients cannot defend their Chapel stronghold for much longer. Despite the obvious situation, DSG still exhibits the same disconnect with reality that has plagued it since its inception. Although the engineers hastily finish their siege operations in anticipation of the upcoming assault, DSG doesn’t seem to notice. It merely continues its usual proceedings, complete with needlessly long and wordy speeches, frivolous attempts to spend the surplus fund, and arguing for hours over statutes and resolutions that nobody outside of DSG will ever know of or be affected by. Only the upper echelons of DSG’s noble class—namely Queen Ban-all and the Weis-man—fully realize the circumstance they are in.

Duke Student Government split on Catholic Center funding, discusses proposed annual budget at Wednesday meeting

A Catholic Center budgetary statute split the Duke Student Government Senate straight down the middle at its Wednesday meeting, during which it also considered next year's proposed annual budget. 

What’s the deal with Duke’s social culture?

I made the realization as sweat beaded across the back of my neck and flimsy baby hairs stuck to my temples, an unfortunate byproduct of North Carolina’s beloved humidity and the swelling summer heat. It was orientation week, of course—no one could forget the way the sun beat down so angrily on us last August—and I was at a frat party with my roommate, who I had luckily known prior to my arrival at Duke. I made the realization again as I stood in the common room of an SLG, chatting with a stranger self-consciously about my hometown, my prospective major and my sparse extracurriculars, my end-goal to stand out and impress. And again as I hovered on the fringes of a house party, the tight-knit group of people both mesmerizing and alienating.

The importance of flexibility

From the very start, waves of construction have plagued my existence at Duke, following me around like an infectious disease that becomes dormant for small spurts, only to rear its ugly head back with such an intensity that it becomes normalized in my daily life. The heartwarming, encouraging message from the administration has been quite simple: get used to it. As an undergraduate member of the Committee on Facilities and the Environment, I very much understand the importance of looking to the future to make sure that our university maintains a certain standard of excellence, comfort, and longevity that we have all become accustomed to and that prospective students, faculty, and visitors expect. Frankly though, it is hard for most of us current students, particularly those of us who have not had a West Union or a bridge to the plaza for much of our time, to avoid the thought that we got just a little bit unlucky to be attending Duke during a time of such enormous physical transition.

Campus Enterprises deemed 'too big to fail'

In a flurry of regulatory changes made over the weekend after a packed legislative session, Duke Student Government announced Monday that it had designated Campus Enterprises (CE) as “Too Big To Fail.” The student-run LLC, which has been a part of the Duke community for over 20 years and definitely is not a pyramid scheme, said members are “saddened” about the designation, which will subject them to heightened regulatory scrutiny and potential interference from DSG.

Academic Council establishes committees on student affairs, faculty rank distribution

At its Thursday meeting, the Academic Council considered two new committees—one on faculty rank and one on student affairs.

Jennifer Ansley, a lecturing fellow in the Thompson Writing Program, discussed issues impacting non-tenure track faculty at the DSG meeting Wednesday. 

Five takeaways from this week's Duke Student Government meeting

Duke Student Government elected a new senate president pro-tempore, discussed support for non-tenure track faculty and prepared for upcoming annual budget meetings during its Wednesday meeting. 

DUSDAC discusses portion sizes at West Union during Monday meeting

The Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee talked about portion sizes at West Union during its Monday meeting.

DSG program gives students on financial aid gift cards for food during break

A new Duke Student Government program provided students on financial aid with additional resources to pay for food during Spring Break. 

Bridging classrooms and communities: Intellectual engagement at Duke

This year, Duke Student Government (DSG) began the Student Leader Steering Committee, in the hopes of harmonizing student priorities with administrator work streams to improve the undergraduate experience. Our monthly meetings have convened students from different pockets of campus for a conversation with a senior university leader around a big-picture issue facing Duke—from construction, to classrooms, to curriculum. These discussions have been open forums for student concerns and incubators for ideas of how to change our university for the better—from giving students the opportunity to design Duke’s next dorm to responding to undergraduate feedback about how to improve the dining experience.