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John Tolsma
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Three candidates vying to become DSG president**
By ROSE MARTELLI
Trinity junior John Tolsma said he wants to create a student government that is respected by students and administrators.
Tolsma said he would instill in Duke Student Government legislators a sense of personal responsibility and loyalty to DSG.
"We need to mold legislators into being more effective lobbyists," said Tolsma, who is running for DSG president.
Legislators should be placed in DSG committees that best match their personal interests. Student government leaders must "get in the face of administrators" as well as serve as a resource for legislators to help them put their ideas into action, he said.
"I'm a team builder and a motivator around a project," he said, citing his experience restructuring the Student Organizations Finance Commission.
Tolsma said he would take a holistic approach to improving residential life.
"Duke usually takes a knee-jerk approach to residential life and planning. Residential life goes beyond where we sleep," Tolsma said. Dining, transportation and student-faculty interaction should be included in the debate surrounding residential life, he said.
He is in favor of block housing and theme-based dormitories and thinks dorms should be rewarded for strong programming.
Tolsma proposes splitting up the freshman class evenly between both East and West Campus.
"East Campus offers an alternative that some upperclassmen find attractive. You've got to give them that option," he said. He said the administration must make a financial commitment to East.
To improve intellectual life, different branches of the administration must work together to help fuse students' academic and social lives, Tolsma said. The new University provost, which a search committee is currently seeking, must recognize that student life should be part of the job, Tolsma said.
If elected, Tolsma said he would work with greek organizations to help them become a thriving part of campus life.
"We need to stop judging them," he said. "We should instead take something mediocre and try to make it great."
Tolsma advocates giving sororities and black greek organizations office space that is more centrally-located.
Tolsma has been a member of DSG since he was a freshman. Currently he is chair of the SOFC. He believes this experience gives him an advantage over the other candidates. "A lot of decisions are coming down soon after graduation [May 8]," he said. "We don't have time for a president to just get familiar with things."
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