Strolling through East Campus as a high school senior, Trinity sophomore James Evans couldn't have agreed more with the friend who convinced him to visit the University.
"He told me it was the perfect place," the Duke Student Government presidential candidate recalled.
After applying early decision, he relished his freshman year in Alspaugh Dormitory.
"I really like East Campus. It's more of a community than West is," he said.
But his perceptions of campus politics were not as impressive as the rest of his Duke experiences, prompting him to run for DSG president.
"I think my impression of DSG has gotten worse over time," he said.
Frustrated with the past performance of DSG, Evans set out to identify areas where DSG is weak. "It seems like [DSG] never succeeds to the level of student expectations," he said. "I think DSG needs to be opened up to the student body. Students need to care about it."
Evans said he is confident that his projects, which he calls "simple, cost-effective and timely," will reconnect students and DSG to help Duke become "the perfect place."
For example, Evans plans to renovate the West Union Building, displacing current office and meeting space while adding a sandwich shop, diner and upscale grocery store. "It would turn the West Union Building into a campus activity hub with all the added options, not to mention it is much closer to all of the living areas on West than the Bryan Center," he wrote in a statement.
Another of Evans' proposals involves adding 500 parking spaces to the Guam parking lot, adjacent to the Ocean. He said these spaces would eliminate the expected parking crunch next year.
Estimating that it will only cost $750,000 to add the slots, he hypothesized that the cost of parking passes would not have to be raised.
Joseph Pietrantoni, associate vice president of auxiliary services, said he welcomed Evans' ideas, but he expressed some concerns over his assumptions and cost estimates.
Pietrantoni said administrators are already looking to put a grocery store in the Bryan Center after renovations are complete in a few years. "[Evans] is right that a larger grocery store on West Campus would be popular," Pietrantoni said.
But Pietrantoni expressed doubt that adding another parking lot would be feasible, noting that administrators are tentatively planning on using the space Evans proposed to put in a cooling tower. "I don't know if we can put in 500 parking spaces," he said.
Pietrantoni added that he had no idea how much such a parking lot would cost. "We have not done a study to get a cost estimate," he said.
Still, Evans holds that "by actually accomplishing goals, people are going to start to gain faith, to say, 'DSG did this, did that.'"
This increased interest, explained Evans, will further benefit the organization by raising voter turnout and fighting student apathy. "I don't think DSG is representative of the student body because people simply don't vote," he said.
Evans does not have significant experience on campus-wide projects, but is confident he can learn about the position. When he decided to run for DSG president, he resolved to become familiar with the organization. "I've gotten to know some of the members of the legislature, and that's helped me a lot," he said. "I got the idea early this year, and I started 'interning' informally with DSG a little later."
One of the people he worked with this year was DSG Vice President for Student Affairs Jasmin French, a Trinity junior who works in the sales office of The Chronicle. "James has a lot of passion and enthusiasm about issues concerning Duke students," she said. "He has a pulse on what the majority of students want and that is a positive attribute."
Evans said he is qualified for the position because of the leadership positions he has held. In high school, he was co-editor of the school newspaper, president of the area Habitat for Humanity and president of the diplomacy club.
He is now vice president of House DD, where he plans events and helps to allocate funds. Trinity junior Rich Glod, treasurer of House DD, said he thinks Evans would make a good president. "I see James as a very imaginative person," he said. "He's always thinking of creative and cost-effective ways to use our money."
Glod explained that Evans' love of Duke makes him an outstanding candidate. "He's very supportive of the Duke community, and he has a vested interest in making social changes for the betterment of the student body," he said.
Evans said he is confident that he would find success as DSG president. "I don't think I have a single goal that can't be accomplished," he said.
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