Carliss Chatman wants to see more collaboration between leaders of student groups at the University, and she feels that being Duke Student Government president is the best way to make that happen.
"I feel a lot of student leaders are overwhelmed and don't collaborate," the Trinity junior said, adding that part of this dilemma could be solved by teaching students to be leaders outside the classroom.
Though Chatman has no previous DSG experience, she has been active in University life as treasurer of the National Panhellenic Council, president and charter member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and a general programmer in the Women's Center.
"She's been on a lot of committees, she's dealt with a lot of issues, she's talked with a lot of senior administrators," said Women's Center Director Donna Lisker.
If elected, Chatman hopes to encourage cooperation on a broader scale by revamping the InterCommunity Council, which brings together leaders of various student organizations. Chatman suggested ICC would be more effective if members applied to fill the 13 board seats rather than being appointed to them; also, she proposed making the ICC's chair an appointed position, instead of letting the DSG vice president for community interaction automatically fill the post.
Most dramatically, she said she would like to give ICC the ability to screen groups seeking DSG recognition before they appear before the legislature.
While Jeremy Huff, DSG vice president for community interaction, agreed that the ICC executive board is not as effective as it could be, he expressed reservations about drastic changes.
"I'm not confident... that that process is the best one or that it fills the goal of the current ICC," said the Trinity senior.
Another of Chatman's plans for the University is to promote interaction between residents of East, West and Central campuses.
She supported an "East-West link" that would pair each dorm on East with one on West so that freshmen would not feel isolated from the rest of the University; earlier this year, administrators working on the residential life plan suggested this possibility as a way of easing the transition from East to West.
"West has the Great Hall, East has the Marketplace-Central has a grocery store," Chatman said, suggesting that the Devils' Den be open with meals at least once per day to build community on Central Campus. The eatery ceased daily service last February due to lack of interest.
Despite her lack of DSG experience, Chatman has organized campus-wide initiatives.
In August, she helped coordinate the Beaufort Student Leadership Retreat. About 50 students, faculty and administrators attended to learn how to coordinate the programming efforts of their respective groups.
"The Beaufort retreat... showed me that Carliss is a very determined woman who has quite a talent for rallying support and enthusiasm," co-planner and Assistant Dean of University Life Melinda Roper wrote in an e-mail. Chatman was pleased with the retreat's success, which, she said, has already helped bring campus groups together.
Those who have worked with Chatman are quick to say that building coalitions is one of her strong points.
"She does a good job with collaborating with other student groups and administrative offices on campus," Shannon Johnson, program coordinator for the Women's Center, wrote in an e-mail. "It's an important quality in a DSG President... [to be] able to reach out to people."
Chatman said her biggest weakness was her propensity to over-commit. "I've really learned to delegate things in the last year," she said.
Chatman advocates providing money to new student groups that lack support from national organizations, expanding the financial aid office and altering the alcohol policy to promote more responsible drinking behavior. "Alcohol on points is a good way to keep students from going out on the quad and splitting a fifth of vodka with their friends," she said.
Safety and security are also important issues for Chatman, who favors increasing the number of police patrols around East, Edens Quadrangle and Science Drive. "We have this police force but where are they?" she said. "They should definitely be going around more regularly."
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Sue Wasiolek praised Chatman's creative problem-solving approach. "Carliss, in my opinion, does not feel bound to do things the way they've always been done," she said.
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