Duke Student Government wrapped up its year last night with a meeting full of debate and self-congratulations.
The most controversial topic of the evening was a resolution expressing disapproval of the Duke University Union's decision to reallocate space reserved a few hours each week for the DSG-sponsored attorney.
Executive Vice President Drew Ensign, the junior who co-sponsored the resolution with classmate DSG Chief of Staff Jimmy Carter, proposed that DSG enjoin the Union from making any space reallocations.
The measure failed, partly because the three DSG representatives to the Union Board- including Ensign-did not attend the meetings and were not aware of the changes.
Some legislators contended that had representatives attended the meeting, then they could have prevented the Union from making such a reallocation. Ensign, however, argued that the Union should have informed DSG of any change.
"The existence of representation does not mean that they shouldn't have formally notified DSG," he said.
Student Organizations Finance Committee Chair and sophomore Vinny Eng, however, responded that Ensign and others could have made themselves aware of the space reallocation if representatives had bothered to read minutes of meetings.
The Legislature also debated the merits of an internal act that would have reduced the size of the Legislature by 10.
The measure, proposed by the Vice President for Student Affairs Jasmin French and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jason Bergsman, met with sharp opposition from legislators who argued that the size of the organization was a strength and that a reduced size would not motivate legislators to work harder.
"In any sized group you're going to find people that are going to fall by the wayside," said junior Michael Calvo. "There are ways to make ourselves more accountable without shrinking the size of the Legislature."
The body also confirmed several of junior and president-elect C.J. Walsh's cabinet appointees. Freshman Dave Kahne and juniors Josh Brodsky and Elizabeth Kreul-Starr were appointed as the ACC conference coordinator, alcohol policy liaison and attorney general respectively.
Juniors Jason Freedman, Greg Skidmore and Carter were approved as Legislator Individual Project coordinator, head line monitor and financial aid chair respectively.
Sophomores Jillian Johnson and Cris Rivera were approved as the next student participation director and student services director.
The Legislature also approved bylaw changes to the election procedure and the composition of the Intercommunity Council's executive committee. Class presidents and the Campus Social Board president were removed from ICC in favor of representatives from the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life and the Women's Center.
The Legislature debated the validity of a section of the bylaw that required candidates to remove fliers near polling stations. Because the elections are now conducted online, several legislators argued that removing fliers did not serve any purpose.
Ultimately, legislators and bylaw revision chair Jessica Budoff resolved that fliers should be removed from the vicinity of laptop polling stations.
The last meeting of the year also concluded with special farewells from seniors President Jordan Bazinsky, Bergsman and French.
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