The Freeman Center for Jewish Life was filled with both excitement and apprehension Saturday, as Duke Student Government ushered in new legislators during its annual all-day retreat.
C.J. Walsh, calling for a "year of implementation," charged the 2001-2002 legislative body to prepare for what the president considers a critical period for both the organization and the University.
Walsh, a senior, said he expects DSG to lead the way in bringing into effect the campus-wide changes that the administration and previous DSG bodies have enacted in the past few years.
Walsh acknowledged, however, that the student organization must do so with one of the most inexperienced and youngest groups of legislators in the body's history.
Of the 50 legislators either elected by the student body or appointed by the executive committee, 39 are newcomers: 18 freshmen, 13 sophomores, seven juniors and one senior.
Thirty-eight of the legislators are either freshmen or sophomores and there are only three experienced seniors in the legislature.
"It is a manifestation of the new face of DSG," said Walsh, who was elected in March, having never served in the organization.
Their inexperience, has not stunted new legislators' enthusiasm.
"I am looking forward to it," said Kevin Williams, a junior new to DSG. Williams was the executive vice president of the Black Student Alliance last year, and said that he wanted to now take on broader campus issues.
"The opportunity to get substantial experience in making policy at Duke is really appealing to me," said Aneil Lala, the top vote-getter from East Campus.
The reason for the sudden turnover of legislators remains unclear, but some pointed to Walsh's victory a year ago as inspiration for others to run.
Newcomer Lindsay Dreilinger said Walsh's light-hearted campaign--in which Walsh, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, cast himself as a business-minded "portly redhead"--could have made serving on DSG more appealing to students. "I think greek kids realized it was something that could be more up their alley," said Dreilinger, a sophomore.
Returning members said they are not worried about the sudden influx of new legislators, noting that once they learn the ins and outs of DSG, their impact will be immediately felt.
"I think they will bring a lot of enthusiasm to the job and new energies," said senior Sara Elrod, who has served on the facilities and athletics committee for the past three years.
Junior Thaniyyah Ahmad agreed with Elrod, adding that the new members would bring new perspectives and ideas to DSG.
With such new blood comes a flurry of new projects. Each legislator is responsible for initiating and completing a Legislative Individual Project by the end of the year.
An informal survey of new legislators' ideas included guest logins at computer clusters, making the freshman dining plan more flexible and adding more Science Drive buses.
Many legislators said they would also focus on larger University issues like alcohol policy enforcement, implementation of the new residential life policy and developing parking and construction at the Bryan Center.
"DSG is going to play a very vital role in the next year in deciding the structural changes of the University," said Clifford Davison, a sophomore from North Campus, who is serving in DSG for the first time.
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