Moneta to shake up student governance

Undergraduate student governance is poised for a potentially major shakeup this year as administrators and several student leaders discuss ways of solving what they see as long-standing problems of inefficiency and confusion among student organizations.

The discussion focuses on the three groups most involved with programming and policy-making: Campus Council, Duke Student Government and the Duke University Union. All three are established sources of student funds, event organization and student representation, but some say they have overlapped on occasion and overlooked some issues. Now students and administrators are looking to streamline.

"I can see some very different possibilities for structuring those organizations," said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, who has been meeting with the groups' leaders and will make the ultimate decision on the reorganization of student groups. "The goal really is to create an expanded opportunity to meet students' needs."

Moneta said the changes could range from small tweaks to sweeping revisions. The leaders of the three organizations said the discussions have so far been productive. "The current system is so confusing that students don't know where to go for money and programming," said Union President Brady Beecham, a junior.

Moneta did not give a schedule for making any changes, but student leaders hope for a resolution by semester's end so they can prepare for choosing next year's leaders.

Moneta said Campus Council may be more heavily involved in making policies because of its focus on life in residence halls and oversight of quad councils.

"I think that a lot of people thought we were more of a programming organization, but there are a lot of policy issues we deal with on a weekly basis," said senior Vik Devisetty, Campus Council president.

Recently the group has been involved with policy discussions on electricity problems in Trent and smoke-free zones in dorms, but the council will also interview candidates for the 10 residence coordinator positions who will oversee quad life.

"Right now, we really want the legislators to be working more with their constituents," he said. "The way they've worked in the past, they've represented the campus instead of the people who elected them."

DSG is split into committees, and in addition to the five executive members, it has appointed Cabinet members and several ad hoc committees.

Among those committees is the Student Organization Finance Committee, which annually distributes over $430,000 to student groups from the student activity fee. Walsh said the committee may move to Campus Council or the Union, or to a new organization controlling all student funding.

Unlike Campus Council and DSG, the Union does not make policy; rather, it funds and sponsors programs designed to have appeal across the University. The Union supports several events and some standing groups, such as Cable 13. It may make sense, Beecham said, to involve the Union more in student funding and other campus events like Last Day of Classes and Devil's Eve, both sponsored by Campus Council. Particularly, Beecham said the Union should have more input in campus-wide facility and infrastructure issues.

The Union is governed by its president, several other executive officers and its board, which also includes faculty and staff. The Union's officers are elected from within, a fact that Beecham said reflects the need to have experienced leaders.

"That's a lot of student money without accountability," Devisetty said. "On the flip side, they have more administration advisors than any other student group."

The Union receives most of its $400,000-plus budget from the undergraduate activity fee, but it also receives money from Student Affairs and from graduate and professional students.