Campus Council voted unanimously to endorse the recommendations of the annual review reform committee, headed by President Anthony Vitarelli, at its meeting Thursday night.
The reforms, which the council discussed at its meeting last Thursday, will mean substantial changes to annual review, the process by which selective living groups are evaluated on their contributions to the campus community. Major changes include adding monetary incentives for groups to attain higher ratings and an adjustment in the requirements for each rating level.
Despite the fact that members raised objections to provisions within the reforms regarding specifics of the citizenship category and the levels of sanctions for various infractions, they decided that minor faults in the reforms were still a vast improvement over the old annual review procedure.
"This thing is not going to be perfect, it's not going to please everyone... but I think groups are going to say that as a whole document, it's still better than it was before," said Vice President Gerald Oliver, a senior.
One of the major sticking points was the role that infractions would play in the citizenship evaluation. As the reform memo currently reads, groups' ratings should reflect violations that negatively affect the quad community, such as noise violations or property damages, as well as members' positive contributions to the community.
Some council members, however, were concerned that there are no specific guidelines for how much weight property damages would carry. At-large member Merrill Roller, a junior, expressed concerns from the greek community that penalties for damages to residential sections would be a "triple jeopardy," since fraternities are already charged the repair cost and may have to face the greek judicial board as well.
In addition, Campus Council agreed that the citizenship category should remain a "swing factor" that could bump a rating up or down a notch and that groups that are on advisement for failing to earn a satisfactory annual review rating should not be eligible for financial rewards.
In the end, however, members decided that the focus of annual review should be programming and not punishments. Although it was not specifically added to the reforms, members discussed the benefits of co-sponsored programs in terms of additional community building.
"The purpose isn't to bankrupt somebody, it's to strengthen the sense of community on this campus," said Eddie Hull, director of Residence Life and Housing Services, who also attended the meeting.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
Campus Council approved the allocation of $2,000 for the Blackburn Literary Festival to bring Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, to speak on campus.
It also allocated $400 for Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity's Haunted House and $375 for the Viennese Ball, sponsored by the Duke University Wind Symphony in cooperation with the Duke Ballroom Dance Club and the Graduate Student Dance Club.
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