Student feedback is as critical as ever these days.
At Thursday night's Campus Council meeting, Duke Student Government Vice President for Student Affairs Elizabeth Dixon presented DukePass to Council members. DukePass--launched by the Office of Information and Technology earlier this week--is an online portal that provides Duke undergraduates a central access point to student-specific information and oft-used applications.
Because the portal is currently in its test phase, the addition of new services is within the realm of possibility. But new features are not going to think themselves up--that's where student opinion comes in, Dixon said, noting that the success of the program will rely on the suggestions of the students that use it.
"The really exciting time of the portal is going to be in the next six months," Dixon said. "[With student input] we have the potential to integrate new technology into what we already have now."
Student involvement in the portal should not end there, Dixon said, as she is "hoping [to] get enough student support" so the new offering will be available for student use next year as well.
The test phase will run through May of this year, and soon thereafter University administrators will evaluate the utility of the program and decide whether it should continue.
Campus Council members also discussed the recently debated issue of landscape improvement on the main quads. Members were originally roused by student concern two weeks ago to advocate improvements in the landscaping of the areas that students use most, and this issue has been an extended priority of the legislators.
At last week's meeting, top administrators told legislators that if improvements are to be made, students must scale down the intensity of activities on the main quads. Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli did not take well to that advice, as he pledged not to compromise student programming for the betterment of the grounds.
Searching for alternative ways of solving this problem, Vitarelli, Crowell representative Basil Camu and Wannamaker representative Hany Elmariah met with Executive Vice President Tallman Trask. After discussions, members believe they have found an advocate in him.
"He 100-percent agrees that students are not to blame for the state of the grounds in the quads, and he has a vision for the solution of this problem," Vitarelli said.
Vitarelli said he is confident that an alliance with Trask is in student interest. "He's very understanding of this, and he really prioritizes the aesthetics of Duke's campus," Vitarelli said.
To illustrate his point, Vitarelli reported that Trask has already pledged to take action in one area.
"He promised to re-sod Wannamaker within seven days."
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
Damjan DeNoble, an East Campus representative, reported that the Duke University Union has funded the East Campus Council's effort to bring Sister Hazel for a concert that will take place on East Campus toward the end of the semester.
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