Campus Council devoted much of its attention last night to what they feel is a deterioration in landscaping quality in the quadrangles Duke students employ most.
Two key administrators present at the meeting--Joseph Jackson, manager of grounds and sanitation at the Facilities Management Department, and Mark Hough, a landscape architect with the Office of the University Architect-- said they understand that the conditions of the grounds are not acceptable, and they cited a variety of limitations that hinder Duke's floral potential.
Problems include incompatibility between Duke's various grass species and the volatility of Durham's weather patterns, and the apathy of Duke's most powerful administrators with regard to this situation, they said. However, the most controversial reason they offered was that students are not taking on responsibility for the preservation of the grounds.
"We can spend a lot of money, but there will have to be a commitment on the students' part, some kind of stewardship," Hough said.
Jackson echoed Hough's sentiment, and noted that specific student activities must be reconsidered.
"It's difficult for grass to survive, period--but when you add [student] programming and activity, it makes that even more difficult," Jackson said. "We keep these activities and bonfires going, and by the end of the academic year [the grounds] look like trash. I think the maintenance dollars are there, but we don't have the right [student] programming going on."
Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli insisted that no such compromises will be considered by the student legislators.
"Campus Council will not recommend a reduction in the activity in our quads," he said. "It is possible for us to maintain our usage level on the quads without sacrificing our landscape quality, and it just requires a high commitment to aesthetic excellence."
Vitarelli asserted that responsibility for the well-being of the quad should not rest with students, because students do relatively little damage to it.
"Student activities are the least detrimental to the quads, anyways," Vitarelli said. "Administrative activities, like alumni weekend, damage the quad most significantly."
Vitarelli also questioned the discrepancy in landscape quality between the grounds immediately surrounding administrative and academic buildings and those associated with student residential areas.
"There is an undeniable disparity between the residential and academic quads," said Vitarelli. "There are no flowers and no colors in the residential quads, whereas in the academic quad, you will always see flowers, and it always remains green and lush."
Jackson countered Vitarelli's observations of inconsistency. "We don't have as much activity on the academic quad as we do on the residential quad," Jackson said.
The topic of landscape quality is gaining traction with Duke's most influential administrators, said Hough, as he advised that real progress on this issue will not be made without their involvement.
"It's not just money, the issue has been commitment, and that has been brought up by [Executive Vice President Tallman] Trask," Hough said. "It is an issue, and the Board of Trustees are concerned with this."
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
Residence Life and Housing Services Director Eddie Hull reported that the pilot project of DukeCard access to dormitory bathrooms will likely not come to fruition at any time this school year due to software problems.
"We have the wiring in place but not the software," Hull said. Senior Kesav Mohan presented an idea for a campus-wide Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament. Student legislator reaction to the suggestion was very positive. The event will accommodate 100 participants, first come, first serve, and will be open to faculty and students.
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