Duke Student Government President Pasha Majdi discussed student and academic life, campus safety and student dining options in the state of the student body address Wednesday night.
In his address Majdi, a senior, emphasized the work DSG has already carried out this year. “A lot of the biggest problems that I see on campus, DSG is addressing,” he said.
To address the social life of the campus Majdi suggested that DSG’s role was to determine how to support and encourage “fun” student programming.
Majdi suggested that DSG needs to work with the Office of Student Affairs and the events management office to control costs for group events and explore alternative funding options. “We should look into using our surplus fund by possibly purchasing equipment that students usually rent,” Majdi said, citing the high cost for groups sponsoring concerts with bands on campus.
He also mentioned DSG’s ongoing dialogue with administrators in Residence Life and Housing Services and the Office of Student Activities and Facilities concerning campus alcohol policy, as well as the reform opportunities that a new administration affords.
“Basically what we want is something that allows for fun and safe social life on campus, that also takes into account liability concerns and legality issues but strikes a balance that is consistent,” Majdi said. “Right now [the alcohol policy is] too vague and that puts RLHS in a very difficult position in enforcing, and it leaves too many questions unanswered for OSAF in setting up events.”
DSG’s committees to investigate the alcohol policy have not worked in the past and that simply issuing recommendations is not effective, Majdi told the Senate.
Majdi also announced new projects for DSG like an auditing board to oversee the effective spending of the student activities fee fund, the creation of DevilDaily 2.0—the campus information AOL Instant Messenger screen name—and DSG spending for a prototype plasma screen television to use for advertisements.
Concerning campus safety, Majdi emphasized DSG’s work with the administration in campus safety evaluations and also with addressing the student body’s perception of the overall safety of campus. Majdi explained the global positioning systems project for Duke Transit that he hopes to implement by May and addressed improving the administration’s current communication with students regarding crime on campus through the DukePass system.
Majdi stressed the importance of increasing student dialogue with administrators and with the student government itself. “I think we need to rethink how we’re going to get people involved,” he said.
Senators responded in favor of heightened student interaction, perhaps through town hall-style meetings, although sophomore Joel Kliksberg, vice president of community interaction, said such meetings have been “very sparsely attended” in years past.
In other business
Senior Chase Johnson, vice president of academic affairs, addressed the body to describe his committee’s two-pronged approach to academic projects: dividing its business into matters of smaller, more logistical concerns and broader, larger-scale issues.
Johnson’s committee has been involved in establishing an online campus plagiarism tutorial on Blackboard and securing staplers for all e-print stations on campus.
The Academic Affairs Committee is also creating stress-free and academic tutoring zones for finals week and establishing informational programs for freshmen, and it hopes to increase both academic access and graduate and undergraduate student interaction.
DSG also approved $1,625 in funding for Delta Sigma Theta’s Rhapsody Ball.
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