Talks about policy and programming were the foci of Duke Student Government's meeting Wednesday night.
Election by-law changes and an update on the Student Organization Finance Committee highlighted the meeting. Debate hit the senate floor when the DSG legislative body voted not to recognize the student group Estacion Libre.
"Tonight was a structurally oriented night," said DSG President Jesse Longoria, a senior.
DSG Attorney General Bryce Walker, a senior, read two revisions to the existing Election by-laws. Walker said the changes will streamline the election process by placing fewer restrictions on candidates and by increasing by-law readability.
"We want candidates to reach out and contact as many voters as possible, and we don't want to hinder that in any way," Walker said. "The ideal situation is not only increasing candidate visibility but also increasing interaction between candidates, their platforms and the student body."
This year, the annual review process responded to a series of miscommunications and misinterpretations that occurred in last year's presidential race.
After a second reading of revisions initially proposed at the Nov. 17 DSG meeting, the legislative body passed the changes by a unanimous vote. These included a number of minor alterations to the wording and to the runoff system-one of the major sources of trouble for last year's elections.
The changes proposed at Wednesday's meeting include making candidates submit the content for all campaign materials to the Election Commission and providing campaign fund records to the DSG treasurer.
Walker also proposed removing a number of unnecessary and archaic clauses from the existing by-laws. These changes will be voted on at the next meeting.
Although minimal, the corrections were necessary given the implementation of new technology in next semester's elections.
"I think these are just minor changes to ensure that the structure is in place for the new election software," Longoria said. "Those changes need to be made now."
SOFC Chair Jeff Federspiel, a junior, spent most of the meeting at the podium.
He presented an update on the organization, which funds a number of student groups on campus.
Among other things, Federspiel outlined the progress made by SOFC this year, the status of funding and the changes that will be made to the organization's by-laws in the near future.
This year, SOFC has worked to create a more useful website and improve what some called a rocky relationship with the Senate in past years.
So far this year, SOFC has spent $23,795.46 of its programming fund, putting the organization ahead of its projected budget.
In past years, Federspiel said the organization would have spent an additional $10,000 by this time. Longoria added that the budget ran out around March last year.
Most of this year's funds went to left-leaning organizations, Federspiel said. He added that SOFC hopes to maintain diversity by appealing to more conservative organizations on campus in the following months.
A few changes will likely be made to SOFC by-laws early next semester, Federspiel said. One change includes making the DSG treasurer a voting member of SOFC.
Federspiel also presented five groups that sought charter or recognition by DSG. Debate ensued when SOFC suggested that DSG not recognize or charter Estacion Libre, a political organization for students of color that focuses on intellectual pursuit and education.
SOFC decided by a vote of nine to one, with one voter abstaining, that the organization did not fulfill a unique niche on campus and lacked a durable organizational structure.
"It's a question of whether the resources that could be spent on this club would be more concentrated and better spent on a few organizations," Federspiel added.
Two representatives from Estacion Libre said they have members from all years and attracted more than 150 students to an event the group helped to sponsor earlier in the semester.
Gente Aprendiendo por Nuevos Oportunidades, Duke Smart House and the Duke Journal of Public Affairs were all chartered by unanimous vote. Duke DonAid was also recognized.
In addition, SOFC allocated $3,000 for Alpha Phi Alpha's "Alpha Night at Nasher" banquet and $570 for the DSG Stress-Free Zone, which will provide food and massages for students before final exams begin.
Longoria said he was pleased by the number of organizations that showed up at the meeting seeking recognition and funds.
"That's the biggest thing we do each week, in my opinion, because that's how we support students," Longoria said.
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