Young Trustee process flawed

The policy for selecting a candidate for the position of Young Trustee needs to be reevaluated. As a voting member on Inter-Community Council, I am proud to say that the committee did its best to examine each applicant fairly and thoroughly. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Duke Student Government, which made the final decision Wednesday night. I was disappointed that two candidates, Hirsh Sandesara and Chris Kallmeyer, were not given full respect, as DSG members were both inattentive and uninformed. Brandon Goodwin is an extremely charismatic and competent individual for this position-my grievances with DSG are by no means an attack on him. However, Sandesara and Kallmeyer have earned the right to command the same respect.

Members of ICC represent the views of 20 different organizations on campus and are arguably a representative cross section of the Duke population. Can DSG legitimately claim the same? After spending nearly eight hours in ICC meetings with the candidates over the past few weeks, it was incomprehensible that DSG made such a momentous decision by allotting a mere 20 minutes per candidate. Worse, I watched in disbelief as DSG Senators wasted time joking and instant messaging while candidates were speaking. In addition, some of the questions asked were completely outside the scope of the Young Trustee position, be they about premajor advising or tailgating. If many DSG senators do not understand this position, why are they awarded so much authority?

Such negligence was not the only problem. The atmosphere during the 20 minutes of Brandon Goodwin's interview was markedly relaxed. While some serious questions were asked, the level of professionalism dropped precipitously. If it's too idealistic or naive to ask that DSG give the candidates equal consideration, I think it's time that this power should be taken out of its hands. If all members are not capable of taking this responsibility seriously, selection policies must be changed.

Rashmi Vyas

Trinity '06