Maintaining positive relations with the community is a priority for the University and for Duke Student Government.
This year, juniors Daniel Bowes and Jason Gross and freshmen Jordan Giordano and Maya Salwen hope to do just that as they vie for the position of DSG's vice president of community interaction.
The winner of the election will chair the Inter-Community Council and work to improve communication and relationships within the Duke community and those with Durham.
The four candidates have had varying experiences working with Duke-Durham relations-either through DSG or other organizations. All of them, however, agree that Duke needs a better relationship with the surrounding community.
Bowes, who is a Chronicle columnist, said his experience as this year's president of Duke American Civil Liberties Union will enable him to be more active in working with community relations.
"When issues or events arise that strain the trust between Duke and the larger Durham community-like the recent allegations against the Duke lacrosse team- meaningful engagement between the Durham community and students must be facilitated by an individual who has a sincere and demonstrated commitment to both groups," Bowes said.
In his platform, he also focuses on Duke student-employee relations and suggests implementing voluntary interaction through activities such as automechanic or cooking classes that students and employees can take together.
Bowes also said DSG needs to take a stronger stand defending student interests. When Alcohol Law Enforcement officials "bullied and scared students" when they cited many early in the fall semester, Bowes said DSG's Office of Community Interaction should have lobbied and defended student interests.
Instead, he said it was the ACLU under his leadership that facilitated dialogue and worked to report officer abuses. Bowes said he feels he can continue doing this through the Community Interaction Committee.
Jordan Giordano is currently a senator with experience working within the organization. He said he can use this experience to make much-needed progress on the Community Interaction Committee.
He has also worked to create legislation to extend the reading period for final exams and to create a website that provides more information about East Campus residence halls for incoming freshmen.
This year he also sat on ICC as part of the Young Trustee selection process. He said his experiences on the council have led him to believe ICC bylaws need revision in order to encourage better attendance.
If elected-and thus chosen to chair ICC-he hopes to make it a more active organization on campus.
Giordano said he would help improve Duke-Durham relations by "making the community more involved with what is happening on our campus."
He hopes to achieve this by inviting community members to on-campus cultural and art events and by creating off-campus bus routes.
Giordano also believes it is important to open up discussion between community members, DSG and student residents of off-campus houses.
He hopes to achieve a better social scene both on and off campus by working to keep tailgate and to keep off-East housing available.
As a transfer student from New York University, Gross came to Duke with a different perspective.
"I transferred to Duke because NYU lacked a community," he said. "The sense of community at Duke is great but could be even better," Gross said.
Gross pointed out he is the only upperclassman running for the position who has already served on the Community Interaction Committee.
Gross said there have been hundreds of millions of dollars worth of development taking place in Durham of which Duke is failing to take advantage. He cited the American Tobacco Complex-a large collection of up-scale eateries and stores-as a site which is underused by Duke students.
In his platform, he proposes creating a joint venture with the ATC to provide free transportation from Duke campus, which he said would "be mutually beneficial."
Gross also wants to establish more co-op and internship programs with local industries and to encourage departments to develop more relevant curricula for employment after graduation.
He also hopes to set up a media content website that allows students to download high-speed movie and music content for free, with the media companies earning revenue through advertising.
Salwen said her experience tutoring students in Durham encouraged her to run for the Community Interaction position.
"I saw just how much it helps these students to work with us," she said. "I also see that there are very few opportunities at Duke for students to help the Durham community."
Salwen proposes volunteerism opportunities be promoted through an umbrella website which contains frequently updated information.
She also hopes to encourage more students to volunteer in the community, pointing out that Duke was rated as having among the worst town-gown relations in the nation.
"The only way to remedy this is to encourage students to go out into the community," she said.
All four candidates share several similar ideas, such as hosting another block party that encourages Duke students to go out to nearby vendors and securing off-East housing for students.
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