With internal changes and a fresh set of concerts, speakers and events on the docket, the Duke University Union is taking a new approach to campus entertainment.
Last year, the Union's allocation of funding and lack of transparency was called into question by other student groups.
Since then, the group, with the largest annual budget out of all student groups, has made adjustments to better address student needs.
Union President Katelyn Donnelly, a senior, said the biggest change the organization made this year is the way it funds programs and events.
"We have switched from this committee model to a programming model," Donnelly said.
She wrote in an e-mail that now, when students come in with a great programming idea, DUU will fund them.
The new funding policy allows for more innovation, Donnnelly said.
She noted that since students are excited and passionate about their tasks they are more willing to reevaluate and reinvent campus-wide social events.
In a move to make the organization more efficient, DUU has also merged the former programing committee into the executive board.
"I think the new policy is a very good thing because funding individuals is really what the Union should be about," said senior Max Entman, co-director of Joe College Day. "The ideal is to be a campus programming body that caters to every part of the student body."
He said he and co-director Max Alexander, a senior, proposed the idea of the event and received $35,000 to fund it.
Donnelly said she believes as long as interested people with great ideas come to the Union, it will keep getting better.
Duke Student Government President Paul Slattery, a senior, said he noticed an increase in attendance at DUU events this year, adding that the organization has become more open to the public.
"The leadership has improved, events have become better and centralizing the organization has helped," he said.
Junior Greg Caiola, however, said DUU should change how it advertises events.
"I think they are over-advertising for that Regina Spektor event," he said. "Obviously everyone knows it's going to happen and you either know who she is or you most likely don't."
Caiola noted that DUU should distribute its advertising evenly and make other events known as well.
In a move to become more transparent, all DUU administrative and general body meetings are now open to the public, Donnelly said.
"You can always do more, there is always more that could be done," she said. "However, I think we have made leaps and bounds of improvements in transparency."
Campus Council President Ryan Todd, a senior, said he does not think transparency is a problem for the Union.
Instead, the Union should focus on catering to a larger audience, he said.
"I think there are some really great programs [for] people that are interested in some of the more specialized things," Todd said. "But I think one of the things they could do is to develop programs that appeal to the typical Duke students."
Many students said they know the Union as an organization that programs events such as poker tournaments and musicals like Hairspray, but their knowledge of the group is limited.
"If you're in an organization or something and you need money for activities, DUU [will] match the funds," said sophomore Claire Finch. "Honestly, I don't know what DUU does."
Donnelly said the Union has been working to become more recognized among freshmen through Devils after Dark and the Freshmen Intern Program-where 20 freshmen are appointed as Union ambassadors to explain the group's mission to their fellow classmates.
"I'm a [resident assistant] for freshmen and have been for three years, so I understand the mentality that when they get here, they are bombarded with so much information," she said.
Although she said there is much to improve, Donnelly said she believes the group is making progress.
"When I joined the Union my sophomore year as a [chief financial officer], I saw the Union as an organization that had an incredible amount of potential," she said. "DUU is an organization for people who want to do anything."
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