Duke Student Government President Paul Slattery, a senior, gave senators an end-of-semester report on his projects at the organization's meeting Wednesday night. His report included the creation of a committee on judicial affairs, online party monitor training and a Web site to facilitate faculty-student lunches.
Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki has set up the Judicial Affairs committee that will examine, in a three-phase process, the procedural rights granted by the Office of Judicial Affairs, Slattery said.
In the "discovery" phase, the committee will familiarize itself with the judicial policy and compare it with those of peer institutions. In the second phase, the committee will review the policy and garner input from undergraduates and faculty. In the final phase, the committee will draft concrete policy recommendations based on their analysis.
Noah Pickus, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics, will chair the committee, which will also include faculty members Thomas Nechyba, chair of the Department of Economics, Peter Feaver, professor of political science, and Professor of Law James Coleman.
Slattery added that he had specifically pushed for Coleman's appointment to challenge the legal arguments made by the Office of Judicial Affairs.
"I wanted someone who was neutral and could speak about the law," he said.
Student representatives to the committee will include Vice President for Academic Affairs Gina Ireland, a senior, Vice President for Student Affairs Lucy McKinstry, a sophomore, and at least two other student representatives, with one from the Pratt School of Engineering, Slattery said.
He added that the new process for party monitor training, which students can now complete on Blackboard, may be changed so that all students are enrolled automatically in the course. Currently the process requires that students e-mail Leslie Grinage, program coordinator at the Office of Student Activities and Facilities, before beginning training.
The third major project Slattery discussed was the production of a Web site as an easy way for students to request lunches with specific faculty members. After students name on the site which professors they want to meet with, the professors would be sent an e-mail request and could then click "yes" or "no" in reply.
Administrators have approved the creation of the Web site, and it is slated for release next semester, Slattery said.
"We just need to ensure the design is implemented as close to specification as possible," he added.
Slattery also briefed senators on his ongoing projects, which include streamlining event registration, loosening policies for underloading and strengthening majors' unions at Duke. He acknowledged that the process for implementing these ideas can be slow at times.
"The pace at which universities change can be a bit excruciating, but I think we've accomplished a lot over the semester," he said.
In other business:
Kevin Davis, senior manager of Student Technology Services, updated representatives on the ePrint soft quota-which limits students to printing 3,600 double-sided pages-and various other programs controlled by the Office of Information Technology.
Based on data collected through October, the number of pages printed through ePrint has been reduced by 25 percent and the number of sheets printed by 35 percent, Davis said. Only 63 students have requested to add more pages to their account, he added.
Senators elected senior Hasnain Zaidi, junior Lauren Maisel and sophomore Vivek Upadhyay to the DSG Judiciary.
Representatives approved Slattery's appointment of sophomore Mary Ashton Inglis as DSG advocate for the arts. Inglis said she will coordinate arts programming and advocate policy to give artists a greater voice on campus.
Members unanimously endorsed a resolution proposed by Senator Mike Lefevre, a freshman, for the creation of an outdoor, French-themed cafe between the Marketplace and Brown Residence Hall.
"I'm figuring we call it 'Le Marché,' which is like the Marketplace but with a little French twist," Lefevre said.
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