Changes will be made to the Duke Coffeehouse in both schedule and appearance next semester, Duke University Union officials said at their meeting last night.
In addition, students can look for a possible formal event at the Washington Duke Inn, Union members said.
DUU Coffeehouse Director Joe Clark, a junior and health and science editor for The Chronicle, said the Coffeehouse will have a more regular schedule next semester. The Union plans to host two concerts a week-a Duke band and a more nationally renowned act. Hosting fewer shows will enable the Union to provide them free for students, instead of the usual $4 cover charge.
Clark also introduced a proposal that called for the addition of four tables and 10 chairs to replace much of the furniture currently being used by the Coffeehouse.
He said the current pieces of furniture are dirty and uncomfortable, and the written proposal described them as "look[ing] like they were last replaced in the seventies."
Although the vote approving the Coffehouse proposal was unanimous, an idea for a DUU-organized formal event at the Washington Duke Inn caused debate among some of the Union members.
The event, presented by junior Rob Carlson, vice president of internal affairs, would take place in February and provide independents the opportunity to attend a formal, a type of event usually hosted by Greek organizations.
The Union hoped to involve a large number of groups in the planning and execution of the event.
"A more active participatory involvement on the part of many different student groups is what sets it apart," said DUU President Katelyn Donnelly, a senior.
DUU would be the "backbone" of the event, she said, but it would rely on money and effort from a large spectrum of organizations.
DUU Executive Vice President Lauren Maisel, a junior, proposed that students pay food points for admission. This would help with catering costs and would contribute to a buffet at the event.
Not all of the members were supportive of the formal, however. Major Attractions Director Chamindra Goonewardene, a junior, said it could be more productive to throw a number of smaller events instead of the formal.
Vice President of Programming Adam Nathan, a sophomore, said the formal needed a hook, such as faculty-student interaction, to set it apart from other events.
In other business:
Speakers Director Isel del Valle, a senior, said actor James Earl Jones, who had been a possibility to speak on campus for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, would be unable to appear due to other commitments.
The upcoming Perkins Library party will be catered with traditional Latin-American food, Spanish wines, Mexican beers and sangria, Union officials said. In addition, salsa and Latin jazz bands will perform, and the possibility of dancing lessons at the beginning of the evening was discussed.
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