The expression "older and wiser" no longer appears to be a consideration in electing campus leaders.
For the past few years, students have seen a trend toward younger leaders in major campus organizations.
"I think in most cases, a student with more experience is probably just more prepared to take on the responsibilities," Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said. "And of course, there are exceptions to that, and we've had some very capable younger leaders."
Recently, many juniors have assumed prominent leadership roles traditionally held by seniors.
Senior Elliott Wolf served as Duke Student Government president as a junior last year; Jay Ganatra, Trinity '07, was Campus Council president both his junior and senior years and sophomore Chelsea Allison will be the fifth consecutive editor of The Chronicle to serve as a junior. Many leaders of greek organizations also assume their positions during their junior year.
"I think you start out [as a junior] and you've just got a lot of drive, a lot of passion," Ganatra said. "You don't have as much outside of that job going on. You're not as held down academically and... you don't have to worry about your career or grad school."
In the most recent DSG election, two freshmen were elected to the position of vice president.
Former Campus Council president Ryan Todd, a senior, said he sees the trend toward younger leadership in DSG as a positive change but noted that younger leaders are not likely to be elected in Campus Council because of the nature of the elections, in which only council members vote.
"In my four years here, there has been a shift in [leadership] in DSG being younger and younger, and I think that's for the better, honestly," he said. "At the end of the term, seniors are out of here and won't be at Duke to live with the legacies of what they've accomplished. Juniors are more likely to work hard, try harder, because they'll be here the next year."
Still, Wolf said the trade-off between a younger student who has more time and an older student who has more experience is a choice that individual organizations must make.
"It would've been really difficult for me, being DSG president this year amidst writing my thesis and finding a job and all of that other stuff that goes along with being a senior," he said. "Paul [Slattery, current DSG president and a senior,] is miserable having to deal with his thesis and grad school."
Although some see the growing trend toward younger leaders in a positive light, Wolf said he does not support the election of underclassmen as DSG vice presidents because of their lack of experience in higher positions.
"Honestly, sophomores do not make good DSG vice presidents," he said. "I think for a position like that you need much more experience, and it's quite unfortunate for DSG that freshmen are the most fervent voters within DSG."
Wasiolek noted that she does not know why students are not as interested in taking on leadership positions as they get older.
"I think we've certainly been moving in that direction [of younger leaders]-it seems as though it's been the case for a couple of years now," she said. "Whether it will continue, only time will tell."
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