Students will have until 8 p.m. today to vote in an online referendum on a Duke Student Government proposal to increase the student activities fee by $60 over two years.
"I hope that however students vote, they'll vote on the merits of financial need and not out of some superficial dissension," said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. "[I hope] that it's a thoughtful consideration of the dollar amount that is needed."
In order to meet quorum, at least 15 percent of the student body must cast a vote-the minimum turnout requirement according to DSG bylaws. For the referendum to pass, at least 50 percent of voters must cast a ballot in favor.
The freshman class will likely have the best turnout because freshman senate elections share a ballot with the referendum, said DSG Attorney General Will Passo, a sophomore.
"That's the hard part, I think-there's no class breakdown," he said. "[If] only freshmen could vote and no seniors could vote, it would theoretically be fine."
Campus Council President Molly Bierman, a senior, said she does not think the minimum turnout is representative of the student body, adding that she is surprised that DSG did not solicit input from the students before the proposal because it affects the student body as a whole.
"That's where the impetus is on the students to vote," she said. "If the students don't get out and vote and it passes, then people complain about it, then that's their own fault for not voting. The only way to change that is for more people to vote."
Still, DSG President Jordan Giordano, a senior, said he is confident students will turn out to vote and that those who do will represent the student body well, noting that a referendum last Spring to revise the Duke Community Standard boasted about a 26 percent voter turnout.
After the polls close
DSG's voting system is managed by an external software company-CollegiateLink Corporation, which was hired in January-and voting is coordinated by the Office of Student Activities and Facilities on the Duke Groups Web site.
Passo, Giordano and DSG Executive Vice President Sunny Kantha, a senior, will tabulate the results with Ryan O'Connell, program coordinator for OSAF, after the polls close tonight, Passo said.
If the referendum passes, the proposal must still be approved by University officials and the Board of Trustees, passing through the Business and Finance Committee-of which Giordano is an ex-officio voting member.
According to the DSG constitution, the president sits on the Board of Trustees' Business and Finance Committee as one of two undergraduate student representatives.
Some said this could presents a possible conflict of interest because Giordano is both proposing the increase and sitting on the approval committee. He will also have the opportunity to discuss the proposal and present his views to the Trustees, Warren Grill, chair of the University Priorities Committee and professor of biomedical engineering, wrote in an e-mail.
But former DSG president Elliott Wolf, Trinity '07, said voting is not particularly powerful on the Board because written materials are distributed and redistributed after revisions. Discussions among committee members may also influence the decision, he said.
Moneta said the situation "deflects the genuine validity of student need" and does not present a potential conflict of interest on Giordano's part.
"That's an absurd viewpoint," he said. "Ultimately, we all have voices in decision-making, and there's no relationship to the legitimacy of the role as DSG president."
If passed by both the student body and the Trustees, the fee will increase from $222 to $252 for the 2009-2010 academic year and then to $282 for the 2010-2011 academic year. The DSG Senate voted Wednesday to reduce the proposed increase from $100 over two years after receiving student feedback regarding the original proposal.
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