The Young Trustee Nominating Committee selected eight seniors Wednesday night as semi-finalists for the undergraduate position on the Board of Trustees.
Seniors Ben Bergmann, Matthew Davis, Jared Dunnmon, Ben Getson, Clarke Hitch, Brooke Kingsland, Michelle Sohn and Nikhil Taneja were chosen from a pool of 20 applicants, the largest applicant pool in recent history.
The committee will announce the three finalists for Young Trustee Jan. 29 following interviews with the eight candidates. The student body will elect the Young Trustee from that pool Feb. 15.
YTNC Chair Christine Larson, a sophomore, said candidate selection was especially difficult given the quality and quantity of applicants. She described the applicant pool as “really strong.”
Larson added that the quality of this year’s applicant pool for Young Trustee elicited debate among YTNC members about whether there should be more than eight semi-finalists. Duke Student Government bylaws require at least eight semi-finalists, but they do not set a maximum number and the YTNC “may select as many more as they so choose,” the bylaw states.
“We decided it was in the best interest for the committee and the candidates to choose eight,” Larson said.
Last year, the YTNC only selected seven semi-finalists after they were unable to agree on an eighth applicant. In an interview with The Chronicle last January, then-YTNC Chair Lauren Moxley, a junior, said the YTNC could not agree on an eighth applicant who would be qualified enough to be a semi-finalist and have a chance at becoming a finalist.
Editor’s note: Michelle Sohn and Nikhil Taneja are former members of The Chronicle’s independent editorial board. They resigned from the board to apply for the Young Trustee position. Matt Davis is serving his second year as the undergraduate student representative on the Duke Student Publishing Company’s Board of Directors.
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