The numbers are in: Students love Duke.
Sophomore Michael Habashi, a student affairs senator, shared the results of the Duke Student Government Survey Commission with the Senate at its meeting Wednesday. Nine hundred and ninety-six students completed the surveys, which were intended to gather knowledge about a breadth of University issues—ranging from Tailgate to the Career Center.
The Survey Commission—led by Habashi; athletics and campus services senators junior Christina Lieu and sophomore Dillon Buckner; junior Yue Jiang, a Durham and regional affairs senator; and freshman Daniel Pellegrino, an academic affairs senator—yielded responses that confirmed an overall satisfaction with the University. For example, more than 80 percent of students said they agreed or strongly agreed that their major is a subject in which they are genuinely interested.
Habashi noted that although only one-fourth of the Senate is made up of women, female students expressed positive opinions about DSG.
“There is an overwhelming majority of men in the Senate, but women find that DSG effectively represents them as students,” Habashi said.
Although more than 80 percent of students agreed that they love Duke, the survey exposed some shortfalls of the University. More than 60 percent of students agreed that they are unsatisfied with the media’s portrayal of Duke. About 65 percent of students also expressed disconnect with the Durham community.
Additionally, the survey collected a broad array of opinions regarding the future of Tailgate.
“The only positive thing about Tailgate is that it brings lots of people out to have a good time,” said one survey respondent. “Tailgate should be a family-friendly event with cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, not crazy getting trashed and being rude.”
The official survey report will be made public to the Duke community within the next couple of weeks, Habashi said.
In other business:
Amy Li, a junior, was elected by the Senate as next year’s Student Organization Finance Committee chair. Li was selected over sophomores Alikiah Barclay and Yang Zeng. Li said some of her top priorities as SOFC chair include cutting the organization’s costs and further auditing student groups.
The Senate unanimously approved the Greek Women’s Initiative for recognition and Duke Asian American Working Group for chartered status.
By a vote of 28-4, the Senate allocated $1,500 from the Surplus Account Trustee Fund for the Students of the Caribbean Association’s Caribbana event. The Senate also allocated $5,237 for 15 framed color prints to decorate the walls of the DSG office. DSG President Mike Lefevre, a senior, said the prints will feature significant moments in the University’s history, such as students being teargassed in the Allen Building during the Civil Rights movement.
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