The Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee elected junior Jane Moore and sophomore Beth Gordon as its new co-chairs during its meeting Monday night.
The newly elected co-chairs, who ran unopposed, will assume their positions in the Fall. Gordon joined DUSDAC in Spring 2010 and Moore has been a member of the committee since Fall 2010. Moore was not present at the meeting as she is currently studying abroad in Luxembourg.
Current co-Chairs Alex Klein and Andrew Schreiber, both seniors, said they are excited about the new leadership, which will bring complementary strengths to the committee. Klein, former online editor for The Chronicle, said good co-chairs must network with students and administrators and have a sense for what issues are most pressing for DUSDAC to address—characteristics possessed by both committee members.
“They are both extremely enthusiastic about the work we do,” Klein said. “Beth is very organized and dependable, and she will be able to really keep the group running smoothly. Jane is wildly creative.”
Schrieber said the pair stepped up as leaders this year and have a good vision for the future of Duke Dining.
Gordon said she ran for the position because she wanted to take more of a leadership role in the organization. She said one of her main goals was to reemphasize DUSDAC’s role as a liaison between students and Dining. She noted that with possible venue changes in the West Union Building and McClendon Tower, students will have the opportunity to shape the direction of Duke Dining—a chance she wants students to recognize.
“Students aren’t aware of the power that they yield in the process,” she noted.
Looking back at his own two terms as co-chair, Klein said he was most proud of the way the group has become increasingly efficient and visible. He added that one of the committee members’ most important functions in the future will be as student advocates amid Duke Dining’s efforts to reduce its $2.2 million deficit.
In other business:
Freshman Ben Shantz, a Duke Student Government athletics and campus services senator, proposed an event for freshmen during orientation that would introduce students to on-campus dining options.
The event, which would ideally take place in Wallace Wade Stadium, would be a part of New Devil’s Night, which offered free food from off-campus vendors this year. Shantz hopes to offer meals from on-campus venues in order to introduce students to menu options at Duke other than the Marketplace. Among the restaurants listed on the preliminary proposal are The Tower, the Sanford Deli and Blue Express.
Details of the event are still preliminary, but Shantz said he has received support from other DSG senators and Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst.
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