The Duke Student Government Senate voted not to approve changes to the Young Trustee selection that were aimed at making the process more transparent.
At the DSG meeting Wednesday evening, senators introduced three separate pieces of legislation to change the way members were selected to the Young Trustee Nominating Committee selection committee. None were voted on, as the majority of the Senate voted to have no reform to the selection process.
The YTNC selection committee is comprised entirely of members of the DSG senate and is also selected by the Senate.
“There was considerable discussion within the student body about YT reform immediately following this year’s YT cycle,” said junior Marcus Benning, senator for Durham and regional affairs. “Although senators voted not to reform the process, I urge them not to just forget about the opinions of the student body that they represent.”
Sophomore Jacob Zionce, vice president for residential life, said further conversations about potential YTNC selection committee will continue. He added that senators did not vote down YTNC selection reform in its entirety, instead they did not vote for any of the three choices that they had.
Additionally, no senators introduced amendments to the legislative options.
The YTNC selection committee selects the 14 members of the Young Trustee Nominating Committee. The YTNC is responsible for going through Young Trustee applicants and selecting three finalists that the student body will vote to select as the Young Trustee.
This year, 10 of the 14 YTNC members had affiliations with DSG.
Benning said DSG’s strong presence in the selection process can discourage students from applying to be a part of the YTNC.
“DSG can sometimes be a deterrent to some students,” he said. “The students that are not in DSG are not in DSG for a reason.”
Executive Vice President Patrick Oathout, a junior, said he would be surprised if the Senate considered YTNC reform again before the next Young Trustee election cycle.
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