Duke Student Government senators met Wednesday to discuss preparations for the next Democracy Day event and examine the revamped Trinity curriculum.
With the 2024 U.S. elections approaching, senators presented their ideas for increasing student voting turnout at the polls this year as part of Democracy Day, an event that encourages students to engage in local, state and national politics. Sophomore Katelyn Cai, vice president of the Durham and community affairs committee, mentioned that a “rock the polls” initiative would bring a cappella and dance ensembles to the Bryan Center plaza on March 5.
Senators allocated $6,000 to the upcoming event based on estimates from the last Democracy Day event in 2022 and a promised $5,000 to $7,000 in extra funding from the Graduate and Professional Student Government.
DSG Chief of Staff Chase Barclay, a senior, presented an overview of the new Trinity curriculum to the senators. The new curriculum, which replaces the existing Areas of Knowledge and Modes of Inquiry requirements with six new categories, would be “a big part of what’s going to change the undergraduate education experience,” according to Barclay. He invited the senators to give feedback on the proposed changes.
Committee updates
The academic affairs committee announced that it would begin to determine how to solicit feedback for the Blue Devil Bridges program, which paired current undergraduates with alumni for mentorship reasons.
The campus life committee gave updates to its proposal for a more efficient transportation system between East Campus and West Campus for students with health issues.
The Durham and community affairs committee announced that it will begin designing a new training for project directors and orientation leaders to help them be “more Durham-centric.” Cai also announced that the committee would be partnering with the Duke Partnership for Service to promote Service Week.
The equity and outreach committee presented their plan to cover DACA renewal fees for affected students, in partnership with DukeLIFE.
The services and sustainability committee gave an update on their initiative to build a module to educate first-years on sustainable dining practices, as well as a plan to build an off-campus transportation network to the Duke Forest.
In other business
DSG senators allocated $1,500 to the Stargazing Devils for their Friday Open House event, $6,883 for the Jewish Student Union for a Casino Night event and to sponsor a few bar mitzvahs, $5,040 to Hoof 'n’ Horn for programming costs associated with their winter shows, $2,070 to Duke Diya for their Shaadiya event, $3,360 to Club Water Polo for club practice costs, $1,550 to Blue Devils United for their “A Devilish Drag Affair” event and $9,119.50 to the Asian Students Association for their Converge Showcase.
DSG senators also transferred funds from the DSG general fund to the discretionary fund to reimburse Krzyzewskiville line monitors for a previous budgetary statute extending bus service hours on the weekends for tenting.
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