Duke Student Government senators voted for their speaker of the senate, approved SOFC funding and provided committee updates during their Wednesday meeting.
Four senators were nominated as candidates for speaker of the senate: first-years Namit Kapoor and Yash Sharma, sophomore Dylan Cawley and junior Preston Nibley. Cawley was elected for the position following an anonymous vote and will succeed senior Shreya Joshi.
Committee updates
The services and sustainability committee announced that Duke Sustainable Athletics Group will host Earth Week this month. The committee is also planning to invite Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability, and other personnel from the Office of Climate and Sustainability to attend a DSG meeting.
The Durham and community affairs committee provided updates on their work on a Freshman 101 house course, reforming the Good Neighbor initiative and connecting with the Durham community to reflect Duke and Durham. The committee also plans to release a service transportation survey and is developing a “voter-friendly campus app.”
The committee also shared its plans to meet Friday with Kevin Hoch, deputy director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to work on the small business handbook, which helps connect student organizations with local small businesses.
The equity and outreach committee announced their survey about DukeLIFE as well as plans to brainstorm ways to “revitalize” its duplex study room in Perkins. The committee also continues to push its laundry initiative to include laundry fees as part of tuition, and hopes to get the initiative implemented for next year “at least for those on financial aid.”
The campus life committee met with Carl DePinto, executive director of Parking and Transportation, to discuss survey results. The committee also met with John Dailey, Duke University Police Department chief of police, to discuss “student safety and proposed solutions on campus” and a police safety task force.
The academic affairs committee met with the Global Education Office on “ways to make the website and resources for study away more personal to students.” The committee has also started planning for next year’s Blue Devil Buddies program.
Senators also addressed the first readings of new by-laws for the senate and executive board. These changes included updates to terminology and organization of DSG roles.
In other business
SOFC announced that they would continue with cuts to funding approvals. The cuts followed a recent influx of requests that have forced student groups to limit programming.
DSG senators allocated $10,373 to Duke Chinese Theater for a spring performance, $3,684.25 to Duke Swing Dance Club for their “Swingin’ Through Time” event, $5,583.24 to Nakisai African Dance Ensemble for a spring showcase, $3,199.88 to On Tap for a spring showcase and $3,320.63 to Street Medicine for space rental fees.
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Aseel Ibrahim is a Trinity first-year and an associate news editor for the news department.