When Evan Holod began sifting through college catalogs during his senior year of high school, Duke stood out as the only clear choice. Unfortunately, he says, the book was outdated.
"It must have been printed in 1986. All it talked about was kegs on West Campus and the work hard, play hard mentality," he said. "That's what it was it then; it's not any more. This is not the university I thought I was coming to."
That disillusionment with the Duke of today forms the basis of Holod's tongue-in-cheek outsider bid for the Duke Student Government presidency.
Although he has no experience with the organization, Holod said it's about time DSG started representing students and began pushing for policies students really care about.
The Trinity junior's campaign platform reads like a wish list-weaken the alcohol policy, improve social life, get rid of dean's excuses.
"I just feel like these are the issues I'm involved in on a daily basis," he said. "I'm not concerned with the matrix."
Holod admits that his campaign is not entirely serious: "I'm trying to straddle that thin line between making a joke and being a joke."
His top priority is revising the alcohol policy to bring unmonitored kegs back to West Campus. Administrators will rely heavily on the DSG president as they continue to assess the state of drinking on campus, and Holod feels he will be the best representative during those conversations.
"I really believe that it is the alcohol policy that is putting pressure on people to drink, and it's the alcohol policy that is putting students in the hospital," said Holod, vice president and former secretary of Pi Kappa Alpha and the only fraternity member in the race. By eliminating kegs from most parties and clamping down on open distribution, he said, Duke forces drinking into dorm rooms and encourages students to take shots of hard liquor-which leave no tell-tale cups.
"I love beer, and I can't drink enough beer to go to detox...," Holod said. "If they bring kegs back, bring beer back to West Campus and get hard liquor back into the bars where it belongs, then students would be a lot safer."
Jeanine Atkinson, the University's substance abuse specialist, agreed that drinking shots is more dangerous-because the alcohol is consumed so quickly. But, she said, "I don't think the policy is making people do shots. I think people do shots because they want to get the buzz, and they want to get it quickly.... I don't think the problem can be blamed on one cause or one policy."
Still, Holod insists that allowing more beer will drastically improve social life on West Campus by encouraging parties and responsible drinking.
Holod also takes issue with the Honor Code in its current form. Specifically, he argued that it is hypocritical to insist that students behave honorably when the dean's excuse policy does not trust them to decide when they are too sick for class.
"The University wants to talk about an honor code. Well, that swings both ways," said Holod, who suffered from a stomach flu two weeks ago. "And if the University is not willing to trust my judgment about when I'm sick, then what is honor?"
Although administrators decided last year to maintain the dean's excuse policy, Honor Council chair Matthew Baugh said changing the policy remains one of his group's top priorities. "What DSG as a body could actually do [to change the policy], I'm not sure...," said Baugh, a Trinity junior. "But the increased exposure could certainly help."
Holod also pointed to the annual review policy for fraternities and selective houses as an example of the University's refusal to trust students. Under the annual review, groups must prove that they have engaged in requisite activities like community service.
"It's kind of a kick in the face, the annual review. And every year, the Office of Student Development likes to kick greeks down and kick sand in their faces," he said. "The Office of Student Development exists to make my life hell."
Holod gives voice to a vast array of traditional student gripes, ranging from the parking situation to the high price of bottled water in the Lobby Shop. This characteristic, he said, makes him suited to be a new kind of DSG president-one that is particularly attended to student concerns and willing to present them to the administration.
Despite his outsider status, Holod thinks he will easily master the skills needed to be an effective leader who works well with the legislature and his vice presidents. "I can learn everything I need to know to be DSG president in two days, guaranteed," he said. "I could probably train a monkey at the same time to do my typing."
That view point will likely seem laughable to many in DSG. "I'm sorry I cannot comment right now, I'm busy training my monkey," joked Rusty Shappley, a Trinity senior who has served as executive vice president for the past two and a half years. "In all seriousness, my platform for the past two years stressed the importance of experience. Although not absolutely critical, experience with anything you're about to begin is very valuable."
But Holod feels his love for the school will guide his leadership and make him a popular with fellow DSG members and the student body in general. "I've never had a bad experience at Duke. But I've had experiences that aren't as good as they should have been," he said. "I bitch a lot about it, but it's because I care."
Travis Prater contributed to this story.
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