Space, parking, aid figure prominently in platforms

The Duke Student Government presidential candidates' top platform items overlap on four key issues, and three other issues are addressed in one platform each.

Social space and diversity

The most often mentioned priority, social space, is a top issue for Jimmy Carter, Vik Devisetty, C.J. Walsh and Sean Young. But even on this issue, the candidates differ on the best solutions for fostering an equitable, convenient atmosphere for social programming. And many of the issues of security costs and space assignment that the candidates attempt to tackle will likely be addressed and settled in an administrative report on social space to be released later this week.

Carter supports creating subsidies for organizations with no assigned West Campus space so they can hold on-campus programs. He would also like to establish a fund to help pay for transportation to off-campus events.

Devisetty would also focus on making social space available to all student groups, but he would do so by making the Devil's Den cheaper to rent, helping build a deck outside the back of the Tap Room and empowering students in discussions about Bryan Center renovations. He would also move to raise money to subsidize security costs for groups with no on-campus space.

Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Joe Pietrantoni said the Devil's Den bears basic costs that must be paid in order for anyone to use the building. In order to offer the facility free to students, he said, senior administrators would have to offer a funding source.

Walsh believes there is "too much and too little" usable on-campus space. He cites the need to book Von Canon up to a year in advance and the confusion associated with figuring out which department can assign out different spaces. He would propose giving all responsibility for social space assignments to the Event Advising Center and would support a fund for security costs.

But Pietrantoni said most of that is taken care of already. Event Management Director Chuck Catotti now has control over the Von Canon rooms, all auditoriums and many dining areas. In fact, he said, Catotti will soon have control over almost every social space on campus.

Young would prefer to use these funds for a long-term parking expansion. More importantly, he sees the primary problem as one of arbitrary enforcement. Some meters, he says, will go unchecked for a semester and then will be checked several days in a row. Young also says he would try to make administrators more sensitive to times when they must allow exceptions to parking rules, like during men's basketball wristband distribution. He would ask that all lots be opened on weekends.

All three candidates cite using the ticket money to boost parking spaces and to eventually build a parking garage-a $10,000-per-space endeavor the University will not undertake for several years. And money for new parking solutions, like better lots or increased security, hardly seems to be an issue. This summer, for example, Duke spent $598,000 renovating West Campus lots alone, by repaving them and adding new gates, fences, cameras, monitoring booths and security vehicles.

Pietrantoni, who ultimately oversees parking and shares responsibility for enforcement, would not support the ticketing money going to him and Campus Police because the fund goes toward general infrastructure like sidewalk and road repair and to Duke's lingering needs.

"It would no doubt cause a new revenue stream for the deck to appear," he said, "but it would take away from the general fund. It's just a matter of moving money from one bank account to another. I don't see that Duke gains by it. It would have to be a new source that doesn't take away from something else."

Carter would take his request further by lobbying for all gates to be raised after 5 p.m. on weekdays. He would also push for more policing of all lots. But Pietrantoni said that raising the gates on weekends or evenings would tread on the security administrators were trying to create by gating lots. "A large investment was made in the Blue Zone to secure it and add police protection," Pietrantoni said. "The gates were put down for safety reasons, too. Duke has been reluctant to open them and let anyone come in, because then the fences shouldn't even be there. There would be a loss of security."

Financial aid

Appearing as the number-one priority of both Carter and Cummings and the number-three priority of Devisetty, financial aid was also a major concern for former DSG President Lisa Zeidner, Trinity '00. But this two-year DSG staple has not yet been fully tackled, these candidates say. While Carter would focus on making the financial aid office more accessible, Cummings and Devisetty propose more sweeping reforms. All three agree that the car policy-which the University will likely make more lenient-needs to be tweaked or eliminated.

Carter believes the policy should be removed altogether, even though the University has remained steadfast in its commitment to maintain the policy in some form. He would also like to continue his work on the financial aid guidebook, an all-encompassing resource containing information on everything from how to find loans and grants to how to manage credit and debt. He would continue to push for more accessibility in the office by adding an 800 number, for example.

Cummings thinks the office's award structure may be inefficient. For example, because students' financial aid packages are discounted for every outside grant they receive, Cummings believes the University has created a disincentive for students to seek outside scholarships. Furthermore, he thinks Duke should begin awarding money beyond students' demonstrated need. He said Princeton University currently awards $3,000 extra. Cummings thinks that given Duke's relative financial position, it should give out a bit less than this.

But Director of Undergraduate Financial Aid Jim Belvin said Cummings has his facts wrong and that his proposal is illegal. Federal law, he said, requires that schools not distribute any more money than demonstrated need. Furthermore, as a school that meets 100 percent demonstrated need, Duke is legally required to make a dollar-for-dollar reduction to aid award when a student receives an outside scholarship. Duke already makes outside scholarship money replace the loans and work-study portion of the awards first. "I believe the student does benefit from receiving outside awards," Belvin said. "Most important is the fact that outside awards reduce loan debt at graduation. I believe that lower loan debt at graduation is a very real value."

Devisetty would commit to following up on DSG's summer 2000 financial aid report. Although administrators have promised that 95 percent of the report's recommendations will be implemented, Devisetty would push for the rest. Specifically, he would ask that rather than using the age of undergraduates' cars, the financial aid office base its award on the cars' financial value.

But Belvin says that because the blue book-which dictates standard vehicle values-includes both values and years, basing the penalty solely on value could be impossible. "As you can imagine, the values vary based on the year the vehicle was manufactured," he said. "I am not sure how values could be established without using the year the vehicle was manufactured."

Residential life

Devisetty and Young both identified upperclass residential life as top platform issues, with Devisetty focusing solely on giving students more voice in the development of the new housing assignments plan.

Young has a broader view that tackles both long- and short-term issues. He would encourage the administration to foster an identity for independents over the next few years. He would push for an allocation system like the Main West corridor plan that solidifies independents' place in a legitimate community. He would also push administrators to set a specific timeline for Central Campus renovations and to keep Trent Dormitory's swing space allocation sensitive to independents' needs.

Alcohol

Perhaps the most dangerous and lingering issue of student health and culture, alcohol appears as only one candidate's top platform initiative. Walsh, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, said administrators need to clean up the amnesty clause by clarifying the circumstances that allow students who have overconsumed alcohol to evade punishment. He said students spend far too much time speculating about the terms of the amnesty clause rather than helping others.

The alcohol policy, he says, should hold accountable the individuals who put the dri