Thursday's Campus Council executive elections hold little suspense, as the top two positions boast just one candidate each. Juniors Andrew Nurkin and Obi Amachi will serve as the group's president and vice president--and by default, as the administrative go-to on residential policy--if elected by the council's 16 voting members.
Administrators and Campus Council officials said they are not worried about the lack of competition in the senior-level races--six other students will vie for the lower positions of communications director and treasurer--and look forward to seeing the two take the lead on residential life next year.
"A lot of people realized that with the Campus Council system, you need a good amount of experience to run for president or vice president," said current council president and senior Vik Devisetty. "And in my opinion, the two best people ran for those positions." He added that the council advertised the elections through e-mails, flyers and advertisements.
Nurkin, who now serves as the council's vice president, said he hopes to have a bigger council budget since quad councils will likely spend more money on their residents than in the past. Amachi, currently the group's communications coordinator, said he hopes the council will play a more vital role in the new quad structure, the relocation of selective houses and the newly implemented linked housing plan for sophomores.
Devisetty is the first Campus Council president to have serious authority over residential life policy, an organizational change pushed by Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, who arrived at Duke last summer. The shift in authority caused a rift between Duke Student Government, which previously had purview over student residential opinion through its residential life liaison, and Campus Council, which served largely in a programming capacity.
Nurkin and Moneta said they plan to uphold the change, with Moneta adding that he hopes Campus Council will become the administration's student partner on all residential issues, ranging from dormitory maintenance to budget development.
He added that as the group assumes that role, more students will become interested in serving as its leaders.
"While I would always prefer to see lots of student interest in competing for leadership roles, the absence of competitors doesn't worry me," Moneta said. "As Campus Council gets increasingly involved in serious issues over the next months and years, more students will seek leadership opportunities. Over time, we'll have many competitors for these roles."
Many candidates said they were running for just that reason and that they look forward to having input on the implementation of the new residential life plan, which requires all sophomores to live on West Campus, centers living around quadrangles rather than dormitories and adds a more academic tilt to residential living.
"Next year, with the Campus Council having a much more defined role, it's an exciting time to be in a leadership position," said freshman Anthony Vitarelli, a candidate for treasurer.
Fellow candidate Jennifer Beall, also a freshman, echoed that sentiment.
"I wanted to get more involved with making decisions on campus and residential programming," she said.
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