It may be the equivalent of the Civil Service Act for the town of Krzyzewskiville.
Departing from tradition, Head Line Monitor Jeremy Morgan is accepting applications for students who want to be line monitors during tenting season. In past years, the head line monitor has chosen his associates--students who enforce tenting rules in K-ville--from his friends or based on recommendations.
Morgan hopes to select his 25 line monitors by fall break.
"There's never been applications before," said Morgan, a senior. "I wanted to use applications so that people could have the opportunity to try to get involved if they wanted to."
Selecting line monitors from among friends assured past head line monitors that they could depend on their appointees, said senior Brian Goldfarb, who was a line monitor last year and also a candidate for the head line monitor position.
"The reason that there hasn't been a formal application process [is] the head line monitor needs to have a very trusted group of people to work with," Goldfarb said.
By opening up the position to more students, Morgan risks appointing line monitors who will not enforce the rules fairly, Goldfarb said. However, he remained optimistic about the process.
"I think [the application process] is a valiant effort to be more inclusive to the Duke community, as long as [Morgan] gets a group of people he can trust," Goldfarb said. "I think it's something that needs to be tried."
Trustworthiness is one quality Morgan said he is looking for in applicants--a quality he hopes to discern by interviewing each candidate.
"If they've been extremely involved in the tenting process, then they understand the importance of integrity in the process," he said. "Ideally, I'm looking for upperclassmen that are big basketball fans... or that have leadership experience."
Morgan added that he would prefer West Campus residents, for whom K-ville is more easily accessible, although he will not necessarily accept only applicants who live on West.
Last spring, some students opposed Morgan's appointment, citing his lack of tenting experience and his commitments to other organizations. Although Morgan, also president of the Interfraternity Council, had missed only a few basketball games since his freshman year, he had never tented. DSG eventually approved Morgan by a 29 to 10 vote, with four abstentions.
Clifford Davison, Duke Student Government vice president for facilities and athletics, said he favored the new process, which he felt could establish a fair system and help justify why each line monitor was selected.
"I'm glad to see this happening," he said. "My only disappointment is I wish it had happened sooner."
The applications could also create a more diverse group of line monitors, Davison. a junior, said.
"In the long run, having a diverse group of line monitors will also attract a diverse group of people," he said. "There's a significant impact on campus culture [in K-ville]. Adding an element of diversity to that would be great."
Applications are available in the DSG office in the Bryan Center and are due Sept. 25.
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