Kemel Dawkins, vice president for campus services, contrasted Duke's facilities with the Yale University system he presided over for eight and a half years as an associate vice president while members of the Graduate and Professional Student Council peppered him with questions and comments Tuesday night.
Students here have expressed much more concern for safety, he said, than at Yale, a surprising phenomenon given New Haven's long-standing reputation as a dangerous city. Issues of perception and expectation, however, might help to explain the fact.
"I'm going to need to hear from you," Dawkins said, adding that he intends to participate soon in night walking tours and perhaps map out alternate routes. "Hopefully, we're going to do something different."
Two "diametrically opposed" views on parking have reached Dawkins.
"On the one hand, I hear from some that there's essentially no problem--that we have more spaces than permittees," Dawkins said. "But I hear from others that we're in terrible shape, that we have spaces where no one wants to park and not enough other ones."
GPSC representatives also expressed discontent with high prices for food, room rental and other commodities on campus, for which Dawkins blamed the "entrepreneurial nature" of some aspects of the administration.
"We sell goods and services to everybody, for everything," he said.
Dawkins encouraged students, particularly graduate and professional students, to voice their concerns to his newly created department, which encompasses facilities, dining, parking and other campus-wide services.
"My job here is to bring all these services together in a unique and different way, so each service ends up seamless," he said. "The hallmark of this new organization is being receptive--we listen and respond.... Fill my wish list with assignments."
IN OTHER BUSINESS: GPSC members approved the organization's second funding cycle. With 12 groups requesting a total of $50,929, GPSC was able to award a total of $4,010 in grants ranging from $50 to $350.
"We have a $20,000 total budget this year and only had a $10,000 budget last year," said treasurer Heather Dean, a neurobiology student. "There are just so many groups that are so active this year, it's amazing."
Rob Saunders, GPSC president and head of the GPSC health insurance subcommittee, said the group is studying programs at peer institutions and looking at ways to increase the role of the Student Health Center.
A representative from the GPSC publicity subcommittee said the group intends to make GPSC's website more user friendly, and a representative from the undergraduate mentoring subcommittee said it hopes to have a program in place soon, having received facilities, funding and encouragement from the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services.
Upcoming GPSC-sponsored events, meanwhile, include a community service opportunity to work with Project SHARE this Saturday and a charity fashion show in Von Canon.
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