In a brief Duke Student Government meeting Wednesday, Attorney General and Parliamentarian David Kahne and Director of Student Services Rick Garcia updated the Senate on the progress of their "Visions of Duke" project.
Last May, Kahne and Garcia prepared an online survey that asked students to evaluate their Duke experiences in a written response. They then e-mailed the survey to the entire student body and posted it on the DSG website for two weeks.
The survey was modeled after similar student-initiated evaluations at Dartmouth College and Princeton University. Kahne and Garcia are currently in the process of compiling the approximately 550 student responses into a 20 to 25 page document, which they hope to present to DSG, President Nan Keohane, the Presidential Search Committee, Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Moneta and The Chronicle.
Kahne said he hopes he and Garcia will be able to finish the report by Thanksgiving, but anticipates that it might take longer. The written responses to the survey questions, such as "What's right about Duke?" and "What is your vision of Duke?" are hard to quantify, yet provide a detailed and extensive account of student concerns, he said.
"The survey gave students the leeway to say what they thought of their experiences at Duke," Kahne said. "The responses concentrated on the positive vision of students, not necessarily complaints. It's optimistic, as opposed to the negativity that usually surrounds ideas about changing Duke."
No new business was presented at the meeting, but Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee co-chair Sean Biederman told the Senate that it will vote on a resolution concerning the future of ARAMARK Corp. next week.
"We're going to present the resolution to the DSG Senate regarding what stance they want to take on ARAMARK," Biederman said. "Our concerns, in general, are how [ARAMARK has] delivered on their promises in regards to student satisfaction with food and service, and regarding employee training and management issues."
Biederman added that the resolution's content was not yet finalized, but that it would be taken seriously by dining services.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
DSG Vice President for Student Affairs Elizabeth Dixon presented the status of various student affairs committees, such as the Women's Mentoring Committee, the Campus Life Advisory Board and the Student Communications Committee for the new student center.
DSG concluded the meeting by opening the floor to discussion. Senators expressed concerns about the high costs of parking permits and their frustration with having to move their cars out of the Blue Zone for football games.
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