Young Trustee endorsement policy

The Chronicle will be running endorsement letters for the 2010 Young Trustee election through Tuesday, Feb. 9. We will accept letters from any and all student organizations, so long as the groups adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Organizations must meet with all three candidates: seniors Chelsea Goldstein, John Harpham and Zach Perret. Organizations may not endorse if they do not meet with the candidates or if they only meet with some of the candidates.

2. In the endorsement process, organizations must give equal speaking and question time to each candidate. Each interview must last no longer than 15 minutes, according to the endorsement policy established by the Young Trustee Nominating Committee. No candidate may receive more time than another.

3. Members of organizations who decide they want to participate in endorsements must remain in the room for every candidate’s appearance. Members may not leave and return, or arrive late. If they do so, they may not participate in endorsement voting.

4. The Chronicle trusts that members of organizations with significant personal or professional attachments or associations with candidates will remove themselves from the endorsement process. Members who sit on the Young Trustee Nominating Committee must recuse themselves from the process.

5. If an organization then wishes to endorse candidates in a Chronicle letter, the president of the organization must e-mail chronicleletters@duke.edu. The e-mail must include an attached endorsement letter and the following statement:

“I, the president of [organization name], certify that all required endorsement guidelines were followed in the formulation of this letter. I understand that failure to adhere to the guidelines undermines the election process, as well as the integrity of my organization and The Chronicle.”

There is no guarantee that any endorsement letters will be published. Letters may not exceed 325 words. Please contact Shuchi Parikh at sp64@duke.edu with questions.