Incoming DUU President Rachel Sussman will lead the organization’s effort to increase communication and collaboration across campus.
Sussman, a junior who was selected Saturday to run the organization, said she wants to unite the community through innovative programming and working with other student groups. She will begin her term in April and succeed current president Yi Zhang, a senior.
In addition to working with Duke University Union since her freshman year, Sussman’s experience with multiple organizations will aid DUU’s goals, said sophomore Alex Shapanka, chair of the Speakers and Stage committee. Sussman served as a coordinator for the now-defunct Union Consulting Group—which made efforts to improve the quality of campus programming—and currently works at the Duke Coffeehouse.
“[Sussman] is dedicated, passionate and will do a great job as president of DUU [by] maintaining it as one organization rather than separate committees,” Shapanka said.
Sussman said she supports the merger of Duke Student Government with Campus Council, the group in charge of residential policy and programming. The merger was approved yesterday as a referendum on the Youth Trustee ballot, receiving 90.1 percent student support. Next year, large-scale programming formerly run by Campus Council, including Homecoming and Old Duke, will fall under DUU’s jurisdiction.
Internally, DUU has experienced communication issues at times between its 16 committees, Zhang said. She added that DUU will restructure its executive board to streamline responsibilities.
In other business:
The Speakers and Stage committee announced that six-time Grammy award winner John Legend will perform March 25 at 8 p.m. in Page Auditorium. Tickets for the event, which is co-sponsored by the Black Student Alliance, go on sale this morning at the Duke University Box Office.
In addition, the theme for DUU’s annual semiformal event is “A Night in Paris,” said senior Alison Lane, chair of the Annual Events Committee. Duke Royale, a cocktail party held at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens’ Doris Duke Center, will be held for the fourth consecutive year this April.
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