The inaugural campaign for Duke Student Government’s vice president for residence life and dining features a crowded field, but two candidates stand head and shoulders above their competition.
Wally Gurzynski, a freshman, and Esosa Osa, a junior, offer students solid options for a role that will work with the administration on two crucial upcoming projects—the Fall 2012 transition to the house model and the University’s planned renovation of the West Union Building.
Gurzynski, a promising young candidate, is enthusiastic about housing and dining. In his short time at Duke he has accumulated considerable experience in these areas through involvement with DSG and Campus Council. He displayed impressive command of the problems facing housing and dining and his understanding of the West Union overhaul was particularly comprehensive.
Aware of his relative inexperience, Gurzynski made a compelling argument that the position of this new vice president would be better filled by an underclassman with a three-year stake in these long-term affairs. Nevertheless, Gurzynski’s overall knowledge lacked depth.
He overemphasized the importance of maintaining Campus Council’s “spirit” on the new RLD committee rather than focusing on ways to integrate the positive elements of the flawed organization into DSG. Additionally, he displayed naiveté and overly idealistic ambition for Duke Dining, which is struggling to overcome a budget deficit.
We hope Gurzynski stays involved with this committee next year and believe he will gain wisdom from living on West or Central Campus and from continuing to work within DSG.
Osa, a rising senior who has lived on all three residential campuses during her time at Duke, is the candidate best suited to lead this committee. Her mature and engaging presence combined with an extensive knowledge of housing and dining will make her an outstanding VP for RLD.
Osa’s knowledge of the issues and her understanding of the particular relevancy of each problem distinguish her from the other candidates. For example, she displayed a sharp understanding of what will matter most to students during the transition to the house model—notably the issues of assigning groups to sections by “fit” and of relegating students to their houses through random distribution. Osa also recognized the role funding will play in allowing houses to define their unique group identities.
Osa immediately grasped the timetable and significance of the West Union Building renovations for dining, and she offered interesting new proposals such as adding designated spaces for student groups near eateries.
The other two candidates in the race—junior Jeremy Moskowitz and freshman Philip Srebrev—were underwhelming. Srebev showed a lack of knowledge that makes him unqualified. Moskowitz, who was out of the country this week, submitted a platform lacking detail and a video that was not highly informative. A fifth candidate recently dropped out of the race.
We are most confident in Osa. She astutely outlined plans to match each senator under her purview with his or her specific interests, and we believe she can lead and direct this new committee effectively.
The Chronicle’s independent Editorial Board formally endorses Esosa Osa for vice president for residence life and dining.
Precious Lockhart and Katherine Zhang recused themselves due to their roles in DSG.
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