Trust the Trustees

The Board of Trustees allots a seat every year to a sole undergraduate Young Trustee. This position is arguably the most prestigious and coveted campus post that a Duke undergraduate can obtain. The role allows the elected student to frequently interact with accomplished men and women who together form the primary governing body for the University. Becoming a Young Trustee starts with a student-led screening process carried out by the Young Trustee Nominating Committee (YTNC) and ends with a campus-wide election, when each finalist attempts to convince student peers why he or she deserves a spot on the Board of Trustees. Although the process pays appropriate homage to students’ interest, it may place excessive emphasis on students’ direct input.

The members of the YTNC, which has the responsibly to screen the initial Young Trustee applicants, are selected by the Duke Student Government Senate, which reserves eight seats on the committee for DSG members and 10 seats for at-large candidates. This structure not only marks an unfair advantage for DSG, but also makes little sense given the actual role of the Young Trustee. The Young Trustee does not cater to DSG, nor does it advocate solely for student interests. Instead, the ultimate role of the Young Trustee is to best provide a fresh perspective to the Board in its endeavors to shape the future of the University. Sunny Kantha, Trinity ’09 and the 2009 Young Trustee, wrote in a guest Chronicle column that “[c]ontrary to popular belief, the Young Trustee should not act solely as an advocate on behalf of undergraduates, or any specific constituency for that matter.” Instead of reserving eight spots for DSG, the YTNC should instead cap the number of DSG representatives on the nominating committee and open every spot to every undergraduate applicant.

Once selected by the YTNC, three finalists are narrowed to one Young Trustee by a student-wide election. Although this format may seem like the fairest method for determining the Young Trustee, it may not actually be conducive to selecting the best candidate. As a young adult serving on a board dominated by some of the world’s most successful people, the Young Trustee needs to both command respect and communicate effectively in a highly professional setting.

A student election ensures that students will feel some kind of connection to the candidate they select. But it does not ensure that the Board of Trustees feels a connection to the same candidate. This kind of connection can only come from being a contributor to the selection process itself. With this in mind, why not have the Board of Trustees pick the final Young Trustee from a group of three finalists?

When people personally select candidates, they commit themselves to accepting that candidate as functional member of the group. The Board of Trustees deserves the ability to endorse the student that becomes a member of their group. Students deserve representation, too, but they get it in the form of the YTNC, which is selected by student representatives in the DSG Senate. And a student election incentivizes candidates to pander to student interests that they should not represent. Ultimately, the final selection is more an artificial than a substantiative choice. The people who work with Young Trustee should get to make that choice.