Duke Student Government mid-year update

As we embark upon a new semester, we’d like to give you an update on what we’ve been up to. This year has emerged as time of rapid transition for undergraduate life, and DSG has been working hard to protect your interests. With your input this semester, we hope to only expand and improve upon these efforts.

In the first weeks of school, DSG restored Merchants on Points hours after they were severely limited, and successfully rewrote a conduct policy holding group presidents unfairly accountable for the actions of their members. With your input, we created a potential redesign to the incoming house model, and will soon be using your survey feedback to evaluate this proposal and improve the model overall. We successfully lobbied for a modest reduction in the student dining fee, and provided rides to the polls for local elections. We continue to work closely with Black Student Alliance and Blue Devils United leadership to protect the future of the Mary Lou Williams Center and the LGBT Center and we will not rest until these centers secure their future homes.

This semester, DSG has also expanded the number of services offered on campus. After several years of DSG lobbying, this Spring, Duke will begin implementing bus-tracking technology accessible on computers and smartphones. We’ll also be implementing the “Duke-Durham Discount Program,” giving you student ID discounts at local eateries and shops. Additionally, DSG continues to offer the FLUNCH and Student Legal Services programs, so please take advantage of both (though we hope you won’t need the latter.)

Still, much work remains for the upcoming semester. With the support of your survey feedback, we are strongly advocating for our original goal of hosting tailgating within the athletic complex. To clarify where your fee money is going, we’re putting together reports on the dining budget and student fees. With your support of our upcoming petition, we hope to convince Durham to give us an on-campus voting site for upcoming elections. Lastly, this semester we hope to expand gender-neutral housing, secure the future of electronic course evaluations, restore free STI testing and expand financial aid coverage for essential student needs.

Thank you for your engagement with our work as we seek to represent you well. Should you have questions, comments or want to be a part of our work, please reach out to me personally at Pete.Schork@duke.edu.

Yours,

Pete Schork, Trinity ’12