Duke Political Union: Vote Sunder for leadership, Giles for change

After interviewing all three candidates, Duke Political Union is proud to endorse both Lavanya Sunder and Will Giles for president of Duke Student Government.

Sunder, the only candidate to have served on the DSG Executive Board, displays an extensive understanding of campus culture as a student representative and founder of Fix My Campus. DPU was particularly impressed with her platform concerning political awareness and culture here at Duke. Sunder has taken note of recent developments around voter laws in North Carolina and will work to include voter registration information in the freshman “Blue Book” while collaborating with local officials to establish an on-campus polling site. She has been closely following the student-led debate on The 40 Percent Plan and plans on encouraging even more student involvement through ballot measures and referendums. DPU is confident that Sunder’s successes thus far will translate into a productive presidency, and we find her to be the candidate with the clearest, most holistic vision for Duke going forward.

Giles advocates for a change in Duke’s status-quo regarding student leadership and DSG transparency. Giles would push for each DSG Senate and Student Organization Finance Committee position to be elected rather than appointed. He would also push for a greater cross-section of the Duke community to be represented on DSG. DPU, a group primarily concerned with increasing students’ political involvement on campus, believes that such changes can only be positive in the long run. Furthermore, Giles recommends the addition of an Equal Rights Amendment to the DSG Constitution to contribute to the conversation about gender inequality on campus. Giles is a candidate with an innovative platform, and we are interested to see how his reforms might be implemented.

DPU strongly encourages the student body to exercise their ability to vote on Tuesday, March 4.