Editor's note: Comfort Markwei has withdrawn her presidential candidacy. View the list of active candidates here.
Duke Student Government presidential candidate Comfort Markwei aims to streamline support processes to enhance the student experience by leveraging her connections with administrators and campus leaders.
Hailing from Smyrna, Tennessee, Markwei is a junior majoring in international comparative studies and pursuing the innovation and entrepreneurship certificate. On campus, she is currently co-president of DukeAFRICA and secretary of Duke Presidential Ambassadors.
Markwei has been involved with DSG since her first year at Duke, when she served as a senator for campus life. During the 2023-24 academic year, she served as DSG’s director of space advocacy.
“I think the DSG president is essentially a really big liaison — someone who knows the campus really well, knows the administration really well, knows what’s going on and who’s heading it.” she said. “They can connect those people to produce the best results and serve students the best.”
Markwei’s experience as a senator — where she sometimes felt “on the wayside with project work” — made her realize the importance of the “liaison” role within DSG.
“It takes a person who knows the campus intimately and knows its leadership well to know who to connect, when and how,” Markwei said.
Her campaign platform hinges on two core tenets: clarity and ease. To Markwei, that means expanding visibility for student groups and increasing access to student resources.
If elected, Markwei hopes to better integrate Greek life, selective living groups and living learning communities into the Duke social scene by “bring[ing] these voices … back to the table to have some agency about their presence on campus.”
She cited experience discussing these complexities with Duke administration, including a previous presentation to the Board of Trustees on what the reintegration of those groups into campus culture would look like in the age of QuadEx.
Markwei also aims to simplify many processes that students frequently engage with but often find confusing. She cited SOFC policies, housing logistics and academic advising resources as examples of systems that could be made more accessible through clearer communication.
Markwei believes she is well equipped to streamline student processes, pointing to her roles on Trinity House Council and Wannamaker Quad Council as informative experiences.
“I’ve had leadership experiences that have given me really rich insight surrounding the logistic processes that Duke sets up for students to go through — from an administrative perspective, but also on the receiving end as a student, and in the middle as a student leader acting as a bridge,” she said.
Markwei noted she is also focused on improving aspects of Duke students’ “day-to-day” experience, including parking in Blue Zone, the resident assistant dining plan and the Duke transportation system. While not at the center of her campaign, Markwei is “more than happy to take [those issues] on,” adding that she aims “to be a candidate who is realistic and understands the limitations of the role.”
While she acknowledged that she cannot fully address all student concerns, Markwei pledged to “keep chipping away” at each challenge and prioritize issues where she can “make tangible, visible success.”
Markwei’s peers and those who have worked closely with her described her as a powerful communicator and unifying force across communities.
“In the face of rejection, she would still go to great lengths and contact the highest authority to ensure her needs, and those of her team, are met,” wrote senior Aniekan Ekefre, who has worked with Markwei in DukeAFRICA, in an email to The Chronicle.
Sophomore Gabriela Mendoza, who serves with Markwei as co-president of Wannamaker Quad, echoed the sentiment.
“She is very well versed in the ways in which to navigate Duke leadership and will advocate for students no matter who is in front of her,” Mendoza wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
Mendoza and Ekefre both highlighted Markwei’s strong interpersonal skills and ability to bring a team together.
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“At the forefront of her character is support and, most importantly, comfort,” Ekefre wrote.
Michelle Brown is a Trinity junior and an editor-at-large of The Chronicle's 120th volume.