From: Elliott Wolf
To: students-undergrad-all@duke.edu
Re: Summer Update & Important Information from Duke Student Government

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Fellow Dukies,

Welcome (back) to Duke for the 2006-2007 school year! It's been a very busy and productive summer, and this is the first of monthly updates that you will receive from DSG. You can get always get current information on our organization, what we are doing, what the administration is doing, and how to get involved in working for the interests of students on our website at http://dsg.duke.edu.

Without further ado, this email contains:

1. Memorandum to senators and administrators regarding what DSG accomplished over the summer
2. General information of importance to new and returning students
3. Calendar of upcoming DSG meetings and other events
4. Ways to get involved in DSG directly and/or work to represent the interests of students to the administration

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1. Memorandum to senators and administrators regarding what DSG accomplished over the summer

DSG accomplished a significant amount over the summer, and my memo to DSG officers and senators, and key administrators, is linked below. It contains information on administrative actions in which we had a significant hand, our own independent initiatives, and selected projects that we have started:

http://dsg.duke.edu/content/president/06summerupdate.php

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2. General information of importance to new and returning students

DSG had a significant hand in much of what is listed, but this all information of general importance to undergraduates roughly organized by topic:

************Student services************

The Wall Street Journal and Durham Herald-Sun are now available free to undergraduate students as part of DSG's newspaper readership program. Over 100 copies per day of the WSJ are being delivered Monday-Saturday to the newspaper box in front of the DSG office on the middle level of the Bryan Center. Over 200 copies per day of the DHS are being delivered weekdays to locations throughout campus, including the East Union, West Union, the West Campus Plaza and other locatons yet TBD.

*****************Dining*****************

Chartwell's and Bon Appetit, both divisions of the Compass Group, have replaced ARAMARK. As of Sunday, August 27, both the Marketplace on East Campus and the Great Hall on West Campus are fully operational and (from my own personal perspective) greatly improved. This improvement is the direct result of student complaints about ARAMARK's service, and we thus encourage you to help Compass Group and Dining Services through the transition by continuing to provide feedback to DSG, Dining Services or Compass Group.

The following is a brief list of additional changes and updates that are of interest:

-Starting Sunday, September 3, the Great Hall will be open for Sunday brunch.
-Tommy's Rubs, Grubs and Suds will replace Ricks Diner. See the article in the orientation issue of The Chronicle for more information.
-McDonald's in the Bryan Center will now be open 24/7.
-The hours of the Marketplace have been extended to 9:00pm.

*************Transportation*************

At the request of DSG, Parking & Transportation Services created a new C-4 (ÒWest-CentralÓ) bus route that, in tandem with a C-1 bus, will replace the C-2 route during nights and weekends. C-2 buses will still run during the daytime on weekdays, and students needing to go from areas of Central Campus served by the C-4 route to East Campus or from East Campus to Central Campus on nights and weekends can do so via a C-1 and C-4 bus; other routes are still served by SafeRides. Thanks to the addition of the C-4 route, students will always be able to ride a C-1 between East Campus and West Campus.

For more information on the new bus routes, visit the parking and transportation services website at:
http://aux03.auxserv.duke.edu/parking/

********Information technology***********

Wireless coverage was significantly expanded and now includes, among other areas, K-Ville and the Duke Gardens. If there are any problems with coverage in these areas, please inform DSG Technical Representative and Information Technology Advisory Council representative Daron Gunn (daron.gunn@duke.edu).

*********Student organizations**********

After extensive lobbying efforts, the office of the Executive Vice President has agreed to fund all bartenders for on-campus keg events. Formerly, groups who wished to bring keg beer to their events had to pay upwards of $300-$400 to hire authorized University bartenders, in accordance with University policy. This formerly unfunded mandate is now funded, and groups who wish to bring kegs to their events will order the kegs through Dining Service at cost and bartenders will come with them, free of charge to the group. We are currently working on a process to deliver the kegs themselves to student groups at no cost, but it has not been finalized yet.

***********Lacrosse response*************

See the overview of our efforts relating to the lacrosse allegations online at:
http://dsg.duke.edu/content/lacrosse/

***************Tailgate******************

Please see our statement at:
http://dsg.duke.edu/content/tailgate/

More information to come prior to the Duke v. Richmond game on Saturday at 6:00pm

***********Judicial policies*************

The office of Judicial Affiars, at the request of DSG (see http://dsg.duke.edu/content/president/docs/judicial.pdf) and several administrators, is providing more information to students about the judicial process and policies to which students will be held. Key pieces of information, such as a list of policy changes encated over the summer and a list of sanctions for certain infractions, are now listed on the Judicial Affiars website (http://judicial.studentaffairs.duke.edu). DSG has no input into changes in University policy and thus does not wish to officially endorse them, but we are providing them for your information.

*************Changes in ACES*************

In the spring, the DSG senate passed a resolution requesting that a series of improvements be made to ACES. Many of those changes have been incorporated into the system, thanks to the support of University Registrar Bruce Cunningham. The Academic Affairs committee is considering additional changes to ACES and working with the RegistrarÕs office to bring about the remainder of the changes that were proposed in the spring. In the mean time, explore ACES to see the additional features (see the DSG summer update for more information).

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3. Calendar of Upcoming Events

Wed. 8/30, 10:00am: Student Employment Fair in the Bryan Center

Wed. 8/30, 8:00pm: DSG General Body Meeting in Schicano Auditorium in CIEMAS
Special guests: Larry Moneta & Dean Sue
Agenda: DSG summer update, tailgate, undergraduate policies

Fri. 9/1, 1:00pm: Student Activities Fair on the BC Walkway

Wed. 9/6, 8:00pm: DSG General Body Meeting in Schicano Auditorium in CIEMAS
Special guest: Jim Wulforst
Agenda: Changes in dining, lacrosse

Thu. 9/7, 7:00pm: USA Women's National Basketball Team vs. Austrailia
Cameron Indoor Stadium
(more information to come)

Fri. 9/8, 5:00pm: Freshman Election Packets Due
(see the following section)

Mon. 9/11, 11:00pm: 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony in Keohane Quad
Sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association
In memory of the Duke alumni who died on 9/11.

Wed. 9/13, 8:00pm: DSG General Body Meeting in Schicano Auditorium in CIEMAS
Special Guests: Judith Ruderman and Stephen Bryan
Agenda: undergraduate policies

Fri. 9/15, 5:00pm: Presidential Committee Applications Due
(see the following section)


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4. Ways to get involved in DSG directly and/or work to represent the interests of students to the administration

Students can get involved with or through DSG in two ways: by directly working for the Duke Student Government as a senator, cabinet member or DSG committee member, or by applying to serve on a Presidential, University or Trustee committee to which we appoint members. See http://dsg.duke.edu/content/getinvolved/ for more information. Specifics opportunities are as follows:

a. Run for a freshman senate seat

Candidacy declaration forms (which must be completed in order to run) are available at http://dsg.duke.edu/content/elections/. These forms must be completed and returned to the DSG office by Friday, September 8 at 5 pm. Campaigning will begin Tuesday, September 12, and freshmen senate elections will be held Tuesday, September 19.

b. Apply for an appointment to a Presidential committee

There are openings for undergraduate representatives on 8 Presidential committees for the 2006-2007 school year. Appointments to these committees are very important, as representatives act as the voice of undergraduate students. To see what committees have vacancies, see our website on our appointed representatives: http://dsg.duke.edu/content/reps/

The application can be found at:
http://dsg.duke.edu/content/reps/0607presapp.pdf

c. Run for a position on the Student Organizing and Finance Committee

The SOFC administers the programming fund for on-campus events and the annual budget for student organizations (totaling $600,000) and also runs the new group request process to grant student organizations official DSG status. Elections will take place during the DSG Senate meeting on Wednesday, September the 20th.

The application can be found at:
http://dsg.duke.edu/content/getinvolved/0607sofc.pdf

d. Apply for an at-large senate seat

All students are eligible for an at large senator position, and those wishing to receive a position must fill out an application and sign up for an interview with the DSG Executive Committee. Applications will be due to the DSG office on Friday, September 22 at 5 pm, and interviews will take place on Sunday, September 24. Applications for at large senator positions will be available soon on our website, please check back in the coming weeks.

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Congrats on getting through the entire email! Imagine what it was like for me to write it!

-Elliott Wolf
President, Duke Student Government






And always, if you have an idea you would like us to pursue, any questions about DSG or the university, or want to learn more about getting involved, please freel free to contact me personally (egw4@duke.edu / cell: 301-518-1632) or the other DSG executives:

Joe Fore, Executive Vice President - joe.fore@duke.edu
David Snider, Vice President for Athletics and Campus Services - david.snider@duke.edu
Maggie McGannon, Vice President for Student Affairs - margaret.mcgannon@duke.edu
Jordan Giordano, Vice President for Community Interaction - jordan.giordano@duke.edu
Jimmy Soni, Vice President for Academic Affairs - jimmy.soni@duke.edu