Team Kenan

With the ongoing Democratic primary elections, Team Kenan took to the couch to find out what Duke students think about democracy. Many students think democratic system is ideal. However, they worry whether with America’s current state of political polarization, socioeconomic stratification, and barriers to voting, if democracy can truly exist?

Duke students had differing views on the role of government. One student remarked, “Government involvement is sometimes too strong. It keeps us from making informed decisions.” Another student said, “Government involvement is good in theory” but was unsure of how the government would realistically function in a democracy. Generally speaking, students were quick to express reservations about excessive government involvement but did not provide specifics on how the government should be involved in housing, taxation, or healthcare. 

We then steered the conversation back to campus, specifically the Young Trustee Elections. We asked whether Duke was in any way democratic, in the way that student groups and classes are structured. From students’ responses, it appeared that few were genuinely invested in voting for a Young Trustee. The role of Young Trustee, to many Duke students who stopped by the couch, seemed more symbolic than effective in advocating for undergraduates. Yet, for any democracy to function, people must be actively engaged and people must vote.

Democracy is a loaded conversation topic–as we progress through the 2020 elections, students will likely have changing insights and opinions. Perhaps this is a topic that we will have to revisit on the couch in the near future. 

Following the Food Insecurity Symposium on February 14th, Team Kenan set out this past week to discover what’s on the minds of Duke students regarding what’s on their tables.

Students had a lot to say about what Duke served up. While Duke prides itself on being ranked #1 in the nation for dining, many students are frustrated with the high prices. On the couch, we repeatedly heard comments like: “I think food on campus is really expensive, like a dinner costs me $12” and “I use more food points in a day than I should because I can never find lunch and dinner for under $10”. Others wished for a solution to unequal food points usage, such as a system to venmo food points “as not everyone uses the same amount and some people end up with less and some with more”.

When it came to the offerings on campus, price continued to emerge as an issue because “healthy food costs a lot more”. Another point of contention was the lack of Kosher and vegetarian options. 

In thinking of their diets holistically, one student acknowledged an attempt at going vegetarian for environmental and health reasons, but was unsuccessful. Another commented on the rise in popularity of multiple diets such as the ketogenic diet, the Paleo diet, Whole30, stating “I think there’s a lot of privilege in being able to cut out entire food groups or limit [oneself] to only whole or organic foods”.

Our conversations with Duke students revealed an underlying concern over not only the accessibility and offering of food on campus, but the intersection of privilege and diet.