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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020
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UNIVERSITY NEWS
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 6
LOCAL & NATIONAL NEWS
RAs describe enforcement issues BOE forsees poll worker challenges By Francesca Maglione Contributing Reporter
Chronicle File Photo As students returned to campus during a pandemic, East Campus RAs said there were challenges with enforcement and communication.
By Mona Tong Assistant News Editor
As campus reopens during a pandemic, East Campus resident assistants told The Chronicle that issues with enforcement and communication, especially during the lead-up to classes, have left them feeling frustrated. All students had to sign the Duke Compact, which outlines COVID-19 safety requirements, before returning to campus, and all members of the community—from students to the Compliance Team to RAs—have been involved in enforcement. Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life, told The Chronicle last month that RAs have been provided various in person and “contactless” enforcement techniques, including support resources. However, some RAs living in first-year dorms said they have felt frustrated and unprepared with Duke’s communication and enforcement of COVID-19 policies— especially throughout orientation week and at the beginning of the semester. The Chronicle talked to three East Campus resident assistants—all of whom asked not to be named for fear of retribution—about how they feel about their roles on campus and Duke’s communication and enforcement of policies. The first RA, who lives in a dorm on the main East quad, and the second RA, who lives in the East backyard, noted that since the start of classes, firstyears have been more compliant with Compact rules—especially after seeing schools like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University move online. The second RA added that the University has improved its communication to RAs. “We’ve gotten some more clarification on what’s expected of us as RAs at this point, so I’m hopeful that things will continue to improve as we get more explicit [information] and build community on campus,” she wrote in a message to The Chronicle during the second week of classes.
The first RA added that since classes started, policies have “changed massively.” She wrote in a Sept. 2 message to The Chronicle that there is much more enforcement happening now and policies have become “a lot clearer.” Nonetheless, there was a “very chaotic lead-up to classes starting,” according to the first RA.
‘Nonstop’ violations
The first RA said that there have been “nonstop” violations of COVID-19 rules, especially during the first few weeks of firstyears being on campus. She said there was a constant cycle of breaking up groups in the common room for having more than the maximum number of people allowed. The occupancy limit for common rooms depends on the size of the room, and only three people are allowed in a bedroom at the same time in all East Campus residence halls, Gonzalez wrote in an email. “I’ve heard other RAs say, ‘You don’t want to leave your dorm room because you walk out and you’re going to immediately have to start correcting people,’” the first RA said. “And it won’t necessarily be stuff that is flagrant violations of the rules––it’s just basic stuff, like people don’t realize they shouldn’t be sitting right next to each other on the quad.” The third RA, who lives in the East backyard quad, wrote in a message that before classes began, there were East Campus parties that happened at least once every day, typically in the backyard quad. They wrote that after Housing and Residence Life or police would tell students to disperse, students would leave, no names would be taken and the party would just “break up into small chunks and move into people’s rooms.” The first RA recalled one large East Campus party where RAs called the resident coordinator since “it’s beyond our capacity to handle that many people,” and nothing happened. The third RA noted often seeing groups of unmasked firstyears leave dorm rooms with a trailing scent of alcohol behind them—but nothing changing because of contactless approaches.
Both RAs noted that they feel these contactless approaches—which include texting or calling residents, calling RCs and writing detailed incident reports in lieu of getting too close to residents—are necessary. “It’s unfair to ask anyone to go to a group of unmasked people and ask them to put their masks on,” the first RA said. Gonzalez wrote in an email that all incidents of non-compliance, whether on campus, in residence halls or off campus, “are being taken seriously.” The second RA said that although she is upset with first-years who are breaking Compact rules, she does understand their desire for a “normal” first year. “This is a crazy time to be starting—freshman year is about finding your people and figuring out where you belong, and how are you supposed to do that through a computer screen? How are you supposed to feel like you belong somewhere and there isn’t anywhere to go?” she said. “But at the end of the day, we have to, as a community, decide to put the wellness and well-being of the community over individual desires.” She added that she has not felt safe or secure on campus, worrying about getting herself or her loved ones sick. The first RA wrote in a message that she feels anxious every time she coughs because she has seen “how little some residents seem to care about the rules.” However, she wrote that pool testing— which began the first week of classes— made her feel better. She wrote that she feels administration is taking the need to track down cases early on “quite seriously.”
‘Mixed messages’
The first RA said that she felt Duke initially sent RAs “mixed messages” about how they should handle COVID-19 violations and whether or not they should write incident reports. She said that from a training video sent to RAs Aug. 15 and neighborhood meetings prior to the second week of classes,
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The coronavirus has generated numerous challenges for the upcoming November election, among them the recruitment of poll workers. According to Damon Circosta, chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections and an adjunct professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, the board faces multiple challenges regarding the enrollment of poll workers. “We are not behind, but we are certainly not ahead,” Circosta said. The board anticipates one issue may be people registering to serve as poll workers but failing to show up to their shifts due to fear and uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another challenge is that more poll workers will be needed to work on Election Day than in a normal year, to enforce COVID-19 social-distancing and sanitation protocols, Circosta said. This is added to the fact that, according to Circosta, the board expects record voter turnout given increased interest in this year’s election. Another one of the board’s concerns is that the majority of election workers are older or retired North Carolinians, which is the demographic with the highest risk of experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms. These poll workers usually work many elections in a row. For young people, volunteering as a poll worker can be an opportunity to stand on the front lines of democracy, Circosta said. He said it can also be an act of service: a way to give back to those who have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic to make voting run as smoothly and safely as possible. In order to become a poll worker, applicants must be registered to vote in the county in which they plan to serve. The state Board of Elections has information about the process on its website. This job is not a volunteer position—poll workers are paid for their service. Poll workers are expected to work from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Election Day, in addition to three to four hours of paid training prior to their See POLL on Page 8
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