A Departmental Undergraduate Group is only as good as its students.
Because of this fact, there has traditionally been a wide disparity between the quality of different DUGs - a problem troubling to administrators but considered unavoidable by those involved in the groups.
"The degree to which the DUG is active is a function of the seniors of that year, how much energy they put into trying to plan events," said J. Vernon Henderson, professor of economics and urban studies and faculty mentor of the Urban Studies DUG.
A DUG is a group of undergraduates who share a common interest in a department and "meet regularly to provide a setting in which students can explore potential careers in a given department, create a sense of community with a discipline, and make and strengthen connections between concentrators (and between) professors and concentrators," according to the University's DUG Web site.
DUG leaders emphasize that the informal environment between students and professors can help attract potential concentrators.
DUG-sponsored events range from guest lectures and interviews of potential professors to more casual social gatherings with fellow concentrators. Beyond these general activities, each DUG adapts itself to student interest and community opportunities. The Mathematics DUG began a program teaching calculus to local high school students, while the recently created Neuroscience DUG sponsors an annual Open Lab Day, in which students learn about professors' research.
Student leaders agree that the success of DUGs depends almost entirely on student involvement. "You simply need to have students who are interested in running the DUG. ... If you have no events going on with your DUG, it's going to die very soon," said Rex Cheung '06, leader of both the Mathematics and Philosophy DUGs.
Within the last five years, however, the Undergraduate Council of Students has pushed to improve DUG stability.
"If we make an effort to get as much information about DUGs as possible, about what DUGs have done in past, what has worked well and what hasn't, we can give new DUG leaders more information to start with ... ensuring that every DUG can meet a minimum standard of excellence," said Tristan Freeman '07, chair of Academic and Administrative Affairs for UCS. He added that keeping formal records would encourage continuity and informal student involvement.
Gretchen Peterson, coordinator at the Curricular Resource Center, which advises DUG activities, agrees that DUGs need a more structured support system to "help actualize their potential," but thinks UCS has not been utilizing its influence to do so.
Peterson added that either UCS or the CRC should do a better job of encouraging DUGs to have a certain number of events per year, arranging meetings among DUG leaders for interdisciplinary outreach and requiring those leaders to represent their constituencies. "It seems as though coordination of the DUGs is in limbo at the moment," she said.
According to many DUG leaders, however, instability cannot be solved completely by a more structured system.
"UCS should make support available, but I'm not sure if mandating a specific DUG structure would be beneficial," said Morgan Palmer '07, who began the Classics DUG last year. She added that the CRC Web site and other events that bring DUG leaders together are helpful.
Melissa Epstein '06, leader of the Urban Studies DUG, said regulations should be set up by individual departments, but emphasized that more structure can only help so much. "Even if we do set events, turnout is up to the particular student," she said.
