September 7, 2011 issue

Page 1

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

The Chronicle

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 10

WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

Tornado Widespread obesity costs states billions Percentage of state skirts by medical expenditures attributable to campus obesity

by Julian Spector THE CHRONICLE

It’s a twister—sort of. The DukeALERT system warned the Duke community of a tornado passing through northern Durham County at roughly 2:00 p.m. Tuesday but issued an all clear about 22 minutes later. The tornado did not actually touch down, and there were no reports of damage at Duke, Vice President for Human Resources Kyle Cavanaugh said. “We’ve been very fortunate right now,” Cavanaugh said. “We’ve not seen the devastation that we saw in the spring.” Cavanaugh, who is also the emergency coordinator for the University, said Duke had been closely monitoring the storm’s trajectory since 4 a.m. Tuesday. At 2:03 p.m. DukeALERT sent out an email and text message warning students to seek shelter immediately. According to the email, the National Weather Service for Durham County had issued a tornado warning after radar spotted a tornado passing over Hillsborough at 1:30 p.m. SEE TORNADO ON PAGE 12

CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY KATIE NI

Across the nation, some states can spend up to nearly $15 billion in medical expenses as a result of obesity. by Kelly Scurry THE CHRONICLE

Packing some extra pounds comes with a hefty cost. According to a study conducted by researchers at think tank RTI International, Duke University and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, health expenses related to obesity cost the state of North Carolina nearly $5 billion in 2009. Obesity-attributable Medicaid and Medicare expenditures throughout the state were $807 million and about $1 billion, respectively. Medicaid supports those of low income and is gov-

erned by the state, and Medicare is a federal governed program for people 65 and over, or those permanently disabled. The study found that North Carolina would save 9.9 percent on overall medical costs and 13.1 percent on Medicaid costs if all obese people in the state were at a normal weight. Total expenditures in other states ranged from $203 million in Wyoming to $15.2 billion in California per year. Obesityattributable Medicaid expenditures were the highest in New York at $4 billion and obesityattributable Medicare expenditures were highest in California

at $3.4 billion. The figures confirm earlier findings that obesity accounts for a significant and preventable portion of the nation’s medical bill, according to an RTI press release Aug. 18. The study was published in the online research journal Obesity. The study updates the state-by-state estimates of obesityrelated medical expenditures originally reported in a 2004 study, but uses data from a 2006 survey of national and state medical expenditures to predict costs in 2009 dollars. STUDY STATISTICS PROVIDED BY RTI INTERNATIONAL

SEE OBESITY ON PAGE 4

Alumni work to save S. African justice NC Governor’s School promotes diversity by Alejandro Bolívar THE CHRONICLE

HONG ZHU/THE CHRONICLE

Heavy rain pelted West Campus throughout the day Tuesday.

Center back Ashley Rape suffers another injury blow, Page 7

Alumni of the North Carolina Governor’s School are refusing to let their cherished program disappear. Governor’s School—founded in 1963 by former Gov. and Duke President Terry Sanford—is a six-week summer residential program for gifted rising high school seniors in the state to study specialized subjects at either Salem College in Winston-Salem or Meredith College in Raleigh. The program suffered a near-fatal blow last June when the North Carolina General Assembly stripped Governor’s School of its $849,000 annual funding in order to allevi-

ate the state’s $2.4 billion deficit. Jim Hart, president of the Governor’s School Alumni Association, wrote in a Tuesday email that the North Carolina Board of Education was reluctant to see the program go, which has traditionally been free for students. The board met with the alumni association and the Governor’s School Foundation—a nonprofit designed to support the program— and ruled that it would give the two groups until August to raise the $100,000 needed to continue the Governor’s School in a limited capacity next summer. Even though the groups had SEE SCHOOL ON PAGE 12

by Shucao Mo THE CHRONICLE

A judge from South Africa’s highest court promoted diversity as the backbone for social and legal change. As the first public official to reveal his HIVpositive status in the country, South African Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron Edwin Cameron played a significant role in institutionalizing gay, lesbian and bisexual rights post-apartheid. Cameron spoke at Smith Warehouse Tuesday eve-

ning about his personal and legal experience as a human rights fighter, as well as the relationship between constitutionalism and diversity in South Africa. President Nelson Mandela appointed Cameron an acting judge of the High Court of South Africa in 1994, and since 2009 Cameron has served as a justice in the Constitutional Court. Cameron said his sexual orientation did not play a role in the interview for his 1994 position. “It was not because I was silent [about being gay], but because... it had become a non-issue,” Cameron said. “To me, that is the way SEE CAMERON ON PAGE 5

ONTHERECORD

“Since the start of classes, food trucks have been a rare but welcome sight on Duke’s campus.” —Columnist Rui Dai in “Eat more Chirba.” See column page 11

DUSDAC discusses possible MOP additions, Page 3


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