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
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 24
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Cultural groups consider Illness form forming housing sections changes reflect student misuse by Anna Koelsch THE CHRONICLE
Proponents of the housing model believe each house will form a distinct culture—but now those cultures may be racially defined. Some multicultural groups’ requests to become new selective living groups in next year’s house model could potentially result in living spaces that cater to a specific ethnicity or culture. Executive members of student groups such as Black Student Alliance, Asian Students Association and Mi Gente have confirmed that they are either applying for a house or are considering applying for a house. The InterGreek Council is considering applying as well. Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residence life and co-chair of the House Model Committee, acknowledged that some may criticize cultural houses for being self-segregationist, but he said he does not think the argument is valid. “I consider it unlikely that these communities would reduce the diversity throughout campus at such a dramatic level that [the] criticism would ring true,” Gonzalez said. Sophomore Marcus Benning, Black Student Alliance executive vice president, said he and several other BSA representatives will apply for a living group centered around black culture, aiming to increase academic engagement, develop student leadership and enhance racial consciousness on campus. He added that officials from the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture support the idea, though the idea to apply for housing was entirely student-driven. “There was an overwhelmingly positive response about applying for a house [at BSA’s last general body meeting],” Benning said. “As a major organization, we have a responsibility to provide opportunities of academic enrichment to enhance the experience of our members. We believe that this black culture living group will do that.” SEE HOUSING ON PAGE 6
by Lauren Carroll THE CHRONICLE
Students should think twice if they want to use a shortterm illness notification form to skip class. The Office of Student Conduct Advisory Group—comprised of student leaders and Office of Student Conduct administrators—met Friday to discuss recent changes to student conduct policy. The discussion focused on changes to short-term illness form, student leader accountability and the alcohol amnesty policies, said junior Gurdane Bhutani, Duke Student Government executive vice president and advisory group member. STINF policy now requires students to contact their professors within 48 hours of submitting the form—otherwise, professors are under no obligation to accept work from students who miss class. The form now includes a statement clarifying that STINF only applies for students with an incapacitating illness—meaning a student cannot send in a STINF for a headache or a cold, said Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. “It’s been in the administrators’ eyes for a while that the policy needed to be changed,” Honor Council Chair Nick Valilis, a senior, said. “It was too easy to submit the form. [We] want to make people think a little bit harder.” Administrators have not yet informed students about the additions—STINF instructions on the Trinity website now reflect the changes, but those on the Pratt School of Engineering website do not. Trinity faculty plan to discuss how to best inform students Wednesday, Baker said. DSG and the Honor Council plan to increase student awareness, Bhutani and Valilis said. Academic deans began to track STINF usage last Spring, CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY MELISSA YEO
SEE STINF ON PAGE 5
Dean commends Nursing School’s evolution, growth in annual address by Julian Spector THE CHRONICLE
In an age of transforming health care, Dean of the School of Nursing Catherine Gilliss sees her school uniquely poised to embrace those changes. Members of the Duke University School of Nursing convened Monday afternoon for the Annual State of the School Presentation. Gilliss delivered the address, which summarized progress over the past year and described the school’s strategic vision for the future. “We have made this... a pretty special place,” Gilliss said. “Our students want to enroll.... Our staff turnover is frankly is one of the lowest on campus. It’s really the people who make this such a special place.” Gilliss discussed the growth of the faculty in recent years, which at Duke, includes a relatively young pool of professors compared to other schools. Currently, with two-thirds of the faculty joining since Gilliss’s arrival at Duke in 2004 and 10 faculty members added since 2010, DUSON has 14 full profes-
Cobb makes impact on national stage, Page 7
sors, 20 associate professors and 35 assistant professors. Gilliss noted that while DUSON has more male faculty than is typical for nursing schools, the professor population is still mostly composed of white women. Ninety-three percent of the faculty either have their doctorate degree or are in the process of obtaining the distinction, she added. Susan Schneider, lead faculty for the oncology specialties at DUSON, has been at the school for 11 years. She said she has seen the school grow from about 20 faculty in a small building to where they are today, but she noted that some things have stayed constant. “I think we’ve kept what’s important,” Schneider said. “We’ve gotten bigger and we’ve gotten better, but we still care about each other as a faculty community, and we still care about our students.” Although Gilliss is pleased with the growth and general makeup of DUSON’s faculty, she said the target number for SEE NURSING ON PAGE 6
ELYSIA SU/THE CHRONICLE
The new STINF policy now requires ill students to contact their professor within 48 hours of submitting the short-term form.
ONTHERECORD
“If the OPERA finding is a discovery... the significance is huge, because it shatters one of the pillars of modern physics.” —Professor Berndt Mueller on neutrinos. See story page 4
New practices lead to fewer turtle deaths, Page 4
2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
THE CHRONICLE
worldandnation
Gov. Perry’s opinions on immigration shun voters
ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican Johanna White was delighted to find herself nodding in agreement with almost everything Texas Gov. Rick Perry said after he entered the race for her party’s presidential nomination six weeks ago. Then he started talking about allowing children of illegal immigrants to attend Texas universities at in-state tuition rates. “It was a total turnoff,� said White, 51 and unemployed, from Port St. Joe, Florida. “I think it’s totally wrong. I’m almost 100 percent directly a Perry supporter, but I can’t agree with that.� White, a party activist who doesn’t miss a chance to vote in Republican primaries, personifies an emerging liability for Perry, who has ascended to frontrunner status in the primary contest, eclipsing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in national primary polls, since declaring his candidacy August 13.
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Eat Local Challenge Great Hall, 11a.m.-2p.m. The Great Hall, Marketplace and Fuqua’s Fox Center will prepare lunches made completely of ingredients from within a 150 mile radius of Duke.
Homebuying Seminar Erwin Square Building, 12:30-1:30p.m. Experts will give helpful hints on home financing subjects such ass getting pre-qualified, up-front costs, choosing the right mortgage and more.
Navy plans to go green, Afghan employed by U.S. seeks alternative energy shoots two CIA workers PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, Md. — With the Navy’s Blue Angels and their F/A-18 Hornets arrayed in a neat line behind him, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that they would perform in the Labor Day Air Expo using a 50-50 mix of a plant-based biofuel and conventional fuel.
Freshmen Flu Fighters Alspaugh Dormitory, 6-9p.m. Duke students, faculty and staff can go get free flu vaccinations on East Campus. All participants should bring their Duke ID.
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan man employed by the U.S. government opened fire in the CIA compound in Kabul, killing an agency contractor and wounding another, officials said Monday. The shooting late Sunday was the latest jarring incident in Kabul.
Duke Greek Convocation Duke Chapel, 7-8p.m. Duke’s greek community kicks off a new year with this convocation. Organizers will also be collecting donations at the event.
TODAY IN HISTORY 1540: Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, approved by the Pope.
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Wahneema Lubiano, the director of undergraduate studies in African and African American studies, talks about the justice system and how its changes have impacted class and race at a discussion held at the Duke Multicultural Center Monday evening.
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 | 3
Lawsuit may shelf Ophan Works Project Obama bill by Andrew Karim THE CHRONICLE
The University’s involvement in a national digitization could prove to be short-lived. Just more than a month after Duke announced its participation in the Orphan Works Project, which digitizes out-of-print books whose copyright owners are deceased or unreachable, the project’s partner, a text archiving foundation called HathiTrust, is being sued on the grounds of publishing written works without the authorization of copyright holders. “We’ve been greatly concerned about the seven million copyright-protected books that HathiTrust has on its servers for a while,� said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, the group which filed the lawsuit against HathiTrust Sept. 12. “Those scans are unauthorized by the authors.� The Orphan Works Project involves a network of university libraries, including its founding partner the University of Michigan and others such as Cornell University and Emory University. The project identifies the orphan books contained in the HathiTrust Digital Library, which holds the online collections of more than 60 major research institutions and 9.5 million digitized works. Though Duke’s involvement with the project was made possible through collaboration with HathiTrust, the University does not expect to be affected by the legal ramifications. “The action which gave rise to the infringement claim is the reception of digital files from Google in exchange for providing the books that were scanned in the first place,� said Deborah Jakubs, University librarian and vice provost for library affairs. “[Since the University] did not provide any books to Google and received no scans, [Duke] is not in danger of being sued.� The Authors Guild—a New York based group representing more than 8,000 authors—filed a suit against HathiTrust citing infringement and addressing security concerns regarding the files in the HathiTrust.
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The University of Michigan and HathiTrust suspended the project Sept. 16 due to procedural errors, according to a University of Michigan statement. The statement acknowledges that some of the works placed on the orphan works list were in fact still in copyright, with reachable owners. Jakubs noted that if the Authors Guild wins the lawsuit, HathiTrust will be ordered to pay licensing fees to the author of each respective work. Although the Authors Guild is basing their claim on the rights of the authors, some of them are either deceased or unable to be found. “[The Authors Guild] seems to hope that an approach to using orphan works that will pay licensing fees to authors is possible,� Jakubs said. “We believe that such a scheme would fail because most orphans are insufficiently valuable to justify payment.� Kevin Smith, director of scholarly communications at Duke Libraries, is advising HathiTrust on how to refine their orphan works selection process. “Once a more accurate process is in place, the orphan part of the project should go forward,� Smith wrote in an email Sept, 20. “No digital files have yet been opened, so all the lawsuit means for us is a delay in being able to give access to these works.� Smith added that he does not believe the lawsuit will get very far. “Any claim over orphan works seems tenuous,� he said. “[The Authors Guild] is making this case seem urgent [by] asking to impound all seven million files in [the HathiTrust archive] that date from after 1923, and they base that request on the fact that some of those files—they list 62—are [currently] owned by Authors Guild members.�
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to overhaul patent system by Vignesh Krishnaswamy THE CHRONICLE
Getting a patent is about to get a lot easier. Some Duke researchers expressed excitement surrounding the recently approved overhaul of the U.S. patent system. President Barack Obama signed Sept. 16 the America Invents Act into law—a patent bill that will substantially change the system for the first time in 59 years. Proponents argue that the change is long overdue, and filing for a patent will now be less time-consuming. “[The bill] is a vital step in increasing U.S. competitiveness abroad,� said Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law Arti Rai, who specializes in patent law and innovation policy at Duke. She noted that patent reform legislation is important because it will make the U.S. patent system a more effective engine for innovation. Specifically, the legislation will help reduce a backlog of more than 700,000 patent applications. In fiscal year 2009-2010, which ended June 30, 2010, Duke researchers were issued 91 patents and filed 189 patents, according to a Duke news release Sept. 16. The prolonged wait time for patent approval can create notable uncertainty for innovators, including researchers at Duke. Eric Wagner, associate director of Duke’s Office of Licensing and Ventures and patent attorney, works as an inhouse patent counsel at the Duke patent office, helping researchers and inventors to file patents. “Patent reform will help everyone from a university and small business standpoint,� Wagner said. “For Duke SEE PATENTS ON PAGE 6
Grants Available for Spring 2012 Emerging Humanities Networks
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Teams of Duke faculty and students are invited to submit collaborative proposals that explore emerging ideas, projects, or networks that may have the potential to change the way the humanities are taught in the 21st Century. This is an opportunity to take intellectual risks without necessarily building permanent structures. The Steering Committee anticipates making 2--5 awards for Spring 2012; most will be in the $10,000— —$30,000 range— — for truly exceptional proposals, awards of up to $50,000 are possible.
The funding can be used to support efforts including but not limited to: x W Working groups x W Workshops x S Speakers x S Short--term visitors x C Course development x TTeam teaching
Application Deadline: October 17. For further information and application instructions, visit our website at humanitieswritlarge.duke.edu, email humanities-writlarge@duke.edu or call Laura Eastwood at 684-8873.
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These grants are part of the Mellon Foundation-funded Humanities Writ Large initiative — a five-year effort to transform humanities education at Duke.
4 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
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Study shows CERN experiment may have revealed faster-than-light travel sea turtle death by Michael Shammas THE CHRONICLE
Science fiction fans and physicists alike have obsessed for years over the possibility of faster-than-light travel—a prospect that would enable rapid forays to other worlds and possibly even time travel. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, however, the maximum velocity an object can reach is the speed of light. Einstein’s theory was called into question last week when scientists working on the OPERA project at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland observed neutrinos—subatomic particles—
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
New fishery practices over the past 20 years have made for a dramatic drop in sea turtle deaths. The number of sea turtles who are unintentionally captured and killed in fishing nets has decreased by 90 percent since 1990, according to a recent Duke study. Deaths due to bycatch—the accidental capture of one species while fishing for another species—is one of the biggest threats to the sea turtle population. According to the study, an estimated 4,600 sea turtles die each year in U.S. waters. Bycatch can also harm the fisheries themselves, creating a trickle-down effect on people’s eating habits and sustainability practices. “I think this represents a pretty major accomplishment in the management of sea species in the United States,” said Elena Finkbeiner, a Ph.D. student at Duke and lead author of the study. Measures taken to reduce the number of bycatch deaths include using circle hooks that are less likely to be swallowed by sea turtles, as well as limiting fishing activity hours to periods when sea turtles are not frequently present. Finkbeiner added that additional studies must be conducted to assess the full effect the fisheries’ practices have on the overall animal population. Unintended sea turtle deaths result in direct costs to fishermen by damaging their gear and reducing their target catch, Jeffrey Moore, co-author of the study, wrote in an email. “Nets may be damaged when large animals— sharks, turtles, dolphins—get tangled in them and have to be cut out,” said Moore, a protected resources
SEE CERN ON PAGE 6
SEE SEA TURTLES ON PAGE 5
The Laboratory of Gran Sasso in Italy received neutrino particles fractions of a second faster than the speed of light from Geneva, Switzerland.
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that can travel faster than the speed of light. If confirmed, the results could revolutionize physics. “It’s huge,” James B. Duke professor of physics Berndt Mueller wrote in an email Monday. “If the OPERA finding is a discovery and not an experimental or analysis error, the significance is huge, because it shatters one of the pillars of modern physics—the universality of the speed of light as an upper bound to all velocities.” The OPERA experiment has been shooting neutrinos at rapid speeds from Switzerland to Italy, but researchers only recently noticed that some of the particles were reaching Italy between 50 and 70 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light would have. Although the findings would be significant if proven true, Mueller said Einstein’s theory of relativity will remain influential. “Einstein’s theory of special relativity was designed as a general theory of electromagnetic phenomena. Neutrinos do not interact electromagnetically, so technically, they do not fall under the narrow purview of Einstein’s original theory,” he said. Although the data from CERN is exciting, as of now they are far from proven. Steffen Bass, associate professor of physics, said he thinks the media is exaggerating the results and that they will most likely prove to be a “false alarm.” “It is far too early to speculate on the significance of the discovery. The data was made public to encourage other groups to reproduce the experiment, since its results are so strange that there is a high probability that in the end it turns out to be an error or oversight in the analysis of the data,” Bass wrote in an email Monday. “When an independent second experiment confirms the findings, we will be able to take this discovery seriously.” Bass said he believes Einstein’s legacy would not be
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Wednesday, September 28, 2011 7:00 PM Bryan University Center - Von Canon Rooms Business Casual Attire Co-Sponsors: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Student Organization Finance Committee - The University and Cultural Fund - Black Student Alliance - National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. - National Society of Black Engineers - Impact Christian Fellowship - Duke Africa - Students of the Caribbean Association
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 | 5
STINF from page 1
SEA TURTLES from page 4
Valilis said. The monitoring revealed that the number of submitted forms has increased over time. Baker said he does not know if this indicates that students are abusing the system, but said he has noticed some students who use STINFs more than others—and some who have faked illness. Biology Department Chair Dan Kiehart said his department began to notice that the amount of STINF forms for a gateway biology course kept increasing throughout the Spring. About 10 percent of the students in the class submitted STINF forms for a quiz, and about 20 percent submitted a STINF for another assignment, Kiehart said. “It was simply getting out of hand,” Kiehart said. Administrators and students were considering amending STINF policy for the last few months, Baker said, adding that they are now working on the changes together. Valilis said he was approached by administrators over the summer to provide insight on this issue. He added, however, that when he was invited to discuss it again earlier this semester, some changes had already been implemented without his input. Administrators were receptive to his suggestions though, for example, including the requirement that students to contact their professors. He noted that he believes the administration should have consulted more students. “I had ownership in this process,” Valilis said. “But I would hope in the future they will discuss these kinds of changes with others.... This is why we have student advisory groups.” Stephen Bryan, associate dean and director of the Office of Student Conduct, did not attend Friday’s discussion because he was at a meeting with the Board of Trustees. Assistant Dean of Students David Frankel and Valerie Glassman, senior program coordinator for the Office of Student Conduct, attended the meeting Friday but deferred comment to Bryan, who generally acts as a liaison between the advisory group and Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. Moneta, who has the final say on student conduct policies, could not be reached for comment.
scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sea turtles occupy a specific niche in marine ecosystems, said Bryan Wallace, adjunct faculty member at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and co-author of the study. “They are big animals and live a long time and are abundant.... When you combine these things, they play a cumulatively important role [in sustaining the food web],” said Wallace, who is also a science advisor for the Sea Turtle Flagship Program at Conservation International in Washington, D.C. “In places where there are coral reef ecosystems, they are important to maintain healthy reefs since their dietary source is sponges—they keep sponges in check.” Although the researchers studied sea turtles in U.S. coastal waters, the findings have a global reach. “The United States shares its sea turtle population
Student leader accountability The advisory group also decided to allow members of DSG and the Council on Collaborative Action to redraft a controversial student conduct policy, which allows administrators to hold student leaders accountable for their group members’ actions. Bhutani said the vague wording of the policy—on an indefinite moratorium—is causing concern among student leaders about how the policy will be applied. “The advisory group as a whole agreed there’s a fair justification for the policy,” Bhutani said. “Students need to feel like we’ve created a policy that’s fair to us, and [administrators] have to understand where we’re coming from, and let us do this on our own.” He added that policies like this give a wide amount of discretion to the student conduct administrators reviewing violations because the rules are so broadly defined. Bhutani hopes the group will come to a resolution in October. Alcohol amnesty policy The health and safety intervention clause of the University alcohol amnesty policy—commonly known as the amnesty policy—is still under review for potential changes. Bhutani said the policy will be on hold for at least a semester until the University is able to review data that indicates whether or not the amnesty policy is effective. Current policy states that formal disciplinary action for violating the alcohol policy will not be taken against students who seek medical assistance for themselves or others if no other University policies have been violated. A potential change to the policy could make it so that students violating alcohol policy while seeking medical assistance could later face disciplinary action if the student has a subsequent violation. Duke partnered with several other universities for the Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking, sponsored by Dartmouth College, in May. Bhutani said policy changes should only be considered if data collected by this initiative strongly indicates that amnesty is ineffective. “It’s pretty clear that [amnesty] is effective—but if there’s science saying it isn’t, we might want to reconsider,” he said. Bryan wrote in an email Monday that policy changes are on hold in order to increase student awareness of the potential amendments. The concept of the amnesty policy would not change except to clarify what would occur if there was a subsequent violation of the alcohol policy, he added. “This is simply an effort for a hearing body to have all available information in making a decision on how to respond to that subsequent incident,” Bryan said.
with other countries in the world,” Finkbeiner said. She cited the California-based leatherback sea turtle, which comes from Indonesia, and the loggerhead sea turtle found in Hawaii, which originates from Japan. Managing the bycatch of sea turtles in the U.S. can help these species around the world, she added. Researchers at Duke University Project GloBAL and Conservation International used data compiled from national fishery services between the period of 1990 and 2007. They divided this period into two strata, pre-regulatory and post-regulatory, to look at sea turtle mortality rates before and after regulations were put on fisheries to reduce bycatch. Wallace said Duke students can aid marine conservation efforts through acting as “empowered and enlightened consumer[s].” “[For example,] carry a reusable bag around. Don’t use disposable plates and cups,” he said. “Even though sea turtles and marine life in general might seem like a far-off thing.... As consumers, they have a lot of say in the human practices that affect sea life and turtles.”
6 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
PATENTS from page 3 inventors, the patent reform will ensure that quicker, more quality patents will come out of the office.” Of the changes the legislation makes, Wagner noted the transition from a “first to invent” to a “first to file” system is the most significant for Duke innovators. This change means that patents will be awarded based on the date they were filed and not on the date that inventions were created, which Wagner said will put Duke and other universities on a more equal playing field with the rest of the world. “Everything now is based on file date and the patent office will draw a clear line in the sand as to what that means,” he said. Because of this change, Wagner noted that it will be important for inventors at Duke to work with the patent office more quickly when filing applications. He said, however, that the University is prepared for the change. “Duke researchers and inventors have anticipated this for a while,” he said. “The patent office at Duke has been actively involved with professors.” Philip Benfey, Paul Kramer professor of biology and director of the Center for Systems Biology in the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, has applied for a patent on a method for regulating biomass in energy crops. He said he is not worried about any changes the act may create. “I don’t see [the bill] as having a major impact,” Kramer said. “It will relieve the necessity of keeping detailed records to prove when an invention was made.” Wagner said inventors who are unfamiliar with the process should talk to the patent office to ensure that they understand the changes. Researchers at Duke need to engage with the patent office earlier and
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more frequently now that this legislation has passed, he added. At the same time, Wagner said the patent laws may have made certain issues worse for scientists. He added that many innovators are uncertain about the bill’s logistics. “[Some inventors] aren’t exactly sure when their concept for an invention materializes into what is considered an actual invention by the patent office,” he said. Ultimately, Wagner said he believes that the bill’s overall effect will be positive. “Universities like Duke, which serve as the bedrock for our nation’s competitiveness, will look back at this legislation as being a cornerstone in changes in the research process,” he said. “We will see some great results.”
CERN from page 4 greatly affected by the data. “Einstein’s theories have been ground-breaking in physics and remain a cornerstone of our physics framework to this day,” he said. “Many everyday items we take for granted, from solar cells to GPS navigation devices, rely on Einstein’s theories and that will not change, so I highly doubt that his legacy would be significantly impacted.” Junior Willie Zhang, a math and biophysics double major, said he thinks the results could change how physicists think of relativity. “If proven true, these results could have huge implications for Einstein’s theory,” he said. “Relativity deals with objects that possess mass moving through a vacuum, so these results would technically apply.”
6eet & reet
WITH THE NEW HINDU CHAPLAIN,
Wsha Kaj Usha Raj is Duke’s new Hindu chaplain, one of just a few in the U.S! A professional social worker for many years, Usha is excited to help Duke students engage Hinduism on their own terms, be it spiritually, intellectually, culturally, or through service. Come meet her, eat some chaat, and get involved!
September 27th 7:30pm McClendon 5th floor REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
NURSING from page 1 the student body is 750, which the school slightly exceeded this year. In 2004, the school offered a Master of Science in Nursing program and the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a graduating class of 32 students. Since then, DUSON developed a Ph.D. and Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and the ABSN class expanded to 220 students, she said. “In the early years, we needed to grow and then stabilize that growth,” Gilliss said. “We now have 766 students. What we want to do now is to really focus on not growing but... developing excellence in all those programs.” The slightly larger than desired student population has not impeded DUSON’s students from achieving important distinctions, such as earning research funding and winning merit scholarships. Gillis noted that the 2011 graduates of the ABSN program had a 100 percent pass rate on the basic licensing exam, following a trend of “astoundingly high” pass rates over the past several years. She also commented on positive developments in summer 2011, such as the $15 million donation to the school by J. Michael Pearson, Trinity ’72, and a recent jump in DUSON’s academic rankings. These developments have important ramifications for the school’s ability to develop, Gilliss said. “Everybody knows about number seven,” she said, referring to the school’s placement in the nursing school rankings. “[Duke’s Board of] Trustees themselves really do key into the U.S. News and World Report rankings.... We are demonstrating to the Trustees and others that we are good stewards of their resources, and clearly our ascent has been rather significant.” During last weekend’s meeting, the Board of Trustees approved permission to plan a new wing for the Pearson Building, so the school may now search for architects to design a roughly 40,000 sq.-foot addition to the school.
HOUSING from page 1 Benning said he expects criticism from the student body, but he does not plan to entertain conversations about self-segregation. He added that any student, regardless of race, would be able to live in the house. “We will emphasize that this is a living group for black culture, not just black people,” Benning said. “Just by our knowledge of the demographics of the [African and African American Studies] department, it’s not just black people with an interest for black culture.” It is unclear whether or not the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the umbrella group for Duke’s eight historically African-American fraternities and sororities, will apply for houses. Executive members of NPHC could not be reached for comment Monday. Gonzalez said the benefits of cultural living groups far outweigh any possible costs. “It seems like [cultural living groups] could potentially be an option that doesn’t exist now but might provide a very appealing community for some students,” Gonzalez said. “I’m anxious to see what applications do come forward by the end of the week. There’s a little more interest than I expected [for new SLGs,] but these could be neat additions to the community.” Gonzalez added that he had several conversations with these groups last year and is not surprised that they are considering applying for housing. The Inter-Greek Council, which represents multicultural fraternities and sororities at Duke, also plans to apply for housing, IGC President Xiao Zhu, a senior, wrote in an email Monday. He said the organization will most likely apply for an IGC house—
This could be in place by Fall 2013, pending further approval from the Board, Gilliss said. Priorities for the current academic year include a focus on excellence, strengthening evaluation, development and space planning. Gilliss noted that the school also plans to work more closely with the Pratt School of Engineering to develop curriculum options for design and entrepreneurship. Marilyn Lombardi, director of academic and strategic technologies at DUSON, said intensive collaboration with other schools is a new venture for DUSON, but doing so will promote the mission of the school. “[The goal is to] bring them together and see how we can design more efficient, more thoughtful, more intuitive, more patientfriendly environments and better patient outcomes,” she said. Additionally, DUSON may be active in Duke Kunshan University in China. Professor Bei Wu, a gerontologist at DUSON, has extensive experience with Wuhan Univesity, Duke’s legal partner school in China. In July, President Richard Brodhead signed an agreement between the Wuhan School of Public Health, the Duke Global Health Institute and the Duke School of Nursing, The Chronicle reported July 1. DUSON is looking into the possibility of holding conferences in Kunshan for the Chinese medical community and is considering developing research on issues such as how to treat chronic diseases among China’s aging population, Gilliss said. With goals and initiatives for the upcoming school year in mind, Gilliss said DUSON students—marked by their leadership, innovation and myriad skills—will continue to graduate from DUSON as positive contributors to the health care system. “When our graduates leave this place, they understand how to function effectively in an interdisciplinary environment, and that’s critical to the future of health care,” she said. “It’s going to be delivered by teams of people, and they have to know how to work together.” as opposed to houses for each of the seven chapters—because the chapters are small, and many members desire greater IGC unity and awareness. “If IGC chapters were centralized to a residential space on campus, it would greatly aid in visibility and awareness of the IGC, which is currently lacking,” Zhu said. Asian Student Association President Derek Mong, a junior, wrote in an email Monday that ASA is evaluating the prospects of applying for a house but will make a final decision after talking with ASA’s executive board and Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education. Nowicki could not be reached for comment Monday. Sophomore Betsy Santoyo, co-president of Mi Gente—Duke’s Latino student association—wrote in an email Monday that the organization is also considering applying for a house but will attend Tuesday’s house model information session before making a final decision. Gonzalez said he believes there will be enough space in the house model to accommodate these groups if they apply, especially because the House Model Committee will be meeting this week to allocate more space to selective living groups in light of Panhellenic Association’s recently announced plans to apply for space. One of the issues that may come into play when deciding whether or not a cultural group is granted housing is its ability to fill all of the beds in a house, Gonzalez said. He added that the original plan for designating space for SLGs on West and Central campuses—originally planned to be a random process—may be changed if cultural groups apply for housing. “I think we still have to figure out what’s the best way to move forward with specific populations,” Gonzalez said.
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Grading Duke’s performance Saturday in its rout of Tulane. Check out a full analysis of men’s basketball recruiting in the Blue Zone.
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WOMEN’S SOCCER
Cobb emerges as nation’s top freshman by Vignesh Nathan THE CHRONICLE
Kelly Cobb comes to Durham from Chugiak, Alaska, and for the first time in years, the No. 4 Blue Devils are ranked higher than their rivals down Tobacco Road. Any statistics professor will tell you not to mistake this correlation for causation, but one cannot help but wonder. After all, the freshman leads the team in points, by a margin of 10, goals, by a margin of three, and assists. She ranks first nationally with five game-winning goals, and places in the ACC’s top-10 in almost all offensive categories, quickly becoming one of the most decorated freshmen in the country. It might come as a surprise, then, that soccer was not her first love. “As a kid, I started out with a million sports—ballet, tap dancing, gymnastics and ice skating,” Cobb said. “Then, around age eight, I finally started soccer. From there, I kind of stuck out from everybody else.” The driving force behind her growth as a soccer player was her father, Gardner. A local sheriff and a former football player at the University of Cincinnati, Gardner knew the discipline and persistence required to become a Division-I athlete. “My dad had an extensive background in sports,” Cobb said. “He knew what it takes to get to this level. He was instrumental in my growing and becoming successful.” Like most other parents, Gardner was at all of his daughter’s soccer games, cheering Kelly on. He took his paternal duties to a new level, however, when he started bringing his own video camera to tape her games and practices. Her night was never over after she took off her cleats—she had to review the tape with her dad first. He also pushed his daughter to practice above and beyond what her coaches would schedule. “She would do club soccer practices, and go to her father and he would do additional practices with her. He was Kelly’s biggest supporter,” Chugiak High School head coach Paul Brehmer said. “He organized her after-practice sessions. When she was younger, he hunted around for the CHRIS DALL/THE CHRONICLE
Freshman Kelly Cobb, who head coach Robbie Church calls a “pure goal-scorer,” ranks third in the ACC with 22 total points.
fromstaffreports Blue Devils lose defensive stopper Defensive end Kenny Anunike tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee and will miss the rest of the 2011 campaign, head coach David Cutcliffe announced today. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kenny as he recovers from yet another unfortunate injury,” Cutcliffe said in a press release. “He was obviously off to an excellent start this season, and we’ll miss his production and leadership on the defensive front.” The redshirt junior was a dominant force on the Duke defensive line during the first three games of the season, recording four sacks. He also amassed 15 tackles—including 5 for a loss—and caused one fumble. Gray earns ACC player of the week award Junior middle blocker Christiana Gray was named ACC volleyball player of the week after recording 24 kills and nine blocks in Duke’s two conference wins over the weekend.
The Carmel, Ind., native was especially clutch in Saturday’s matchup with Clemson, which sported the longest fifth set in the NCAA’s rally scoring era. She had 17 kills at a .438 clip, spurring the Blue Devils to a victory. Gray sports Duke’s highest kill percentage, .314, of any player with more than 30 attempts. She also has a teamleading 44 blocks on the year. Wenger honored for second-straight week Junior forward Andrew Wenger was named to the TopSoccerDrawer.com men’s college team of the week after scoring four goals and recording two assists in two games. In his first collegiate season playing forward, Wenger is tied for the national lead in points with 23—17 in the past three games alone—having posted ten goals and three assists on the season. The Blue Devils take on Presbyterian Tuesday before taking on No. 6 North Carolina in Chapel Hill Friday.
SEE COBB ON PAGE 8
Fans will follow a successful program Is it just me, or did Wallace Wade Stadium seem a little empty Saturday afternoon? Whether it was the busy Homecoming schedule, threat of rain, or sign of protest against new Football Gameday policy, attendance dipped to pre-Cutcliffe levels Saturday as only 20,138 people witnessed Duke’s victory over Tulane. Ryan Despite the best efforts of top administrators to inspire a culture change around the football program, the stadium figures were a disheartening reminder of the Ted Roof era. In the former coach’s final year, the program attracted an average of only 20,064 per game for the entire 2007 season. One year later, the Blue Devils benefited from Cutcliffe-Mania and a renewed sense of faith in Duke Football, increasing attendance by 43 percent to 28,727 fans. The average at-
Claxton
tendance figure has stayed relatively constant since, dipping slightly in 2009 before settling at 28,750 last season with an assist from a visit by then-No. 1 Alabama. The Blue Devils entertained 32,741 guests at this season’s opener against Richmond, effectively filling 96 percent of Wallace Wade Stadium. One week later against Stanford, however, not even Andrew Luck could buoy ticket sales as only 24,785 fans—many in Cardinal red—watched Duke compete with the then-No. 6 team in the country. Then came Homecoming. An event steeped in tradition and pride in the University brought with it the old tradition of indifference toward Blue Devil football, and attendance at Wallace Wade continued its first major slide in the Cutcliffe Era. So the question remains, how can the program boost the attendance numbers again? Just win, baby, win—all the way to a bowl. SEE CLAXTON ON PAGE 8
8 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
THE CHRONICLE
COBB from page 7
CLAXTON from page 7
right club teams for her to be on.” As a result of her father’s diligence, Cobb started to stand out more and more among her peers. And due to her rare combination of size and speed, she developed a reputation for being able to find the back of the net. Kelly found her calling early as a center striker, and never changed. “When she was younger, you try to get all of the players to try all of the positions. But from a pretty young age, she liked to be a forward, take the ball and score,” Brehmer said. “She was the most dangerous player we had on the team. She tried different midfield positions, but her job on the team never changed. She was always in charge of attacking the goal and scoring.” Cobb’s talent never showed any signs of diminishing. She went from being a 12-year-old playing in a 14-year-old league to representing the United States with the U-20 National team in Spain merely five years later. In her free time, she also starred on her high school and club teams. In 15 games as a senior, she recorded 22 goals for Chugiak High School, leading the program to its first Region IV championship in school history. At the close of the season, she garnered Alaska’s Gatorade Player of the Year honors. Her skills, predictably, caught the eyes of Duke head coach Robbie Church. In a recruiting battle that included other giants such as North Carolina and Notre Dame, Cobb eventually decided to take her talents to Durham. While here, the freshman is not taking anything for granted. Although she has the potential to go pro, she wants a degree that will prepare her for her other professional aspiration—nursing. “My number one [reason for choosing Duke] is academics,” Cobb said. “I am getting a really good education. That degree is really important to me.” And the Blue Devils could not be happier call her one of their own. Her ability to put points on the board has transformed Duke into a national contender. In her favorite goal of her fledgling Duke career, she scored the game-winner against then-No. 1 Notre Dame in an upset that caught the nation’s attention. “[Cobb] fills a role that the Duke program has been lacking in the past few years, a pure goal-scorer,” Church said. “We’re extremely grateful to have her.”
Of the 30 teams that saw an average attendance increase of 2,000 people or more from 2009 to 2010, 17 of those teams went to a bowl game after the 2009 season. Of those 17, five had not gone to a bowl the previous year and saw an average attendance increase of 3,922 fans per game. Could it really be possible to have nearcapacity crowds for every game in Wallace Wade Stadium? Could Cutcliffe, with his football wisdom, pull ticket sales up by 10,000 fans in just five years? Absolutely. Heck, Florida International did it in one! And that was even before they went to a bowl game. The Blue Devils will pay a visit this weekend to a real Cinderella story that has had stunning success with attendance in recent years. The Golden Panthers got their start as a program in 2002, then joined what was then Division I-A and the Sun Belt Conference in 2005. Current head coach Mario Cristobal came to the program in 2007, following a series of NCAA sanctions that forced Florida International to vacate a total of 10 wins from the 2003, ’04, and ’05 seasons. Playing in the shadow of the powerhouse Miami Hurricanes, the Golden Panthers ranked 119 out of 120 Division I-Bowl Subdivision teams in attendance for the 2009 season, when an average of just 10,204 fans came to watch the team go 3-9. Despite an 0-4 start in 2010, though, Cristobal led Florida International on a magical run to a 6-6 overall record and a conference championship, which earned the Golden Panthers a trip to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, where they beat Toledo. The bandwagon took off along the way, and FIU Stadium averaged 19,808 fans per game— exceeding the stadium’s capacity of 18,000. The increase of 9,604 fans per game was good for seventh in the country. Granted, Florida International plays in a small conference that has allowed it to find quick success. But after nearly doubling attendance in one year with no marquee opponents on the schedule, the Golden Panthers are a prime example of the best way to put people in seats on Saturday afternoons—winning. With the Blue Devils recovering to a 2-2 record, Duke is already ahead of Florida International’s 2010 precedent. If the Blue Devils can maintain pace and reach that magical sixth win, dreams of a capacity crowd in Wallace Wade Stadium for Homecoming 2012 may not be as farfetched as they seem.
CHRIS DALL/THE CHRONICLE
Kelly Cobb has helped lead Duke to an 11-1 start, its best open in program history.
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Admitting the truth Though largely unproduc- attempted to shift its image tive and somewhat obnoxious, away from that of a fun, athletthe melodrama surrounding ics-centric school to one that Duke’s dip in U.S. News and emphasizes scholarship and World Report’s college rankings serious learning. Although raises questions about how the this push has seen progress, University attracts and selects Duke’s identity remains ill-deapplicants. Cenfined. editorial tral among these Given the stands the quessuccess of tion of institutional identity. schools with conspicuous idenIn some sense Duke has tities, like Brown University, in always suffered from an iden- improving selectivity and contity crisis. Although the phrase sistently achieving high yields, “work hard, play hard” inevita- launching a renewed effort bly slips itself into discussions to craft a well-defined and auof Duke’s character, not only thentic image could magnehas the vagueness and over- tize Duke, giving the country’s use of the slogan rendered it college-ready high schoolers almost meaningless—it fails something to connect with to capture the true dynamism and hold on to as they shuffle and scholarship of our cam- through the fast-paced and pus. The University has long highly competitive admissions recognized the deficiency of process. And Duke has much this uninspiring tagline, and, to boast about. Beyond excepbeginning as early as 1993, has tional academic opportunities
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What is natural about a pavilion where there are currently trees? This is upsetting. We must preserve the beautiful landscape that makes our campus so distinct. —“deepthroat” commenting on the story “BOT approves first Baldwin renovations.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
LETTERS POLICY The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.
and exciting athletics, Duke offers unique opportunities to engage with professors and participate in service projects; it provides resources for individualized study; and it fosters an electric atmosphere of constant change and progress. Despite the University’s success in these areas, even a genuine attempt to describe Duke’s distinguishing features devolves into a recitation of platitudes found on the admissions pamphlets for pretty much every school but Warren Wilson College. Indeed, distilling from Duke’s myriad character traits a succinct but comprehensive image presents a considerable challenge. But if Duke wishes both to promote the most valuable aspects of its community and to recruit students who embody its institutional values, it must define the character of
the University and clearly communicate that to prospective students. We commend Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag for recognizing both the importance and limitations of this task, and encourage him and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to continue exploring ways to present genuinely the value of a Duke education to applicants. Although promoting a distinguishing image remains within the means of admissions officers, understaffing precludes the office from sculpting applicant pools into nuanced and well-rounded classes. Overburdened with an ever-increasing number of applicants from year to year, the admissions staff no longer has time to read applications with the scrupulous attention
of previous cycles and cannot ensure that admitted students will form a composite body that reflects university values— or even that the school admits students likely to matriculate. To ease the reading burden, the admissions office should explore ways to make a fast but fair initial cut. We recognize the difficulty in reconciling efficiency with fairness, however, and do not suggest sweeping cuts that omit considerations of extenuating factors in an application. Additionally, we advocate that the University hire more admissions staff. The financial burden of additional readers may be high, but if increased attention to applications improves matriculation and produces a more engaged student body, then no cost is too great.
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I
’m going to start out by making a bold, simple With this in mind, instead of explaining the exassertion, the type of thing I’m allowed to say tent to which the Buffett Rule is practically wise, because I’m just a student and not a politi- I’ll attempt to engage with you on a higher plane. cian: Many Americans are underI’ll assert that the nation’s wealthy taxed. At federal and state levels, should be funding more of our some of the things that have been public expenditures, because they on the table for cuts in the past few are those who have benefitted most years have been staggering. Should from the great American experiwe really be considering laying off ment. teachers, cutting funds to programs How much money would our nathat provide healthy food to lowtion’s hyper-wealthy make if in 1956 income mothers or even defunding the nation hadn’t spent $114 billion elena botella equipment that helps us track hurdollars (equal to $425 billion in tohead-to-head ricanes? We’re talking about slashday’s dollars) needed to build the democrat ing education, basic preventative interstate highway system, ensurpublic health measures, scientific ing that goods, services, employees research—important public expenand ideas could make it all the way ditures that have underlain all of our nation’s around our country? growth to date. How much money would our nation’s hyperBush lowered taxes irresponsibly, without ask- wealthy make if our country’s corporations ing where the money would come from to invest couldn’t hire highly talented workers out of great in our nation’s most important priorities. We’re go- U.S. public schools, or private schools supported ing to have to be more responsible about revenue by federal funding? collection—we could reduce the projected 2015 How much money would our nation’s hyperdeficit by $46 billion just by returning estate, capi- wealthy make if researchers supported by the fedtal gains and income taxes to Clinton-era levels. It’s eral government hadn’t developed the radio telealso time for us to think carefully about how bulky phone links that underlie the modern cellphone and complex our tax code is. Given the number or, god-forbid, if federal government researchers of reforms so desperately needed, we should think hadn’t invented the Internet? How much money carefully about what overarching principles should would they be able to make if the U.S. government guide our redesign of the American tax structure. hadn’t undergone the truly massive and ambitious The Buffett Rule, proposed by the Obama Admin- tasks of bringing clean water and electricity into istration, is one of the most important. Americans’ homes? Rather than a specific policy, the Buffett Rule How much money would our nation’s hypersays all tax reform should occur under the guide- wealthy be able to hold on to if not for local, state line that the effective tax rate for millionaires and federal law enforcement? What would they should never be lower than that faced by middle- do without our nation’s courts to enforce their class Americans. It is not meant to be a panacea business contracts? How could they make money for all of the problems in our tax code—it is just on Wall Street without protections against fraud, one of five principles that Obama suggests—but insider trading and other corrupt practices that nevertheless, this principle should not be miss- would make our financial markets collapse onto ing from our future policy discussions. Some of themselves? the specific proposals offered include limiting the When wealthy (and ordinary) Americans rely total amount that very wealthy Americans could so much on the infrastructure laid out by the govtake in exclusions and deductions, allowing the ernment, it is impossible to tease out how much 2001 and 2003 high-income tax cuts to expire, of the wealth they’ve “earned,” versus how much increasing the estate tax and changing how car- wealth should be fairly attributed to the existence ried profits are taxed—with all of the suggested of a government big enough to make sure we do raises beginning to take place in 2013. Because have access to education, that we can do busithe wealthiest Americans control so much of our ness knowing that contracts will be enforced. Any nation’s wealth, we cannot solve our nation’s rev- wealthy American who believes he deserves all of enue crisis without raising their taxes. Though it is the money that Barclay’s Wealth is watching for easy to attack the Buffett Rule for not being more him is deluded. We need a Buffett Rule to shatter “concrete,” that really misses the point—the Buf- that delusion. fett Rule is a philosophy that should guide our nation’s decisions, and it is that philosophy that I’m Elena Botella is a Trinity junior and the co-president of here to defend. Duke Democrats. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
THE CHRONICLE
When religion becomes a curse
Smoke and mirrors
T
he political theatre is not new to snake-oil swindles and chicanery, but the so-called “Buffett Rule” puts all other cheap tricks to shame. Not only will the Buffet Rule have a negligible impact on the financial direction of the nation, it will reduce incentives for investment and distract from the United States’ greater issues like fiscal mismanagement and overspending. In order to grasp the impliwilliam reach cations of the Buffet Rule, one head-to-head must first understand the difference between income tax republican and capital gains tax. The current income tax system in the United States divides taxpayers into specific income brackets with corresponding tax rates. The more an individual makes per year, the greater the percentage at which he or she is taxed. For example, a tractor-trailer driver would pay 25 percent of a $45,000 salary in federal taxes, whereas a businessman would pay 33 percent on the $175,000 he earned. The businessman would give a third of his income to the federal government while the truck driver would only give a quarter. Income tax acts as a threshold: Almost everyone pays income tax, but those who earn more also hand over a greater proportion of their income. Consequentially, the top 1 percent of earners paid 38.02 percent of income tax collected in 2008—a clear indicator that everyone in American society helps pay their fair share. Like the income tax, capital gains tax also targets how much money individuals make. Investors who earn more than $34,500 who make a long-term profit in the stock market are subject to a 15 percent tax rate on their earnings, with taxes on short term gains potentially even higher. Unlike income tax, not everyone must pay capital gains—only those who choose to further place their money in the economy must pay. Capital gains tax is applied to money which has already survived the income tax, making it a tax upon a tax and thereby punishing those who invest their wealth in the American economy. President Obama’s new misguided plan seeks to raise the maximum tax rate on capital gains for individuals who make over $1 million, ostensibly designed to help fill our country’s gaping deficit. There would be some merit in the proposal if the Buffet Rule could appreciably raise revenue; unfortunately it would not. According to The New York Times, the plan would only increase taxes on 60,000 people and raise approximately $13 billion, barely a drop in the bucket. Even worse, revenue raised by the Buffett Rule would take money directly out of the United States’ fragile money markets. According to Eric M. Jackson, a former PayPal executive and current CEO of CapLinked, President Obama’s plan is much more of a bane than a boon to tech start-ups. Startups that require large amounts of capital rely on “angel” investors, who make high-risk investments into capital-hungry startups. Jackson states, “It is investments from these kinds of individuals that have been the seed money for popular technology companies such as Facebook, PayPal, YouTube, Yelp and many others.” The Buffett rule threatens to stymie startup investment, removing precious capital directly from the economy. Worst of all, the Buffett Rule is reframing the political debate about fiscal responsibility, and diverts attention from more important issues like entitlement reform and cutting waste. Take, for example, the White House Council of Economic Advisors’ seventh quarterly report on the stimulus, which concluded that each job created by the $787-billion spending package cost the taxpayers $278,000. Or the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund’s discovery that it mistakenly paid $600 million to deceased beneficiaries over the past five years. Even purchasing breakfast supplies seems too much for government to handle.... The Department of Justice spent almost half a million dollars on refreshments alone for 10 conferences held throughout last year. There are easy, painless steps the White House and Congress can take to steer the United States away from the stormy seas of fiscal insolvency. Raising capital gains taxes is not one of them. In the end, the Buffett Rule is little more than a golden apple, a political bauble thrown to the American electorate to sow discord before election season. It is a gaudy sideshow that will do more harm than good, a distraction from substantive debate about our country’s economic future. William Reach is a Trinity junior and the president of Duke College Republicans. His column runs every other Tuesday.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 | 11
commentaries
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very summer, I seem to find a way to depress my- immediately pulled out my pocket Quran and extended self. Last summer I, together with seven other to him as I asked him to show me where in the Quran Muslim-American leaders, visited Nazi concen- says that! Through numerous similar encounters with tration camps in Poland and Germany these religious leaders, I was convinced where we witnessed the horrific legacy of that none of them could pass the graduthe Holocaust. This past summer, I spent ation exams in any divinity schools in the the first 10 days of Ramadan in AfghaniMuslim world. These Afghani religious stan. It was very painful to witness the leaders’ views and practices on women, bleeding wounds of Afghan society as a religious violence/extremism and nonresult of four decades of war and destrucMuslims, are the most painful ones. Detion. It is not very well-known fact here spite their troubling views, they are very in the U.S., but Afghanistan produced abdullah antepli powerful, and they have a captive audia heartless communist regime, a brutal ence in the mosques where they pretty theocracy, and went through the inva- the land of delights much run the whole show in the area of and wonders sions by two superpowers and numerous religion with no real competition. other calamities in one person’s lifetime. I have been constantly reflecting I was primarily invited by the Afghanisince I left Afghanistan how come this stan Academic and Islamic Research Center (AAIRC) kind of horrible religious interpretation could resoled by an inspirational Muslim leader Mawlana Ataur- nate with so many people in Afghanistan? How can a rahman Saleem, who aims to spread and promote mod- beautiful religion, which sustains me and hundreds of erate and peaceful teachings of Islam through this or- millions of others, turn into something ugly, harmful ganization. I saw it clearly that this breath of fresh air and poisonous like that? I am getting increasing clarity, religious think-tank and saintly scholars behind it are up as I review my memories and notes over and over, that to mountainous tasks in Afghanistan because Islam, as it the answers to the questions are neither religious nor is understood and practiced by most Muslim scholars in political but pastoral and psychological. the country, has been nothing but a curse and has been I believe the real destruction took place in the menpulling the entire nation down. Religion clearly became tal and psychological worlds of Afghanis. As a chaplain, I a source of oppression, despair and destruction in the went through years of challenging but rewarding training hands of the Afghani religious leadership, which repre- in the area of mental health, especially in post-traumatic sents one of the most troubling interpretations of Islam. stress disorder (PTSD) recovery. Almost everyone I met in Afghanistan is a prime example of how religion can turn Afghanistan was revealing different levels of PTSD sympinto something destructive in a deeply broken society. toms. Many of them were in a constant state of grief beI travelled extensively in central and Northern Af- cause of what they had been through. Here in the U.S., we ghanistan during my 10 days. I gave several talks mainly just went through the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Remember to Ulama and met with government officials and repre- the amount of grief we Americans, rightly so, revealed in sentatives of various NGOs. Almost everyone I met in response to this one day of barbaric attacks which claimed the country complained and grieved about the worri- more than 3,000 lives? Undoubtedly, everyday was 9/11 for some reality of the role of religion and religious leader- Afghanis in the last 40 years or so. Generations grew up seeship. I was able to get my own “taste” of this grim reality ing nothing but bloodshed and murder. in my personal interactions with hundreds of religious This analogy is not an attempt to justify or even enscholars that I talked to. I was primarily dismayed how dorse what is going on in Afghanistan, but a humble uninformed and uneducated these people were in vari- appeal to empathize with these wounded people. Try ous Islamic Studies. It doesn’t take too much for any to walk in their shoes by comparing some of our similar learned Muslim to realize that these Muslim leaders wounds and hurt. I think our foreign, military and ecoactually know very little about Islamic theology, history nomic policies should be shaped by this kind of pastoand philosophy. Their training is limited to a very selec- ral approach. We should seek advice from various mentive and literalist approach filled and mixed with many tal health professionals and include them to our team troubling cultural and traditional practices. as we design our efforts towards Afghanistan. I think if A telling example: I was told that women are not al- we do not understand the scarred souls of Afghanis, we lowed to enter the mosques in Afghanistan. I honestly will continue to limit ourselves to militaristic or cheap shared my dismay and disapproval of this practice wher- economic solutions in our aid efforts to Afghanistan. ever I spoke. I challenged scholars to show me any Islam- Most of what we say will end up become blaming the ic justification for this practice. This upset many Ulama. victim and adding insult to their injuries. One of the leading ones in his defense of the practice Where am I going next summer? I don’t know but it said that there is a verse in the Quran that clearly says is really hard to beat Afghanistan. “women are incomplete in their rationale and in their religion.” He was referring to a controversial “hadith,” or Abdullah Antepli is the Muslim Chaplain and an ad“saying of the prophet,” which was said in a very specific junct faculty of Islamic Studies. His column runs every other context—thinking that it is a verse in the Holy Quran. I Tuesday.
lettertotheeditor An open letter to the Duke student body On Saturday, I attended the Duke football game to watch YOUR Duke Blue Devils defeat Tulane 48-27. As the Duke players and coaches ran on to the field before the game, I can only imagine their disappointment to see how few students were there to support the team. In fact, there may have been more Duke football players on the field than Duke students in the stands. What a pathetic showing by the Duke student body! You missed a great football game, by the way; it was a gritty and dominating performance by an enthusiastic, talented and proud group of young men. It is hard for me (and many other loyal Blue Devil fans) to understand how the same students who are willing to sleep outside in tents for weeks and weeks to watch a Duke game in Cameron are unwilling to cross Towerview Drive to watch a Duke game in Wallace Wade. Your fellow students on the
football team surely need and deserve the same rabid support you give those on the men’s basketball team. In fact, they might need it a bit more this year as the football team makes a run at a bowl bid! The next home football game is Saturday, Oct. 15 versus the Florida State Seminoles. I hope you will join me and many other Duke fans in Wallace Wade for this game. Get there early to cheer on your classmates as they run out of the tunnel, and stay until the final whistle to (hopefully) celebrate another Duke victory! Your support can turn the Duke student section into a true “12th man” advantage at Wallace Wade, just as you have done as the “sixth man” at Cameron. Go Devils! Kathy Cleaver, former Duke employee and current Duke parent
Ongoing Exhibitions The Life of Memorials. Thru Oct. 16. Perkins Library Gallery. Free.
Dance for the Camera Out Doors
Flesh and Metal, Bodies and Buildings: Works from Jonathan Hyman’s Archive of 9/11 Vernacular Memorials. Thru Oct. 16. Perkins Library Special Collections Gallery. Free. O’ Say Can You See. Thru Oct. 22. CDS Gallery. Free. The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists ReconďŹ gure the Signs of Power. Thru Dec. 31. Nasher Museum of Art. Free. Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection. Thru Jan. 8, 2012. Nasher Museum of Art. Free.
Events - Sept. 28 - Oct. 10 September 28 Author Event. Jeff Sharlet on his new book. Sweet Heaven When I Die. Part of the Documentary Writing Series at the Center for Documentary Studies. 7pm. Center for Documentary Studies. Free. Immersed in Every Sense Lecture Series. Artist talk by visiting artist Clement Valla titled Original Copies. Reception to follow. 6pm. FHI, Smith Warehouse, Bay 4, Room C105-Garage. Free.
Friday September 30 @ 7:30 PM
September 29 Piano Master Class with Shuann Chai. 5pm. Nelson Music Room. Free.
Duke University, East Campus Quad
September 30 Guest Recital: Shuann Chai, pianist. Works by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Liszt. 8pm. Nelson Music Room. Free.
(across from Wilson Dorm)
Doxita 4: Inside/Outside. Season 4 of this traveling festival of documentary ďŹ lms under 40 minutes in length, presenting ďŹ lms from Italy, Germany, the U.S., and Slovakia. 7pm. Center for Documentary Studies. Free.
2AIN LOCATION 4HE !RK %AST #AMPUS
3EE AN ECLECTIC ARRAY OF DANCE lLMS AND WORKS CREATED BY $UKE DANCE STUDENTS
October 1 Woodwind Master Class with Windscape. 12pm. Nelson Music Room. Free. Music Lecture. Michael Long. “How Josquin Sounded: An Exercise in Musical Anthropology.â€? 11am. Room 101 Biddle Music Bldg. Free. Faculty Recital. Elizabeth Byrum Linnartz, soprano, and David Heid, piano. If Music Be the Food of Love: works by Purcell, Schubert, Rossini and spirituals arranged by African-American composers. 8pm. Nelson Music Room. Free. October 3 Annual 2011 BeneďŹ t Gala: Changing the Game. Coach Mike Krzyzewski changed the game for basketball; the Nasher Museum is changing the game for museums! Join Coach K and the Duke Basketball team! Tickets: www.nasher.duke.edu/gala. Exhibition Reception. Opening celebration for the traveling exhibit “I Have No Right to Be Silentâ€?: The Human Rights Legacy of the Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer. 5:30pm. Goodson Chapel, Divinity School. Free. October 4 Exhibition Reception. A solo show featuring Daylight/CDS Photo Awards Project Prize winner Tamas Dezso and a group exhibition featuring Work-in-Process Prize winner David Pace along with Jurors’ Pick winners in both categories. Thru. Dec. 22. 6-8pm. Free. October 5 Duke Symphony Orchestra. Harry Davidson, dir. A Beethovenian ‘Triple’ Play, with Hsiao-Mei Ku, violinist, Darrett Adkins, cellist, and Cicilia Yudha, pianist. 8pm. Reynolds Theater. Free.
&2%% AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Ariel Dorfman: Feeding on Dreams. Dorfman reads from his new memoir. 4pm. Gothic ReadinG Rm, Perkins Library. Free. October 6 Panel Discussion: The Life of Memorials. Student members of Team Kenan talk about the exhibit. 5pm. Rare Book Room, Perkins Library. Free.
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Duke Wind Symphony. Verena MĂśsenbichler-Bryant, dir. Of Seas and Storms: works by Grainger, Sousa, McBeth, R. Williams, Whitacre, and others. 8pm. Reynolds Theater. Free. First Thursday. Gallery talk by Sarah Schroth, Nancy Hanks, Senior Curator, on Land and Sky in the Nineteenth Century. 5:30pm, cash bar; 6pm, gallery talk. Nasher Museum of Art. Free.
Bring YOUR OWN BLANKET
October 8 Duke University String School. Dorothy Kitchen, dir. 3pm: Beginning Ensembles & Intermediate I. 7pm: Intermediate II & DUSS Youth Symphony Orchestra. Reynolds Theater. Free.
Screen Society
Program Includes: s Flying Lesson (USA) s Ebony Goddess (Bahia, Brazil) s The Mysteries of Nature (South Korea) s The Cost of Living (UK) s 3TUDENT WORKS BY $ANIKA -ANSO "ROWN
3ARAH -C#AFFREY AND ,ILA 4HORNTON
10/3 Of GODS AND MEN (8pm) French Film Series: ‘Global France’ 10/4 TODAY’S SPECIAL (G) (8pm, W) Muslim Diaspora Film Series 10/5 I AM SOMEBODY + WANDA (8pm, W) Future of the Feminist 70s http://ami.duke.edu/screensociety/schedule
Arts
0RESENTED BY $UKE 5NIVERSITY $ANCE 0ROGRAM AND 0ROGRAM IN THE !RTS OF THE -OVING )MAGE %VENT #OORDINATOR !NDREA % 7OODS 6ALDĂ?S $UKE 5NIVERSITY $ANCE 0ROGRAM
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This message is brought to you by the Center for Documentary Studies, Duke Chapel Music, Duke Dance Program, Duke Performances, Duke Music Department, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Department of Theater Studies, and William R. Perkins Library with support from OfďŹ ce of the Vice Provost for the Arts.
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!LL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC 5NLESS OTHERWISE NOTED SCREENINGS ARE AT PM IN THE 'RIFlTH &ILM 4HEATER "RYAN #ENTER . .ASHER -USEUM !UDITORIUM 37 3MITH 7AREHOUSE "AY # 7 2ICHARD 7HITE !UDITORIUM
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