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
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
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