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
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2011
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 28
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
Bryan Center evacuated for bomb threat
31 DUKE FIU 27 THE GREAT ESCAPE by Jacob Levitt
by Lauren Carroll
THE CHRONICLE
For years, the Blue Devils had an ugly reputation of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They were infamous for late-game collapses and losses in which they outplayed their opponent at every moment—except those that mattered. Duke did the opposite Saturday at FIU Stadium in Miami, coming back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win a nail-biter over Florida International, 31-27. “A couple of years ago when we get down ten to a real good team in the fourth quarter, we may get beat by 20,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “That’s a good sign and a good change.” FIU (3-2) racked up 568 total yards on offense—186 more than the Blue Devils—and held a six-minute advantage in time of possession. But despite being statistically dominated, the Blue Devils (3-2) made winning plays when they mattered most, scoring 14 unanswered points to end the game. While Duke did not gain as many total yards as the Golden Panthers, it did find plenty of success through the air. Quarterback Sean Renfree threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns
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TRACY HUANG/THE CHRONICLE
SEE FOOTBALL ON SW 4
The Bryan Center was closed for several hours Saturday, while police officials investigated a bomb threat. At approximately 9:30 a.m., two anonymous calls were made to McDonald’s and the Gothic Bookshop, claiming that there was a bomb somewhere in the Bryan Center, said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration and emergency response coordinator. The calls were immediately reported to the Duke University Police Department. After a thorough search, police officials confirmed that the building was safe. “Everyone responded really well and behaved very professionally,” Cavanaugh said. “Everyone believed this was a prank or a hoax, but we have to take each one of these seriously.” Soon after DUPD learned of the threat, officers dispatched to the Bryan Center to evacuate the building and secure its perimeters. Cavanaugh noted that about 100 students, employees and visitors were evacuated in approximately 15 minutes. The Bryan Center was reopened at approximately 1:20 p.m. Cavanaugh said DUPD collaborated with the Durham Police Department and the Raleigh Police Department for the search. Raleigh Police used a bomb-sniffing dog. DUPD is conducting an ongoing investigation to trace the origins of the anonymous
Duke running back Desmond Scott breaks a tackle midway through the Blue Devils’ comeback win over FIU. SEE BOMB THREAT ON PAGE 8
University erases deficit, endowment sees growth
C-2 bus catches on fire Friday by Anna Koelsch
by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
The University’s 2010-2011 financial statements show significant endowment growth and the elimination of the budget deficit Duke faced during the financial crisis. The University’s endowment grew 24.5 percent to $5.7 billion during the fiscal year, which ended June 30. The gains exceeded returns of a number of other top universities including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University, which reported increases of 21.4, 17.9 and 21.9 percent, respectively. The returns bring Duke closer to the $6.1 billion mark reported in 2008 before the financial downturn led to significant losses. The University’s other main financial achievement of the year was closing the gap
Duke wins Rod Myers invitational, SW 6
between its revenues and expenditures, Vice President for Finance Tim Walsh said. The administration’s effort to cut $100 million in costs is now largely complete. The Duke Administrative Reform Team, which originally aimed to eliminate the deficit in three years, has shifted its focus from actively cutting costs to monitoring the University’s expenditures, he added. The elimination of the $100 million deficit, combined with significant one-time events resulting in revenue, allowed Duke to bring in $53.8 million more than it spent last year. “Those are the best operating results we’ve had since 2006, which really reflects the successful rebalancing of our operating budget since the financial downturn,” Walsh said. “It has SEE BUDGET ON PAGE 4
BYTHENUMBERS
24.5 percent Growth of the endowment during fiscal year 2010-2011
53.8 million
Amount University profited during that time span
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Friday’s burning C-2 was not the first Duke bus to unexpectedly combust. A smoking C-2 bus parked at the West Campus bus stop near Few Quadrangle at approximately 3:30 p.m. Friday, said John Dailey, chief of the Duke University Police Department. Six people were riding the bus when it caught fire, Dailey said, though no one was injured. This is the third University bus to catch fire in six years. “We’re always worried about something happening to a bus, whether it’s a fire or something mechanical or something worse,” said Sam Veraldi, director of Parking and Transportation Services. “We’re going to continue on the normal path of inspection process.” The fire started because a piece of rubber had worn down in the bus motor, said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice
ONTHERECORD
“There are many gimmicks in the K-12 educational system and [the single-gender concept] may be one of them.” —Professor Jacob Vigdor on education. See story page 3
SEE BUS FIRE ON PAGE 8
Protesters speak out on Occupy Durham, Page 4