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, FEBRUARY 14, 2012
Students split on upcoming house model
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 97
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
Hays named new Divinity School dean
Puppy love
by Maggie Spini
by Ben Rakestraw THE CHRONICLE
THE CHRONICLE
Student feedback to a recent Duke Student Government survey reveals a lack of support for a proposed change to the house model set to begin Fall 2012. The survey questioned students about a DSG proposal that would give unaffiliated students the option to continue living with students from their freshman residence halls for the next three years. About 60 percent of respondents said they were neutral, opposed or strongly opposed to the implementation of the “continued communities” proposal. The survey was administered to 3,000 undergraduates in December and received a 38 percent response rate, garnering 1,139 responses. “After seeing the results of this survey, that about half of students oppose continuing communities, we’re investigating how to go through with it as a partial roll out,” said DSG President Pete Schork, a senior. Moving forward, DSG will consult with the student body on how best to address the “continued communities” proposal, as launching it in partial form poses logistical challenges, Schork said. He added that DSG has not yet made a decision to support or oppose continuing communities, though it is leaning toward opposing the proposal. Schork said the other results of the survey were not particularly surprising.
After a six-month national search, Richard Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, was selected to serve as dean of the Duke Divinity School. Hays was appointed to a full term as dean of the Divinity School after serving in that capacity for the past two years, the University announced Monday. Hays initially took on the role after former Dean Gregory Jones stepped down from the poRichard Hays sition in August 2010. Although Hays originally indicated that he did not want to be considered for the position, he said he recently changed his mind after discussing the future of the Divinity School with President Richard Brodhead. “We’re going to be engaged in the deep, sympathetic, critical and imaginative study of scripture and tradition,” Hays said. “My saying that is not an innovation—it’s a carrying forward of something that has been characteristic of the school. This is a terrific school, and I hope to continue to provide strong leadership.” Hays, who first came to the Divinity School as a professor in 1991, said he hopes the school will continue to thrive under his leadership
CAROLINE RODRIGUEZ/THE CHRONICLE
Flowers and baked goods were available on the Bryan Center Plaza Monday afternoon, courtesy of Duke PAWS, to raise money for local animal shelters.
SEE SURVEY ON PAGE 5
SEE HAYS ON PAGE 4
Conservative agenda may hurt Republicans at polls by Tiffany Lieu THE CHRONICLE
Voters may voice their frustration with state Republicans’ conservative agenda at the ballot box this May and beyond. news Since shifting to a Republican analysis majority in November 2010—the first in more than 110 years—the General Assembly has passed legislation stipulating substantial budget cuts from the education sector, resulting in state tuition hikes and social reform, such as the same-sex marriage amendment. Such an atypically conservative economic and social agenda may cause a backlash against state Republicans—and the presidential candidate—among younger voters in the upcoming elections. “Voters are feeling alienated,” said Katina Gad, a senior at North Carolina State University. “It has become an issue of class warfare where people of lower
The college basketball field is wide open, Page 7
Duke guitarist uses music as a therapy device
classes won’t be able to get the degrees they need to get ahead.” Many students feel that they are caught in the middle of a highly partisan battle between Republicans and Democrats and that the Republican Party is sacrificing public education for politics, Gad said. In response, many students are mobilizing and campaigning to encourage other students to vote against the Republican Party in the state and presidential elections. Although the Republican Party has received criticism from voters and Democratic legislators, the decisions passed by GOP are aimed toward one thing: balancing the state budget, said Jordan Shaw, communications director for state Speaker of the House Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg. “We made a pledge to balance the budget and that is exactly what we did,” Shaw said. “Folks have to remember
Wherever music therapist Tray Batson and his guitar go, the healing effects follow. Batson has been playing for patients at the Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center for two and a half years, offering the mellow sounds of his guitar to soothe many a frightened child—without using medications or producing side effects. Although no formal music therapy program currently exists at Duke, Batson has been hired on an ad hoc basis through grants and other types of philanthropic support, Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, professor of pediatrics and pathology, wrote in an email Feb. 9. The hospital also provides for musical
SEE CONSERVATIVES ON PAGE 6
SEE THERAPY ON PAGE 5
by Julia Ni THE CHRONICLE
ONTHERECORD
“Even a week after the ‘Duke Memes’ page went viral on Facebook, I’m still hooked. ” —Amanda Garfinkel in “Y u like Duke memes?” See column page 10
Duke falls to UCLA, Page 7