Mar. 15, 2012 issue

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 114

WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

DIM accepts insurance to aid patients

Four-year study details Duke social culture

by Danielle Muoio THE CHRONICLE

Duke Integrative Medicine is now accepting insurance in order to increase patient access.

Previously, all sessions with a physician at the alternative medicine center were paid through Medicare or paid out-of-pocket. An hour-long new patient appointment costs $380, an expense most cannot pay in today’s current economic situation, noted Isabel Geffner, the director of communications at DIM. Now, insurance will cover physician consultations, health psychology services and nutrition services at DIM. The decision to accept insurance was a response to both an increase in customer demand for these services and to expand the availability of integrative medicine services.

“This speaks so fundamentally to the mission and purpose of our work,” Geffner said.

“And as unusual as [integrative medicine] is, the care that we offer is care that belongs in the lives of everyone—it shouldn’t be exclusive to anyone.”

Duke Integrative Medicine treats patients with chronic complex conditions and patients looking for long-term health improvement. The 27,000 sq.-ft. medical center located on the Center for Living Campus assesses patients’ health holistically to recommend lifestyle changes and provide services

by Kelly Scurry and Julian Spector THE CHRONICLE

A recent study of Duke students has both confirmed and disproved several long-held suspicions about the nature of campus culture.

The Duke Social Relationships Project documents the student experience in personal, academic and social settings. The collaboration between Department of Psychology and Neuroscience researchers and the Office of Student Affairs draws on data collected from 4,225 students over

four years and demonstrates a variety of Duke experiences.

According to the research, more than one-third of students reported being in a committed—local or long-distance—longterm relationship, and single students indicated demand for more of a dating scene on campus. Academically engaged students reported a greater sense of belonging, higher levels of friendship quality and other positive factors. A small group of very heavy alcohol users also reported bustling social activity but less academic

engagement.

“One of the things that excites me about the research is the opportunity for those students who are at Duke to see that, whatever their norms or values are, there are other people here just like them,” said lead researcher Steven Asher, professor of psychology and neuroscience. “There’s no one dominant Duke culture, and we encourage students to celebrate that part of Duke that’s their Duke.”

SEE STUDY ON PAGE 10

SEE MEDICINE ON PAGE 4

Jaffe elected to American Academy of Arts and Letters From Staff Reports THE CHRONICLE

Stephen Jaffe, Mary and James H. Semans professor of music composition, will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in May. Jaffe is one of 10 new members to be inducted into the 250-person organization, according to a Duke news Stephen Jaffe release Wednesday. As a classical composer, Jaffe’s music has been featured at major concerts and festivals across the world, and Bridge Records has issued three discs of his music.

Pick up our NCAA Tournament supplement today!

“My first reaction to learning of this was complete surprise,” he said in the release. “This was followed by the still not-quite-believable realization that people are paying attention, not just to one work but to what you’ve been doing over a creative life! I am humbled to be in the company of such great artists, writers and composers—and looking forward to meeting some of those whose books I have read, or whose buildings I have marveled at and to having some great conversations.”

The academy is charged with sustaining an interest in literature, music and the fine arts by supporting individual artists. Induction into the academy is SEE JAFFE ON PAGE 10

Panel discusses impact of activist film ‘Kony 2012’ by marianna jordan THE CHRONICLE

Duke students, administrators and professors alike are engaging in conversation about the impact the viral video “Kony 2012” is having on campus.

“Kony 2012” is a film and campaign produced by Invisible Children, Inc.— an organization that aims to end the violence and use of child soldiers in Uganda.

The film targets Joseph Kony, head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militia in Northern Uganda that has had reports of child solders, child sex slaves and cannibalism filed against it. The film gained more than 75 million views on YouTube and has seen a number of endorsements from both politicians and celebrities.

In an event Wednesday, several campus

ONTHERECORD

“Not having Facebook means I missed one of the greatest social movements of our time.”

—Mia Lehrer in “Congratulations! You saved Africa!” See column page 9

groups—including Duke Political Union and Coalition for a Conflict-Free Duke— came together with a panel of four administrators and professors to discuss reactions to the video’s message and popularity.

Eric Mlyn, executive director of DukeEngage and a panelist at the event, said this was the first international issue that he learned about from his son—a fact he believes characterizes the nature of this movement. He described that film as both incredibly powerful and well-made, which has contributed to the huge outcry of support that many Americans have expressed.

At this point, the controversy stirred by “Kony 2012” will not have any impact on SEE KONY ON PAGE 4

DSG embraces social media to address campus issues, Page 3

2 | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

THE CHRONICLE

worldandnation

Poll shows Republicans losing on Birth Control

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans overwhelmingly regard the debate over President Barack Obama’s policy on employer-provided contraceptive coverage as a matter of women’s health, not religious freedom, rejecting Republicans’ rationale for opposing the rule. More than three-quarters say the topic shouldn’t even be a part of the political debate.

More than six in 10 respondents to a Bloomberg National Poll — including almost 70 percent of women — say the issue involves health care and access to birth control, according to the survey taken March 8-11.

That conflicts with Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, who say Obama is violating religious freedom by requiring employers — including those with religious objections to birth control — to provide a way for women to obtain contraceptive coverage as part of their insurance plans.

“

Our passions are the true phoenixes; when the old one is burnt out, a new one rises from its ashes.

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

on the

web

FRIDAY:

TODAY:

8456

8060

onschedule at Duke...

Holocaust Survior Talks Perkins Library Rare Book Room, 4-5 p.m.

Rebecca Hauser, Holocaust Survivor, comes to Duke to speak about her memories about surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944-1945.

Resume Design Workshop Old Chemistry 01, 4:30-6 p.m.

This session covers the basics of formatting in Microsoft Word as well as time saving tips that make the document more readable.

Earthquake may have sunk Syrian protesters refuse Washington Monument to give up after one year WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Geodetic Survey has discovered that land on the Mall near the Washington Monument may have sunk by two millimeters, possibly as a result of August’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake. The study has just started and won’t be final for weeks.

BEIRUT — Syrians began taking to the streets in March last year to demand the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

Today, a year after the tentative first stirrings of what is becoming the Arab world’s bloodiest and most far-reaching revolt, whole cities are under siege.

Comics Creator Discusses Work Perkins Library Rare Book Room, 7-8 p.m.

John Porcellino, who has been creating minicomics, comics and graphic novels for over 25 years, discusses his work.

Wuthering Heights Film Screening Griffith Film Theater, 7-9 p.m.

This film presents a poor boy rescued from poverty and taken in by a family where he falls in love with his young foster sister.

For more events go to calendar.duke.edu

TODAY IN HISTORY 1965: Johnson calls for equal voting rights.

”

“By now, we’ve all heard of Jeremy Lin. Given our widely shared schema of an NBA player being a tall, black male who cruised through school on an athletic scholarship, here’s why: Lin is an AsianAmerican Harvard graduate with a degree in economics sans athletic scholarship.”

— From The Chronicle’s News Blog bigblog.dukechronicle.com

on the

calendar

Constitution Day Belarus

J.J. Robert’s Birthday Liberia

National Day Hungray AUDREY ADU-APPIAH/THE CHRONICLE

Former U.S. Army Chaplain James Yusuf Yee speaks of his experience ministering at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A Presentation of Undergraduate Research Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Bryan University Center

CALL FOR PAPERS ( (Poster Presentations)) Register by April 11, 2012

Registration now open at: http://undergraduateresearch.duke.edu/visible-thinking Presented by the Undergraduate Research Support Office

Buzzard Day United States

THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012 | 3

DUKE STUDENT GOVERNMENT

DSG takes to social media to fix Duke’s campus

by Patton Callaway THE CHRONICLE

Duke Student Government is considering ways for students to voice their campus concerns through tweets and texts.

After learning about the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s three programs—Fix My Room, Fix My Town and Fix My Campus—sophomore Patrick Oathout, senator for athletics, services and the environment, started a similar program that allows Duke students to contribute campus alerts through social media. Junior Michael Habashi, senator for student life; junior Brett Dinner; and Oathout created a centralized Fix My Campus for Duke.

TORI POWERS/THE CHRONICLE

Patrick Oathout, senator for athletics, services and the environment, speaks Wednesday about “Fix My Campus,” a social media initiative.

The website aggregates data from emails to fixmycampusdsg@gmail.com, any tweets with the trend #FixMyCampusDSG on Twitter and reports entered through the website fixmycampusdsg.crowdmap.com. A text message system and mobile application will soon be added to the program as well, Oathout said.

“We wanted to create an incubator in order to increase students’ ability to vocalize on their ideas and create a pipeline of those ideas that need further resources,” Dinner said.

As students use various types of social media, Fix My Campus establishes a central hub where all of their suggestions and concerns are ultimately sent and analyzed, regardless if the student submitted it via text, email, tweet, website or mobile application. The program produces a map showing the location and time of each report, and if multiple students report the same issue at a certain time, DSG can recognize the urgency of the issue.

Oathout said he recognized Duke’s need for Fix My Campus after meeting with members of UNC’s student government and learning about the organization’s programs. Back at Duke, he discovered that Dinner and Habashi had been working on a similar project in their class, PUBPOL 195S-30: “Moral Courage and Leadership” with Tony Brown, professor of the practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy.

“It’s a new outreach strategy that will help [DSG] focus less on idea generation and more on problem solving by asking students what they care about and what they want,” Oathout said. “It’s going to change how students think about issues and communicate them to DSG.” The Fix My Campus team will focus on marketing the program this Spring, so students will begin using it soon.

“The only way it can work is if a lot of people use it,” Oathout added. “We want to start generating enthusiasm now, so that coming into the next academic year, it’s a new and exciting project that everyone’s involved in.”

With DSG now involved, Oathout, Dinner and Habashi are seeking administrative involvement by encouraging

them to take advantage of the program and its data. If students voice concerns about administrative issues like curriculum, for example, the administration may recognize the issue after analyzing data.

“It will make us better problem solvers and revolutionize Duke,” Oathout said.

In other business: Freshmen Christine Schindler and Bret Lesavoy, both senators for Durham and regional affairs, proposed a budgetary statute for a service festival where service organizations from both Duke and Durham can connect to students. A variety of small-scale, hands-on service projects at the festival will allow students to participate in civic engagement while learning more about the various organizations. The Senate approved the statute unanimously.

Freshman Sachin Sharma, who represented the DSG press secretary council at the meeting, presented the council’s idea to encourage voter turnout on East Campus. The council suggests making participation rates of freshmen a competition among freshman residence halls to encourage voting. Under 50 percent of students voted in last year’s DSG election, so the Council hopes that creating a competition will spur students to participate in the voting process.

President Pete Schork, a senior, and senior Esosa Osa, vice president for residential life and dining, presented a revised proposal of potential amendments to DSG bylaw that would restructure the organization. DSG will have a first reading of the proposed amendments next week.

Join The Chronicle’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge! Visit sports. chronicleblogs.com for details. You must enter before noon today.

Jostens Ring Days Distinctive. Classic. Lasting.

Tuesday, March 13 - Thursday, March 15 10am - 4pm The University Store, Bryan Center, West Campus

Sponsored by Duke University Stores®

4 | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

THE CHRONICLE

KONY from page 1 the DukeEngage program in Uganda.

“The movement is not advocating any change in the status quo in Uganda because it is an effort to sustain Obama’s military intervention, not to end one,” Mlyn said in an interview.

Catherine Admay, visiting professor of public policy; Robin Kirk, director of the Duke Human Rights Center; and Stephen Smith, visiting professor of African and African American studies also served on the panel.

Responses to the movement and its delivery have been mixed, with many expressing their skepticism about the way the film depicts the conflict regarding Kony’s organization. Louisa Lombard, a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology, whose research focuses on the Central African Republic, said the film presents an overly simplified explanation of what is happening in northern Uganda and beyond.

“One reason why the video has been so popular is that it tells us about a really horrible problem and then tells us

that there is a simple solution,” Lombard said. “The message is somehow that if only Americans care, the problem will be solved and while this is attractive, it’s not necessarily that simple.”

Charlotte Lee, a freshman involved with the Coalition for a Conflict-Free Duke, is a supporter of the Kony 2012 campaign, noting that one should not distinguish between “good” and “bad” activism.

“People are promoting this without knowing the background, which is why it is getting so much slack, yet people are anti-Kony 2012 without knowing anything either,” Lee said. “Why is it bad that more people know about something like this?”

Other students said the goals of this movement are somewhat nebulous. “[This] is a really important dialogue to have, but I’m not necessarily sure—other than starting an Invisible Children chapter at Duke, which we don’t yet have—if there’s enough for students to grasp onto to start anything bigger,” said sophomore Stefani Jones, chair of the Coalition for a Conflict-Free Duke.

Jones noted that the Kony 2012 movement is proposing

a very simple message—to hang up posters and rally support using social media to talk to politicians and celebrities.

“This movement is propelling a very positive overall message, yet I don’t think that it’s the kind of thing that you can get a lot of people to stick with, because there’s not much to stick with,” she added.

Shilpi Kumar, a junior and co-director of dialogues for the Center of Race Relations, said that an answer to the conflict with Kony and the LRA will not be found on a college campus, though she noted that encouraging discourse, such as Wednesday’s panel discussion, is important.

“I don’t know if a Kony 2012 club would necessarily get much traction, but when you bring in a lot of different perspectives with a variety of organizations involved, you can really benefit,” Kumar said.

Smith said it is too early to tell whether the movement will continue at Duke, though precedents such as the Save Darfur movement might lend some insight.

“We need to ask ourselves what lessons there are to be learned by movements such as these,” Smith said. “It’s about being accountable for what you do and making your actions meaningful, whether they are successful or not.”

INSURANCE from page 1

DUKE MARINE LAB

TIML Th

is i s

MARIN

Bea E LAB

Biology 201LA (101L) Gateway to Biology: Molecular Biology.

N rt, ufo

C

NS, STS

Complete this biology GATEWAY COURSE at the Duke Marine Lab with Professor TOM SCHULTZ · · · ·

Small class size One-on-one attention Accessible professor Supportive learning environment

PLUS – Spend fall semester 2012 at the Duke Marine Lab and enroll in additional Biology, Environment, EOS and English courses, conduct Independent Research, travel to Panama over an extended fall break – and much more!

VIEW A COMPLETE LIST OF FALL COURSES AT

DUKEMARINELABFALL.NET

NICHOLAS SCHOOL OF THE

ENVIRONMENT

to treat illnesses or ailments.

Under the new terms, any insurance plan accepted at Duke Medicine—including the StudentBlue plan offered to Duke students through BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina—will be accepted at DIM to cover physician consultations and health psychology or nutrition services.

Physician consultations at the center take an assessment of the patient’s physical, emotional and spiritual health and establish long-term health goals for the patient. Some of the health psychology and nutrition services available include relaxation and stress management services to lifestyle management. Services such as massage therapy and acupuncture will still be paid for out-of-pocket.

LaWanna Bochert, guest services manager of DIM, said more patients have been signing up for their services after hearing that insurance will be accepted.

“By opening the door to various insurances, we are going to open our door to a completely different demographic of patients,” she said. “If we had kept on the same path they would not be able to come here because they couldn’t pay out of pocket.”

Bochert said that even programs that do not accept insurance have also seen an increase in patient turnout as a result of the policy change. Since more patients are coming to receive consultations covered by insurance, more hear about other services and want to sign up for those.

Integrative medicine is an important aspect to overall health care but is not currently used by a majority of the population. Once more people realize the benefits of the treatment, it will become a standard form of health care, Geffner added.

“There are many times less invasive and less expensive ways of managing so many of the most commonly shared chronic conditions in this country,” she said. “Until we can get the entire [health] system to recognize this, we are not going to transform health care—all we are going to do is treat the small number of people who recognize there are alternatives.”

The DIM program has been at Duke for 15 years, but the facility that houses its services opened in November 2006, Geffner added.

DIM Executive Director Dr. Adam Perlman, noted that there are 50 academic health centers in the country that have integrative medicine programs, but Duke is the only academic health center with an integrative medicine facility. Some of these centers take insurance, but most begin their programs only accepting Medicare and out of pocket payments. More health systems are moving toward better combining integrative medicine with other care programs, but he noted that the country is still working to find a financial model to support this new system.

“Because the visits are longer and it takes more time to do these assessments, we just felt we wouldn’t be able to realize the greater vision of Duke Integrative Medicine if we didn’t start taking insurance,” he said.

Despite the increase in overall patient care at DIM, the main benefit of the new policy proves to be the better environment patients can receive treatment in, Bochert added.

“Once you walk through the doors you immediately know you are in a healing environment,” she said. “The thing that is the most important is that everyone really believes in the mission of what we are doing here and that makes a huge difference.”

Recess

volume 13 issue 22 march 15, 2012

TRUFFULA TREECESS

WHERE THE GRICKLEGRASS GROWS Universal pictures brings the Dr. Suess classic to the big screen with mixed results

PAGE 6

CHELSEA PIERONI/THE CHRONICLE

bowerbirds

Raleigh folk trio back with another stellar release

PAGE 3

magnetic fields

tenth album lacks the heart of their best works

PAGE 3

lady in the red dress

Players Lab take on Yee’s sardonic tale

CENTER

recess

[EDITOR’S NOTE]

PAGE 2

T

amarindo is a beach town in northern Costa Rica, a country recently named one of the developing world’s 12 most ethical travel destinations by Ethical Traveler.

Ethical Traveler is either not very scrupulous, or they simply don’t share my code of ethics.

I spent spring break in Tamarindo and took a few occasions to record my thoughts. This account is almost totally unverifiable, but still: I couldn’t make this s**t up.

Mar. 11, 10:41 a.m.

The guy from the middle seat is standing behind me in the customs line in Miami. I wonder if he knows how long it’s been since I last showered. For the last two hours, I listened to him have an excruciating conversation with the girl in the window seat that touched, weirdly, on Duke basketball (middle seat guy thinks Seth Curry’s ego is detrimental to the team, bases argument on “the way he looks on the court”). I chose not to introduce myself.

My customs agent is a tan, thirty-ish guy named Richard. He has pretty clearly gotten more sleep than I have in the last 48 hours.

“What was the nature of your visit to Costa Rica?”

“Tourism.”

“...”

“I was on vacation. For spring break.”

“What happened to your face?” “...”

“You don’t know what happened to your face?”

“It’s a long story.”

Richard looks at me with sort of a what-can-you-do expression.

“Welcome to the United States, Mr. Green.”

Customs agents are good at stamping passports, which makes sense because they’re professional passport-stampers. Richard stamps my passport with remarkable authority. Every time I try to sling my backpack over my shoulder, I wince a little bit. The skin on my shoulders is dotted with little brown scabs and is highly sensitive to temperature. I don’t know what differentiates a first-degree burn from a second-degree one.

Mar. 7, 2:35 a.m.

I look out over the second floor balcony of the house we’ve rented for the week. The house is called Casa La Palappa and I have absolutely no idea as to the mailing address. Behind me, 50 or 60 people are drinking and talking loudly; I hear snippets about howler monkeys, and old AIM screen names and the physics of opening a beer bottle with one’s teeth, all of which sound to me equally and extremely engaging. There’s loud music, too, coming from downstairs, which sounds pretty great

[recesseditors] YOLO 2012 Ross Green.............................................................................................................................beaten up by Costa locals Matt Barnett.........................................................................................................................guess it’s “alt” for a reason Michaela Dwyer............................................................................................................................................YOLO 2013 Brian Contratto.........................................................................................................turned down marriage proposal Chris Bassil.........................................................................................................................................................thugstep Josh Stillman.................................................................................................................................................SXSW FTW Phobe Long...............................................................................................................................movin’ up in the world Chelsea Pieroni............................................................................................................................................................1L

DUKE PERFORMANCES SPRING 2012 SEASON AVERY FISHER PRIZE WINNER

GARRICK OHLSSON, PIANO ALL-LISZT PROGRAM

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 8 PM REYNOLDS THEATER

T H IS

AY FRID

MUSICAL VISIONARIES

TYONDAI BRAXTON + COLIN STETSON

SOLO PERFORMANCES / DOUBLE BILL

FRIDAY, MARCH 23 8 PM MOTORCO MUSIC HALL JAZZ / R&B / HIP-HOP

ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT BLACK RADIO

FRIDAY, MARCH 30 SATURDAY, MARCH 31 8 PM CASBAH DURHAM RENAISSANCE CHORAL SPECIALISTS

TALLIS SCHOLARS

FIELD OF CLOTH OF GOLD: MUSIC OF CORNYSH & MOUTON

SUNDAY, APRIL 1 5 PM DUKE CHAPEL

HEIR TO AFROBEAT

SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 THURSDAY, APRIL 5 8 PM PAGE AUDITORIUM

TICKETS $5 TICKETS

DUKE STUDENT STUDENT DUKE

EVERY DUKE PERFORMANCES SHOW, ALL SEASON. TAKE ADVANTAGE.

March 15, 2012

as well. I go announce my intention to join one of the conversations by standing very close to a group of people, and speaking loudly. Tact is not my strongest suit at the mooment, but that’s a pretty distant concern. I’ve got a big wet bottle in my fist. I’m put together beautifully.

Mar. 6, 1:06 p.m.

I’m walking along the beach holding a plastic cup full of something called a Miami Vice, which is a pretty colorful amalgamation of sugar and ice and liquor. I know from yesterday afternoon that I can drink exactly eight of these plastic cups before my speech starts to slur. The rum is denser than the ice and sinks to the bottom; to preserve the uniformity of taste from one sip to the next, it’s best not to use a straw.

There are two or three plastic adjustable recliners every ten yards or so on the beachfront behind the Hotel Diria, which is the hotel where most of the white people above the age of 40 in Tamarindo appear to be staying. When you sit down or lay down on one of these recliners, a guy wearing a knockoff Boca Juniors football jersey will approach and inform you that it costs $5 to use the recliner for the day. The price is not responsive to the time of day. Cash is the only acceptable form of payment, and Boca Juniors guy does not give receipts.

A little past Boca Juniors guy on the beachfront, a small cadre of shirtless, dark-skinned guys with orange-streaked afros and board shorts past their knees solicit passersby.

“Hey amigo, surf lesson?” “...”

“Ganja? Blow?”

Mar. 10, 5:49 p.m.

Little flickers of sunlight are visible over the Pacific for a couple minutes immediately after the sun drops below the horizon. I don’t know what causes this. Tamarindo does not appear to have a hospital or a police force; they do, however, have a pharmacy that, over the counter, dispenses the sort of painkillers that require at least two physician consults to obtain in the United States. I imagine that this is something like what the United States would be like, if not for the War on Drugs.

—Ross Green

recess

March 15, 2012

PAGE 3

the magnetic fields LOVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA MERGE RECORDS

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

bowerbirds THE CLEARING DEAD OCEANS

What’s to be anticipated from Bowerbirds’ third LP The Clearing? It has become common to expect bands to follow the all-too-familiar trajectory of releasing an exceptional debut, a disappointing sophomore record and a redemptive follow up. But this model doesn’t apply to Bowerbirds.

To this point, the group hasn’t undergone any drastic makeovers since the release of their first EP, Dangers at Sea, in 2006, but they’ve continued to refine and expand their sound with each successive release. Each album starts where the previous one left off, and the group has never departed from their celebrated folky ensembles.

The title speaks to the group’s emotional place during the recording process. Lead vocalist Philip Moore and accordionist Beth Tacular had reunited after a breakup, and the band returned to their Raleigh cabin in the woods to write The Clearing—yes, a page pulled directly from Bon Iver’s book (They even recorded the album in Justin Vernon’s studio in Eau Clair, WI).

A steady rhythm guitar cradles Moore’s unaffected vocals in “Tuck the Darkness In.” The song is an exquisite crescendo, beginning with simple, subdued keys and progressing to tender violin, layered vocals and powerful drums. The song is honest, relatable and reflective; it tells a painful story with figurative language to avoid assuming the form of a musical diary: “Oh my dear friend, everything falls to death/ We tuck the darkness in.” It’s easy to feel like a jaded therapist with songs of the same genre, but “Tuck” spares us the spectacle.

“Stitch the Hem” couples striking keys and background guitar to usher in a chamber-poppy chorus. Handclaps add brevity by countering Tacular’s lamenting refrain, and the guitar moves to the foreground as the song develops, competing with the keys for center stage.

The Clearing gives Bowerbirds loyalists—like John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, who has called the group his “favorite band in, like, forever”—something to look forward to. Though this record may not be as strong as 2009’s Upper Air, it’s a viable testament to the group’s trademark sound. This album isn’t a departure for the Raleigh trio, but they never meant to leave their nest.

—Andrew Karim

Here’s the thing: Stephin Merritt does whatever he wants, and doesn’t seem to care what we—or even his own band for that matter—think.

The Magnetic Fields are two decades old and Love at the Bottom of the Sea puts a clean ten LPs under their belts. Even though Merritt hates touring, the band can sell out theaters and concert halls throughout this nation and beyond and attract legions of fans spanning the age range—his bands’ oeuvre is that deep, their stature that great.

But ultimately, this latest album will mostly find it buried among the superiors that preceded and will hopefully follow.

The disappointment is straightforward enough, and there aren’t any culpably distracting affectations employed here (the tinny Jesus and Mary Chain production of 2008’s Distortion once annoyed me, it’s now a favorite album). Though the Magnetic Fields have never tried to craft cuddly, friend-to-all pop songs, the hit rate for the melodies here is about 0.5.

Lead single “Andrew in Drag,” the story of a gay man who falls in love with his friend’s gender-bending female persona, is a shining success. The opening lines, “A pity she does not exist, a shame he’s not a fag/ The only girl I ever loved was Andrew in Drag,” pair the bizarre, likelyunrelated details of a vibrant narrative with the kind of universally felt, ineffable emotions that just couldn’t punch as hard in the context of a too-conventional stories.

Unfortunately, conventional is what too many of these tracks can be mistaken for; instead of emphasizing Merritt’s sardonic, linguistically complex turns of phrase, the musical arrangements mask the songwriting prowess. The maximalist ethos at work here, all whirlygag synths among unnameable instruments, has been done better on most of the group’s ’90s albums.

And while Merritt’s demented sense of humor, evident on tracks like “God Wants Us to Wait,” “Your Girlfriend’s Face” and “I’ve Run Away to Join the Faeries” remains intact, or possibly even brightened by his recent West Coast immigration, the deeply human undercurrents that grounded the camp sensibilities of songs on 69 Love Songs and Holiday and Charm of the Highway Strip are either missing or inaudible.

The Magnetic Fields’ strange powers have yielded fundamentally classic love songs reconfigured into alien popthings by Merritt’s evil genius imagination. Love at the Bottom of the Sea lacks that magic.

—Brian Contratto

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

bruce springsteen WRECKING BALL COLUMBIA

Any publication that calls Wrecking Ball a perfect album should have a ball of rusted iron plowed through its headquarters. I’m talking to you, Rolling Stone.

Bruce Springsteen deserves all the credit in the world for having good intentions. Better than any of Romney’s electioneers, Springsteen instinctively understands the political environment of Middle America: the everyman’s frustration with crony bankers, the uniquely U.S. version of grassroots patriotism and the perceived lack of Christian virtues in politics. Wrecking Ball has soul behind it, a strong message and a few tablespoons of wisdom. These are songs Democrats and Republicans alike will want for their campaign ads.

But we’re judging an album here, not a belief system. As far as the music goes, the Boss has done so much better. Springsteen mistakenly shuns the personalized narratives of Nebraska and Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in favor of generic polemics. “Rocky Ground” is a mishmash of New Testament quotations, gimmicky gospel backdrops and cloying hip-hop digressions. The title track asks us to feel pity about the destruction of Giants Stadium, but Springsteen’s writing doesn’t earn our sympathy, and it’s hard to weep for a sports arena. “Jack of All Trades” displays his best character development, but he undermines the narrator with lines like “If I had me a gun, I’d find the [bankers] and shoot ‘em.” The refrains are too often clichéd— none more so than the penultimate track’s which calls America the land of hopes and dreams without the slightest irony.

The melodies, though rarely inventive, are usually pleasurable. When the stories are weakest lyrically, loud country guitars and pounding drums serve as a crutch. The arrangements recall (but never match) the strength of earlier efforts—although “Death to My Hometown” comes close to capturing the bravado of Born to Run. In terms of entertainment, Wrecking Ball outperforms the new releases of many of America’s almost- and already AARP-qualified rock stars: Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, the Who and the rest of our recent Super Bowl entertainers. Which is to say: it’s not a bad record. It shouldn’t hurt the Boss’ reputation. But those who are vaunting it have forgotten that Springsteen used to embody American greatness, not just tell us about it.

—Dan Fishman

Performers Kamikaze Stop Motion Crew Momentum Sabrosura DCD Dhoom Raas Wolfpack Bhangra Dhamaka Dance Life Dancing in the Moonlight NCSU Ballroom Team NCSU Cloggers Bboy Battle Dances with the Wolves Swing Dance Laasya Mighty Arms of Atlas

Saturday, March 24 from 12-5PM West Campus Main Quad

FREE ADMISSION More information contact DukeMoves2012@gmail.com Dance groups from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University Break Dancing and Salsa

Graffiti Art Workshops

Live Music!

Duke Moves has received support from the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts.

recess

PAGE 4

March 15, 2012

Recess interviews...

Phillip Lopate Curiosity is the most valuable skill. Follow up your interests, be willing to do research.

“

“ JISOO YOON/THE CHRONICLE

by Caitlin Moyles THE CHRONICLE

Writer and educator Phillip Lopate is the author of the award-winning personal essay collection Portrait of My Body and two novels and collections of poetry. His essays, poetry and film and architectural criticism have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, Vogue, The New York Times and Harvard Educational Review, and he is currently a professor and Nonfiction Director for Columbia University’s MFA writing program. As a Blackburn Visiting Writer in Duke’s English department, Lopate sat down with Recess’ Caitlin Moyles to discuss his 12 years as a writerin-the-schools, motivation behind personal essays and the skills needed to maintain a versatile writing career.

Recess: What was your first job after graduating from Columbia? Were you a freelance writer?

Phillip Lopate: Well, I was a ghostwriter for a while. I was a ghostwriter for various social scientists, architects, psychologists, that kind of thing. I also worked for an anti-poverty program as a data analyst, so it was all very catch-as-catch-can and very freelance. My first steady work was as a Writer in the Schools, which was then a new opportunity through programs from the state arts council and the federal government that placed writers in schools to work with students. I worked with children in poetry and fiction. And out of that experience I wrote a book called Being With Children, which was an attempt to describe the ups and downs of teaching in an inner-city school in New York City. I taught the kids poetry and fiction and comic books, and made movies with them, and put on plays with them, and started a radio station with them. The idea was to follow out the energy of the kids and create a platform for their interests.

R: Since your 12 years as a writer-in-the-schools, you’ve worked as a professor at different universities and your career as a freelance writer has been on the side?

PL: Right, I never felt that it was owed me to just write. I never felt the world owed me a living, I knew I had to make my own living. I’ve always regarded myself not just as a writer, but as a teacher.

R: What was your first major success?

PL: My fist book was a book of poems. I was drawn into a poetry circle in New York City and wrote a book called The Eyes Don’t Always Want to Stay Open. Then I wrote Being With

Children, which was my first book with a major publisher, and my third book was a novel.

So I began with poetry, nonfiction and fiction. It’s a good way of avoiding writer’s block if you can write in all different genres. For anyone who wants to become a writer I recommend developing some sub-specialties, some interests.

R: What’s the most valuable skill you have in maintaining such a versatile career?

PL: Curiosity is the most valuable skill. Follow up your interests, be willing to do research. At first I just wrote about things that didn’t require me to get out of the house, now I write more and more about things that require some research and study. I need to learn something.

R: You’re best known for your personal essays. What is the motivation and intent behind a personal essay?

PL: On the one hand, a personal essay is a conversation with yourself in which you’re trying to track your own thoughts. It’s often helpful not to know where you want to go.

You allow yourself to digress. It’s a kind of thought experiment. On the other hand, it’s also an attempt to build community with the reader. Very often a personal essay will have a conversational tone, a quality of intimacy and attempt to confide. So there’s a two-track system going on. Teaching students, I tell them to try to cultivate doubt, because I think there’s a lot of interest in contradiction and doubt and paradox, and that’s one of the ways you explore your own thinking. So it becomes a tolerant form for having odd thoughts, even anti-social thoughts.

R: Is it a cathartic art form?

PL: I don’t know if it’s cathartic. It’s analytical, and it’s making friends with your mind.

R: As a professor, what’s your take on the value of a liberal arts education?

PL: I like to be interested in a lot of things and cultivate a range of interests. I’m all for liberal arts education, because you may not know what you want to specialize in at first. A well-educated, cultivated mind is necessary to be a member of a republic. Plus it pays my bills, so I’m all for it.

recess

March 15, 2012

PAGE 5

Now showing...

Lady in the Red Dress

“

Although the technically challenging play was born out of anger at long-standing xenophobia, Yee manages to integrate lighthearted humor.

“

SOPHIA DURAND/THE CHRONICLE

by Jamie Moon THE CHRONICLE

In 2006, Canadian playwright David Yee typed a furious e-mail to leaders of Parliament regarding its refusal to acknowledge past discriminatory issues facing ChineseCanadian communities. When it came to the crucial moment, however, he decided not to click “send.”

Instead, Yee channeled his anger: first into the development of a character and, eventually, a noir-inspired play that uncovers buried wounds associated with racist acts, including the Exclusion Act and head taxes once directed toward Chinese-Canadians.

This weekend, Duke Players Lab Theater will present Yee’s work, Lady in the Red Dress, at Brody Theater. The play, directed by junior Theater Studies major Alyssa Wong and performed by a seven-member cast, revolves around Max, a white lawyer reluctantly responsible for organizing and determining the compensations for the contemporary Chinese-Canadian community.

Although Yee presents the discrimination toward Chinese-Canadians as prevalent and timely in the play’s context, the cast had to take a step back in order to fully immerse themselves in the conflict of Yee’s play and produce an honest performance.

“Racism against Asian people is still a little murky because it’s just not that apparent, so that was an issue that was lingering that we had to come to terms with,” said senior actor Wanda Jin. Max, played by senior David Rothschild, tries to resist helping the Chinese-Canadian community, only to be flung into time-traveling mayhem with the resentful ghost Sylvia, played by Jin. Sylvia, through a series of life-threatening episodes, shows Max the lives affected by the racist acts.

“I don’t want to call it horror, because it’s not exactly scary,” actor Sam Kebede, sophomore, said. “I would call it more darkly comedic action.”

Last October, Yee visited Duke through an invitation by Sean Metzger, an assistant professor of English and Theater Studies and now the play’s advisor. Metzger asked Wong to prepare a stage reading for the first third of Lady in the Red Dress in addition to parts from Yee’s Paper Series, a collection of five short stories and plays about paper.

“I had already read the play in Sean’s class and really liked it,” Wong said. “I’ve workshopped scenes of this before. I’ve essentially been preparing for this since this past summer, in terms of design and research.”

Duke Players Lab Theater, which hosts plays in both the fall and spring, sends out an e-mail seeking aspiring directors. Interested students are required to assemble a petition consisting of what play they wish to direct and a plan describing how it will be accomplished. The plans are presented to the Duke Players council, which votes on which plays will be brought to production.

“We got reception from several people and the person with the strongest resources and best backing for the play was Alyssa,” Kebede (who is also the secretary of the Duke Players council) said. “She was really on her game. She had met Yee and already worked out the symbols.”

Although Yee will be unable to attend the play this weekend due to his prior responsibilities as a playwright-in-residence, he has assisted Wong in terms of interpretation.

“I had questions for him about the text and his intentions for writing this play. He’s just generally been really supportive,” Wong said. “I’ve pretty much been doing artistic direction on my own.”

Because Yee originally wrote the work as a screenplay, the production team encountered multiple obstacle for stage direction.

“We’ve got 22 scenes in 15 different locations,” Wong said. “The scenes change from Chinatown to the downtown Toronto Department of Justice, scenes in the ’20s, ’40s, ’60s, scenes in the present.”

Because the play will take place in Brody Theater, the surrounding audience makes it difficult to construct multiple, changing sets. Most of transitions will be done with lighting.

Although the technically challenging play was born out of anger at long-standing xenophobia, Yee manages to integrate light-hearted humor.

“It’s very tongue-in-cheek. The issues are very serious, but it’s not deadweight or heavy-handed,” Wong said. “But it doesn’t offer an easy fix. It does demand attention that people remember.”

Lady in the Red Dress will run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. in Brody Theater.

recess

PAGE 6

the lorax

DIR. CHRIS RENAUD UNIVERSAL PICTURES

The impending “end-of-the-world� doom surrounding the year 2012 coincides fatefully with the release of Dr. Seuss’s latest film adaptation, the environmentally-minded The Lorax.

That fitting backdrop, however, is only one of the reasons that the film has become year’s highest grossing over the past two weeks, as the story itself inspires the imagination as to the perceived, inevitable future of consumer culture.

Throughout the film, there’s an unavoidable tendency to associate The Lorax with other movies containing similar messages. The Lorax falls squarely into the category of postAn Inconvenient Truth animated features, preoccupied with the prospects of a resource-depleted future. Next to the prototype of WALL-E, The Lorax feels unsurprisingly dated, but the familiarity of Dr. Seuss is a big part of the film’s appeal.

Similarly, the more tried and true members of the cast carry the humor of the film, with Danny DeVito, Betty White and Ed Helms all contributing. (Who better, by the way, to imper-

March 15, 2012

sonate the midget-like Lorax than the squatty DeVito, with his always-too-earnest voice?) On the other hand, though, relative newcomers Taylor Swift and Zac Efron—who show up in a clear appeal to younger, teenage-heartthrob audiences—don’t do much at all to stand out.

In terms of its script, The Lorax is devoted to the Seuss original to a fault: there’s less fresh interpretation of the story here than there is basic rehashing. The largest point of departure, however, is the film’s optimistic modification of the book’s original ending—where Dr. Seuss leaves the boy in possession of the seed and the choice to replant it in a concrete community, the film leaves off with a cheerful song-and-dance celebration of a re-envisioned naturalist utopia.

The psychedelic, rainbow-colored animation hearkens to book’s 1971 origins, creating an entrancing style that also helps to distract from the gloom of the film’s environmentalist undertones. This effect works both ways, however, and the combination of radiant animation with a happy-go-lucky screenplay mostly just seems to lack depth, to the extent that The Lorax feels, at times, almost sickeningly idealistic and redundant. Ultimately, though, criticisms such as these are unlikely to drive viewers away; the

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

youthful animation might even serve, among adult audiences, to excuse the film’s overly optimistic ending. After all, Dr. Seuss has always had an adept talent for bringing out the best in children, and the children in adults. And, more than just entertainment, perhaps that ability is also being levied at constructing a larger statement about the future of our world. —Ashley Taylor

967-9053

300 E. Main St. Carrboro

THE DEVIL MAKES THREE

#UT s #OLOR s 3TYLE s 7AX March Madness Special

@ CAT’S CRADLE

Friday, March 16

Get 16 highlights for $65.

Redeem by March 31st. Please mention this ad when booking.

919.688.8188 2608 Erwin Road Durham, NC

Schedule your appointment online WWW GARDENSALON COM

YOUTH LAGOON @ CAT’S CRADLE

Friday, March 23

Monday: 10 - 7 Tuesday - Thursday: 10 - 8 Friday - Saturday: 9 - 6

Together, we can make a difference.

TOUBAB KREWE @ CAT’S CRADLE

Friday, March 30

FEIST @ MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, RALEIGH

thursday, May 3 Advance sales at CD Alley (Chapel Hill) Charge by phone at 919-967-9053 Or on the web at WWW.ETIX.COM www.catscradle.com

Introducing the all new Duke University Stores recycled/reusable shopping bag.

CAT’S CRADLE 300 E. Main St. Carrboro (919) 967 9053 www.catscradle.com

MARCH ‘12: 15 TH: GOMEZ**($20/$23) w/ Hey Rosetta!

1 6 FR: THE DEVIL MAKES THREE w/ Phillip Roebuck**($14/$16) 17 SA: BOWERBIRDS w/ MANDOLIN ORANGE**($12/$14) 20 TU: THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS**($12/$15) 21 WE: NEON INDIAN w/ Purity Ring**($12/$14) 23 FR: YOUTH LAGOON w/ Dana Buoy**($13/$15) 24 SA: CALTROP w/ PIPE, BLACK SKIES**($5/$7) Cat’s Cradle 25 SU: JOHN MARK MCMILLAN**($12/$15) is at: w/ Songs Of Water 300 E. Main St 27 TU: DOM KENNEDY**($15) w/ Rich Hil, POLY Carrboro 27510 30 FR: TOUBAB KREWE w/Marco Benevento**($15) 31 SA: ORQUESTA GARDEL**($10/$12) 919 967 9053

APRIL ‘12:

Don’t forget your bag!

Receive a 10¢ discount on your total purchase each time you shop with us when using this reusable shopping bag in any of our stores instead of using one of our plastic bags.

NOW SERVING CAROLINA BREWERY BEERS ON TAP!

1 SU: THE NAKED AND FAMOUS**($15) 3 TU: DELTA SPIRIT w/ Waters**($12/$14) 4 WE: OF MONTREAL**($17) 5 TH: BREATHE CAROLINA and THE READY SET**($15/$18) 6 FR: ALABAMA SHAKES**($12/$15) 7 SA: MIDTOWN DICKENS & KAIRABA DBL-ALBUM RELEASE ($5) 9 MO: THE BUDOS BAND and CHARLES BRADLEY**($20) 11 WE and 12 TH: THE MAGNETIC FIELDS**w/ Devotchka (acoustic) 13 FR: Daily Show co-creator LIZZ WINSTEAD**($22/$25) 14 SA: MIPSO TRIO CD Release 15 SU: DEVIN THE DUDE w/ Coughee Brothaz 16 MO: WASHED OUT**($14/$16) 17 TU: MICKEY HART BAND**($29/$32) 18 WE: KINA GRANNIS**($15/$17) 19 TH: DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS**($22/$25) 20 FR: LOST IN THE TREES Album Release!**($15)

MAY 3 @ MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM (RALEIGH); FEIST

100% Recycled Non-Woven Polypropylene | Bag Dimensions: 16� x 12� x 6� **BUY TICKETS ONLINE! at WWW.ETIX.COM For phone orders call 919 967 9053 Visit www.catscradle.com for more listings!

Sports

>> INSIDE

The Chronicle

THURSDAY March 15, 2012

Check out The Chronicle’s 20-page preview supplement for the NCAA tournament. We look at the key storylines for Duke and break down each region.

www.dukechroniclesports.com

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Defending champs take down Blue Devils

by Hunter Nisonoff THE CHRONICLE

In a matchup of two top-five teams Wednesday, Duke was unable to withstand the bite of the defending national champion Florida Gators, falling 5-0 to end its nonconference season.

The No. 5 Blue Devils (11-2) traveled to Gainesville to take on second-ranked Florida (11-1) at Linder Stadium.

The victory was the Gators’ 100th straight win at home.

Duke was caught off-guard early in doubles play, finding itself down 4-0 on two out of three courts. “[Florida was] off to a good start in the doubles,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “We competed well once we got going, but they were better than us Duke 0 from the start.”

Despite the rough start, the Blue 5 UF Devils were able to mount a comeback effort in the top doubles match. After the 19th-ranked Duke duo of freshman Beatrice Capra and sophomore Rachel Kahan trailed 5-1 to Allie Will and Sofie Oyen, the No. 3 pairing in the country, the Blue Devils rallied to a 6-6 tie.

The Gators recovered, however, finishing the match 8-6 to complete the sweep of the doubles competition.

Capra and Kahan continued their promising play in singles. Capra, the nation’s No. 2 singles player, faced off against the only player ranked ahead of her, junior No. 1 Allie Will. Capra sought revenge for an October match at the ITA All-American Championships, where Will defeated the Ellicott City, Md. native 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to oust Capra from the main draw. Capra showed early progress toward avenging the Fall defeat, capturing the first set and building a 5-4 lead. By that point, though, the match had already been decided in Florida’s favor, as Duke fell in straight sets at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 to earn the team victory for Florida. Further misfortune befell Capra, as bad weather conditions ended her match one game short of victory.

Kahan found herself in a similar situation, fighting back to win the second set after falling 6-1 in the first set. She led the decisive set 4-2 when the weather intervened.

ELYSIA SU/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

In a matchup of the top two players in the nation, No. 2 Beatrice Capra led No. 1 Allie Will of Florida before inclement weather forced an early end.

SEE W. TENNIS ON PAGE 6

Legends Laettner and Davis face court date

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Brian Davis, a starter for Duke’s 1992 title team, will appear in court this week for failing to pay debts.

Christian Laettner is famous at Duke for his heroics during the 1992 NCAA tournament, but he also contributed to Duke’s student life after he graduated—by putting together the initial $36.5 million funding to turn West Village into student apartments in the mid-1990s. But his Duke basketball career and his real-estate exploits have begun to collide in an unpleasant fashion.

Laettner and former teammate and current business partner Brian Davis will appear in court this week, where a judge will decide whether to hold the pair in contempt of court for failure to repay loans made to their real-estate company by, among others, Duke legend Johnny Dawkins, former NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen, and former All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman.

In Jan. 2011, a Washington, D.C. judge ordered Laettner and Davis—whose realestate partnership is called Blue Devil Ventures—to pay Dawkins $671,309. Laettner and Davis have claimed that they lack the funds to make the payments, but creditors have questioned those claims, especially given that Laettner earned more than $61 million during his 13-year NBA career, according to Basketball-Reference. com. Among some $26 million in total

debt, Laettner and Davis owe $2.5 million to Pippen and an additional $3.7 million to Merriman, according to court documents reviewed by the Associated Press.

Laettner, 42, currently works as an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League, and his current employment is not the first time he has tried to get involved in sports management. He and Davis—whose own NBA career lasted just a single season—led a group of investors that reportedly reached an agreement to purchase a 70-percent share of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies in 2006, but the deal fell through when Davis failed to meet a deadline to demonstrate to the NBA that he could produce the $252 million necessary to purchase the majority stake. The duo was also set to pay $33 million for Major League Soccer club D.C. United, but ended up purchasing just a minority share in the team.

The sale of the West Village development is underway to satisfy the creditors of Blue Devil Ventures while Laettner and Davis prepare to take a different kind of court in Washington, D.C., this time with Johnny Dawkins on the other team.

—from staff reports

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Duke legend Christian Laettner’s ventures in real estate have landed him in hot water with creditors.

6 | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

THE CHRONICLE

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Blue Devils ride hot start past Virginia Tech Blue Devils scored and Trimble notched a team-high five goals. Kimel said she was especially pleased about the balanced scoring effort in the win.

The team has faced a difficult schedule so far, having faced five ranked teams in its 10 games, and played on the road six times in nine games since Feb. 8. Things will not get easier for the Blue Devils, whose next four opponents are currently ranked in the top 20.

“The early part of our schedule has been very demanding both in terms of opponents and travel, but we’ve worked very hard,” Kimel said. “I thought we did…things very well today, and our offense really controlled the tempo, and we were able to play a lot of our people.”

by Patricia Lee THE CHRONICLE

BRITTANY ZULKIEWICZ/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Freshman Taylor Trimble’s five goals led Duke in its 18-goal onslaught Wednesday. Trimble was one of nine Blue Devils to score in the game.

Playing its sixth road game of the season, No. 4 Duke recorded a dominant 18-8 victory over Virginia Tech (44, 0-2 in the ACC), notching its fifth straight win to remain perfect in ACC play.

The Blue Devils (8-2, 2-0) took advantage of strong offense and draw controls to take an early 7-0 lead and a 9-2 halftime advantage.

“I thought our girls played a great game today, and I felt our girls came out really focused on the get-go, won the draw and were able to Duke 18 capitalize on early possessions to get a nice lead,” head coach 8 VT Kerstin Kimel said. “I just felt like in general we limited their opportunities and we had a couple of really good stops defensively.”

Kimel attributed the recent success to her young team’s ability to learn quickly and improve since its 13-5 loss to No. 1 Northwestern in February. Since their defeat against the Wildcats, the Blue Devils have not lost, beating three ranked teams—then-No. 2 Maryland, then-No. 8 Princeton and No. 15 Georgetown—along the way.

“I think that every game we take with this team is great, especially given that we’re still young and still trying to develop in certain areas,” Kimel said. “We try to take one day of practice at a time, one game at a time…. We ask what we are going to do today to get better, and we make the most of and maximize every day to get better.”

Freshman Taylor Trimble keyed Duke’s quick start against the Hokies, finding the back of the net three times in the first three minutes to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead. She also scored the team’s fifth goal less than six minutes into the game.

Despite a relatively inexperienced offense, the team has shown growth and leadership after an early-season upset at the hands of then-No. 19 Vanderbilt. This progress was particularly clear Wednesday, as nine different

W. TENNIS from page 5 “Mentally for [Capra] it is good,” Ashworth said. “Rachel Kahan did a good job of battling back. She competed very well. They both know that they can win those matches.”

The Blue Devils’ other matches were not quite as confidence-inspiring, however, as sophomore Hanna Mar and freshmen Monica Turewicz and Ester Goldfeld combined to win just seven games in their straight-set defeats. Mar fell to No. 14 Lauren Embree 6-0, 6-2, giving Florida a 2-0 lead before Turewicz suffered just her second loss of the season, to Caroline Hitimana.

Ester Goldfeld’s loss to heavily-favored Joanna Mather, the 19th-ranked player in the nation, clinched the match for the Gators. Mather’s 6-3, 6-1 win handed Goldfeld her first loss of the season.

“They are the defending national champions for a reason,” Ashworth said. “We knew it would be a tough match.”

Duke’s difficult early-season schedule will have them prepared for conference play, which begins Saturday against N.C. State. “[Today’s match] gave us a gauge of what we need to work on to compete with a team like this,” Ashworth said.

CLASSIFIEDS

Come Enjoy our patio and THe warm Weather When Cosmic Cantina started, there were keg parties on East Campus every friday.

This spring, we’re bringing back the old school with a keg at Cosmic

Keg Party

2 BLOCKS FROM EAST CAMPUS EVERY FRIDAY

50¢ Drafts $1 Domestic Beers $2 Import Beers

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SCIENCES PO INFORMATION SESSION

A LOT OF CARS INC. Most vehicles $595-$795 down $250$280/month.

Interested in studying at Sciences Po through the Duke in France/EDUCO program?

250+ Vehicles. Layaway option w/$500.

Financing Guaranteed!

All Duke students are invited to attend a session to learn more about Sciences Po on Monday, March 19, at 4 pm, in Allen 226.

Duke ID $150 discount. 20+ cars between $999-$2995 cash. www.alotofcarsnc.com. Owned

by Duke Alumni 919-220-7155

A representative from Sciences Po will be on hand to answer questions. For more details see the Global Education Office for Undergraduates website at www.studyabroad.duke.edu.

HOLTON PRIZE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH $500 Cash Awards

Application deadline is April 18. Three cash awards of $500 will be given for outstanding investigative research, curriculum development work, and innovative projects in Education-related fields. For more information: http://educationprogram.duke.edu/undergraduate/awards or email zoila. airall@duke.edu; jrigg@duke. edu; or bcj3@duke.edu.

SERVER

Hope Valley Country Club seeking motivated and responsible servers for the upcoming busy golf season! Email resume/ qualifications to receptionist@ hvcc.org

AFTER SCHOOL TEACHER

Private school seeks after school teacher starting immediately.

Monday-Fridays 3-5:30 PM. with option for some additional hours and for summer employment in camp programs. Supervise students of all ages in homework time and indoor and outdoor play time. Experience with children, excellent references and background check required.

Please send resumes to: hrtsk1@ aol.com

CHILD CARE CHILDCARE PROVIDER/ TUTOR

HELP WANTED EARN $1000-$3200 A MONTH to drive our brand new cars with ads. www.CarDriveAds.com THE CHRONICLE

Looking for student to work in our Business Office for the summer and continue through the school year. Reconciling newspaper, Data entering, deposits, customer service, general office work. Please call: Mary Weaver, 684-0384 or email: mweaver@ duke.edu

A mother and two lovely older children, Girl (12 ) and Boy (10), are looking for a responsible, fun and mature caregiver to pick up the kids from school at 3:15 and be with them until 5:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and every other Thursday and Friday starting immediately through June 8th. Duties include making snack, overseeing and helping with homework, driving to activities on Tuesdays and having fun. Mom would like to find someone who can help with homework, has a perfect driving record and is very reliable and mature. Kids would like to find someone who loves the outdoors (we’re in the country), playing sports, cooking, making art and playing all kinds of games. Must like dogs, cat and sea monkeys. $10-$12/hr depending upon experience (plus gas allowance). Please reply to: mgranda06@gmail.com

THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012 | 7

Diversions Shoe Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins

Dilbert Scott Adams

Doonesbury Garry Trudeau

The Chronicle predictions for v108: the whole masthead’s in bed:.................................................... nick everybody calls him ‘shwanth in chief’: ............................... nickyle or the predatoreditor: ......................................................marganna or predator in chief: ................................................................. drew want some of this curry?: ...................................... ctcusack and co. can’t outdo news-photo (pr)editor:....... yy, dbb, chelC, elysia, sam shwanth doesn’t like offensive staff boxes: .............................loco ...thats why v107 is better: ................................................... megan Barb Starbuck says what can brown do for you?: ................... Barb

Ink Pen Phil Dunlap

Student Advertising Manager: .........................................Amber Su Student Account Executive: ...................................Michael Sullivan Account Representatives: ............................Cort Ahl, Jen Bahadur, Courtney Clower, Peter Chapin, Claire Gilhuly, Gini Li, Ina Li, Andy Moore, Allison Rhyne, Daniel Perlin, Emily Shiau, James Sinclair Creative Services Student Manager: .......................... Megan Meza Creative Services: ................Lauren Bledsoe, Danjie Fang, Mao Hu Caitlin Johnson, Erica Kim, Brianna Nofil Business Assistant: ........................................................Joslyn Dunn

Sudoku

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. (No number is repeated in any column, row or box.)

Can’t Find Nemo?

Put a “Lost” Ad in The Chronicle classifieds. www.dukechronicle.com/classifieds Answer to puzzle www.sudoku.com

The Independent Daily at Duke University

The Chronicle

8 | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

It’s all greek to me It’s no secret that Duke’s and non-greeks interact. campus culture is often conThe perception problem strued as war between greeks relates to a huge dissonance and non-greeks, fighting for between how greeks and nonthe soul of Duke. The sup- greeks feel about greek presposed war is fueled by each side ences on campus, and each seeing the other group thinks editorial as a malicious the dissonance monolith, and is larger than it suspecting the other side feels actually is. the same way. But neither For instance, greeks regroup dislikes the other so ported high satisfaction with much as they think. their experiences, citing leadThese intuitions have been ership opportunities and perconfirmed by a recent survey sonal connections with other of 31 different educational in- students as major benefits of stitutions conducted by a na- membership in a greek orgational organization of student nization. Ninety-five percent affairs administrators. The of greeks think that greek orstudy abounds with data, reveal- ganizations provide meaninging two kinds of problems— ful leadership experiences for problems about how greeks their members, and 92 percent and non-greeks perceive each of greeks think their organizaother and substantive campus tions enhance campus life. problems about how greeks Non-greeks have a much

“

Glad to see Pratt getting the recognition it deserves for the phenomenal education it provides.

—“Kevin Kauffman” commenting on the story “Pratt jumps three spots in rankings.”

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.

less glowing perspective. Only 44 percent of them, for instance, believed greek organizations provided meaningful leadership opportunities, and a startlingly low 29 percent think greek organizations improve campus life.

But, for all this, greeks think they are more villainized than they actually are—61 percent of greeks thought that non-greeks had negative impressions of them, while only 42 percent actually did. This may seem like small beans, but it points to an enmity between groups that is more perceived than real. If each group recognizes that the other does not dislike them so much, we will be able to move towards a campus culture that looks more like a kaleidoscope and less like a yin-yang split between greek and non-greek.

This is important, because non-greeks picked out real problems generated by greek students on campus. No wonder perceptions on both sides are fraught with mutual distrust and perceptions of hostility. This is the second, substantive culture problem.

We see an opportunity to solve the perception problem and, in the same throw, to reduce the substantive problem.

We see the evidence of a perception gap as an opportunity for more inter-organizational programming. Joint programming could take many forms, possibly as a collaboration between a greek group and an organization such as DUU. Many greek organizations have made significant headway by partnering with service organizations in Durham, but there

is improvement to be made in partnering with Duke student groups to put on social events that defy the typical greek or non-greek characterization.

It will be a good day when we rarely think of events as greek or non-greek, but as dances, performances and outings.

Both greeks and non-greeks have a stake in improving campus culture for all, and both need to be open to the possibility to change. Greeks benefit from blunting the criticisms of exclusivity frequently leveled against them. Non-greeks gain the opportunities to benefit from more events and programming and the distinctive character of greek organizations that makes them so beloved by their members. After all, the soul of Duke belongs to all of us.

The fifth columnist

onlinecomment

Est. 1905

THE CHRONICLE

commentaries

”

Direct submissions to:

E-mail: chronicleletters@duke.edu Editorial Page Department The Chronicle Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708 Phone: (919) 684-2663 Fax: (919) 684-4696

The Chronicle

Inc. 1993

SANETTE TANAKA, Editor NICHOLAS SCHWARTZ, Managing Editor NICOLE KYLE, News Editor CHRIS CUSACK, Sports Editor MELISSA YEO, Photography Editor MEREDITH JEWITT, Editorial Page Editor CORY ADKINS, Editorial Board Chair MELISSA DALIS, Co-Managing Editor for Online JAMES LEE, Co-Managing Editor for Online DEAN CHEN, Director of Online Operations JONATHAN ANGIER, General Manager TOM GIERYN, Sports Managing Editor KATIE NI, Design Editor LAUREN CARROLL, University Editor ANNA KOELSCH, University Editor CAROLINE FAIRCHILD, Local & National Editor YESHWANTH KANDIMALLA, Local & National Editor ASHLEY MOONEY, Health & Science Editor JULIAN SPECTOR, Health & Science Editor TYLER SEUC, News Photography Editor CHRIS DALL, Sports Photography Editor ROSS GREEN, Recess Editor MATT BARNETT, Recess Managing Editor CHELSEA PIERONI, Recess Photography Editor SOPHIA PALENBERG, Online Photo Editor DREW STERNESKY, Editorial Page Managing Editor CHRISTINE CHEN, Wire Editor SAMANTHA BROOKS, Multimedia Editor MOLLY HIMMELSTEIN, Special Projects Editor for Video CHRISTINA PEÑA, Towerview Editor RACHNA REDDY, Towerview Editor NATHAN GLENCER, Towerview Photography Editor MADDIE LIEBERBERG, Towerview Creative Director TAYLOR DOHERTY, Special Projects Editor CHRISTINA PEÑA, Special Projects Editor for Online LINDSEY RUPP, Senior Editor TONI WEI, Senior Editor COURTNEY DOUGLAS, Recruitment Chair CHINMAYI SHARMA, Blog Editor MARY WEAVER, Operations Manager CHRISSY BECK, Advertising/Marketing Director BARBARA STARBUCK, Creative Director REBECCA DICKENSON, Chapel Hill Ad Sales Manager The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 103 West Union Building, call 684-3811. To reach the Advertising Office at 101 West Union Building call 684-3811 or fax 684-8295. Visit The Chronicle Online at http://www.dukechronicle.com. © 2010 The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, N.C. 27708. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior, written permission of the Business Office. Each individual is entitled to one free copy.

W

ell, the jig is up. As reported by the As- orgo exam, playing Mario Kart or arguing about sociated Press, NYPD and others have which off-campus vendor they should order finally figured out the real threat that food from. If you’re lucky, you might even see Muslims in America pose to our sosome students praying or readciety. Some of their activities have ing the Quran. Don’t be fooled included monitoring Muslim stuinto thinking these are ordinary dent associations at various schools college students using a valuable in the Northeast, including Yale resource on campus; this is really and Rutgers, as well as compiling a just an elaborate training ground “demographics report” of Muslimfor terrorist activities. owned businesses—from bookYou should be most afraid of stores to cafes to laundromats—in Muslims who are activists. Some ahmad jitan Newark, N.J. And since the NYPD’s Muslims may want you to think that jurisdiction now apparently covers indecent family man their faith gives them a sense of my home state of New Jersey, it is compassion and sensitivity toward inevitable that I have a file somewhere with the social justice. This is a lie. Muslims aren’t motivatNYPD, if not also with some other agencies. If ed by concerns for human rights or self-determithat’s the case, I may as well fess up to my nefari- nation or fighting oppression. Rather, all of their ous plots and save whoever is monitoring me any political stances and actions are based on hatred further trouble. and a predisposition toward violence.

Everyone knows the best way to establish a The most important thing to remember is that worldwide caliphate is by writing mediocre col- once someone can be identified as a Muslim, this is umns in a college newspaper. I usually tell people all you need to know about that person. It doesn’t that I started writing a column in order to engage matter if the individual doesn’t associate strongly with current events, offer my own opinion on is- with the faith or has their own idiosyncratic view sues and improve my writing skills. Of course, of the world. All Muslims are wholly motivated by these are all lies. My plan is that by year’s end this a single and monolithic ethos that is a danger to rag will change its name to the Duke Quranical. the fabric of American society.

With the power of the fourth estate, I plan to inGiven the obvious threat that I and other Musdoctrinate the entire Duke community toward a lims pose, I must commend the NYPD as well as slow destruction of American society. My observant our federal government for their surveillance readers may have already noticed a secret code for techniques of Muslims and especially of Muslim my co-conspirators in my columns…. (No, it’s not students. But I should also remind readers that the fart jokes.) this isn’t merely a Muslim issue. Racial, ethnic Muslims have already infiltrated your beloved and religious profiling are nothing new to law Duke Basketball. For example, the name Camer- enforcement, thankfully so. Profiling should on is actually a compound of two Arabic words: make you feel safe and secure. If you’re an ethnic “qamr” and “‘on,” which roughly translates to “aid minority, then you just have to deal with the mithe moon”—a reference to supporting the cres- nor inconvenience that your government thinks cent moon, metonymy for Islamic empire. Even you’re a potential threat to society based solely our top basketball recruits have Muslim-sounding on the color of your skin or the faith you subnames (just like America’s president). Duke fans scribe to. should also note that it’s no coincidence that in We should welcome any infringement on our recent years Coach K has become more lenient civil liberties as effective counterterrorism. After with facial hair on the court. He hasn’t shirked all, people around the world hate us for our freehis commitment to creating clean-cut student-ath- doms—not some nonsense like military intervenletes; he’s just a secret Muslim. tions or drone attacks or propping up of dictators It’s not just Our House that has been under- or torture or exploitation of natural resources or mined. Duke has its very own sleeper cell on massacres of civilians—so the best strategy toward campus: the Center for Muslim Life. Any claims our security and preservation of our freedoms is that its proximity to the Freeman Center en- to limit everyone’s freedoms as much as possible. courages interfaith dialogue and collaboration A true patriot would accept this and never bother are pure and utter nonsense. Any fool can see criticizing the country he loves. that this was a tactical decision. When one visits the Center for Muslim Life, one witnesses peoAhmad Jitan is a Trinity junior. His column runs ple of many faiths, nationalities and races joy- every other Thursday. Follow Ahmad on Twitter @Ahfully interacting. They might be studying for an madJitan

THE CHRONICLE

Going out on a limb

I

n an Elvish forest near Reykjavik, Iceland, my friend laid with his back in a moss patch, the broken-off top of a spruce tree resting in one hand and a swelling broken wrist attached to the other. A few seconds before, we had both been two stories higher, clutching onto our respective spruce trees trying to see which direction the city was.

At least, that’s what my friend told the doctors before they set his arm. Although most travis smith people were migrating home it’s all in the game or to warmer climates, I went to the Kentucky-sized island in the North Atlantic where there are elves, geothermal heat and no culture of hyper-liability. That’s why after the doctor said he didn’t set the arm “exactly how he wanted it,” he quickly explained that he was sure doctors back in the U.S. would want to perform surgery. They just don’t think it’s worth it in Iceland.

This concept of perfect not being the ideal is not something that resounds in America. Sure enough, my friend is going to have plates put into his wrist, pay another medical bill and be doped out on painkillers for another week. All this to achieve an end that a trained doctor at Iceland’s largest hospital thought was unnecessary. This obsession with perfection permeates through American society, showing up in whom we choose to idolize, what we watch and how we view ourselves. As soon as I came back to the U.S., I noticed a disconnect in the way that we perceive importance. To paraphrase “Fight Club,” in Iceland, they let that which does not matter truly slide.

The lawsuit culture in America has led to inflated medical costs by forcing doctors to run a gamut of tests on patients to ensure they aren’t liable. It is common knowledge in America that if something is wrong, there is someone at fault and that person can be fairly punished in a court of law. Even though a lawsuit won’t let Timmy see again, with enough money, he won’t have to. I remember shoveling the sidewalk when I was 9 years old so that “our neighbors can walk on it” and again at age 17 so that “our neighbors won’t fall and then sue us.” The incentives have changed from social to monetary; being neighborly is now a requirement, not an option.

This culture shows up at Duke in a variety of ways, mostly retroactively. Many administrative decisions— controlling orientation week parties, shutting down Tailgate, shortening rush and cracking down on LDOC— are designed to alleviate symptoms with no real effect on solving the perceived “problems.” The locus of responsibility no longer falls on individuals; nowadays those individuals are seen as part of a larger group—Duke University. In Iceland, as my guide led a group of tourists around on top of a glacier tongue, he told stories of people being injured or dying from slipping and cascading down steeply inclined ice to the bottom of huge crevices. The accidents he mentioned occurred weeks before we were on the ice, but there were no guide rails hastily set up, and no one closed down the glacier until further notice.

The stories the guide told acted as the limitations. Instead of trying to physically or systematically control the symptoms of stupidity, the guide simply pointed to examples of it and depended on the individual to act accordingly. If Duke is unhappy with the students that represent it, Duke needs to take action to understand why, not limit how. Sure, if the activities that are more likely to cause lawsuits and bad press are limited, then that source will be severed. But, like damming a river, the water will find another, and often less visible, way through.

Duke is moving in a lot of different directions right now.

It’s not really sure what it wants, but I’m sure of what it doesn’t. I’d just hate for the change Duke sees in each successive incoming class to be the result of having deterred applicants from the school, instead of having attracted the “right” type of student. The noticeable few, whether they be trouble makers or troubled by their Duke experience, are negatively affecting the experience of a silent but satisfied majority. Those that are fine with what they have are finding a less fun-loving and more controlling environment at Duke. My friend didn’t blame the trees or the elves for his fall. It was all him.

Travis Smith is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Thursday. Follow Travis on Twitter @jtsmith317

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012 | 9

commentaries

(S

Congratulations!

You saved Africa!

o, uh, I have a physics test this week and I’m not bad, hypermaterialistic culture.)

Not having Facebook means I missed one of the greatcoherent enough to write something appropriately biting or relevant without introducing est social movements of our time. I didn’t get a chance to witness today’s apathetic youth band either a force diagram or someone you together in the face of one great enemy. I haven’t seen in awhile. If you’re reading went back through your Facebook pages, this, I’m allowed to run it.) and suddenly, I’m feeling a lot more forgivHello everyone. Welcome back from ing of your self-indulgent trips to Florida. your mission trips, your service outings, Thank you for supporting Kony 2012. You your noble efforts to disseminate American saved Africa. I’ve been there. They’ll be, dollars in Costa Rica (that’s a third-world like, super-grateful once they have Facecountry, right?) and Panama City, which book, too. And clean water. But whatever.

I’m pretty sure is the capital of Panama or mia lehrer You’re all heroes. Let’s talk about that. something. I hadn’t realized exactly how but actually First of all, I’m not being that way, but I stricken the natives there were before I saw totally knew about Joseph Kony before he my friends’ Facebook albums, but it looks like many of my friends went topless in solidarity with the was cool. I had an Invisible Children T-shirt back when ladies of that hamlet, who appear to be too poor to afford everyone thought it was a band. Of course, now that it’s shirts! Hopefully my caring friends injected enough mon- popular, you’re all starting to call it a sell-out. I’ve heard a ey into the local economy to buy those ladies some cloth- lot of people complain about it. So what if my daddy pays a ing. Unless that’s, like, their tribal tradition or something. greater percent of his income in taxes than Invisible Children gives of its donations to actual services? 32 percent If so, how dare you inflict your cultural mores on them.

Shame on all of you who participated in exploitative of all its donations is still more than YOU give to charity. “cruises”—it’s not a Carnival for the natives of the islands Also, I understand a lot of people are upset that Invisible that have to host your drunk selves for a few hours, you Children has supported the Sudan People’s Liberation know—or who stayed in the U.S. and spent all your mon- Army in the past, which is a group that is also rumored to ey here. The U.S. is a first-world country, OK? It doesn’t have done some bad things. But let me remind you that need economic support. And it’s not like there are real Joseph Kony’s group is called the Lord’s Resistance Army.

That name invokes religion. And we all know that orgapoor people here or anything.

You’re probably wondering where I’ve been. Don’t nized religion is, like, a way greater evil than anything the worry—I wasn’t kicking back at our cottage in Martha’s SPLA could pull off.

It’s true, there are better ways to get involved in Uganda.

Vineyard. No. Don’t tell anyone, but last semester, I was You could go over there and work, or maybe go on a hunchosen to participate in DukeExtreme, the top-secret spinoff of DukeEngage and DukeImmerse, neither of ger strike to feel the way those poor, hungry kids feel. But I which were concerned or global enough for a truly great understand that not everyone can be that noble. So hey, at university. You can’t know where I’ve been, but let’s just least you’re trying. By reposting that video, you totally saved say I have more vaccination scars on my arm than my the lives of child soldiers and trafficking victims. And if you family has charter jets. Which is, like, 15 more shots than bought some sweet Kony 2012 merch, even better.

All this hoopla has inspired me to make my own video all the natives get. I wish I knew why they didn’t protect themselves more. Must be some kind of cultural fear of about trafficked children in some other third-world country. needles. It can’t be that they don’t have equipment, be- I know my friends will take action by reposting it and maybe cause I know of several charities working there that have buying some T-shirts. If I happen to make a profit, hey, that’s great, but don’t worry. It’s for the kids. built at least five hospitals.

Also, whoever called the Kony 2012 campaign “FaceNeedless to say, I didn’t have Facebook. I mean, I did, but then I had to stop using my iPhone in protest of the book herpes” (you know who you are), that was very inapunfair working conditions at Apple’s factories, and also propriate. Herpes is not a laughing matter. And neither is because I lost my solar-powered battery charger. (If you’re anything else. worried that you won’t be able to contact me now that I’m Concerned Global Citizen took a picture with an Invisible back, don’t—I can’t be expected to protest forever, and life without an iPhone is super hard in the United States’ Child, but it looks like she’s alone in the photo.

lettertotheeditor For many years, as a delegate to the Arts and Sciences Council, I rose to ask the dean of faculty to estimate the highest amount of debt a Duke senior might carry when leaving the University. I was always told that the dean would get back to me with that figure, but it never happened. Then, about six years ago, the dean answered my question on the spot. Thanks to a newly established policy, the most debt a Duke student would have to accumulate, he said, was $20,000.

That was a comforting figure, until I spoke with a student a few days ago who confided that her debt is $90,000 and counting—a third of it owed to the Feds

and the rest to Duke. I don’t know how common this situation is, but the Arts and Sciences Council should surely look into it, perhaps via a web site where students could confidentially indicate excessive debt. A way must be found to prevent students—however few or many— from leaving this school prospectively broke for decades to come. I hope and believe that many faculty colleagues at Duke share this concern and want it acted upon.

Mariah Hukins, Trinity ‘13

Victor Strandberg Professor of English

10 | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

STUDY from page 1 Crafting a study Asher said he originally set out to study college students’ loneliness and attitudes toward friendship. In summer 2006, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, who contributed to the design of the research and review of the findings, helped Asher assemble a research team.

The focus of the study began to broaden as the researchers devised extensive questions around the subjects of friendship, dating, hook ups, alcohol use, academic engagement and sense of belonging.

“The study was in many ways informed by the data,” Asher said.

The findings of Asher and study co-author Molly Weeks, a doctoral candidate in psychology, challenge psychology’s conventional views of loneliness and belonging, which see the two as opposite ends of one spectrum, Asher said. Student data indicated that loneliness and belonging are not necessarily correlated.

“Similar things influence them, like having friends and

THE CHRONICLE

high-quality friendships, [but] there are also a lot of things that seem to be related to feelings of belonging but not to feelings of loneliness,” Weeks noted.

For example, students with a high level of academic engagement—defined in the study as passionate about studies, frequently discussing ideas from class with other students—felt more belonging, though academic engagement was not a predictor of loneliness.

More dating please Contrary to frequent conceptions of a lack of dating at Duke, more than one-third of students who participated were in a long-term relationship, either local or long-distance, at the time of the survey—36.4 percent of women and 34.5 percent of men. More than half of single men and women had hooked up in the six months prior to the survey.

More than half of single men and women reported having no dates in the past six months, but 74.6 percent of single women and 72.4 percent of single men indicated that they would like to date more.

Junior Kyle Jones, president of the National Pan-Hellenic

Council, said that the dating scene at Duke is not at all adequate.

“It’s not a greek thing or a [selective living group] thing, but it’s mostly just the atmosphere at Duke, especially with the hook-up culture at Duke,” Jones said.

The hook-up culture holds an exaggerated place in Duke campus dialogue, said junior Sarah Van Name, a contributor to Develle Dish—a campus blog about women’s issues.

Van Name was not surprised to hear that about 45 percent of single students surveyed had not hooked up in the last six months.

“There’s a perception that the hook-up culture is the only viable way to form relationships or have sex at Duke,” she said.

“Actual long-term relationships aren’t talked about much.”

Engage and be satisfied According to the study, passion for academic pursuits correlated with a high degree of social satisfaction, including increased levels of positive friendship quality and self-esteem, lower levels of conflict with friends and a more powerful sense of belonging at Duke.

“If you love the work, you probably don’t want to drink as much—you have things you want to do,” Asher said.

Senior Olly Wilson asked Asher to present his preliminary findings at a meeting of the Council for Collaborative Action Oct. 3. Wilson, the chair of the council, said the findings reflect Duke students’ passion for their academic pursuits.

“The power of the study comes from backing this up with data and demonstrating all the net positives that come out of high levels of academic engagement, particularly with regards to feeling at home at Duke,” Wilson wrote in an email Wednesday.

The benefits of academic engagement affirm the goals of the University, Moneta said.

“If academic engagement is not the healthiest thing you can do, then why run a university?” he said. “[This finding] reinforces our desire to bring even tighter connectivity between the curricular and co-curricular relationships in our students’ lives so that the recreational activities can be perceived as intellectual.”

Alcohol blanket The study concludes that about half of students surveyed describe themselves as nondrinkers or very light drinkers—51.1 percent of women and 44.8 percent of men. For the 10.6 percent of men and 5.4 percent of women who selfidentify as heavy or very heavy drinkers, the study finds that this behavior seems to be “working.” They had more friends and higher friendship quality than other students, although more conflict in those friendships. They also drank more to deal with social anxiety and subsequently described less anxiety than other students. These heavy drinkers had a lower degree of academic engagement, which Asher said was worrying.

“Our whole approach to wellness is focused on addressing the small but dangerous percentage of students engaged in high-risk behaviors,” Moneta said. “So our efforts at monitoring behavior at Krzyzewskiville or [the Last Day of Classes celebration] or weekly activities has been a result of this.”

The data from the study helps put assumptions about student behavior in context, he added.

“The report has done what we hoped it would do—to discover the reality of the student experience and how we can build a dialogue to improve it,” he said.

JAFFE from page 1 considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in the nation, according to the academy’s website.

Other inductees this year include artists Robert Gobert and Lynda Benglis and writers Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen among five others. There are also two foreign honorary members: Indian-born sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese composer Jo Kondo.

At Duke, Jaffe directs the contemporary music concert series Encounters: with the Music of Our Time.

His works have won numerous awards, including the Koussevitsky International Recording Award in 2004 for his piece “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.”

His latest compositions include “Light Dances (Chamber Concerto No. 2)” and two orchestral works— ”Poetry of the Piedmont” and “Cithara mea (Evocations): Spanish Music Notebook for Orchestra”—both written for the North Carolina Symphony.

Past faculty members who have been elected into the academy include the late Reynolds Price and Robert Ward, professor emeritus of music.

“To spend your life working to make real and tangible music—to attempt to make something necessary and beautiful, yet unsaid, inspires me,” Jaffe said in the release.