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
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 27
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
Mold complaints spark cleaning on Central by Margot Tuchler THE CHRONICLE
Complaints of mold in Central Campus apartments are not corroborated by recent air quality testing, yet student discomfort continues. The complaints have raised questions about the quality of Central housing and its effect
on student health. The mold can exacerbate allergic reactions and make breathing difficult for residents. Sophomore Julie Rohde was one of many students to report unsatisfactory air quality in their apartments on Central since the beginning of the school year, prompting Housing, Dining and
Residential Life to investigate conditions in the apartments. “The first night I slept there, I woke up and was feeling awful,” Rohde said. “[I had a] sore throat, itchy eyes [like] allergies.” Multiple reports came from the sorority section on Pace Street where Rohde lives, said Dean for Residential Life Joe Gonzalez.
The complex was recently tested, and the ventilation systems were cleaned in response to reports. Gonzalez noted that testing of the ventilation systems in Central apartments occerurs only in response to specific reports. A sample of apartments from Rohde’s section was tested for air quality, Gonzalez said. The
results of the tests indicated that the apartments were safe for residents. Despite the outcome of the tests, HDRL hired an outside contractor, North Carolina-based Afterdisaster, to clean all the ducts in the Pace section. SEE MOLD ON PAGE 6
Durham Co. defies NC job trends by pi praveen THE CHRONICLE
CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY THU NGUYEN AND RITA LO
Despite the fact that North Carolina has the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the country—at 9.7 percent as of August—Durham County has shown the most rapid wage rate growth in the country.
The unemployment rate in North Carolina is the fifth highest in the nation. The state’s unemployment rate rose for the second consecutive month in August to 9.7 percent, an increase of onetenth of a percent, according to a report released by the state Division of Employment Security Sept. 21. This is down one percent from last year, when it was at 10.7 percent. North Carolina has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country, following Nevada, Rhode Island, California and New Jersey. The national unemployment rate is 8.1 percent. Durham County is continuing its strive to improve its job market, Durham Mayor SEE DURHAM ON PAGE 4
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Police share more details Duke to start capital on UNC murder case campaign Saturday by Lauren Carroll THE CHRONICLE
by Julian Spector THE CHRONICLE
The University will officially launch its largest capital campaign to date at the Board of Trustees meeting this weekend. The Duke Forward: Partnering for the Future campaign began collecting donations in a silent phase since July 2010, and will go public with about 40 percent of the target amount already acquired. The end goal is expected to be more than $3 billion. The five-year campaign will kick off Saturday at a launch event in the Fuqua School of Business attended by 700 Duke donors from around the world. “We’ve had a good start,” Board Chair Richard Wagoner, Trinity ’75, said. “We had a specific objective, and we’ve met and perhaps exceeded it.”
Campaign organizers gathered input on the priorities from all branches of the University—including the undergraduate and graduate schools, Duke Athletics and the Duke University Health System, Wagoner said. “It’s a chance for Duke to speak as a full community, having worked together, for what could be transformative in all the schools and parts of the University,” he said. Universities typically silently raise funds for a capital campaign two years before it is publicly announced, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask previously told The Chronicle. This makes the campaign goal more attainable by the time it is made public. Typically, more than 100,000 people SEE TRUSTEES ON PAGE 6
Just days after what would have been Faith Hedgepeth’s 20th birthday, police released more information about the scene of her death. Chapel Hill police released recordings of radio traffic from the day Hedgepeth, a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was murdered in her apartment at 5639 Old Chapel Hill Road on Sept. 7. Durham police, who were also on the scene, released their recordings earlier this week. Police have yet to provide any information about the status of the investigation. The records give more detail about the nature of the crime scene, though they have been redacted due to a court seal on details of the case. “Go on and start the investigators out here,” a Chapel Hill officer says in the recording, while what seems to be
the sound of a woman crying is audible in the background. Friends found Hedgepeth in the apartment at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 and called 911. Both Durham and Chapel Hill police responded. Chapel Hill police are conducting the investigation. According to the recordings, Chapel Hill police also requested “Crisis,” which is a service of licensed social Faith Hedgepeth workers who counsel bystanders, witnesses or victims on scene. Police spokesman Sgt. Joshua Mecimore, said Crisis might respond to any death scene. Before requesting Crisis, an officer said the situation was “Code Green,” which means the scene SEE HEDGEPETH ON PAGE 4
12 | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
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THE CHRONICLE
Election 2012
9
On the polls: Obama v. Romney campaigns In light of the less-than-favorable polling data for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, supporters of the GOP ticket have maintained that the race is still up for grabs. Critics of the Obama-slanted polls say pollsters are falsely assuming that Democratic voters will turn out for Obama at a similar rate at which they did Mitt Romney in 2008, an election where the Democratic voter base was more excited than it is in this election cycle. “I think too many people are weighting their models, on the state and national levels, to a 2008 model,” said Karl Rove in a Sept. 24 interview with Fox News. “That is to say they’re showing a disproportionate Democrat turnout in the exit polls... too many polls are matching their models to 2008 [voter turnout].” Rove added that he thinks Obama’s internal polling data is showing a far closer race in some swing states, citing the President’s recent influx of campaign spending in Wisconsin as reason to believe Obama is not as comfortably leading in that state as many polls suggest. Romney himself has said he is not worried about recent polling data, noting that he has plenty of time to impress the voting constituency with three debates and five more weeks of campaigning. “I’m very pleased with some polls, less so with other polls,” Romney said in a recent interview with ABC news. “But frankly at this early stage, polls go up, polls go down.”
—Mac McCorkle, associate professor of public policy
THE POLLBOX
O
BITE
OF THE
WEEK
“Sorry, my friends, but there’s no time to snore, An out-of-touch millionaire just declared war, On schools, the environment, unions, fair pay, We’re all on our own if Romney has his way.” —Actor Samuel L. Jackson, in a video he recently produced, called “Wake the F**k up!” The video is a play on children’s literature and encourages voters to approach the coming election with the same enthusiasm they had in the 2008 election.
S WEEPING
THE
50
percent
42
percent
ROMNEY
Polls from the past week suggest that President Barack Obama is pulling far ahead of his opponent Mitt Romney in several key swing states. According to Real Clear Politics’ aggregated polling data from this week, Obama is ahead by a margin of larger than 5 percent in Ohio, and has acquired statistiBarack Obama cally significant leads in Virginia, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin. Since the Democratic National Convention, national polls have also been trending toward the President’s favor. The Thursday RCP average of polls said 48.6 percent of voters will vote for Obama and 44.6 will vote for Romney, while 6.8 percent are still undecided. Statistician Nate Silver, the founder and author of the New York Times’ polling blog, Five Thirty Eight, gave Obama an 83.9 percent chance of defeating Romney on Nov. 6, according to Wednesday polling data. In a Sept. 25 post, Silver said he compiles this election-day figure using both polling data and economic forecasts. “There’s no point in putting it gently— Mitt Romney had one of his worst polling days of the year on Wednesday,” he said. If Obama wins both Ohio and Florida, two states in which he is gaining traction, the Romney ticket will seriously struggle to reach 270 electoral votes. “If Mr. Obama were to choose any two states in which to overperform, Ohio and Florida are pretty good picks, and both represent huge problems for Mr. Romney,” Silver noted.
On the debate between the campaigns regarding poll legitimacy
“In the end, polling is still guesswork because you’ve got to make assumptions about the electorate, what the electorate is going to look like, and this isn’t scientific. These numbers may be too big in Obama’s favor, but the uniformity of the direction of the trend cannot be dismissed or argued away.”
OBAMA
DUKE IT OUT
PROFESSOR’S CORNER
Obama up 3 pt., Romney down 2 pt. since last week.
DATA BY GALLUP AS OF 9/26
New York, N.Y. Sept. 24 —Michelle and Barack Obama taped an appearance on talk show The View. Ohio Sept. 26 —Both Romney and Obama made multiple stops throughout the state, which is notorious for its election-deciding votes. Clive, Iowa Sept. 20 —Ann Romney demanded GOP critics of her husband’s presidential candidacy to “stop it” and understand the stress involved with running a presidential campaign.
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 | 3
Former Pentagon official defends Obama policies
S’mores in the Sukkah
by Samantha Brooks THE CHRONICLE
The Pentagon’s Michele Flournoy encouraged students to try to “see how government really works” in her discussion on “American Grand Strategy in a Time of Fiscal Constraint” Thursday evening. Flournoy, the former undersecretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama, spoke before a full audience at the Sanford School of Public Policy with political science professor Peter Feaver as a visiting fellow of the Von der Heyden Fellows Program. The discussion covered topics ranging from decision processes behind military action in Afghanistan to dealing with budget constraints while maintaining a global military presence as Flournoy shared her experiences in creating policies on each issue. As the undersecretary, Flournoy helped establish policy on issues including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the America’s intervention in Libya and the government’s response to the Arab Spring conflict. She now serves as a foreign policy adviser in Obama’s re-election campaign. Feaver began the conversation by discussing the failures and successes of previous defense secretaries, specifically focusing on the transition between Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. Flournoy explained that Gates’ leadership style in the Pentagon was significantly different from that of his predecessor. Whereas Rumsfeld brought a very close group to work with him at the Pentagon, which isolated him from other staff members, Gates entered
ADDISON CORRIHER/THE CHRONICLE
Michele Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense for policy, spoke with political science professor Peter Feaver at the Sanford School of Public Policy Thursday afternoon. “essentially on his own,” Flourney said. This allowed him to be more involved in different departments and foster a good work ethic. “He treated the military relationships not just as his stakeholders but as his partners in making the tough calls and doing the right thing,” Flournoy said. “That filters down. When people see the top relationships as collegial, professional, productive, respectful, that all filters down in terms of how people deal with each other.”
SAMANTHA SCHAFRANK/THE CHRONICLE
Students roast marshmallows for s’mores at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life to celebrate Sukkot Thursday night.
SEE FLOURNEY ON PAGE 5
Do you still have textbooks to purchase for this semester? We have to return unsold textbooks by wholesaler and publisher deadlines. Beginning on Monday, October 1, we will return Fall ’12 textbooks (used and new) to their vendors.
North Carolina Pride Parade September 29, 2012
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4 | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
DURHAM from page 1 Bill Bell said. The Mayor’s office is gathering information about locally unemployed people, such as age group and skill sets, which will be presented at City Council workstations in October. “This will help recruit new business and industries,” Bell said. “[It] provides a picture of our workforce to employers.” The county had an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent in July, putting it among the dozen counties in the state with the lowest unemployment rates, according to data from the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. Bell attributed Durham’s economic force to a combination of local industries, including health care—especially driven by the Duke University Health System—software and dining. The statewide numbers, how-
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ever, may not represent a change from past economic trends. “Nothing seen in these reports is any different from the general pattern over the past two years,” said John Quinterno, principal at South by North Strategies, a research and communications firm in Chapel Hill that specializes in economic and social policy. Jobs added in North Carolina in the first six months of 2012 were largely added in the private sector, with trade, transport, warehousing and utilities responsible for creating the most jobs, according to a study by South by North. Professional and business services and leisure and hospitality services also comprised significant contributions. Quinterno added that the February 2012 and August 2012 biannual reports show similar market dynamics—month-by-month variations in lower-level job and
federal-level job creation. The state’s current economic slump is rooted in the failure of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus package passed in 2009 to save and create jobs, Quinterno said. At the peak of the recession in 2010, the rate of employment dropped in every major industry across the board—particularly the health, education and public sectors in North Carolina. “The issue of unemployment fell off Washington’s radar,” Quinterno said. “There was no effort taken that was consistent with the magnitude of the problem.” With elections coming up in six weeks, however, the issues concerning the economy are moving to the forefront of voter’s minds, Bell said. Numbers for unemployment in the Triangle areas will be released Friday.
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HEDGEPETH from page 1 is safe, and the code might also have indicated that no more officers were needed, Mecimore added. According to Durham recordings, authorities found Hedgepeth in her bedroom— dead on arrival—and there was blood. Additionally, the recordings indicate that by the time officers arrived, it was believed that someone had been in the apartment. Some of what can be heard in the Chapel Hill police recordings might be unrelated to the murder because calls about other cases might have been made on the same channel during the time of the recording, Mecimore noted. The Chapel Hill recording includes brief interactions about a car accident, contacting a “subject” in Carrboro, an incident at a shopping mall and a police escort, among others. These are likely not connected with the Hedgepeth case, he said. Mecimore declined to comment on the state of the investigation, noting that investigators are not yet ready to publicly share any new information about the case since it was sealed two weeks ago. He added that he has not yet seen a report from the medical examiner, but the length of time it takes to exam-
ine a body varies case by case. “It’s ongoing, and that’s as much as I can say about the current status,” Mecimore said. Information about the case— including details of the crime scene, the 911 call and the manner of death—are sealed because widely circulating this information could disrupt the investigation. Mecimore noted that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro-UNC CrimeStoppers tip line is still receiving occasional information from citizens. The UNC Board of Trustees is offering a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest. The Haliwa-Saponi American Indian tribe, of which Hedgepeth was a member, and Hawthorne at the View are each offering an additional $1,000. Hedgepeth, who was from Warrenton, N.C., was a biology major and Gates Millennium Scholar at UNC. She also became actively involved in the UNC American Indian Center during her freshman year. She worked at Red Robin restaurant in Durham, and friends say she wanted to become a pediatrician. On her would-be 20th birthday Wednesday, Red Robin held a fundraiser to benefit the Faith Hedgepeth Scholarship Fund. Friends and family recently started the fund to support a high school student from Hedgepeth’s hometown.
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CAREER CENTER
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FLOURNEY from page 3 Through a series of questions, Feaver grilled Flournoy on the different areas of friction between the president and various officials when making strategic decisions about actions in Afghanistan. He specifically referenced a portion of Bob Woodward’s 2010 book, “Obama’s Wars,â€? closely following the approval of the Afghan surge in which the members of the defense department were warned that the president would have a “Whiskey Tango Foxtrotâ€? moment if he were to be asked by defense officials to authorize the deployment of even more troops. In the face of the impending Afghan elections and security reports from ground operations, the president authorized the movement of troops, Flourney said, though she noted that at no point was there pressure against deploying troops. “One of the things you have to learn is don’t believe everything you read in Bob Woodward books‌â€? Flournoy said. “But having been one of the co-chairs that knew, I will tell you there was no predetermination, and I never felt any pressure in terms of ‘do not come and ask for more troops.’â€? Feaver continued to stress the controversies surrounding the Afghan surge, criticizing the timing of the military’s announcement of its plan. Flourney defended the decision to announce the surge with a timeline, explaining that it sought to communicate that the increased troop activity was not a permanent commitment. She added that the plan also sought to prevent Afghan cultural dependency. “‘We’re not here to occupy and rule you, we are here to help you secure your territory, and we will leave it in your hands with continued support.’ That was the message that was attempted,â€? she said. Feaver turned the conversation to the current policy developing around “strategically balancingâ€? the declining military presence in the Middle East and plans to increase military occupation in Asia Pacific. Flournoy explained that as available military resources are expected to increase, Southeast Asia is the most logical place to position them. “As we envision the transition out of Afghanistan and the end of more than a decade of war, we have some choices with available bandwidth and with available resources,â€? she said. “Where do we want to place our bets?â€? Despite these plans, should the president be re-elected, his first priority will be to establish a new budget deal, Flournoy said. Once a balanced budget is determined, the Pentagon will have a better understanding of the policies that need to be made. “His number one priority is putting that in place so we have the predictability to unleash and unlock the private sector investment that we really need to get the economy moving,â€? she said. “That is what will clarify the parameters for defense.â€?
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 | 5
Flournoy has been active in defense policy throughout her career. She served as the principle deputy assistant secretary for strategy under the Clinton administration, after which she left and co-founded a research think tank titled the Center for New American Security. She re-entered the Pentagon as the undersecretary of defense policy in 2009 as part of Obama’s transition team, where she remained until February 2012. Flournoy left her post as undersecretary in February to join Obama’s campaign. When asked to name one of GOP opponent Mitt Romney’s most fair criticisms of the defense strategies under Obama, she said she could not name one. After the discussion, Feaver said he was pleased with how it went, given that Flournoy had been “high on his wish list� of fellows to invite to Sanford for a long time. The most important part of her message was explaining the plans for military placement in the future, given the budget cuts. “There’s still a feeling that the world is a dangerous place, and that a world with a weak American military presence is more dangerous,� he said.
NICOLE SAVAGE/ THE CHRONICLE
At the event, Flourney called on her experience to discuss recent foreign policy decisions and the future of American grand strategy.
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TRUSTEES from page 1 donate money to Duke each year, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. The 700 attending the campaign launch are alumni, parents and others representing Duke’s “most passionate, loyal and generous supporters,” he said. The Board will also review the annual financial statement for the University’s endowment. The annual change in the endowment’s assets has not yet been released. Although the endowment has not seen double-digit growth in the years since the financial crash, Wagoner said the University has managed to safeguard its finances this year, as it has in years past. “Sometimes you win by not losing,” Wagoner said. In other business Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration, will brief the Board on the Clery Act, a federal statute that regulates reporting of crimes and other incidents on college campuses. Schoenfeld noted that the Board is interested in how Duke complies with federally mandated crime reporting, following the child abuse and cover-up scandal at Pennsylvania State University that came to light last year. “Sometimes people misread the Clery report as solely a police report, but it’s really an institutional document,” Cavanaugh said. “So you’ll certainly have policing data but information that comes through student af-
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fairs, as well.” Duke is unique compared to most universities in that the campus boundaries for Clery reporting also include the Medical Center and its extensions. For example, that if an assault occurs in Duke Hospital, it must be noted in Duke’s Clery report. This year’s report is due Oct. 1 to the U.S. Department of Education, Cavanaugh said. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag will present on the newest class of undergraduates and admissions trends. He will lead the Trustees in what Wagoner called a “mini-retreat” simulation of the admissions decision process, in which they will role-play admissions officers deciding whom they would admit among a group of hypothetical candidates. Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of DUHS, will discuss ongoing institutional planning, which is intended to help the health system adapt to the changing nature of health care. DUHS has completed the first phase of the enterprise-wide planning, in which committees of senior staff, doctors and nurses investigated possible institutional improvements in areas such as research optimization and educational design. Those groups have developed their initial recommendations, some of which are already being implemented, Wagoner said. The Board will also hear updates on Duke’s new Coursera online courses, the implementation of the house model, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, Duke Kunshan University and ongoing renovations on West Campus.
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MOLD from page 1 “We felt this was one way we could try to take action that could hopefully make an important difference in terms of how people felt about their environment,” Gonzalez said. Prior to the air quality testing and duct cleaning in several apartments, Rohde said she had already contacted HDRL soon after moving in to her apartment in August. She noted that HDRL’s response to her initial complaint and maintenance request was not helpful. “All [the maintenance worker] did was spray Tilex on the outside part—the cover—[of the duct] so obviously that did nothing,” she said. After she was left unsatisfied by the work done by the maintenance staff, Rohde independently hired an outside company, AdvantaClean, to come in and inspect her apartment. The company vacuumed out the dust and mold from the vents, Rohde said. The receipt for the cleaning service included remarks written by the inspector. “The system is around 20 years old. Looks like it was never cleaned. Also found mold along with excessive dust build-up,” it read. Gonzalez noted that the cleaning recently completed by Afterdisaster in Rohde’s house was the first air duct cleaning to happen “in some time” in the Central apartment buildings, which are nearly 40 years old. “It might be time to take some of those steps,” he said in an interview early September, prior to the cleaning by Afterdisaster. Junior Rachel James, who lives in a different section on Central from Rohde, noted that she became ill on her first day in her apartment. “The day I moved in I was totally fine in the morning—we started at 8 a.m.— and then around 3 or 4 [p.m.] I really
started to notice that my head and my throat both felt really swelled up,” she said. James noted that multiple other students living in her building were sick around the same time, but she said she cannot be sure that she and her housemates’ illnesses were definitely a result of air quality in the apartments. Although her illness is no longer a concern, James said she wonders if she has simply become accustomed to unclean conditions. Gonzalez noted in a more recent interview that HDRL is currently making plans to clean the ducts in apartments across Central Campus, likely to happen next summer. An outside company will likely be hired to perform the work, he said. HDRL is also formulating plans to complete other renovations next summer in some apartments on Central— which may include new flooring and added light—and the ventilation cleaning may coincide with those renovations, Gonzalez added. He noted that test results have not led HDRL staff to believe that more immediate cleaning is necessary. The reports on Central may relate to both an uptick in complaints about allergens and air quality and the growing prevalence of allergies among the Duke student body, Gonzalez noted. The large number of window air conditioning units used on East and West campuses is another indicator of this trend, and this academic year was not an exception. “I can’t explain why some students felt like they were suffering some symptoms when they moved in, whether it’s due to elevated sensitivity or due to something that did get addressed when we cleaned the ducts,” he said. “It’s clear that a number of women felt like they had some kind of health reaction.... We wanted to do everything we could to assure all students that they’re living in an appropriate place.”
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PROVOST’S LECTURE SERIES 2012/2013 MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012 4:00-5:30 PM 0014 WESTBROOK BUILDING DIVINITY SCHOOL spotlight.duke.edu/provostlectures/
The Online Revolution: Education for Everyone DAPHNE KOLLER RAJEEV MOTWANI PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY; CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, COURSERA The mission of Coursera is to make high-quality education accessible to everyone by allowing the best universities to offer courses to people around the world, for free. Professor Koller will discuss this far-reaching experiment in education, and how students can benefit.
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MEN’S SOCCER
FRIDAY September 28, 2012
Make sure to visit our DukeWake Forest page for a video preview and everything else you need to know before Saturday’s contest against the Demon Deacons.
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FOOTBALL
Duke hosts No. 8 UNC
Wake awaits in ACC opener by Daniel Carp THE CHRONICLE
DAN SCHEIRER/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
Entering its first ACC matchup of 2012, Duke is halfway to its first bowl bid since 1994. If the Blue Devils wish to break their bowl drought, they will likely need to snap another infamous streak this weekend. Duke (3-1, 0-0 in the ACC) will venture away from home for its first Duke conference test as it takes on Wake Forest (3-1, 1-1) Saturday at 12:30 p.m. vs. at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake The Demon Deacons, fresh off a 49-37 Forest win against Army last Saturday, have had Duke’s number in recent years— Saturday, 12:30 p.m. BB&T Field the Blue Devils have lost 12 straight contests against Wake Forest dating back to Nov. 13, 1999. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe has not shied away from this daunting streak in an effort to make his players aware of the history between these two schools, which have played a number of close matchups in recent years, including a 24-23 contest at Wallace Wade Stadium last season. “We’ve had a lot of guys that have played in a lot of games versus Wake Forest,” Cutcliffe said. “In conference play it’s fun to know something about your opponents. This is real football, and they know that and they’re excited about that challenge.” Led by quarterback Tanner Price, Wake Forest boasts a dangerous aerial attack. Although the junior signal-caller has completed just 58.9 percent of his throws this season, he has excelled in his ball control, throwing just two interceptions in the first four contests. Price’s top target is redshirt junior wide receiver Michael Campanaro, who has amassed a conference-best 36 receptions for 421 yards and three touchdowns this season. No
Last year against Wake Forest, quarterback Sean Renfree completed 28of-45 passes, but did not find the end zone and was intercepted once.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 8
by Jay Sullivan THE CHRONICLE
In a controversial defeat Tuesday against UNC Wilmington, head coach John Kerr received a red card during a critical exchange late in the game. Without Kerr on the sideline, Duke will strive to make a statement in the No. 8 ACC with a home victory against the UNC reigning national champion North Carvs. olina (6-1-1, 2-0-1 in the ACC) Friday at Duke 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils (3-4-1, 1-1-1) played at a high level for the majority of TuesFriday, 7 p.m. Koskinen Stadium day’s loss, only conceding two goals on a penalty shot and swift counterattack late in the second half. This lapse in the usually strong back line has been a focus heading into Friday’s matchup, especially for senior goalkeeper James Belshaw. “Concentration is the key,” Belshaw said. “As a back four, myself included, we’ve been solid all year. We’ve not made mistakes, and we’ve defended well. We can blame our excuses on the referee or whatever, but we weren’t good enough on Tuesday night. “ Although the defense has focused on regaining its top form, Kerr has stressed the importance of a detail-oriented approach. “We’ve kept everything positive and made sure that everyone is on the same page,” Kerr said. “We’re getting our little details right with set plays, and how we’re going to work on transition and making sure that defensively we’re where we need to be. We did a good job today [in training] and were on the same page.” SEE M. SOCCER ON PAGE 8
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Blue Devils trounce Tigers 3-0 by Vaishnavi Krishnan THE CHRONICLE
Junior Laura Weinberg netted two goals in the first half to secure a 3-0 win and post a personal best of 11 goals on the season. No. 5 Duke (8-2-1, 2-1-1 in the ACC) took on Clemson (5-5-2, 0-4-0) at home, stretching the Tigers’ losing streak to four games and extendCLEM 0 ing its unbeaten streak at Koskinen DUKE 3 Stadium to 20. With no games this past weekend, the well-rested Blue Devils came out with energy, determined to win an ACC matchup after tying No. 10 Maryland 2-2 last week in double overtime. Duke did not give the defense-oriented Clemson team a chance in the first half, keeping the majority of play around the Tiger goal, eventually outshooting them 22-1 in the first 45 minutes. “We really did a god job of attacking the flanks,” head coach Robbie Church said. “The execution up the field and the way we ran it was really good, I think there were some more goals we could have put it, unfortunately some hit the crossbar, some hit the keeper, some were wide, but it wasn’t from the lack of effort.” In the 17th minute, fresh-
man Cassie Pecht drove a ball straight at the goalkeeper, who was not able to control the catch. The rebound was collected by Laura Weinberg, who put it away for a 1-0 advantage and notched her 10th goal in 11 games. She has now scored a point in six of the last seven games. Just seven minutes later Weinberg did it again, keeping her composure in the box and finding the right corner of the goal off an assist from juniors Gilda Doria and Kaitlyn Kerr. This marked her seventh career multi-goal game, tying her for second in Duke history. “It feels awesome,” Weinberg said. “Freshman year I had 10, and last year I had eight, so it has been amazing to just improve on that and get the goals this year.” With a slower start to the second half, the Blue Devils kept up both their offensive and defensive pressure, but allowed Clemson to get closer to the goal. Regardless, the Tigers could not find the back of the net, and Duke finished the game outshooting them 31-4 and took 13 corners to Clem-
son’s zero. Senior goalkeeper Tara Campbell recorded one save in the shutout, giving her 29 shutouts in her career. “We have to put 90 minutes together,” Church said. “It’s hard when you dominate so strong in a half to get back, I understand that as a player, but we have got to compete all the time. “ Sophomore Katie Trees’ goal in the 78th minute, off of a feed from the end line by Pecht, secured the victory for the Blue Devils. For the Tigers, the second half was characterized by eight fouls, in what became a physical game. “We were able to keep the ball really well,” Weinberg said, “and just possess and play our game and knock it around, which we are used to doing. We were able to play around all their tackling, just keeping the ball was our big thing this game.” At the end of the first half, sophomore Kelly Cobb suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined her for the remainder of the match. Cobb, who is playing in only her second game since her return from the U-20 World Cup, is still dealing with a knee injury she sustained abroad. Freshman Kelly McCann injured her knee toward the end of the second half. She will undergo an MRI tomorrow to see the SEE W. SOCCER ON PAGE 8
fromstaffreports Field hockey Full preview online—No. 21 Duke will take on Boston College and Kent State this weekend and will do so with the addition of six players who return to action after playing in the Junior Pan-American Games. Women’s soccer Full preview online—After shutting out Clemson 3-0 Thursday night, the No. 5 Blue Devils continue ACC action Sunday in Charlottesville against the No. 3 Cavaliers. Women’s tennis Full preview online— Following a strong showing last week at the Fab Four Invitational, Duke heads to Pacific Palisades, Calif. for the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, slated to begin on Saturday with pre-qualifying singles and doubles. Women’s golf The No. 21 Blue Devils will play Sunday through Tuesday at the Olympia Fields Country Club in the Fighting Illini Invitational. Duke, which is coming off a win at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate two weeks ago, looks to improve on this championship-caliber performance as it heads north to take on a field of teams that includes No. 8 Arkansas, No. 11 Stanford, No. 12 Florida, No. 16 Florida State, and No. 24 Clemson. Cross country The men’s and women’s teams will go separate ways for the weekend as the men head to nearby Cary, N.C. for the Great American Cross Country Festival and the women trek to the Greater Lousiville Classic.
8 | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
FOOTBALL from page 7
football. Running backs Josh Harris and Deandre Martin each topped 100 yards and found the end zone twice in Wake Forest’s other Wake Forest receiver has recorded victory against Army last weekend. The pair more than seven receptions in 2012. As a dual have combined for more than 450 rushing threat, the Demon yards and seven Deacons have used touchdowns this “This is real football, and Campanaro out of season. They will the backfield as face a Duke run they know that.” well this season. defense coming off — Head coach David Cutcliffe a dominating perThe junior has carried the ball nine formance against times for 54 yards Memphis, in which and one additional score on the ground. the Blue Devils allowed just 71 rushing yards “He’s strong, he’s physical, he’s got great on 28 attempts. speed and loves to compete. He’s got great After failing to force a turnover for the hands,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s a dangerous guy, first time this season in last week’s win and when he catches a screen or a ball across against Memphis, Duke will face a Wake the middle, he’s such a good runner with the Forest team that takes excellent care of ball that he can turn something ordinary into the football. In addition to Price’s two insomething special. You better tackle well if terceptions this season, the Demon Deayou’re going to tackle him in space.” cons have only fumbled the ball three Facing a dangerous Demon Deacon times and have recovered all three. After passing attack, the Blue Devil secondary surrendering four turnovers to the Tigers appears to be the healthiest it has been last weekend, Duke hopes to find itself on all season. Despite losing safety Chris Ta- the right side of the turnover margin this varez to a torn left meniscus this week, weekend against Wake Forest. Duke will welcome August Campbell back to the lineup. Campbell will join Walt from page 7 Canty, Brandon Braxton and Jordon Byas in the safety rotation for Duke, which has yet to play a game in 2012 with all four extent of the injury. of these players on the active roster. The Heading to take on No. 3 Virginia Blue Devil secondary also dodged another on Sunday, the Blue Devils are happy to bullet when cornerback Lee Butler, who start the weekend doubleheader with a left last week’s 38-14 win against Memphis victory. with an injury, was listed as probable for “This was a huge game for us,” WeinSaturday’s game and will likely start. berg said. “It was a turning point, we Although Wake Forest’s passing offense knew we had to get this win going forhas been a point of emphasis for Duke, one ward so we are really looking forward to of the biggest differences for this year’s De- Virginia, but we are happy we got these mon Deacons is their success running the three points today.”
W. SOCCER
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Worship with Holy Communion 8:30 & 11:00 am each Sunday 10 am Summer Lifting high the cross, to proclaim the love of Christ! www.gracelutheranchurch.net
Beth El Synagogue 1004 Watts St., Durham
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Rabbi Daniel Greyber Saturday morning Shabbat Services: Orthodox: 9:00am / Conservative: 9:45am Visit www.betheldurham.org for more information Students are welcome at all Shabbat and Holiday Services
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M. SOCCER from page 7 Despite the absence of Kerr on the sidelines, the team is confident in the coaching staff and their game plan. “We have two other great coaches in coach Brady and coach Amos that are leaders,” Belshaw said. “Coach Kerr has prepared us like a normal game. We’re going to miss having him on the sideline, but we can’t dwell on that.” As for key matchups on the pitch, Kerr was quick to praise the Tar Heels’ talent at multiple positions. “They can come at you from all angles,” Kerr said. “We’re very aware of their strengths and we’re hoping to match them in work ethic defensively, and we’ve got to come alive
offensively.” Kerr maintains that the key to defeating the Tar Heels will be finding an effective offensive game plan to break down their back line. “It is essential to make sure that we’re keeping UNC on their toes—make sure they’re defending and having to work hard,” Kerr said. “We have to do a better job of keeping possession and understanding their pressure, because they’ve got good defenders and they move very well together in terms of pressuring you. So we’re looking at opportunities to break pressure and get at them.” And playing against the rival and No. 8 Tar Heels, there is always an added level of pressure and excitement. “I mean, it’s North Carolina,” Belshaw said. “[Games like this are] what you come to Duke for. [It’s] the biggest game of the year for us.”
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- Oversee documentation needs, including the evaluation of the need for new SOPs and proactively develop them through to sign off, training, and implementation
DIRECTOR OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
- Keep updated on and help to interpret regulations and guidance documents that govern our clinical operations
JOB DESCRIPTION
NeuroCog Trials has an immediate opening for a Director of Quality Assurance. This position will have wide-ranging QA responsibilities for a dynamic, fast-growing company within the pharmaceutical industry. The successful applicant will become part of a multidisciplinary team supporting worldwide drug development programs across a variety of therapeutic areas. The Director of QA will lead the interpretation of regulations, guidelines, policies, and procedures, as well as support management in the promotion and assessment of compliance. A hands-on attitude and capacity to work independently are essential, as this position will interact with clinical operational teams and be responsible for multiple aspects of quality documentation. The Director of QA will report directly to the President.
- Review existing SOPs for internal consistency and match with our operational and corporate objectives
- Train all employees on relevant regulations and guidance in a documented fashion - Develop and maintain internal and external systems for audit - Write systems and procedures audit plans - Coordinate the scheduling, conduct, reporting and closure of audits QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
- Host client and regulatory audits of NeuroCog Trials
Qualified applicants should send a CV and reference list to careers@neurocogtrials.com. ABOUT NEUROCOG TRIALS
NeuroCog Trials is the leading cognition services company for the pharmaceutical industry. Successful applicants will be individuals who thrive in a dynamic, fast paced environment and want to be part of a growing company. For more than 10 years, NeuroCog Trials has provided consulting, site screening, rater training and certification, and data review services to more than 50 clinical trials in over 25 countries. Our mission is to facilitate the development of novel therapies to enhance cognition. We bring to all of our work deep expertise, strategic innovation, and an unwavering commitment to research excellence. For more information about us, see www.neurocogtrials.com No phone calls, please. Applicants who call will not be considered. Email careers@neurocogtrials. com SALES ASSOCIATESPBTEEN
Sales Asociates needed for new Pottery Barn Teen store opening October, 2012. Please send resumes to PBTeen6025@ gmail.com. GYMNASTICS INSTRUCTOR
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RESPONSIBILITIES
- Ensure that all systems, guidelines, policies, and SOPs comply with both US and international quality requirements for Good Clinical Practices
projects and initiatives simultaneously
- Working knowledge of computer system validation, 21 CFR Part 11, and vendor auditing - Strong interpersonal skills and management experience - Ability to manage multiple
Searching for a responsible young female, non-smoker, to stay with my daughter at my house in Durham when I travel for work. The job requires taking her to school before 8 am, picking her up by 6 pm, preparing breakfast and dinner. A drivers license and at least one reliable reference are required. The pay is negotiable. If interested, please send your CV to rjb.bailey@gmail.com.
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10 | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
Bored of Trustees The Board of Trustees harried man from Kansas corporately addresses the behind the curtain. University community that There is a tired debate it governs in three ways. about how much access meFirst, it lets Duke news re- dia organizations should leases spin flattering sto- have to Board meetings. ries about its We do not deliberations. wish to repeat editorial Second, it alit. All told, the lows reporters a short brief- Trustees should lock the ing after meetings to ask a doors and close the blinds few necessarily superficial when effective discussion questions. Third, every requires secrecy and anoonce in a while, one if its nymity. members will give a speech Our demands are more at a University event, usu- modest. They stem from ally one arranged for an the simple irony that Duke, entirely different purpose. which every day strives to We are not the first to teach students how to make point out that all of this well-justified decisions, expassive communication is pects so little from its highpretty thin gruel, resem- est decision-making body. bling less legitimate gover- The Board indeed never nance and more the boom- meaningfully justifies its ing voice that hides the decisions to the University
“
Congratulations, Danny, as much on your incredible insight and ability to reflect in such a personal, meaningful way as on overcoming the struggle in the first place...
”
—“Chris Edelman” commenting on the column “Remembering lessons of cancer.” 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.
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
YESHWANTH KANDIMALLA, Editor LAUREN CARROLL, Managing Editor JULIAN SPECTOR, News Editor ANDREW BEATON, Sports Editor CHRIS DALL, Photography Editor MAGGIE LAFALCE, Editorial Page Editor KATHERINE ZHANG, Editorial Board Chair PARKER KUIVILA, Managing Editor for Online JIM POSEN, Director of Online Operations CHRISSY BECK, General Manager KRISTIE KIM, University Editor TIFFANY LIEU, Local & National Editor ANDREW LUO, Health & Science Editor CAROLINE RODRIGUEZ, News Photography Editor PHOEBE LONG, Design Editor MICHAELA DWYER, Recess Editor SOPHIA DURAND, Recess Photography Editor SCOTT BRIGGS, Editorial Page Managing Editor MATTHEW CHASE, Towerview Editor ADDISON CORRIHER, Towerview Photography Editor NICOLE KYLE, Social Media Editor SAMANTHA BROOKS, Senior Editor REBECCA DICKENSON, Advertising Director MARY WEAVER, Operations Manager DAVID RICE, Director of External Relations
community. After each of its meetings, the Board should release a report, printed on Board letterhead and signed by each of its members, that specifies every major decision made at that meeting and lays out the Board’s reasons for endorsing that decision. We are not seeking a precise transcript of the meeting. All we are asking for is a proactive effort by the Board to justify its decisions to a Duke community that is expected to live with them. There is no reason not to do this. Providing public justification for major decisions allows the Duke community to understand the rationale for and contribute to major decisions. It
is in the Board’s interest to publish justifications—the University community can only buy into projects to which it feels connected. The introduction of the Duke Kunshan University project, first conceived in 2010, is a perfect example. Neither the administration nor the Trustees ever properly justified the project. The grim result was a Duke community that complained for years about the vague project foisted on it. Suspicion could have been assuaged by strong justification at the outset. The Trustees’ justifications must take a certain form. Official Duke news outlets simply name a nonsubstantive feature of a decision—that it is ground-
breaking, exciting or innovative—and stop there. Real justifications weigh the strengths and weaknesses of a decision in light of alternatives. Constructing a campus in China or a new building for the Nicholas School might be a good idea—but in doing so, what are we not doing, and why? The faculty demand transparency from the Academic Council, which publishes minutes for each of its meetings. Students demand the same of Duke Student Government. We cannot hold these bodies accountable, and then let our Trustees so easily off the hook. Chris Brown recused himself in light of his role on the Board’s Business and Finance Committee.
Too smart
onlinecomment
Est. 1905
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MARGOT TUCHLER, University Editor JACK MERCOLA, Local & National Editor DANIELLE MUOIO, Health & Science Editor ELYSIA SU, Sports Photography Editor ELIZA STRONG, Design Editor HOLLY HILLIARD, Recess Managing Editor CHELSEA PIERONI, Online Photo Editor ASHLEY MOONEY, Sports Managing Editor SONIA HAVELE, Towerview Editor MELISSA YEO, Towerview Creative Director NICOLE KYLE, Special Projects Editor MAGGIE SPINI, Senior Editor MICHAEL SHAMMAS, Recruitment Chair BARBARA STARBUCK, Creative Director MEGAN MCGINITY, Digital 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. © 2012 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.
I
’ll probably never see him again. You can almost be a day past 60. “Hello,” he mouthed. He shook me be assured. The exchange was simple, all but 10 from my reverie. “I’m Gracie,” I said. minutes. It was among the millions of transient “Thanks for volunteering here today, Gracie. exchanges I’ve had with perfect strangers. Why do you volunteer?” He is one of those people—you Yikes. A loaded question before know the kind—who could not be noon on a Sunday. Ummmm. made old by any number of wrinkles, I was scrambling, grasping for or any heartache. He is a little kid straws. “I want to be a doctor someforced into an aging body, jovial and day. A pediatrician, I think.” The unspoiled by what lies beyond the good old generic answer to the resrosy days of childhood. But it was his cue. eyes—the sparkle dulled by pain— At that he pulled up a chair and that gave him away. told me. He told me about his 3-year gracie willert “Don’t become too smart,” he old granddaughter who had spent read me maybe said. more time in the hospital than in I volunteer for the Ronald Mcher own home. She had a heart Donald Family Room in Duke Children’s Hospital. transplant in April and was born with upside-down Most Sundays involve extricating myself from the insides. His granddaughter, at 3, has no surviving cozy folds of a sleepy Sunday morning to come in friends with the same problem. for a three-hour shift. And until today, it was just And then, with a tired twinkle in his eye, he that to me, a shift. Clock in and out, log the hours leaned in, as if to reveal a secret. “Don’t let your and skedaddle off to whatever else needs finishing. heart be hardened. Don’t ever become too smart Three hours to start my week off right, to feel pro- that you forget to be human.” ductive, to convince myself I am somehow useful. Just earlier this year his granddaughter was reSomehow giving back. Whatever that means. covering from the transplant. Her parents pleaded The entire concept of volunteering has always that something was not right. No, no the doctors been confusing to me. It’s an activity that in my own said. She’s in recovery, she will be fine. No tests experience has been full of waiting, of good inten- were run, the parental intuition left unheeded. tion untapped, of great promise and little return. Protocol upheld. Within the hour, she coded, and I’ve made a habit of going through the motions and this grandfather received a phone call that she had meting out the hours. I always feel too underquali- died. fied or inexperienced to help in the way I’d like. Don’t ever become too smart. But today, the Family Room showed me other“I’m telling you this not because I blame the wise. It is a place where the families of the hospi- doctors,” he said. “But because one day that will be tal’s most feeble children can come for some down you. You will be calling the shots. And I hope scitime—to do the laundry, take a hot shower or sit ence doesn’t make you deaf.” and think before returning to the onslaught of I’m not there yet, not even close. I have the cruelty and unfairness that awaits them just down MCAT and a gap year and dozens of exams unthe hall. “Where do I fit in?” I’ve wondered. “And til I’ll be really, truly med-school bound. And yet, what possibly can I—privileged, healthy me—do to already Duke has hardened me. Built up calluses console?” where things once rubbed raw. Taught me to fail “Don’t become too smart,” he said. and to rise up. Once I was coddled, now I am testMost family members enter quietly with baggy ed. Pushed down, not downtrodden. Weary, not eyes and a small hello. They are bone-tired and defeated. But sometimes very close. Pre-med is the numb. Today after months, one finally lifted his ultimate gut check. head to admit that everything wasn’t okay and As for the heart check? Don’t ever become too hadn’t been. And that I could help. smart. “Don’t become too smart,” he said. It was today that I met the “he” you’ve been wonGracie Willert is a Trinity junior. Her column runs dering about. He is a grandfather of nine. Couldn’t every other Friday.
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The problem with humanities majors
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 | 11
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arties at Julliard are undeniably awesome for guys. cally. This is never required or emphasized in a humanities With an average partying demographic in which may- course, but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be. be 80 percent of people are girls, 60 percent of guys Who’s to blame for this? To start, humanity students are gay, and a major proportion of all attendants have ex- themselves. Most should abandon notions of internal gifts hausted their school’s potential mates, the and rethink the amount and quality of chances of any guy “getting lucky” that night work they do. Think like the Juilliard grad. are quite high. (Equally high is the chance Focus on technique. Deliberately practice. that any person turns out to be some inter(For instance, I don’t know why English national touring soloist). majors seeking additional practice do not More than that, though, Juilliard paroverrun editorial positions.) Edit. Annotate ties are awesome because the students are so much you annotate annotations. And extremely special. Almost everyone I’ve met don’t take throw away natural science rethere has an incredibly mature awareness of What cultural anthropology lucas spangher quirements. the space they occupy, both mentally and major wouldn’t benefit from being able to warriorHippie physically. Unlike what you’d expect from approach things statistically? Or what womones so deep into their art, I’ve found little en’s studies major couldn’t benefit from an dogma in most of them and, in fact, wind up mostly talking additional biological understanding of sexual difference? about science or philosophy. (Or perhaps a biomedical engineer’s ability to bio-engineer Here’s why I think this is. In the music world, there’s a implants and thus dominate men for good?) fairly clear and binary measure of failure. So success means Second, Duke. I think the declaration of one’s major a different thing: It means survival. In order to reach a level should be bi-directional. The English department should of musicianship necessary for success, students have to ap- be able to reject those they think are not qualified. In proach art from a very analytical angle. There is nothing classrooms that are especially dependent on class body in Juilliard’s curriculum that lets the student doubt that it’s constitution, unmotivated people will drag courses down. ultimately sweat—and lots of it—that will carry them for- Curricula should also prioritize deliberate practice (like, ward. Thus, six or seven hours are spent a day in the prac- “Here, write a 500-word essay. Now make it 300 words. tice room concentrating on effectiveness and efficiency of Now 200.”) technique. And this, as a result, imparts a meditative matuThird, society. It certainly does stigmatize science and rity to everything they do. romanticize the work done by artists. And so students and In general, the theme is fairly similar with work in the curricula are hence romantically structured. But this is silly: hard sciences. Most of Duke’s hard science majors have There’s nothing romantic for most Duke students about lower GPAs than their counterparts; success and failure cashierdom at McDonald’s. are easily quantifiable. I’ve often heard the “Oh I could Where I really care about this issue is in the environnever do math, I’m not smart enough.” Never have I heard mental science department. I see so much good intention the corresponding cop-out: “Yeah, I had to do chemistry. not being optimized. Students think that the environmenCouldn’t wrap my head around gender studies.” tal science major is the best way for them to maximize their And so the feminine theorists reading this will perk up impact. I argue that it’s one of the least effective ways for in agitation. “Yeah, some of our ideas are complex!” I beg them to do so. It’s four years of wallowing in the pleasure to differ. I’d bet that any physics major here could hold derived from learning about nature. Instead, one should their own in a beginning feminist theory class. But the re- be learning computational or experimental tools to make verse holds as well. All of the eventual women’s studies ma- an actual difference in these issues. jors got into the same Duke as the physics majors. If they When it comes down to it, Duke, like Juilliard, seeks to applied themselves in an effective manner, any women’s- fill vacancies in its classroom and not vacancies in the real studier could do well in Intro to Electromagnetism. People job market. But Juilliard students prepare like their lives are in all majors are intelligent and capable. Some just have not dependent. Most of Duke’s humanities majors need to recbeen taught analysis and deliberate thought. ognize room for quantitative growth in themselves. They See, the science majors really have humility handed to need to see the requirement for deliberate, techniquethem. They learn to abandon dogma and think analytically, driven labor—that’s the only way we change and grow as or lose points. Instead, in the humanities, I’ve found all too intellectuals. And, once this is realized, that sorely needed much of the “no question is stupid” mentality. What certain- practicality will be found. ly is stupid is this notion that masters of the arts rely solely on some mystical inner inspiration. In reality, any subject Lucas Spangher is a Trinity junior. His column runs every can and should be approached analytically and systemati- other Friday.
Eating our words
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Umm excuse me, is the chicken free range?” inquired a friendly professor-type when I asked for her order. I confirmed with our chef that, indeed, the roasted chicken had the requisite free range stamp. But as I dutifully jotted down her order, I wanted to ask: What exactly do you mean by that? Do you know that the USDA definition of “free range” literally just means that the chickens have access to the outdoors? That “access to the outdoors” could easily be a tiny fenced-in patch of gravel for five minutes a day. Of course, Ms. Free Range could be well-informed of these facts and making a conscious choice about her preferred poultry lifestyle. On the other hand, she could be another green consumer swayed by a feel-good label that promises hannah colton more than it delivers. gross national Everyone asks different happiness questions when choosing what to eat. Our preferences are based on a wide range of criteria: taste, price, appearance, means of production, moral values, cultural values, tradition. The problem is, the adjectives we use to inform these decisions are often misleading, nebulous and politicized to the point of being meaningless. Think about the labels attached to food products. Organic. Local. Whole grain. Genetically modified. Natural. Fair trade. Pasture-raised. What do these terms mean to you? You may think of farmers markets, expensive grocery bills or “Frankenfoods.” You may associate some labels with a healthy diet or sustainability. You may seek out certain labels, avoid some and ignore others. As college students, we may eat by certain criteria while at home, but find that our preferred options are hard to find on campus. If you’re like me, you aspire to eat with a particular set of values in mind, but find it difficult to choose the “right” foods. My value-laden questions have few simple answers. Does local produce always have a lower carbon footprint than imports? Are the purported health and environmental benefits of organic worth the higher prices? Where can one buy humanely produced beef in the Triangle Area? How can I be sure that my vegetables aren’t products of exploitative labor practices? I’ve tried to solve some of these dilemmas for myself. I have been vegetarian for the better part of three years, originally for environmental reasons. For a long time, a meat-free lifestyle satisfied my conscience. Then I learned more and more about our food system’s many rotten secrets. Now I’m still vegetarian, but I view it as more of a convenient cop-out than a comprehensively “right” mode of operation. I would love to be the perfectly conscientious eater, carefully weighing the ethical, environmental and health implications of each bite. But like most college students, I am still rationally ignorant about much of my foods’ origins. It would take me longer to find out where my breakfast comes from than it takes to eat it. So I settle for generalized, easy-to-follow rules. No meat, no seafood—check. What’s that you say? This Dole banana might be complicit in the pesticide poisoning of workers in Nicaragua? Oh, well! It’s not animal flesh, so it’s still on the menu! Overwhelmed yet? Yeah, me too. Some days I wish I could go back to eating indiscriminately, unbothered by notions of toxic agricultural runoff and sick cows. But I know I can’t simply look away. I know that I vote with my dollar and my fork. I want to vote for “real” food. But how? Individual consumers are confused, and for good reason. We don’t have the time or resources to educate ourselves about every food item we pick up. Some progressive companies and organizations have begun to recognize that we need help. Fooducate, Good Guide and Better World Shopper are examples of guides that have compiled the health, sustainability, ethical and safety ratings of various brands and items. Many of the guides include apps that scan barcodes, making it even easier to evaluate your edibles. But be honest—how many of us are going to whip out our EDF Pocket Seafood Selector in a restaurant and quiz the kitchen staff about the sushi? Trust me, eye rolls ensue. These guides are great if consumers actually use them, but systemic change would be even better. I’d like to see our federal government take more responsibility for the far-reaching effects of the industrial food system it subsidizes and regulates. Eating is more complex than we’d like to admit. Certain food choices are better than others, but right now it’s hard to parse the information we need to make those decisions. We need food vocabulary that actually means something—legally, ethically and practically. More transparent, standardized labeling is a crucial step in creating a food system that is better for people, animals and the Earth. Hannah Colton is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Friday. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @ColtonHannah.