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