T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Chronicle
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 51
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
Straight-ticket ballot leads to voting issues
Freshman ignites debate
Shhh!
by Tiffany Lieu
Conflict surrounds affirmative action letter
THE CHRONICLE
Straight ticket voting may exacerbate uninformed voting. The voting system, established in North Carolina since 2000, allows individuals to vote for a single party across all races by marking a single bubble. Although straight ticket voting expedites the voting process for voters, especially those who have strong party affiliations, some question whether the system encourages voters to cast ballots without being fully educated about the candidates. “Straight ticket voting enables those that are less informed about individual candidates and individual political contests to vote and to have blind faith that everyone on their selected side is better than everyone on the other side,” said state Sen. David Lewis, R-Harnett. North Carolina is one of 15 states with straight ticket voting and the only state where the option does not include the presidential race or nonpartisan judicial races. The exclusion of these races has caused significant voter confusion since its inception in 2000 and has contributed to a phenomenon called “undervoting,” when a voter does not complete the ballot, Lewis said. Undervoting most often occurs when voters opt into straight ticket voting, unaware that
NICOLE SAVAGE/THE CHRONICLE
A letter to the editor concerning affirmative action has incited a polarized response online and around campus. The letter “Rethink affirmative action, by freshman Jed Bradshaw, was published in The Chronicle Thursday and criticized the use of affirmative action practices in college admissions and the University’s recent support of said practices. The letter sparked heated discussion among students on social media outlets and in their dorms. “What’s going on is good,” said freshman Alex Bernard, who noted that he personally opposes affirmative action. “It’s creating a greater awareness about this issue.... More of Duke’s students will be encouraged to discuss it with administrators, faculty members and their fellow students.” Duke students should engage in a more meaningful discourse about affirmative action that takes into account both personal opinions and historical
SEE TICKET ON PAGE 8
Football head coach David Cutcliffe rings the Victory Bell , the trophy signifying Duke’s win against North Carolina, in Perkins Library Friday. Read about Duke’s 56-20 loss to Clemson, Sportswrap page 4.
SEE ACTION ON PAGE 3
by Pi Praveen THE CHRONICLE
Dukies deal with Duke grad tells students to make change through writing damage from Sandy by Imani Moise THE CHRONICLE
Writers should use their work to influence public conversation, Huffington Post Managing Editor Jimmy Soni, Trinity ’07, urged students Friday. Writers from a variety of oncampus publications, as well as other interested students, gathered to hear Soni’s keynote speech and participate in workshops at the annual Duke Writes symposium, sponsored by the Thompson Writing Program. This year’s symposium, Compose Yourself: Writing for Change, was intended to show upperclassmen how to use writing to make changes in others’ lives as well as their own.
“People are consuming more media than ever,” Soni said. “If you have something to say—and it’s valuable and worthwhile, and it’s new and it’s fresh, and it offers somebody something that they didn’t know before —someone is going to pay attention to you. This is possible today, and it probably wasn’t 15 years ago.” Soni encouraged participants to use writing as a tool to discover their own thoughts on different issues. He described his own experience as a columnist for The Chronicle as an enlightening time that forced him to develop his own distinctive voice.
Linda Coleman talks about her race for lieutenant governor, Page 2
SEE SONI ON PAGE 4
by Ryan Zhang THE CHRONICLE
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Huffington Post Managing Editor and Duke alum Jimmy Soni spoke to students Friday.
Hurricane Sandy has subsided, leaving Duke students and alumni among those recovering from the damage. Families of Duke students and alumni living in the Northeast continue to cope with the destruction caused by the storm. Many still lack access to basic necessities such as water, power and, in some cases, shelter. New York and New Jersey, two states hit hardest by the storm, are recovering slowly, alumni in the area said. “The storm lifted New Jersey and dropped it on its head,” said Nick Stevens, Trinity ‘86 and president of Duke New Jersey. Stevens said the alumni net-
ONTHERECORD
“In such a hostile partisan environment, even the mention of the third party is met with hostility....” —Michael Cook in “Life free.” See column page 7
work in New Jersey was able to stay in touch throughout the ordeal, exchanging emails to keep each other updated. He noted that even though some people suffered property damage from falling trees, most made it through the storm unscathed. Linda Martin, Law ’96 and one of the regional chairs of Duke New York, noted the similarities of the storm’s aftermath in New York City to that of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, particularly the “eerie calmness” that has settled upon the normally bustling city. “The atmosphere everywhere is surreal,” Martin said. “I was just at the supermarket and the shelves
Duke routed Queens in final exhibition, Sportswrap page 2
SEE SANDY ON PAGE 4