Baldwin auditorium
The Colbert Report
RENOVATIONS FINISHED, NOW OPEN PAGE 3
BRODHEAD’S DEBUT ON ‘COLBERT’PAGE 5
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
1TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2013
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND NINTH YEAR, ISSUE 1
DSG GOES TO $15 million later, Baldwin ready for debut RECESS WORK OVER SUMMER by Carleigh Steihm THE CHRONICLE
As a new academic year approaches, the leaders of Duke Student Government are gearing up to accomplish their goals. Following a year that included legislation to change the University’s statute of limitations on sexual assault and reforming the Knock and Talks policies for students living off-campus, the seven DSG vice presidents used the summer to prepare their agendas for the year. “We’ve been working hard over the summer to make sure that this year is an amazing one for all students at Duke,” said President Stefani Jones, a senior. “This year will be challenging with so much construction going on around campus, but those changes also bring a lot of energy and excitement.” The vice presidents lead seven respective Senate committees— academic affairs, Durham and regional affairs, equity and outreach, facilities and the environment, residential life, services and social culture. Academic Affairs During the summer the academic affairs committee, led by junior Ray Li, worked in conjunction with the Asian American Alliance and the Asian Student Association to pursue the creation of an Asian American Studies Certificate. Li said the committee will continue to work on this goal throughout the year. Li said the academic affairs committee will use a two-pronged approach to improve the Duke academic community and student experience. The approach will feature both policy initiatives and academic programming. “On the policy side, the committee will push to establish more student input in policy forming, specifically with the issues of academic advising, ACES reform and curriculum See DSG, page 5
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Baldwin auditorium, on East Campus, went through two years of renovations and has been transformed into a state-of-the-art concert hall.
by LaCresha Styles THE CHRONICLE
After two years of renovation, Baldwin Auditorium on East Campus. The auditorium was unavailable to students while it underwent a $15 million of repairs, transforming the dated space into an elegant, state-of-the-art concert hall. The building—erected in 1927—had previously seen few renovations and little refurbishing. “The first renovations made to Baldwin in the 1980s were just a basic paint job and a changing out of the seats. It was more cosmetic than anything else,” said Elizabeth Thompson, Promotions Specialist for the Duke Music Department. The current undertaking was much more involved, requiring a complete overhaul of the performance area. As a campus landmark, the original exterior design was largely maintained. The interior, however, was significantly improved. Built originally as a general auditorium, the venue was not designed with musical performance in mind—the space was cavernous with poor acoustics. The reimagined space unites everyone in the hall, with a wraparound balcony that is much closer to the musicians
and a stage that brings performers nearer to spectators on the ground floor. “Now, there are very cool-looking sound-reflecting panels standing out from the back of the stage, reflecting the sound back to the audience rather than disappearing into the dome,” said Jonathan Bagg, interim chair of the Music Department and director of Chamber Music, as well as a member of the Ciompi String Quartet. In addition to reconstructing the seating and stage area, the entire air handling system has been revamped so that every single seat has its own personal vent beneath it. “That might seem extravagant, but it cuts down on the whooshing sound in the hall that interferes with the silence that you want in a concert,” Bagg said. Every addition has been geared toward engineering an extraordinary place to listen to music, surpassing both the Page Auditorium and Reynolds Theater. The end result is a space unlike any other on Duke’s campus. “The term ‘world class’ is overused, but this is actually a world-class concert hall. You are going to have as good an See BALDWIN page 6