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The Chronicle 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
xxxxxday, monDAY, april mmmm 14, 2014 xx, 2013
Kwai steps down as junior class vice president
www.dukechronicle.com
ONE ONEHUNDRED HUNDREDAND ANDEIGHTH ninth YEAR, YEAR, Issue Issue xxx 112
Defining Movement: iconic showcase
by Jenna Zhang The Chronicle
Isabella Kwai—junior class vice president-elect—announced her decision to step down from the VP position in a Facebook post Saturday. Last Thursday’s election yielded a split ticket victory for Kwai, the current sophomore class president, and incoming junior class president Nandita Singh. Kwai’s running mate Sayoni Saha, the current sophomore class vice president, ran for junior class president but lost to Singh, while Singh’s running mate—Vaibhav Penukonda— lost to Kwai. In her announcement, Kwai attributed her decision to her personal values. “Something that has always mattered deeply to me in leading class council is the idea of partnership and team work,” Kwai wrote. “This was a hard decision to come to and I apologize for disappointing some of you, but it is a See election, page 12
Amanda brumwell/The Chronicle
defMo, a Duke University dance group, hosted ICONIC, its 12th annual showcase of nine original pieces celebrating multiculturalism, at Page Auditorium Friday evening.
James Balog given LEAF award for nature photography by Gautam Hathi The Chronicle
James Balog was awarded the Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts by the Nicholas School of the Environment Saturday. The LEAF award seeks to recognize artists who have devoted a large portion of their effort to addressing environmental issues. Balog received the award as a result of his photographic work, which includes a series of time-lapse photographs documenting the retreat of glaciers across the world as a result of climate change. These time-lapse projects were the focus of the 2012 documentary
Chasing Ice, which has received wide recognition, including a screening at the White House and a spot at the Sundance London Film Festival. “Artists have an incredible power and opportunity to influence how people feel and act about the environment,” said William Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School. “This award is intended to recognize those artists who have done that as a way of encouraging other artists to do the same.” During the awards ceremony, which featured musical performances and speeches, Chameides showed a selection of Balog’s work, which includes not only the time-lapse
glacier photography featured in Chasing Ice but also other environmental photography, including photos of environmental disasters and studio photos of animals. When accepting the award, Balog argued that enough people already have some understanding that climate change is a threat to humanity. “It’s been shown very clearly in the polls, despite all the glumness to the contrary, that a strong majority of the United States understands that there’s change in the atmosphere, there’s change in the climate, and that it’s connected with how we’re handling the burning of our fuels and how we’re
deforesting plants in the Amazon,” Balog said. Instead, he said that the problem is getting people to act and emphasized the importance of storytelling in the effort to bring about change in policies affecting the environment. “We need storytelling,” Balog said. “We have these patterns that are understood, and we need stories that come from art to illuminate and animate what’s going on and to create some sense that we need to do things different in the future. We need to have a perception of the urgency of the situation.” After the award ceremony, Congressman See LEAF, page 4