September 9, 2014

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Men’s Soccer to Play Temple

DUSDAC Talks New MOP Vendor

After their loss to SMU, Duke has sought to recover before today’s matchup | Sports 4

Committee discusses late-night options, labeling in campus venues and changes in vendors | Page 2

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

WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

ONE HUNDRED AND TENTH YEAR, ISSUE 13

From lucky number seven to crazy eight

Duke expands Brazilian study with global lab

The John Hope Franklin Center’s Global Brazil Lab allows students to study the country in different ways Maria Luisa Frasson The Chronicle With Brazil growing increasingly prominent on the international stage, the Duke Global Brazil Lab aims to offer students and faculty a chance to study the country in an interdisciplinary setting. New to the University this Fall, the lab researches Brazil through a blend of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The lab is run through the Franklin Humanities Institute and is one of several recent programs indicating an increased interest in Brazil—including the Brazil and Portuguese Studies major, which is new this year, and the Duke Brazil Initiative, which launched last July. “The lab is not a set of courses,” said history professor John French, one of the co-directors of the Global Brazil Lab. “The lab is a set of collaborations that is supposed to lead to independent studies and projects between undergraduate and graduate students.” Duke’s interest in Brazil has increased significantly over the past several years, said Katya Wesolowski, a lecturing fellow for the Thompson Writing Program who will teach in the lab. When she arrived at Duke in the mid-2000s, she was See Brazil on Page 8

Rita Lo | The Chronicle Duke has returned to number eight in the USNWR ranking of research universities after spending a year at number seven.

Emma Baccellieri News Editor After spending a year at number seven, Duke has returned to number eight in the annual U.S. News and World Report ranking of research universities. Duke now finds itself in the same place it was two years ago, tied with the University of Pennsylvania for eighth place. Last year’s move to seventh place saw Duke in its highest position since 2005, in a three-

way tie with UPenn and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The list—among the most popular college rankings in the country—was released Tuesday at 12:00 am. “As we have always said, the U.S. News ranking is one piece of information that has some benefit and is not completely without use, but it really is just an imperfect snapshot of a random set of factors,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. Duke has held various positions in

the top 10 for more than two decades. The methodology for the ranking has shifted over time, and changes last year included decreasing the weight of peer assessment scores and increasing the weight of graduation and retention rates. No changes were made to the ranking methodology this year. Although Duke does not necessarily place much stock in the rankings and is not concerned by the drop from eight to seven, See Ranking on Page 8

New N.C. online charter schools spark debate Adam Beyer The Chronicle The State Board of Education approved a process Thursday for selecting which groups will operate two virtual charter schools, set to open in North Carolina in 2015 as required by the N.C. General Assembly. Several different online companies are anticipated to apply for the pilot education program created by the legislature, which seeks to provide over 2,000 North Carolina students with a publicly-funded online education. The idea of virtual charter schools has been the subject of great debate, both locally and

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nationally. “As far as I can tell, there is no evidence that indicates full-time online learning benefits students in any way,” said Heidi Carter, chair of the Durham Board of Education. Carter referred to a 2011 Stanford University study of Pennsylvania charter schools, which found that virtual charter schools performed worse than both traditional public schools and brick-and-mortar charter schools. Bryan Setser, president and founding board chair of the North Carolina Connections Academy, which is vying to open a school, argued that traditional schools don’t work well for all students. “The 5,300 requests we’ve had have run

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the gamut from kids who have been home- Academy will now go through the new virtual schooled or would like schools application proto be, to kids who are in cess for the 2015-16 school s far as I can tell, an area where they don’t year, which was approved feel like their face-to-face there is no evidence Thursday by the BOE. school is a good option, that indicates full-time “It is hard to tell what to kids who have special really went on behind the online learning benefits needs,” Setser said. scenes. They have never The North Carolina students in any way. dealt with a virtual charter. Connections Academy apThey don’t have the pro— Heidi Carter tocols and procedures to plication was not passed on to the planning year as part deal with it, so it felt like of 11 new traditional charter schools approved the pilot process made the most sense for evby the State Board of Education, even though erybody,” Setser said. it was recommended by the Charter School Advisory Board. The North Carolina Connections See Charter on Page 8

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