October 26, 2020 by Duke Chronicle

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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 13

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020

University lobbies federal, state governments during pandemic By Chloe Nguyen Contributing Reporter

Responding to new legislation, regulations and initiatives is nothing new for Duke’s government relations team, but COVID-19 has thrown a curveball, impacting the government, the University and American society in unprecedented ways. How has the team adapted? At both the national and state level, they have continued to prioritize the policies that are most impactful for the University and its members. “We’re continuing to advocate...where we have interest. Student aid, research, immigration policy, tax policy, but in a different way, different things within those bodies of those issues because of COVID,” said Chris Simmons, associate vice president for the Office of Government Relations. This occurs in a variety of ways, including online lobbying, virtual coalition meetings and on-campus interactions, Simmons said. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered both how they lobby and what they lobby for. Although Duke’s government relations team has always lobbied for increased student aid and research funding, the coronavirus has led them to ask for more aid, loan relief and research funding to help mitigate the impact on students and faculty, Simmons

said. He mentioned Duke’s interest in the Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act, a bill that would distribute $26 billion in research funding. “If COVID wasn’t happening, we’d still be pushing… but it would be the traditional [way],” Simmons said. Another important issue taken up by the government relations team in Washington, was U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy on international students. ICE initially barred all international students on F1 educational visas taking only online classes from entering or remaining in the United States. The agency rescinded the policy, though it continued to apply the restrictions to newly enrolled international students. “Immigration has always been really important to us and it’s something that I spend a ton of time on,” Simmons said. “But it’s been especially difficult for international students this year… from the administration putting up roadblocks to basic things.” He mentioned that some consulates and embassies aren’t open, making it difficult to get a visa. “International issues and international student issues are a gigantic issue that we’re going to continue to push, no matter what,” Simmons emphasized. Despites its lobbying efforts, Duke did not accept $6.7 million in CARES Act funding for

student relief in May. Several factors went in the decision, including “legal and regulatory problems” with taking the money, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, at the time.

Students Get Involved

According to Simmons, Duke students were heavily involved in advocating to overturn the ICE ruling on international students. “I really believe the reason we were successful was because of such an outstanding student engagement… cooperation across the board with students, faculty and administration,” Simmons said. Two of the students most involved in this process were junior Shrey Majmudar, Duke Student Government vice president for academic affairs, and senior Tanisha Nalavadi, DSG director for international policy. After the initial ICE ruling, “we pretty much immediately reached out to a couple of key University stakeholders on campus to start… looking into ‘What can we do about these ICE regulations?’ and ‘How can we support our international community?” Majmudar said. Majmudar reached out to Simmons, and was put in contact with other administrators concerned about the ruling. Both he and Nalavadi emphasized how helpful Simmons

INSIDE — Just 4 weeks ‘til break. Hang in there, everyone. | Serving the University since 1905 |

Endowment dips as other schools see gains By Madeleine Berger Staff Reporter

Duke’s endowment took a hit this year even as other top universities saw gains. This year, Yale’s endowment increased by 6.8%, Harvard’s by 7.3%, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s by 8.3%, Carnegie Mellon’s by 5.4%, Columbia’s by 5.5%, Brown’s by 12.1%, Cornell’s by 1.9%, Dartmouth’s by 7.6% and the University of Pennsylvania’s by 3.4%. Unlike its similarly ranked private school counterparts, Duke’s endowment fell by nearly 1.2%—from $8.6 billion to $8.5 billion—despite a 0.7% investment return. Rachel Satterfield, Duke’s interim vice president for finance, explained that Duke’s endowment is calculated based on a number of factors. “The change in Duke’s endowment is a function of new gifts, investment returns and less Board [of Trustees] approved spending. The annual spending policy typically provides for a 5.5% distribution to support endowed programs,” Satterfield wrote in an email. Satterfield explained that Duke’s endowment dropped this year because the total of new donations and investment returns was less than the amount that the Board of Trustees approved for spending. “If new gifts to endowment and investment returns combined are less than the amount approved for spending, we experience a decline in the total market value of the endowment. This was the case in fiscal [year] 2020. We had a strong year of philanthropy, bringing in almost See ENDOWMENT on Page 4

INSIDE Students criticize sign ‘censorship’ Students living in Hollows Quad have put up an assortment of window signs—but not everything gets to stay. PAGE 2

ASA Asian Creatives Festival The week of Oct. 26, community members can attend virtual workshops celebrating the work of Asian creatives. PAGE 6

America’s original sin. Those in power conflate their own belief systems with the proper ones, Tatayana Richardson writes. PAGE 14

See GOVERNMENTS on Page 4

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2 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020

Students criticize ‘censorship’ of Hollows window signs By Alison Korn Staff Reporter

The students living in Hollows Quad are no strangers to looking outside and noticing passersby taking photos of their dorm room windows—but they can’t put whatever they want there. Students in Duke’s newest West Campus dorm are using sticky notes to create words or pictures on the glass, and in some cases neighbors work together to create crosswindow sentences. Examples range from advice like “wear yo masks” to more random phrases such as “crab legs,” “oh no” and “we love the D’Amelios.” Although this is not the first case of window signs at the University, the signs can now bring a little extra joy to campus in the midst of the pandemic. However, Duke has rules in place regarding what students are allowed to post on their windows. Hollows A Residence Coordinator Briana Enty told residents in a Sept. 28 email obtained by The Chronicle that although there have not been any issues so far with the windows, there is an expectation that “all signs or flags posted in windows should be approved by the RC before posting.” She warned that if the sign is considered “inappropriate” or “bias/hate speech” and students fail to remove it if asked, there will be an “automatic referral to student conduct.” Although the email says there have not been issues, one student said they believe the email was targeted at them and their suitemate. The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said that they wanted to put up a sign that said “men suck” on their window, as it was a joke between the two of them and would be funny alongside the other Hollows windows with similar unimportant phrases. However, soon after putting it up, they

messaged their resident assistant to ask if it would be considered appropriate. “I sent a picture of the sign and said, ‘Hi, we want to put this up as a joke but wanted to check with you if this is OK to put up or if it is breaking any rules’ or if it is considered hate speech, because if someone put up, ‘Women suck,’ obviously people would want that taken down,” they said. The student said their RA asked Enty and was told it was best to take the sign down. However, as they were under the impression that most people would read it and take it as a joke, they questioned what specific Hollows policy or Duke rule it would be breaking. “There was no standard for the whole process,” they said. “Apparently we needed RC approval, but, from what I thought, none of the other signs got RC approval. We understood where she was coming from but not what the actual rules for the signs are. I don’t think there’s anything in the Duke rules that the signs would break.” The suitemates were told to take their sign down Sept. 26, and the email from Enty— asking residents to get approval on all signs— was sent out Sept. 28. The RA declined to comment. In response to a request for comment, Enty referred The Chronicle to Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life. Gonzalez commented on the email with a brief statement on Duke’s history of monitoring windows. “Duke has a proud history of supporting free speech and continues to do so,” Gonzalez wrote. “This policy, enacted some years ago, created parameters to ensure a safer process for those choosing to hang banners outside their windows.” Gonzalez wrote that banners used to be “fairly

Rebecca Schneid | Sports Photography Editor Students in Hollows Quad have put up a variety of window signs, including these saying, “That’s a WAP.”

common” before windows were sealed to help the efficiency of Duke’s HVAC systems. “To my knowledge, no significant issues have occurred with this policy and students have worked with their RC to make any needed adjustments,” he wrote. Other students living in the Hollows argued that forcing students to take down their window signs, while understandable, is not the best course of action. Sophomores Tommy Shen and Connor Haughey have become small campus celebrities for being the owners of the “WAP Room,” as their dorm room window features sticky notes spelling out the three large letters. They said that although they are “not going to confirm what it means,” as the ambiguity is fun, they have received “many different guesses” of its meaning. “We’ve gotten ‘wings and pizza.’ We’ve gotten ‘we are powerful.’ We’ve gotten ‘women are powerful,’ and we live in an all-women block so we’re kind of here for that,” Shen said.

Shen and Haughney were two of the first Hollows residents to put sticky-notes in their window. They didn’t mean to “start a trend” by putting the sign up, Haughey said, but they enjoy the sense of community that the signs have brought to the dorm. The students living in the two floors above them joined in and created a cross-window sentence by adding the words “that’s” and “a” before “WAP.” “We know the people on the floor above us, but we don’t know the people two floors above us, so [the signs] are a socially distant, completely safe way of bonding,” Haughney said. “Obviously our intention wasn’t to make more people put them up, but it’s really cute, and it feels bigger with COVID because, when we’re all locked in our rooms, it’s our way of communicating.” Shen and Haughney said that they regularly see both students and employees take pictures of the sign. See SIGN on Page 4

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 3

College Republicans inactive as election approaches By Gracie Blackburn Contributing Reporter

With the election just weeks away, students have mobilized, campaigning for candidates, setting up voter registration tents and hosting debate watch parties over Zoom. But one group is conspicuously quiet: the Duke College Republicans. The organization decided against rechartering this fall because of ideological tensions within the group and the broader Republican Party, said Karl Harrison, Trinity ’20 and a former member. “We just couldn’t compromise,” said Harrison said. Harrison described a split between fiscally conservative “Ben Shapiro types” and socially conservative students like himself. After the social conservatives assumed control of the College Republicans, the economic conservatives left, catalyzing the organization’s disintegration, he said. Though College Republicans have temporarily disbanded, conservatives at Duke are still present. “Generally… the consensus is that most [conservatives] are… not very vocal with their political beliefs,” said first-year Brendan Parrella, who identifies as Republican but is “more libertarian than pure conservative.” He cited a fear of being “ostracized” as the main reason why conservative students don’t speak up about their views. He recalled a conversation with another right-leaning student who admitted to lying about his voting preferences to avoid jeopardizing friendships. Though Parella said he tries not to come across as too partisan in political discussions, he also wishes there was more openness to bipartisan campus dialogue. “There have definitely been situations where

I’ve wanted to say something but have kind of restrained myself because I’m scared that it’ll be interpreted wrong,” he explained. Harrison, on the other hand, described free speech as “readily available” on campus and said he never experienced any harassment during his time with the College Republicans. Yet he acknowledged an “air of dismissiveness” regarding the few active conservative students at Duke. To Harrison, dismissal of Trump supporters echoes the sentiment of the country as a whole, where coastal Democrats tend to hold unfavorable views of the rightleaning “flyover parts of the country”— namely the South and Midwest. “There’s a tendency to dismiss all these people as groups who are voting against their own interest,” Harrison said, referencing the concept of “somewheres versus anywheres” to convey the geographical divisions in American politics. Asked to weigh in on the November election, Harrison depicted President Donald Trump as a “transition candidate”—a politician who is shifting the Republican Party further to the left on economic issues. He cited the Trump administration’s tariff policy and issuance of COVID-19 stimulus checks as evidence of the changing face of the party. While Parrella wasn’t impressed with Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, he also expressed approval for the administration’s economic policy—albeit for different reasons than Harrison. He described Trump’s economy as “laissez-faire,” which aligns with his libertarian views. Although he said Joe Biden “seems like a good guy,” he diverged sharply from the Democratic candidate’s policy views—particularly on social programs and healthcare. Regarding voting in the election, Parrella

remains undecided. Although he favors libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen, he’s wary of supporting a third party in such a consequential election. “I think my vote will count more if I do vote for one of the main parties,” he said. Harrison added that the two parties are now more divided than ever, which makes it difficult to find common ground. Parrella, who is “not a big fan” of Trump but hasn’t ruled out voting for him, said he has seen derogatory language directed towards Trump supporters on Duke students’ social media accounts. “There’s a lot of negative attitude there,” he said. Harrison described characterizations of Trump as racist, facist and xenophobic as a

“red herring.” He expressed disappointment in extremist caricatures on both sides, which he thinks are unproductive. Trump has been criticized for racist remarks, including telling four freshman Congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from, and for immigration policies critics have said are xenophobic. While Parrella said he couldn’t attest to the president’s personal character, he and Harrison agreed that it was unfair to assume Trump supporters hold prejudicial attitudes. Parella noted that he didn’t think supporting or voting for Trump makes someone racist, as “people are voting for different reasons.” For Harrison, the election is not only See REPUBLICANS on Page 4 Cameron Oglesby | Graphics Editor

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Testing, tracing to cost ‘several million,’ Duke estimates By Katie Tan Contributing Reporter

Doing a quick nasal swab at a COVID-19 testing site has become routine for many at Duke. But how much is testing and contact tracing costing the University? Duke conducted more than 15,000 tests in the past two weeks of reported testing data. This includes entry tests for all students; pooled surveillance tests; clinical tests for all faculty, staff and students who report symptoms and are contact traced; the contact tracing program; and infrastructure, wrote Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, in an email. Schoenfeld wrote that the total cost will likely be “several million dollars over the academic year.” Vice President of Administration Kyle Cavanaugh affirmed in an email that several million dollars “is the most accurate estimate we have at this point.” He added that at the start of the academic year, the University had “rough cost estimates,” and current expenses “are running within those estimates.” Schoenfeld wrote that Duke’s partnership

ENDOWMENT

with the Duke Human Vaccine Institute has allowed the University to keep the costs lower than if it had to use outside vendors. Thomas Denny, professor of medicine and chief operating officer of the Human Vaccine Institute, wrote in an email that the partnership provided new equipment and supplies, additional staff, and collaboration with the University on logistics regarding testing centers and transportation of samples. “Since no one has ever done anything like this before it’s impossible to estimate the cost savings, but we do [know] that this process is considerably less expensive than the standard clinical testing process, which is used to confirm positive results from the surveillance tests,” Denny wrote. Schoenfeld noted that testing makes up only a small part of Duke’s overall annual budget of $2.8 billion. The coronavirus pandemic as a whole has made a much bigger and broader financial impact on the University than the extra expenses from testing and contact tracing, as it has resulted in “reduced revenue in many areas and added expenses that vary widely across the

“[Simmons] himself realized that these FROM PAGE 1 policies, should they go through, would be a significant detriment to all of our students,” $400 [million] in gifts to endowment; however Majmudar recalled. the return on investments was only 0.7% for the Majmudar, Nalavadi, and Simmons each year,” she wrote. emphasized the importance of each others’ Duke’s endowment is not to be confused roles during this process. with The Duke Endowment, a private “Quite frankly, students that are advocating foundation that contributes to Duke as well as and engaged and telling their story can be many other organizations. very, very persuasive and somewhat more Duke noted in a news release last month that persuasive than I could ever be when talking it is an “extraordinarily volatile year for investors.” to legislators,” Simmons said. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused uncertainty and wild stock market swings. Lobbying in Raleigh The difference between Duke and other Duke’s lobbying efforts also extend to schools may be a result of varying asset Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. allocations, which affect the risk versus return Doug Heron, associate vice president for tradeoff for investors. Duke’s target allocations state relations, represents both Duke and its are “48% equity, 15% credit, 13% absolute health system in Raleigh. return, 9% commodity, 9% real estate, 4% rates “Comparing us to the UNC system… (treasuries and agencies), and 2% inflation-linked there’s kind of little that legislature can do to investments, such as TIPS and timber,” according directly affect private Universities,” he said. to Pensions & Investments. Nevertheless, the state legislature still plays an Brown University, which faced the highest important role in Duke policy. investment return within the Ivy League, utilizes According to Heron, the Duke’s government a different approach, with a significantly higher relations team in Raleigh mainly focused on investment in absolute return—usually hedge appropriations and financial relief for the funds—at 37%. Yale University, which also saw University and the health system in March and a strong return than Duke, also has a higher April during the first outbreak of COVID-19. investment in that area, at 23.5%. On the policy side, they focused on enabling the Although Duke, Brown and Yale are similar University and its health systems to continue private institutions in terms of size and national function during the initial outbreak. ranking, their target allocation distributions Similar to the government relations are quite different. team in Washington, the state government Duke is not the only top-tier private relations team is continuing to prioritize institution to see its return on investment drop old issues in new ways. For example, Heron this fiscal year. Although Vanderbilt University’s had been working on Medicaid expansion in endowment increased by 10.3%, the institution 2019. With COVID-19, however, it was put at saw a - 0.1% investment return. the forefront of their agenda. Despite the various challenges of lobbying online during a pandemic, Heron said he believes 2020 was a relatively successful year FROM PAGE 1 for the government relations team. “I think that’s probably more attributable and other administrators involved were in to the fact that the state legislature working with students on this issue. recognized the crisis we’re facing and was “It’s very clear to see that they do have looking to help us,” Heron said. student concerns at the forefront of their He stressed the importance of coalitions lobbying agenda,” Majmudar said. between the state government and Duke, Nalavadi, herself an international student, as well as between Duke and other peer recalled a conversation with Duke government institutions in enabling the University to relations and administration in which they achieve many of its goals this year. asked her how the University could implement One major difference between working policies to better support international students. at the state level, as opposed to the national Majmudar said that the administration and the level, is that North Carolina’s state legislature government relations team allowed them to is constitutionally required to maintain a pitch ideas as to how to enable international balanced budget, Heron said. They have an students to enter the country. incentive to use the money they receive in the

GOVERNMENTS

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ON DUKECHRONICLE.COM Faculty consider proposal to expand S/U grading in Trinity College for spring semester BY CHRIS KUO | 10/23/2020 For those pining for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading, keep your fingers crossed: It may be easier to get one of those stress-relieving S’s in the spring in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, with details depending on the department.

The Chronicle’s Vol. 115 wins foremost award for online college journalism BY MARIA MORRISON | 10/22/2020 Volume 115 of The Chronicle won the 2020 Online Pacemaker Award, the foremost digital award in college journalism, on Thursday. university,” Schoenfeld wrote. In a May news release, President Vincent Price estimated that Duke’s revenue shortfall due to the pandemic could reach 15% of its annual operating budget—between $250 million and $350 million. To cut costs, Duke has taken steps such as temporarily freezing hiring and suspending its contributions to a retirement plan for faculty and staff. Price told The Chronicle last month that revenue losses had been “a little bit larger” than predicted but that savings had also been higher than predicted. The University’s endowment also dipped

from last year’s record high of $8.6 billion to $8.5 billion as of June 30, amid stock market volatility due to the pandemic. Despite this, many class budgets remained the same. Ann Saterbak, professor of the practice in the department of biomedical engineering, who teaches the first-year EGR 101 class, wrote in an email that team budgets are still $250 like in previous years. Foundry Manager Ali Stocks wrote in an email that The Foundry’s budget has also not been affected by any factors related to COVID-19. Mona Tong contributed reporting.

appropriate fashion, he said, without deadlines as in Washington. “We don’t have as much gridlock as [Washington] has,” Heron said. On the other hand, Simmons emphasized that lobbying in Washington has gotten much harder. “Members of Congress have three things on their minds right now,” he said, mentioning the upcoming presidential election, Supreme Court nomination hearings and COVID-19. Both Simmons and Heron noted that much of what they accomplish for the rest of the year and into 2021 will depend on the results of the elections in November. Regardless, Heron believes that Duke should advocate for itself more in order to get legislation through. “Duke really has stepped up on the COVID response, both University-wise and in the health system. We’ve been a good partner to the state,” Heron said.

decided to write the word “boob,” not having much of an explanation for why but just wanting to join the fun. “Everyone asks, ‘Why did you do that?’, and I say, ‘Why not?’” Schaefgen said. “It was random, but I’ve only received positive feedback about it. A lot of my friends, before they knew it was my room, would take pictures of our window and put it on their stories, saying, ‘This is what college is like.’” In response to the email sent to Hollows residents about needing RC permission to put up signs, the suitemates said they do not understand the problem with random, funny words that don’t seem to be impacting anyone. “It seems sort of like censorship and a little out of the blue, as Post-its in windows have been going on at Duke and other colleges for a while,” Schaefgen said. “There’s no reason to sexualize [‘boob’]—it’s just a word. Obviously if someone said, ‘That makes me uncomfortable,’ I’d respond, ‘OK, why?’, and have a conversation about it. But if someone just asked me to take it down, I’d like some sort of explanation to see if it’s unanimous or if other windows have to take their stuff down too.” Even if they were told their sign needs to be taken down, the suitemates would try to find a way to continue making people smile. “Honestly, there are so many things that we can’t do this year, and when we got the email, I was like, ‘Can we at least have boob?’” Spencer said. “If someone told us to take it down, we’ve thought about taking one letter down. We haven’t decided yet which one. It could be ‘boo’ for Halloween, or it could be ‘oob,’ I like

SIGN FROM PAGE 2 “If we had to take it down we would, because I know Duke is very no-nonsense this semester with any kind of correction,” Haughney said. “But I would definitely fight for it, because it’s making people smile and there’s no harm in it whatsoever. I would ask that Duke is more understanding with students because we’re all just trying to find safe ways to have fun. There are also no visitors on campus right now, so it’s not tarnishing their image.” Not only does the sign make those on campus laugh, but it also represents a greater message that Shen and Haughney want to convey to students. “We’re not confirming if the sign is in reference to the song or not, but [‘WAP’] became almost an iconic feminist song, since, historically speaking, the topic has been very stigmatized,” Shen said. “In the song, two black women are proudly flaunting their sexuality, and as both gay men here, it’s really important for us to embrace everyone and allow people to have a safe space to express themselves.” Other students in Hollows have similar signs in their windows with the intent of spreading positivity. Inspired by Shen and Haughney’s sign, sophomores Chloe Schaefgen, Katie Spencer, Viviana Geron and Jessica Wey used Postit notes in their own dorm window. They

REPUBLICANS FROM PAGE 3 about the presidency, but also about who will shape the judicial and legislative branches. He highlighted the importance of Amy Coney Barrett’s potential confirmation to the Supreme Court in a follow-up email to The Chronicle. The prospect of a “6-3 Catholic supermajority on the court is historic,” he wrote. As for the fate of the College Republicans, Harrison said it rests in “the hands of… the underclassmen.” For more election coverage from across North Carolina, visit One Vote N.C., a collaborative between The Chronicle and six other student newspapers that aims to help college students across the state navigate the November election.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 5

october 26, 2020

recess

recess asian creatives festival ASA’s first arts festival kicks off this week, page 6

get out the vote? ‘The West Wing’ special encourages voter participation but limits its audience, page 9

the suds

Popular co-lab soap-making workshop integrates arts and sciences, page 9

dukechronicle.com

6 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020

recess that’s my president:

Sarah Derris ............................ kim

Stephen Atkinson ...............bernie

Sydny Long ............................. aoc

Skyler Graham ......................... sfk

Kerry Rork ....................... melania

Jonathan Pertile .................. borat

Tessa Delgo ............................ karl

Derek Chen ......................... kanye

on the cover: Image from political zines workshop courtesy of DukeCreate

staff note

My family’s refrigerator is immaculate. Rain or shine, night or day, you can open the door and find quarts of reduced-fat Greek yogurt, bars of 90% cocoa content dark chocolate and at least five different types of leafy greens. We’ve probably purchased a grand total of eight sticks of butter in my entire life. I’ve never had Burger King, Taco Bell, Sonic or KFC; I think my kindergarten class went to a Wendy’s after a field trip once? I could go on, but let’s not make it a game. Part of this ridiculousness is credited to my culinary culture, and in that sense it’s decidedly not ridiculous. Traditional Chinese cuisine is essentially dairy-free: we drink soy milk, the underappreciated godfather of milk alternatives.We emphasize homecooked, sit-down meals, which always feature stewed vegetables and pan-seared (never fried)

campus arts

lean meat. After being raised on a diet of bok choy and whole wheat bread, it shouldn’t be surprising that I find fast food generally unappealing. (Hi, Doja Cat, what is Mexican pizza and why are we all so upset about it?) But food has always been far more intimate; it’s more than just being a Chinese girl in suburban North Carolina who is afraid to bring her ethnic food to lunch. In late January, my mother flew to Shanghai to be with my dying grandmother. After enduring the stress of having my parent run into the heart of a burgeoning pandemic to be with her mother one last time, I chose to stay home because everything was uncertain and in the worst scenario, I would need to do the same thing. I felt profoundly amoebic most of the time. But six months into coronavirus lockdown, a different disease confronts me. My mother has type II diabetes. No one would

ever guess it: she has always been as thin as a rail and a devoted follower of the “moderate daily exercise” movement. Her body, however, does not care. She is insulin-resistant, and any stray carbohydrate will send her blood glucose levels soaring. Although the rest of us don’t have to, she always bites around the starchy folds of her meticulously crafted dumplings in order to appease her glucometer. She warns me not to eat too much white rice lest I turn out like every other woman from her side of the family, so I eat my five different leafy greens like a young lady ought to. I know apples have a low glycemic index (good) and white bread has a high glycemic index (bad). I know that I shouldn’t eat more than two eggs a day because the golden yolks are high in heart disease-inducing cholesterol, which is really just as bad as sugar when you think about it. I know that a sizeable drizzle of honey over some pancakes almost exceeds daily maximum level recommendations of added sugar. Maybe this is old news to your average health-conscious individual, but what about a 10-year-old? Sugar has always been an unwelcome evil in my home. Last Christmas, someone gifted us a box of peppermint bark. The chocolate slabs, which were definitely not 90% cocoa, sat unopened on the counter until just last week. I finally threw them away after months of pretending like I didn’t see the bright red wrapping. I make special banana bread and cinnamon dusted granola with my mother in mind, whose highest form of praise is a solemn “not too sweet.” When I tell my parents I don’t want a birthday cake, I feel proud for being able to overcome my evolutionarily-wired sweet tooth. Don’t be fooled: I’m not an ascetic robot. I’ve had more than my fair share of Halloween candy, my family still orders pizza when nobody wants to cook and the macaron assortment from Trader Joe’s flirts with me until I take it home. But no matter how much I try to balance my health and

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The Chronicle my sanity, I still get hyperfixated on hypotheticals. Do I have some sort of sugar limit, like a finite amount of sucrose that I can eat before my system crashes? Have I spent most of my saccharine dollars already? If I develop diabetes, will I have to worry even more about my health if (when) the next pandemic comes around? Do I even like quinoa? That was a joke. But seriously — am I just fronting so that the universe doesn’t punish me for poisoning my body? I can’t deny the body of evidence showing that processed foods and simple carbohydrates, hallmarks of the modern Western diet, are fundamentally incompatible with the way our bodies evolved to process nutrients — a textbook evolutionary mismatch. I am blindingly aware that if I am not careful, I am genetically predisposed to suffer a similar fate as my mother, aunt and grandmother before me. Mostly, I feel concerned for my mother’s health. Sometimes, I feel wildly guilty for not wanting to listen to her and commit myself to a life of moderation. But I also miss the plate-sized chocolate chip cookies at Il Forno and the weirdly expansive selection of sweet breads at Div Cafe. I miss the slice of freedom I had living on campus, making spontaneous decisions about what and when to eat without incessantly worrying about my mom’s wellbeing or my future metabolic state. I miss the carefree spirit I had at Jeni’s Ice Cream with my friends last summer, not caring about infectious or inherited diseases as I licked melted happiness off of my fingers. We don’t just eat. We eat freely at family reunions and pathetically in musty dorm rooms and awkwardly in front of FLUNCH-ed professors. I don’t have a “good” or “bad” relationship with food because that dichotomy cannot even begin to explain what food means to me. For me, food evokes family and childhood and fear and happiness and independence and self-worth. I could go on, but I don’t think I would ever stop. —Megan Liu, staff writer

Get artsy with Duke’s first-ever Asian creatives festival By Meredith Cohen Staff Writer

At this point in the semester, we all know the Zoom drill — wake up, roll out of bed, slip into your desk chair and promptly turn your camera off to go make a cup of coffee. I would strongly recommend actually getting out of bed, though, or else you might end up like me: falling back asleep in the middle of your math lab in a breakout room. This is just one of the many reasons why the Asian Students Association (ASA) has taken a different approach when developing their inaugural Asian Creatives Festival (ACF) this fall. Throughout the week of Oct. 26, members of the Duke community can attend virtual studentled workshops designed to celebrate the work and passions of Asian creatives on topics ranging from tea ceremonies to graphic design. According to ASA’s Facebook page, the festival will be “an opportunity for our community to learn and grow different artistic skills as well as see the unique and vast talent others have. [The] Asian Creatives Fest is for anyone who has ever thought of the crossroads of their ethnic culture, identity, and arts and is open to all skill levels.” “We don’t just want this to be a bunch of performances, per se, that people watch. We wanted it to be more hands-on… We wanted to engage people more”, said ASA co-events chair Jamie Lim, T ‘22. “You can learn something new, it’s fun, it’s not like you’re going to class.” If you are still feeling hesitant to sign up for Zoom workshops, senior and co-events chair Rena Zhong assures that your Zoom

experience with ACF will not resemble the, at times, mind-numbing experience of sitting in a lecture or attending a webinar. “Zoom fatigue comes a lot from being in lecture and listening to someone talk at you without having interactions with other people,” Zhong said. “So I think the workshops would give people a chance to actually talk to each other.” There are a range of workshops in the arts, including quite a few focused on different forms of dance. For any student interested in dance or even if you’re just looking for ways to be active this fall, there’s a workshop for you at the ACF, even if you’re totally unfamiliar with Asian forms of dance. Among these workshops are Duke Chinese Dance workshop, hosted by Duke Chinese Dance (DCD) and a K-pop Dance Workshop hosted by Pureun. Or, if the performing arts aren’t necessarily your cup of tea, there are plenty of other workshops to attend, such as an origami workshop. “We also wanted to create a space for people who aren’t necessarily in the performing arts. For example, our poetry workshop or our graphic design workshop,” said Lim. “We still wanted to have a space for those types of creative arts as well.” Although this year’s ACF is shaping up to be a great week of events, the festival was not originally intended to be virtual. “The original envisioning of the event by Rena was that it was going to be a day in the Ruby. All day there would be workshops and performances going on. We would maybe have an art exhibit” Lim said. Transitioning to virtual programming has been an obligation for most organizations

Courtesy of Duke ASA

During the week of Oct. 26, students can attend virtual workshops to celebrate the work of Asian creatives. on campus this fall because of the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped ASA from engaging with first years and making the most of the virtual situation. So far, they have hosted online events such as “Among ASA”, where members all played the game “Among Us” together, and “(Boo)kbagging,” where students sought bookbagging advice from upperclassmen. If you are interested in getting involved with ASA, they have created a website which details all of their upcoming events for the semester as well as the schedule of events for the ACF. Looking towards the future of the Asian Creatives Festival, Zhong expressed hope that

sometime relatively soon students would be able to attend the event in the Rubenstein building and interact with each other in-person. “I hope next year’s exec and board will continue this tradition. Hopefully, if things are okay again and everyone is back on campus, they’ll be able to do something at the Ruby where people can actually go to workshops physically and see these performances live,” Zhong said. The hope that we can begin to gather and connect again as a Duke community in the near future has been a universal feeling this fall, but in the meantime, check out virtual events such as the ACF as clubs make the best of our current reality.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 7

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tgiFHI virtual seminar ‘Purge’ and the the gift of catharsis

By Jas Santos Staff Writer

The historical origins of catharsis come to light in Darren Gobert’s virtual seminar “Purge,” which kicked off Oct. 9 as part of the tgiFHI series. Centering his rich excavation on Tennessee Williams’ play, “Suddenly Last Summer,” Gobert lays out why we are blessed with our present understanding of catharsis. The mid-twentieth century was vicious to any individual who struggled with mental health. Among the institutionalized was the playwright’s sister Rose Williams, who was subjected to a fatal brain lobotomy. Her memory fueled the grief-stricken Williams to pen the production “Suddenly Last Summer,” whose plot pivots on patient Catherine Holly’s trauma. In the play, Holly undergoes the “talking cure:” a retrieval of healthy emotion from her assault a year prior. At that time, babbling was often considered a serious sign of illness. The budding works of psychologists like Breuer and Freud however entertained the possibility of a therapy that did not involve direct prodding of the brain. Gobert explains how this new model of catharsis through talking dips its toes into the quintessential elements of Greek tragedy. The analyst’s couch becomes analogous to a stage as audiences experience the prototypical pity and fear through Holly’s purgative transformation. “An emotional state is constructed in the same way as a hysterical attack,” Gobert explains. “[It is] incorporated in the mind as precipitates of primeval traumatic experiences.” While Holly relives the horror of last summer, Holly’s psychiatrist Dr. Cukrowicz performs an “emotional autopsy.” He dissects

emotional blockages without actually having to slice open his patient. This reveals that his patient is not entirely “crazy.” Holly’s memories of murder and cannibalism were nothing more than a trauma-induced reimagining. “Scripts give fiction and fact narrative cohesion,” Gobert says. Tennesee Williams consumed the therapeutic benefits of his own work — a catharsis within a catharsis, a seed of reality within fiction. He kept revising his manuscripts against his doctor’s orders, and did so even after his play opened. He rewrote scenes from decades earlier until his death. His sister, imbuing the local color and names of places like Villa Rosa. Gobert’s lyrical revival of “Suddenly Last Summer” invites us to reflect on our social relationships. The “talking cure,” while not absolved from the ill of treating patients as a puzzle to fix, accomplishes a feat meriting its distinction from its less charming roots: it digs deeper into the patient’s story, instead treating them like another project to fix. This revamped conception of an age-old idea reveals that beneath frantic storytelling is a script we can learn from, a script that opens the dialogue for both sides of the couch. So often we focus on “purgation” that we gloss over the very quality of catharsis that permits this unbridled unloading: an authentic connection. The patient unlocks other ways to be fully present for themselves in the axiomatic scripts of other characters, and deals with the underlying hurt that cannot be nursed by their own lived experience. Being in touch with one’s past self, and being one with the pain of another, is what makes Courtesy of Franklin Humanities Institute something so grim a sublime experience. Darren Gobert’s virtual seminar “Purge” kicked off Oct. 9 as part of the ongoing tgiFHI series.

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EXPLORE CDS DocBoX AN EXPERIMENT IN DEEP INTERACTIVE “TV”

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Co-Lab soap-making workshop integrates art and technology By Tess Redman Contributing Writer

I walked into the Rubenstein Arts Center just after 2:00 pm Monday, Oct. 5 and was immediately lost. I meandered through the Ruby, feeling selfconscious of the fact that a) I was already late and b) I was walking in circles, trying to open locked doors, obviously with no idea where I was going. I must have walked past my destination two or three times before finally knocking on the door to the Innovation Co-Lab Studio. Thankfully, I had made it to the right place - just in time to start the soap-making workshop. As I mixed Crisco, olive oil, fragrances, colored powder and lye, I was struck by the absurdity of what I was doing. It was a weekday afternoon, yet instead of holing up in my dorm room to finish an endless workload, I was learning the art of making soap. Still, I couldn’t deny the therapeutic nature of the workshop. I returned to the studio a week later to pick up my finished product; a loaf of purple, honeyand-vanilla scented soap. The workshop was truly one of the more unique experiences I have had at Duke so far. Turns out, it isn’t unique at all. The soap-making workshop offered by the Innovation Co-Lab is one of 110 offered this semester. A self-proclaimed “creativity incubator,” the Innovation Co-Lab is a branch of the Duke Office of Information and Technology (OIT), representing an intersection between art and technology. “Even though we’re a technology unit, there’s a humanities element,” said Chip Bobbert, Senior Technology Architect and one of my soap-making instructors. Bobbert has worked at the studios since

their inception seven years ago, back when the lab was called ‘Innovation Studios.’ He and my other instructor, Sandra Bermond, emphasize the increasing coexistence of art and technology embedded within Co-Lab workshops. “Technology is not really an end goal; it’s more of a tool… You can kind of make whatever you want with it,” Bermond said. The class I took undoubtedly had STEM elements mixed in: listening to a 20 minute introductory lecture on the chemical reactions between ingredients that eventually form soap and using an immersion blender’s power-tool cousin to mix said ingredients. The finished products were akin to rudimentary sculptures. And just like that artwork, the technology beyond it goes unnoticed. Bermond is the Program Manager for Roots, a program of workshops under the Innovation Co-Lab brand. This soap-making workshop is the program’s most popular, with a fifty-person waiting list. COVID safety regulations restricted our class to six people, rather than the standard fourteen. Amazingly, this is the second time this semester that the workshop has been offered. Bobbert and Bermond plan to offer it a third time this fall, and a number of times in the spring, if they can. Bermond hopes to utilize the popularity of this workshop to foster excitement for the others. “[This] is one of those classes that we feel like could be a nice carrot… We could maybe tell them, ‘Hey, if you want to take this class, first you have to take this modeling class… and print your mold so that you can pour your soap into your mold,” she said. All three Innovation Co-Lab locations - the Co-Lab Studio in the Telecom Building, Ruby Makerspace, and Lilly Library - are equipped with 3D printers. Regardless, while technological in nature, Roots workshops allow students’ creativity to shine.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Co-Lab’s popular in-person soap-making workshop will be offered many more times this year. “We’re starting to branch out… into the creative side of 3D design,” Bobbert said. “I’d like to add Digital Sculpting and Character Modeling and things like that.” Bermond usually instructs design-based courses that show students how to use digital tools for more artistic projects - her favorite tool to teach is the laser cutter. She also recommended a class on sewable circuits, which teaches students how to make light-up clothing. In addition to classes, the Innovation Co-Lab has staffed hours during which students can visit their well-equipped studios Payton Schubel, T ‘23, started working with the Co-Lab this semester. “I work about 10 [hours]; that’s probably on the

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high end… The main responsibility is customerfacing interaction,” she said. “My job is to show you how to use the machines… On top of that, I also help maintain the 3D printers and clean up.” Bobbert and Bermond are eager to cater to more students. “We sort of have this weird role: we’re not faculty, and we’re not staff. We’re in this co-curricular state, trying to provide these experiential learning opportunities for students,” Bobbert explained. The mission of Innovation Co-Lab is to teach students how to use the technology available to them. But the soap-making class and various design classes prove that art and technology can be integrated. As the Co-Lab evolves, that connection only grows stronger.

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‘The West Wing’ special is a meager effort to encourage voters By Ben Smith

breaks, however, the audience is provided with behind-thescenes moments and calls to vote from influential individuals like Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Samuel L. Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. At the beginning of the special, the cast member Bradley Whitford makes explicit the aim of the effort: “to turn at least one non-voter into a voter.” The plot of “Hartsfield’s Landing” follows a tiny hamlet’s electoral primary and intercuts with musings on the game of chess and bouts of a complex game of chicken over the value of democracy. The fictional President Bartlett enters war games with the Chinese to ensure that Taiwan will be able to hold their planned elections. Of course, this is a restaging of an episode from 2002, so the cast looks different and supplies a more gray interpretation of the story. However, as IndieWire suggests, “the cast slips back

into their roles like aging rock stars breathing new life into old hits.” The role of Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, originally filled by the late, great John Spencer, is played by Sterling K. Brown, who I distinctly remember the first time I watched an episode of performs admirably in his limited role. Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing.” It was the summer of 2017 and When compared against the narratives of US interventionism I was without faith in the American political process, so I looked and the strife the US has caused worldwide in the name of to idealized representations of American politics in popular democracy, it is easy to be cynical about this episode’s message, culture. I binged the show on Netflix and was reenergized about but I still find the message to be hopeful and important. Freedom American democracy. This hopefulness that I experienced is to choose one’s government is important, both domestically and what the HBO Max special, “A West Wing Special to Benefit abroad, and we should value that freedom. When We All Vote,” sought to capture. Much of the strength of the reimagined episode comes from its In the reunion, there is a staged rendition of the episode direction. Thomas Schlamme, who worked on the original show, “Hartsfield’s Landing,” which CNN describes as “a tense standoff breathes life into the political drama in new ways. The reunion is set between the US and China from the Emmy-winning White in the L.A. Orpheum theater, and through his inventive and kinetic House drama’s third season.” Instead of traditional commercial camerawork, Schlamme animates the drama in the stripped-back space. His use of the gate at the front of the stage is so simple yet intelligent in communicating a location change. In several shots, Schlamme purposefully displays the empty hall and hanging house lights around the actors, adding to a sense of emptiness and intimacy the special cultivates. But is the special successful in what it set out to do? Did it manage to “turn at least one non-voter into a voter?” It is difficult to answer these questions. The special is exclusively on HBO Max, a subscription-based streaming platform, which limits the potential audience. In addition to the exclusivity of the special, many Americans have already made up their mind as to if and who they will vote for. At the time of writing this article, over 50 million Americans have voted in the 2020 election, suggesting a record high turnout could be in store. Ultimately, we may never know if the “West Wing” reunion achieved its goal of creating more voters, but did it spark hope in the same way that my first binge of the series did years ago? “Our politics today are a far cry from the romantic vision in ‘The West Wing,’” says Samuel L. Jackson in his direct-to-audience address. The vision that gave me so much hope is a work of fiction but does that fiction still have value? I would wager that it does. If a fictional White House from the late ‘90s and early aughts is still an escapist fantasy in today’s dramatically different political climate, then it is important to observe this fiction. It is important to see what about it, other than the quippy dialogue and dramatized scenarios, gives us hope today. Maybe by doing that we could make our current Courtesy of NBC electoral process less disheartening. Americans are turning out in Aaron Sorkin’s popular political network TV drama “The West Wing” was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. record numbers. What is giving them hope? Staff Writer

10 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020

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COURTESY OF JEFFREY CAMARATI/UNC ATHLETICS

ACHILLES’ HEELS

WOMEN’S SOCCER: FALLS TO UNC AGAIN MEN’S BASKETBALL: SCHEYER TALKS TO MEDIA

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 11

MEN’S BASKETBALL FOOTBALL

DUKE MIDSEASON BREAKDOWN By Staff Reports

Johnson and started from scratch with Geoff Collins. If Georgia Tech can handle Duke with ease in just the second year of its rebuild, that will be yet another major cause for concern when looking at the trajectory of the Blue Devil program.

With Duke now past its halfway point of the 2020 season, The Chronicle’s football beat writers Jake Piazza, Max Rego, Shane Smith, Evan Kolin and Cam Polo break down the Blue Devils’ performance so far and make some predictions for the rest of the campaign. Which part of the team, whether it be the performance of a specific player or something more general, has pleasantly surprised you?

Kolin: In what’s looking like a lost season for Duke, there’s only one thing that could potentially make it worthwhile: a win against rival North Carolina, à la what the Tar Heels almost accomplished in basketball this past February. Do I think it’ll happen? Probably not, though North Carolina’s loss to Florida State two weeks ago does make the Tar Heels appear vulnerable for another upset.

Piazza: Marquis Waters is not getting the credit he deserves on the back end of the Duke defense. He leads the team in pass deflections with four, and there’s no way the Blue Devils get their lone win against Syracuse without Waters roaming over the top. The Florida native can play in the box like a linebacker and he’s athletic enough to cover the ACC’s top receivers. Without his presence, Duke’s losses would be much worse.

Polo: Do you want to be told the truth, or do you want to be told what you want to hear? If your answer is the latter, I’m looking forward to Duke’s matchup with the Tar Heels. The season might be a disappointment, but this is a chance to send Duke fans home happy. If your answer is the former, I’m looking forward to playing Charlotte this week. Why? The Blue Devils won’t be underdogs, and I get to cover the game at Wallace Wade. I wish I could give a more optimistic answer.

Rego: Surprisingly, it’s redshirt sophomore wideout Jarett Garner who leads the Blue Devils in yards per reception. For an offense that has struggled mightily to break off chunk plays, the Harrisburg, N.C., native has given quarterback Chase Brice at least a few opportunities to stretch the field. Garner only played 11 snaps last year in three games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear, so the fact that he has already brought in 10 catches for 210 yards this season is a clear testament to his resilience. Smith: Starting two freshmen at the kicker and punter spots was a little concerning at the start of the year, especially after solid special teams play in 2019. However, Porter Wilson and Charlie Ham have performed admirably thus far, averaging 42.6 yards per punt and connecting on 22 of 25 kicks, respectively. One of the big reasons for Duke’s success in the early 2010s was the consistent kicking of Will Monday and Ross Martin, and it will be exciting to see if this new duo can carve out solid careers in the years to come. Kolin: Mataeo Durant has quietly been a breakout performer on a struggling Duke offense this season, averaging a staggering six yards per carry on 59 rushes in addition to a team-leading three touchdowns. While the junior has been splitting carries with senior Deon Jackson throughout this year, I expect Durant to truly shine once he assumes lead back duties in 2021. Polo: I have to agree with Shane here—I started the season talking about the talent on the special teams side of things, and I have a feeling I’m going to still be talking about it at the end of the season. Ham and Wilson have both been named to the Freshman All-America Watch List, and a strange amount of offensive output has come out of the special teams unit as well. Damond Philyaw-Johnson hasn’t done a whole lot in the return game, but the guys with the ball at their feet have performed.

Courtesy of the ACC

Chase Brice has struggled throughout his first year in Durham. Which part of the team has been the biggest disappointment this season?

Piazza: I expected more from the passing game heading into this season. With Brice coming in from Clemson and the talent and experience of the receiving corps, this team should be able to sling the ball all over the field. The reality, however, has been zero 300-yard performances for Brice and the team’s receiving leader, Jake Bobo, hauling in a mere 250 yards in six games.

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Rego: I definitely anticipated that we would see more explosive plays on the offensive side of the ball. With head coach David Cutcliffe taking the reins of the play calling, some veteran skill position talent and a highly-touted transfer signal caller in Brice, all signs pointed toward an offensive attack that put pressure on the opposition with downfield passing. I still think that Duke needs to use Jalon Calhoun in ways that don’t include a bubble screen, and Brice simply hasn’t been accurate enough in the intermediate to deep levels.

What will be Duke’s final regular-season record? Piazza: I can’t predict that the Blue Devils finish better than 4-7 on the year. They’ll beat Charlotte, lose to North Carolina and have a fighter’s chance in their three final games. Cutcliffe isn’t going to let this team fold the tent, so I expect to see Duke finish at that 4-7 mark with a few late-season wins. Rego: While it’s possible that Duke will right the ship after this bye week, it will likely result in just a few more victories. Obviously, Charlotte will be a relatively easy win, and Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Florida State are mediocre by ACC standards. While it will be difficult for the Blue Devils to come out on top in all three of those matchups, I expect them to scrap and claw their way to a 4-7 record.

Smith: The Blue Devils should have close, interesting games throughout the rest of the year if they fix their turnover troubles, which of course is a big “if.” It’s hard to expect Cutcliffe’s squad to go Smith: Well, I hate to keep ringing the same bell, but the only punch for punch with North Carolina’s offense, but I expect Duke answer to this question is Duke’s offense under Brice. I expected to notch two wins out of the other four remaining games for a 3-8 an electric offense that could stretch the field, yet not only did we record, most likely against Charlotte and Florida State. miss out on that, but the Blue Devils are also on a historic pace for Kolin: A win against Charlotte should be a given. Then, it’s turnovers. As the defense continues to prove year in and year out that it can compete with the best in the ACC, it’s just the same old, same just how many wins Duke can snag out of its four other contests. I say the Blue Devils take down Georgia Tech and then one of old on the other side of the ball in 2020. Wake Forest and Florida State, finishing the 2020 campaign at Kolin: The answer here most definitely falls on the offensive side an underwhelming 4-7. of the ball, but to avoid repetition from everyone else I’ll divert my Polo: I can’t stray far from the pack here—I think this team attention away from Brice and more toward the players attempting to protect the transfer quarterback. Duke’s offensive line has allowed 23 turns it around a bit, and picks up a couple of games before sacks this season, third most in the entire country. Yes, the loss of Jack the season ends. The Blue Devils have looked just a bit sharper Wohlabaugh to a torn ACL certainly hurt, but for a revamped unit these last few contests, and it would make sense that Duke beats that was supposed to be a cornerstone of the team this year, that’s not Charlotte and potentially Florida State or Georgia Tech. If there’s anything I’ve learned, though, it’s to expect the unexpected with a number you like to see. this program, so I won’t be too shocked if the Blue Devils were Polo: I’ll switch it up a bit here—I’ve been disappointed with Duke’s just playing possum in the first half and pull a crazy run at the stamina, on all sides of the equation. The Blue Devils are outscoring end of the season. I still think Duke ends 4-7. opponents 43-21 in first quarters, but that’s where the good news ends. Duke is being outscored by 21 points in each of the second and third quarters, and a drastic 36 points in the final 15 minutes of play. Perhaps this isn’t a conditioning issue, but rather a tired, beaten up defense being kept on the field by a hurried Duke offense that can’t manage to string first downs together. Or maybe it truly is a lack of stamina. Whatever it is, the Blue Devils have to fix it. Which game in the second half of the regular-season do you have marked on your calendar? Piazza: I’m looking forward to the Florida State matchup Dec. 5. The Blue Devils have never beaten the Seminoles, but neither team is having a season to write home about. This is the year for Duke to steal one from a storied college football program and salvage something from this difficult 2020 campaign. Rego: The odds that Duke will win this game are very slim, but I can’t help but look forward to the battle for the Victory Bell against No. 15 North Carolina Nov. 7. Last year featured a gut-wrenching finish for the Blue Devils in a 20-17 loss against the Tar Heels, showing that truly anything can happen when these teams face off.

Courtesy of the ACC

Junior running back Mataeo Durant is averaging six yards per carry this season.

Smith: Games against North Carolina and Florida State should be fun, but facing off against Georgia Tech after Thanksgiving will be an interesting test for the future and current state of Duke’s program. The Blue Devils have won five of the last six in the series as the Yellow Jackets have moved on from triple-option mastermind coach Paul

Chronicle File Photo

Head coach David Cutcliffe will look to turn the Blue Devils’ season around as it enters the final stretch.

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WOMEN’S SOCCER

Despite second loss to UNC, Blue Devils continue to impress By Em Adler Associate Sports Editor

CHAPEL HILL—No matter how many times you’re told “carpe diem,” it’s still difficult to live in the moment. Such is the case for Duke, which has fought top-ranked North Carolina to near-victory twice this season but is still yet to put together 90 continuous high-quality minutes against the Tar Heels. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils’ 1-0 loss at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill Friday was simply DUKE 0 a duplicate of their first match against their Tobacco Road rivals Sept. 27, in 1 which Duke looked promising but just UNC couldn’t finish. The lone goal Friday came in the 63rd minute, though the possession started just like any other. North Carolina tried a drive, but Duke’s indomitable back line left little space and forced the ball out past the upper corner of the box. Just like any other possession, the Tar Heel winger tried to face up and

Courtesy of Jeffrey Camarati/UNC Athletics

Duke hasn’t beaten North Carolina since 2015.

force a tough shot. This time, however, Duke wing back Emily Royson didn’t completely close out on left winger Rachel Jones, who laced a pass right in front of the goal. Just like any other possession, the Blue Devils got to it first, but redshirt senior wing back Mia Gyau couldn’t handle the pass, instead deflecting it for an own-goal. It marked the second time this season that a Duke own-goal opened up the scoring against North Carolina. “I think we have to look at it, and look at our play, as opposed to the result, and see the process of the game and how we finished at the end,” senior centre back Taylor Mitchell said. “We have seen improvements throughout the game, but we need to start off really strong, as opposed to just seeing the result at the end of the game.” Despite all that, and despite head coach Robbie Church’s disappointment with the contest, Friday was a day for celebration for the Blue Devils (5-2-2). This is arguably the first time since 2017 that Duke has truly competed with North Carolina (7-0) across both of their rivalry matchups, and the first time since then that the Blue Devils had the best player on the field in sophomore midfielder Sophie Jones. This also marks the first top-tier defense that the Blue Devil offense has looked formidable against this season. Overall, Friday’s game was an instant classic, a match that not only continues to establish the ACC as the premier conference in women’s soccer, but perches Duke adjacent to its apex. And if none of that was enough, this was the first time the Blue Devils have seen their families on the sideline all season. “I was really looking forward to seeing [Mia],” said Phillip Gyau, Mia’s father and head coach of Howard’s men’s soccer team. “This time calls for [social distancing and precautions], so we can’t be around. But to just hear that we could come and watch this game, I was elated, so I jumped at it right away.” For close to two hours Friday night, Duke players stood within shouting distance of their families, close enough to smile and laugh and wave. Or, in the case of Mitchell’s mother, try to. “I tried [waving to Taylor]. She didn’t see us until they were getting ready to start,” Shelle Mitchell said. “I’m like, ‘Come on! You knew I was gonna be here!’.... So when she did come back, when

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they started, she looked up and saw us…. She texted me before the game, and said, ‘Mom, I’m so excited that you guys get to come and see me.’ This is really special, because it’s almost kind of like my Senior Night.” With all the precautions Duke has been taking—precautions Phillip Gyau acclaimed—Shelle Mitchell and her husband William hadn’t seen their daughter since her junior year, which made Friday all the more special. For at least one match, it almost seemed like any other game night, and everyone made sure to take advantage of that moment. That has to be the focus for the Blue Devils—they must carpe diem. This is the most talented Duke team in recent years, and one with a serious shot at a national title if it can continue its current play into a spring season. Every time the Blue Devils step on the field, they’re making significant progress either toward or away from the College Cup. Just belonging on the same field as North Carolina is an announcement that they’re up to the challenge. But you can’t think about all that when you’re on the field. You have to live completely in the moment, or you’ll disconnect and play without urgency, as Duke did in the first half Friday. If These Uncertain Times have instilled anything, it’s that the future is never a given. It’s never a given not only because of sickness, but in the Blue Devils’ case, it’s not given because that’s simply the cruelty of collegiate soccer. No matter how badly they want to stick together, teams can never run it back. The same sense of urgency that Duke needs to win games against the North Carolinas of the country is the sense of general urgency it needs in taking advantage of the current roster. “I think we got a great group,” Church said. “That’s why it’s so hard, those first 45 minutes that we didn’t play up to our level. We have to believe in ourselves. We’re really, really good…. We have to be brave out there and embrace the game.” It’s incredible how well the Blue Devils have done in spite of everything around them. Win or lose, the fact that they’re playing at such a high level in these trying times, night-in and night-out, is remarkable, and it’s easy for spectators to lose sight of that. Living in the moment right now is a nearly impossible task, and their playing with such urgency is praiseworthy all for itself.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 13

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Jon Scheyer discusses Coach K’s evolution, new offense By Evan Kolin Sports Editor

Associate head coach Jon Scheyer spoke with the media Friday morning, discussing Coach K’s evolution as a head coach, who’s been leading the squad in scoring and more. Here are some key takeaways: The snarl to the smile Gone are the days of head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s signature long practices and fierce tirades, at least the ones Scheyer experienced when he played for Coach K. “Shorter practices now than when I was a player,” Scheyer said with a laugh in response to a question on how he’s seen Krzyzewski evolve as a coach. “Not as much yelling at the players.” Scheyer later added that Krzyzewski has done a great job of “adjusting to how players today need to be coached.” Coaching style isn’t the only difference he’s noticed, though. The former All-American guard mentioned that texting recruits is another stark contrast, a far cry from when he was recruited to Duke in 2005. And lastly, Scheyer noted one more adjustment that could have a big impact on this year’s team. “We were talking about our defense today in a staff meeting, and he’s open to doing things he’s never done before,” Scheyer said. “I don’t know many Hall of Fame coaches, maybe the best coach ever, thinking about doing something he’s never done before. “I think that’s a credit to [Krzyzewski] and also why he’s been so successful for all these years.”

and it’s great to see.” As Hurt also discussed in his own media availability earlier in the week, the mental aspect of the game has been one of the biggest changes for the 6-foot-9 sharpshooter. “The main thing for him was his mentality, and him translating how good he knew he could be to just showing it with his play,” Scheyer said. “He’s come back, and he’s done it every day. He’s always been incredibly coachable. He’s always been a hard worker. He’s gotten stronger, but he’s also gotten more athletic. He’s doing conditioning that he maybe didn’t do last year all the time.” Scheyer added that this change in mentality hasn’t just affected his performance, but how he carries himself on the court as well. “Something we didn’t even see watching him in high school—he’ll score and he’ll talk smack,” Scheyer said. “Doing some of that is [something] we like to see with him. [We] didn’t necessarily see that all the time last year. But I think that’s part of the transformation.”

Chronicle File Photo

Associate head coach Jon Scheyer alluded to a new offensive and defensive look this season.

kicks, shoot a lot of threes and go get offensive basketball, a 6-foot-9 point forward who could rebounds. So I think that’s how we’re looking to be one of the most dangerous players in the play this year.” country in transition. “His passing is special,” Scheyer said. “If Where does Jalen Johnson fit in? you’re Joey [Baker] or DJ [Steward] or whoever, Jalen Johnson certainly comes in as one you like being on his team, because he’s going to of Duke’s most mysterious top recruits in find you.” recent memory. After committing to the Blue However, one part of Johnson’s repertoire Devils in July 2019 as the No. 4 recruit in his that Scheyer says the freshman could still use ‘Old-fashioned Duke basketball’ class, Johnson fell all the way to No. 13 after some work on is his half-court game. Even with Hurt leading the show as a a tumultuous senior year that included a “I think his thing is just figuring out, ‘What’s my sophomore, Scheyer discussed how this year’s midseason school change. core? What’s my base, in terms of college? What are Blue Devil offense will be far different from The nine-spot drop in the recruiting my go-to’s?’” Scheyer said. “And he’s refining that. what fans have gotten used to seeing over the rankings has made Johnson one of the most He’s working on it. We’re working on it every day, last three seasons. underrated incoming freshman in college particularly in the half court.” “We don’t necessarily have a guy we’re just going to throw the ball to. The Zion Williamson guy or Marvin Bagley or even Vernon [Carey] last year, where we’re just going to throw it What sign we’d put up in our window: inside and most of the time we’re going to come Read The Chronicle: ��kolinoscopy away with two points, maybe even three points,” Scheyer said. “Matthew has been a terrific scorer, Don’t: ��carti b but he’s a scorer in a different way.” Everytime we touch I get this feeling: �� mattyg Matthew Hurt—leading scorer? Scheyer noted that Duke will have to learn to Scheyer joined in on the praise for Matthew score more as a team this season, using this year’s Student Advertising Manager: �� Rebecca Ross Hurt, adding to the long list of media availability NBA Playoffs as an example of just that. Account Representatives: �� Juliana Arbelaez, Emma Olivo, Spencer Perkins, Sam Richey, Alex Russell, subjects this preseason to emphasize how However, he made sure to emphasize that Paula Sakuma, Jake Schulman, Simon Shore, Maddy Torres, Stef Watchi, Montana Williams impressed they are by the sophomore forward. this wasn’t really a weakness for the Blue Devils, Marketing Manager: �� Jared McCloskey “Hurt has been our leading scorer [in just something different. Student Business Manager �� Dylan Riley, Alex Rose practice], if not every day, most days,” Scheyer “I think it can be actually a strength because said. “He’s been doing it from everywhere. the paint can be open—our shooting is very He’s played with an incredibly level of good,”Sales Scheyer said. “And just like good oldThe Newhigh York Times Syndication Corporation The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620to Eighth York, N.Y.Duke 10018basketball—a lot of drive-and620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 confidence, which we’ve talked himAvenue, about New fashioned

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For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, April 3, 2020

Crossword ACROSS 1

11 14

16 17 18

See the seasons pass quickly? Celle-là, across the Pyrenees Something that requires thinking inside the box? What mustachetwirling might suggest Dangerous places Dress style They’re often high, but never dry Zippo Something Winnie-thePooh lacks Equal ___

22 24 28 29 30 31 33 36 37 38 39

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Twins, e.g. 2 “Gotcha” 19 42 3 Org. that 20 holds many 43 conferences 4 Prohibition-era 21 44 guns 5 N.T. book after ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE Galatians 6 Amenity in B A S S L S A T R U N many a picnic W O R T H A C L U C A P E box H O M E R T H E B O R D E R 7 Assemblage O MS M I N E R S P O I N T 8 Its scientific N E R O M A S O N S name is Bufo A N D R E W D I A L S bufo W E R E B R I A R S F EM 9 Separated L A O S L I N G O M A A M couple with kids, say T OP G O O G O O A S I A I L O S E N E T T L E 10 Royal Navy letters L E A N E D R V E R A L L E N B S I D E S T WO 11 Proselytizer S O M E S P A C E C A R E W 12 Intuition I P A D C L A W T R U E S 13 Group of stars K E Y P I T S S I G N 15 Field added to the I.R.S.’s Note: In each shaded space, the middle letter Form 1040 in can alternatively go in the first square — 2019 creating 16 possible combinations of solutions 20 Controls, of a to the puzzle. sort 1

For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Saturday, April 4, 2020

Edited by Will Shortz 1

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PUZZLE BY AIMEE LUCIDO

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1955 novel with the line “It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight”

42 43

47 48 49

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ACROSS

29 Trounce 30 Reduce in intensity 31 Market built around 7 Big name in Irish short-term whiskey engagements 14 Self-titled 1961 33 Cranial : skull :: debut album brachial : ___ 15 Barbecue variety 34 Early arrival featuring vinegar35 “___ Death” based sauces (2006-10 Fox sitcom) 16 Attend by oneself 36 Frank type 17 Approximate proportion of 38 It may rise in the world’s anger population that 39 Feeling akin lives on an island to the German “Weltschmerz” 18 Spots 40 Long 19 Main issues? 41 “Critique of 21 Easter activities Pure Reason” 23 Some “Grey’s philosopher Anatomy” 42 Leave agape settings, for short 43 Skort circuit? 27 Game 45 Former home 28 Bugs used to be of the Seattle seen on it SuperSonics 1 Base for many a chef’s rose garnish

Crossword

One-named singer with the 2006 hit “Smack That” Bread enricher Spa job, informally “Because of ___-Dixie” (2000 awardwinning children’s book) Slight problem Karaoke need Lead-in to light

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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE B E D S

I S E E

N C A A

O R E O

H E A D H U N T E R

S C R E E N T E S T

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29 32

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DOWN 1 Accompaniment at an Indian restaurant 2 Major-league All-Star turned TV analyst, informally 3 List of frozen assets? 4 Member of the Addams Family 5 Long, thick and unkempt 6 Titular comic strip character from the A.D. 800s 7 Grammynominated singer who made her on-screen film debut in “Moonlight” 8 Spheres 9 Title whose name comes from the Greek for “alone” 10 Something Cap’n Crunch has 11 ___ tax 12 It’s on the St. Lawrence: Abbr. 13 Casual turndown 15 Job requirement, often

No. 0229

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PUZZLE BY ANDREW J. RIES

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31 Miracle-___ 32 Part of a pack, in slang 34 Symbol for the golden ratio 37 Bass-heavy hybrid music genre 38 Two before 34-Down 41 Tree huggers Down Under 43 Paul of the old “Hollywood Squares”

44 Bond backed by the govt. 46 Big name in Old West justice 48 Tech assistant 49 A boom might come out of it 50 Core part, informally 51 Pulled a fast one on 52 Rebus symbol for a pronoun 54 Small annoyance

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14 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020

opinion dukechronicle.com

The Chronicle

America’s original sin T

he United States–most especially the United States political system and religious systems– seems to have a knack for misplaced selfrighteousness and a perpetual confusion of the difference between what means to be pious and what it means to embody holiness.

cornerstones of this nation. Or, maybe more aptly put, one of its original sins. Since the inception of this nation, those in power have conflated their own belief systems with the proper ones, which is not shocking.

any other group of people they have come into contact with. These behaviors have most often been “justified” through the idea of holiness and God’s ordination. When the Indian Removal Act was signed, it was supported using Manifest Destiny; slavery and segregation were validated using a multitude of passages in the Bible, but most especially the Curse of Ham and, like I wrote about in my last column, same-sex SEARCHING FOR CANAAN marriage has been railed against consistently on the basis that the Bible condemns it. This phenomenon is nothing new; in fact, However, these persons and groups If historical examples seem far off this confusion and misplacing of emotion have relied upon a system of plundering, or obviously wrong with hindsight, could probably be considered one of the pillaging and brutal domination over most then perhaps we should look at a more contemporary example…Mmm let’s say, I don’t know… hot take of the week The Supreme Court Justice nomination and confirmation hearings, maybe? The conservative Supreme Court “Please don’t put Phoebe Bridgers on. I will cry.” nominee, and the majority of the Senate —Matthew Griffin, Editor-in-Chief, on October 25, 2020 likely to confirm her, acts from a place that assumes her opinions are faultless. At face value, it is not odd for Amy Coney Barrett– or any other person, for that matter–to trust in their opinions or beliefs. The issue arises when persons such as Coney Barrett act if their opinions hold holy ordination that is just seemingly Direct submissions to: unbeknownst to the rest of us. The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor In the case of Coney Barrett, her E-mail: or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, confirmation hearings seem to have left chronicleletters@duke.edu department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local abortion rights, same-sex marriage and address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department Editorial Page Department climate control legislation hanging in the for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle balance, not only because she dodged nearly The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are Box 90858, every tough question, but also due to the promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest Durham, NC 27708 manner in which she dodged them. columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on Phone: (919) 684-2663 Most every response offered by the the discretion of the editorial page editor. Fax: (919) 684-4696 Supreme Court nominee held a sense of incredulousness to it, as if her stances on important legal matters being analyzed were a ghastly offense. Est. 1905 Inc. 1993 For example, when asked if voter intimidation and suppression were legal MATTHEW GRIFFIN, Editor based on federal law–which they without EVAN KOLIN, Sports Editor a doubt are–Barrett answered, “I can’t MARIA MORRISON, Managing Editor characterize the facts in a hypothetical CARTER FORINASH, News Editor situation, and I can’t apply the law to a MONA TONG, Assistant News Editor hypothetical set of facts.” ROSE WONG, Senior Editor Setting aside that I am pretty sure JAKE SATISKY, Digital Strategy Director facts can’t be hypothetical…the sense of SIMRAN PRAKASH, Photography Editor superiority comes not so much from the MIHIR BELLAMKONDA, Opinion Editor words themselves, but from the tone that SARAH DERRIS, Recess Editor they carry. Barrett sidestepped the existence CHRISSY BECK, General Manager of a law, while simultaneously making it seem like the senator posing the question REBECCA SCHNEID, Sports Photography Editor SHANE SMITH, Sports Managing Editor was in the wrong, showcasing an air of selfJACKSON MURAIKA, Assistant Sports Photography Editor MASON BERGER, Video Editor righteousness and superiority. AARON ZHAO, Features Photography Editor MARY HELEN WOOD, Audio Editor BELLA BANN, Photography Social Media Editor This leads me to ask: why, or perhaps NADIA BEY, University News Editor MARGOT ARMBRUSTER, Opinion Managing Editor LEAH BOYD, University News Editor even how, did these American leaders such as NICHOLAS CHRAPLIWY, Opinion Managing Editor PRIYA PARKASH, University News Editor Coney Barrett, and American institutions– VICTORIA PRIESTER, Opinion Managing Editor PREETHA RAMACHANDRAN, University News Editor ya know...Congress, Senate, the United SYDNY LONG, Recess Managing Editor WILLIAM HE, Local and National News Editor States Justice System, the whole foundation BEN WALLACE, Community Editorial Board Chair ANNA ZOLOTOR, Local and National News Editor of the country pretty much–come to RYAN WILLIAMS, Community Editorial Board Chair ASHWIN KULSHRESTHA, Health and Science News Editor form themselves in a way that presumes SHANNON FANG, Equity and Outreach Coordinator MICHAEL LEE, Health and Science News Editor faultlessness, while also causing damage and NADIA BEY, Recruitment Chair STEFANIE POUSOULIDES, Investigations Editor disenfranchisement to the masses? JAKE SATISKY, Recruitment Chair JAKE SHERIDAN, Features Editor It’s not just racism or perverted senses TREY FOWLER, Advertising Director CHRIS KUO, Features Managing Editor of religiosity that made these heinous JULIE MOORE, Creative Director JOHN MARKIS, Senior News Reporter occurrences possible; it is a fundamental The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions issue with the structure of American belief expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors. systems. To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 1517 Hull Avenue call 684-3811. To America’s legacy is to believe it is always reach the Advertising Office at 2022 Campus Drive call 684-3811. One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased for .25 at The Chronicle Business office at the address above. acting in a righteous manner. From its @ 2020 Duke Student Publishing Company inception through to the present day, the

Tatayana Richardson

“

LETTERS POLICY

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United States of America continues to believe that divine ordination supports its oppression of marginalized bodies. In reality, the guiding principle of this nation has never been true righteousness, or even holiness, but rather a deeply perverted sense of piety accompanied by a terrible case of self-righteousness. See, holiness is not about showcasing correctness; it’s about experiencing sacredness. It is meant to be an endeavor that is meant to draw one away from pain, exhaustion and strife of the world caused by sin, while simultaneously drawing one in closer to whatever Deity and spiritual practices one engages in. More importantly, to engage in practices and acts that are truly holy is a deeply personal experience–meaning that there is no cookie-cutter holiness formula or way to create it through “stadium hype” or mass production. With this understanding, it would be nearly impossible for the power structure of this nation (or any other, for that matter) to ever be anywhere near acting from a place of holiness. What is very possible, and is the case in the United States, is for the power structures and leaders to act from a stance of piety. A healthy sense of piety still works in tandem with holiness, but American piety stems not from devoutness, but instead from selfrighteousness. This has resulted in a perversion of the idea of piety, from an act of obedience to a Deity into a zealous devotion to a hierarchy based in domination and domineering, that uses faith as its scapegoat. While it would seem that the logical step would be to ask how to untangle or create a redefinition of the American systems, I would argue that this sense of misplaced self-righteousness has grown with American institutions and power structures so closely that it is at this point innate to them, and more than likely cannot simply be redefined or easily disentangled. To truly disentangle America from this misplaced sense of domination parading as holiness, we as a nation must be willing to engage in a true sense of community that demands we occasionally set aside our own belief systems to hear and listen to those of our neighbors (the ones we like, and the ones we might not care for so much). Such as in the case of Duke’s Eruditio et Religio Living-Learning Community or the Voices for Interfaith Action group, being called into community doesn’t require us to agree with one another one hundred percent of the time, but does call us to recognize humanity in one another and to treat that humanity with respect and compassion. This, if done with true and honest intentions, has the capability to pull this nation away from its misplaced self righteousness, and toward a beloved community.

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Tatayana Richardson is senior who thinks that NPR underappreciated news source. “Searching for Canaan” runs Mondays.

a Trinity is a deeply Her column on alternate

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 | 15

Don’t wish for clouds in hope of a silver lining

fter struggling with anxiety, amongst other things, for years, a friend of mine got better. They’ve written about their growth, and how they’ve overcome that cloudy time of their life. I’m proud of them. At the same time, one line from their writing, in reference to a specific breakthrough, has been stuck on my mind. “...and yes, it took something traumatic to happen to me...” What sticks out to me is the “and yes,” as though it’s a cliche. Growth through suffering is, ostensibly,

the insults started coming. I was convinced this was just hazing—the kind where, eventually, they let up, and you’re a bona-fide friend. It wasn’t that. It didn’t take long for me to feel unwelcome, but I wasn’t sure what to do. Moving tables was a fraught proposition, and there was the sunk-cost. What if the insults end tomorrow? I’d feel really dumb, then, if I left. The people I sat with made plans in front of me, introduced me to others as a “f-ckwit,” and became increasingly hostile with their insults. Still, I believed in my ability to make

Dan Reznichenko COLUMN a predictable sort of character development. They have a point. I’ve seen enough media where the hero is born out of a profound loss, or somebody learns through heartbreak. I’ve heard plenty of real-life stories about becoming stronger after you’re broken. In our culture, trauma is almost glorified as the ultimate teacher. At the very least, it’s implied to be a quick way to become better; like a cleanse you suffer in order to lose your toxicity. I agree that people can overcome and learn from their pain; we are capable of surpassing a cloudy time. I reject the idea that pain teaches us effectively. At best, it “fixes” one of our flaws. If you’re naive, for example, a profound betrayal could make you more skeptical. Behind that quick fix, however, are a dozen new problems. Trust issues are painful, and the induced anxiety can be debilitating. The improvements we see are a silver lining—we shouldn’t wish for a cloud to come, especially not for that sliver of gain. It doesn’t make up for the storm. My experiences with learning through pain have been as positive as they get. At little apparent cost, I became more humble and thoughtful through being humiliated. Beneath the surface of that growth, however, was a basket case of issues. If traumatic experiences are a gift, then they are terrible ones. Their small benefits are the wrapping paper—the exterior presentation of the package. If you didn’t care to unwrap the beautiful paper, and see what it obscures, you’d assume that the gift was great. I trace my obsession with humility back to my sophomore year. Having just moved from Australia to Singapore, I was lonely. No worries, though: I had the confidence to make friends. At school, I asked to sit at a table which seemed nice, and they seemed fine with it. After a day or two of sitting,

resident Price addresses the Duke community via Twitch livestream: “Duke’s Panhellenic Council made the courageous decision last week to ban mixers with all-male groups. As administrators, we must now do our part and ban all males altogether.” This ban of mixers with all-male groups comes as part of Panhel’s new effort to “refocus on women’s empowerment,” by limiting women’s actions and banning them from doing things.

friends. Any day now, they’d realize that I was cool, actually; I didn’t believe that I’d earned this treatment. Getting “broken” meant having that belief dismantled. It was the end of the day, everyone was ready to go home, and I was sitting at the table with two other guys. They weren’t really acknowledging me, I got bored, and I started to leave. As I walked away, I felt my knee hit something unexpected, and I stumbled. It was an outstretched foot. Doing my best impression of someone who wasn’t hurt, I gave a half-hearted smile. “You got me,” I said with my eyes. They were met with a look of contempt. “I trip you over and you smile at me? You’re autistic.” Smile gone, I walked over to my bus. For the first time in years, I cried. Alone. That incident wasn’t particularly horrible, but it was confirmation of what I dreaded. I wasn’t being initiated into the club; for the past few weeks, I’d been bullied. The worst part was that I couldn’t understand why, and I still can’t today. That pain, mixed with that confusion, burned humility into my personality. I decided that I’d been arrogant to expect better— arrogance (read: any faith in self) had led me headfirst into pain. Somehow, that was great for my academics: I became introspective and hardworking because I believed that I was always wrong and deserving of nothing. I wasn’t quite the model student, but I was docile, thoughtful, and put too much work into my assignments—close enough. I cherish my newfound tendency to introspect; it has made me a better person. However, that was built on an awful foundation. I am humble because I was made to feel worthless, and that has other, less savory consequences. For example, I still struggle to believe that anybody really likes me. Whenever I see a bad sign, no matter how small, I want to

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going through pain. It’s a longer, more effortintensive process, but healing from trauma takes longer. In fact, trauma isn’t even guaranteed to have its desired effect. This whole time, I’ve talked about the times where it “works,” but there is a vast spectrum of responses to trauma. A lot of times, fat shaming, bullying and cruel remarks have no positive outcomes. Survivorship bias is a real thing; we don’t talk about the people who fail. Even when trauma leads to a breakthrough, the ensuing process of healing isn’t often about growing, but regrowing what you lost. It would be better if we spent time teaching humility, rather than destroying peoples’ self-esteem and rebuilding it for the rest of their lives. This isn’t a critique of criticism itself, however. One can be wrong, and be told that, in ways which aren’t cruel. There is a meaningful distinction between being shown the error of your ways, and being made to suffer for them. In fact, even painful truths are benevolent. If my bullies had simply said that they didn’t enjoy my company, I would’ve been hurt, but that doesn’t compare to the pain of still feeling unlovable. In the same way, accountability shouldn’t entail bullying. There are consequences for our actions, but there is such a thing as proportionality. If you screw up, people are right to tell you; they shouldn’t be allowed to harass, belittle and degrade you, however. The conflation of bullying with criticism, by both bullies and those who wish to deflect their own responsibility, is sad. In both cases, it devalues the experiences of those who have been victimized, and they contribute to our receptiveness to bullying itself. When JK Rowling calls everyone who reacts to her transphobia a bully, she lends credibility to the fraction of people who do victimize her. Harassers don’t deserve to call themselves “critics,” so let’s disentangle the two. There is a place for criticism, and the discomfort that comes from it. Pain can be benign. However, just like how both poison and medicine can be bitter and kill the bacteria in your stomach, bullying and critique can elicit the same feeling and result. Their consequences are radically different, though; one will damage you, and to a greater extent than the sickness you’re fighting. Inflicting trauma shouldn’t be seen as a mechanism for teaching, though it may achieve the same results as other, less toxic approaches. We should stop wishing for clouds just to see their silver lining. Dan Reznichenko is a Trinity first-year. His column runs on alternate Tuesdays.

Duke bans men out what the future of events could look like.” He later clarified that “sexual assault task forces” are not task forces designed to carry out sexual assault. Nor should they be confused with the recently disbanded, widely panned “sexual assault stealth commando squadrons”. The Panhellenic Council’s frat-mixing prohibition, though controversial, has moved the needle in a more progressive direction when it comes to gender equality on campus. Here’s more

Monday Monday SATIRE Duke’s rapid conversion into an all-female university is certainly turning heads; particularly heads attached to bodies with penises attached to them: “I shouldn’t be persecuted just because of my gender! What do these people think I am, a woman?” one man says. “We can’t just abolish men. We have to reform them. Abolishing men means abolishing Duke,” says Reiss Becker, who wished to remain anonymous. Senior Rohan Singh, president of Duke’s Interfraternity Council, wrote in an email earlier this week before he and every other male was banned from campus, that IFC’s “sexual assault task forces have been collaborating and figuring

run away. An odd facial expression, or a misplaced word, can send me on a downward spiral. This happens with friends, teachers, people I work with and complete strangers. Since that day, maintaining any relationship has included fighting the lingering thought that “this person dislikes you.” A lot of times, I have lost that fight, leading me to destroy great relationships as a result. In retrospect, I’d rather have risked being a bit arrogant than have this constant, debilitating fear. That’s why I’m against framing pain as a teacher. It can change how someone acts, but that change is the scar tissue of a massive wound. Mocking somebody’s weight and body may make them eat healthier, or exercise more. It did in my case. However, that benefit pales in comparison to the cost of them hating their reflection; it becomes hard to ever be truly happy. That, in itself, makes staying committed to a diet, or a workout plan, difficult—you’ll hardly ever feel satisfaction from their results. In other words, skinniness born from trauma is a silver lining, not a value unto itself. My problem is that, clearly, people don’t see it that way. As a result, inflicting trauma is being seen as a social good—a necessary corrective mechanism in society. A frequent refrain is that we need to “bring back bullying.” Generally, this is said in response to somebody doing something odd, like making an awkward TikTok. People justify fat shaming by saying that it’s a mechanism to make people healthier. Then, of course, people simply believe that trauma makes for effective teaching. “And, yes, it took something traumatic to happen to me,” is a quote which can be attributed to more than just my friend. I think that’s because we aren’t often exposed to the ramifications of others’ trauma. It is, after all, rude to unwrap someone else’s presents. It’s also unseemly to tell the world that your gift sucked. A lot of times, we’ll only ever see the colorful paper, and the silvery ribbon. It makes sense why one might try to imitate that. There are alternatives to inflicting pain on others, however. Granted, other methods don’t change people as quickly, but they are healthier. For starters, there’s leading by example. I became more empathetic by being close to people who already were. I learned to be diligent by following the example of others whom I appreciated. Those were developments which, rather than leaving me saddled with years of emotional baggage, simply made me better over time. Experiences like that showed me that humiliation isn’t a prerequisite for humility. Individuals can be changed without

of President Price’s address banning men: “I’d like to personally apologize for my gender. Effective immediately, myself, all of my male colleagues, and every male-identifying undergraduate and graduate student must leave campus in a mass-exodus without packing. Except, of course, for Michael Eubanks. Big Mike can stay. The man’s a national treasure.” The room of people I’m watching the stream with nods and murmurs in agreement. “Non-binary folks can also stay. It’s really just those cis-men we’re trying to weed out. This is also great because axing men significantly reduces the population density of our campus during this pandemic and eliminates a major risk factor

for contracting COVID-19 that males supply en masse: stupidity.” “I will be succeeded by Dean Sue Wozniak. It was between her and Provost Sally Kornbluth. We put it to an Instagram poll on @discoverduke. Dean Sue won in a landslide.” This announcement makes President-elect Wozniak somehow only the university’s second female president. It also makes her its first president who was actually, like, voted on. Price is surprisingly content transferring power: “Frankly, this is a huge relief. I had no idea what I was doing back there. That email on anti-racism last week was ghostwritten for me by Dean Blackshear. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. My tell-all book is gonna be wild. Anyways, Sue’s going to do a bang-up job! Tally-ho!” He does a heel-click before sprinting out of frame as the livestream cuts out. President-elect Sue isn’t afraid to get right down to brass tacks. “First order of business: we’re gonna get rid of that god awful yellow-and-blue Wayne Manor bench in Crowell quad. It looks terrible. The letters are all lopsided and it looks like an elementary school art project, but not in a cute and innocent way; in a sloppy, unimaginative way. I hate it. And this has nothing to do with the new gender-norms either. I just hate looking at it. What an eyesore.” Women, who are of course still permitted on campus, are much more receptive to the new policy. Without the invasive species of human

males, Duke is flourishing: “I feel a lot safer. Plus I can get to my classes so much faster without horizontal lines of unspatially-aware men monopolizing walking paths on the BC plaza!” “I’m not used to actually being able to take up space in conversations or any sort of social environment. It’s nice. Is this what men feel like all the time? Is that why they’re always spreading their legs so wide whenever they sit in chairs?” “I spoke up during class this week, and I wasn’t even spoken over at all, nor was my point regurgitated by a male student who received more credit and validation for it than I did even though I’m the one who brought up the same point initially. It was so weird. I think I kind of like it.” This series of events confirms Greek life’s reputation as a pinnacle of virtuosity. It’s hard to believe that this seismic shift in our community is all thanks to Panhellenic’s choice to ban mixers with all-male groups. “Wait, they were planning on having mixers at all?” asks one unaffiliated student who then takes off their backpack, unzips it, sticks their head into it, and begins screaming indistinctly. How is this news affecting me personally, you might ask? I’m doing just fine. Monday Monday isn’t a person. It’s an idea. A mantle untethered from gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other creed. Like Quiznos.

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If we want to see real change, it starts with you and me. By showing up at the polls and casting our votes, we can make sure our communities are heard. Cause every time we don t show up, someone else is making the decisions about our lives. We can ďŹ&#x201A;ip that script by voting.

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