COMMENCEMENT 2021
THE INDEPENDENT NEWS ORGANIZATION AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
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Commencement A LEGENDARY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY John Legend will deliver the commencement address for Duke’s Class of 2021. The singer, songwriter and philanthropist was announced Tuesday morning. Legend, who has been awarded Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, is also an advocate for criminal justice reform. He is the first African American man to reach “EGOT” status.
We are thrilled to have John Legend serve as our speaker at undergraduate commencement—and to have such an extraordinary group of honorary degree receipients, each of whom have made transformational contributions to our understanding of the world. vincent price president
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons John Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen.
Honorary degrees will be awarded during the ceremony to Legend, civil rights activist Barbara Arnwine, Johns Hopkins University professor Jacquelyn Campbell, Harvard professor Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and former Environmental Protection Agency head William K. Reilly.
‘More than I ever expected’: Seniors reflect on graduating By Maddy Berger University News Editor
With commencement just a few days away, seniors reflected on their Duke experiences and shared their feelings about graduation. “My friends and I have found ourselves weirdly un-intensely emotional about the entire thing. We already did a lot of our ‘mourning’ of the conventional college experience when everything got shut down last March,” senior CJ Cruz wrote. “For the Class of 2021, our exit from college is much more of a fade out than a hard cut.” Some seniors, on the other hand, are feeling emotional about their time at Duke coming to a close. “I’ve been so sentimental because I’ve had such a good Duke experience. I always felt really supported at Duke,” senior Chen Chen said. After reflecting on all of her experiences— writing for The Chronicle, figure skating and traveling to Alaska, Greece and South Africa through Duke programs—Chen described her four years as “incredible” and said that she “wouldn’t change a thing.” “Looking back at my transcript, I can’t believe I took all these classes and learned so many different things from each of them, and that I get to go onto the rest of life with all this random knowledge about the world and things I care about,” Chen said. “When I was a freshman, I looked at the seniors and thought, ‘wow, that is so unattainable,’ and now I’m a senior, and I think if I was a freshman I’d be impressed with myself right now.” Erin Lee, Trinity ‘21, described a similar feeling: “I didn’t imagine in a million years that I would be in the place that I am today,” Lee said. Lee graduated a semester early and has spent the spring preparing for law school in the fall. She reflected that this extra semester
has given her time to process the “oh my gosh, this is happening” feeling that seniors often experience. “I’m glad I closed my chapter at Duke the way that I did. At first I was bitter that junior year was my best year ever and it got cut short. But I’m glad that I even got that best year ever,” Lee said. The pandemic impacted senior year in both positive and negative ways. Chen said that she enjoyed experiencing Duke with less academic pressure during her senior year. “Zoom made classes a little easier,” she said. A major downside of the pandemic is that Chen hasn’t seen some of her classmates since sophomore year. She studied abroad during her junior fall semester and, in the spring, came back to campus for just a few months before being sent home. Lee said that she experienced “a lot of grief” initially about losing out on normal experiences. Eventually, she said, the pandemic gave her perspective and she was able “to appreciate what [she] had when [she] was there.” All three shared that their parents are excited to attend commencement. “Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it because they were saying that early graduates weren’t allowed to come, and my parents were really disappointed, but with the two person policy they are able to come and watch me walk across the stage. That’s more than I ever expected,” Lee said. Cruz wrote that he believes graduation ceremonies are “not about the graduating class” but rather “about their loved ones. It’s a culminating experience where the parents and guardians of the students get to celebrate that they raised their kids to a point of true independence.”
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A decade of commencement speakers By Nadia Bey Managing Editor
2011 - John T. Chambers Chambers, then CEO of Cisco, addressed graduates on May 14, 2011. He attended Duke for two years before transferring to West Virginia University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. He received an honorary degree during the 2011 ceremony. 2012 - Fareed Zakaria Zakaria, a journalist, delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2012 before receiving an honorary degree. Zakaria earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. 2013 - Melinda French Gates Gates, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, emphasized the importance of brotherhood in her commencement speech. She graduated from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1986, earned her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business in 1987 and earned an honorary degree at the 2013 commencement. In addition to serving on the Board of Trustees from 1996 to 2003, Gates and her husband gifted funds for the French Family Science Center and the University Scholars Program. 2014 - Martin E. Dempsey Dempsey, a retired Army general, was the chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of his speech. He declined an honorary degree, which was typically awarded to commencement speakers at that time, because of his position. He earned an M.A. in English from Duke in 1984. 2015 - Paul Farmer Farmer, who graduated from the University in 1982, is the co-founder of non-profit Partners in Health, which has an undergraduate club at Duke. In his speech, he encouraged graduates to be open to “serendipity and
disappointments.” He has been on the Board of Trustees since 2009. 2016 - Mike Krzyzewski The Class of 2016 got their sendoff from Coach K, whose background in sports would “provide another unique perspective” to commencement, according to Richard Brodhead, the University President at the time. Krzyzewski played basketball at West Point and coached their men’s team before stepping into the heat coaching job at Duke in 1980. 2017 - David M. Rubenstein Rubenstein graduated from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1970, where he was selected to Phi Beta Kappa, a prestigious academic honor society. He served as the chair of the Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2017. Rubenstein has donated millions to the University and is the namesake of Rubenstein Library and the Rubenstein Scholars Program for firstgeneration, low-income students. 2018 - Tim Cook Cook, the current Chief Executive Officer of Apple, has served on the Board of Trustees since 2015. He attended the Fuqua School, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class in 1988. 2019 - Lisa Borders Borders, a current trustee and the former president and CEO of women’s advocacy organization TIME’S UP, graduated from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1979. Borders served as president of the WNBA for three seasons, from 2016 to 2018. 2020 - Ken Jeong Jeong, who is an actor, comedian and physician, graduated from Duke in 1990 before pursuing a medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Last year, Jeong told The Chronicle that he got his start in acting at Duke.
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To the Class of 2021— On Sunday, you’ll file into Wallace Wade Stadium and stand all together as the Class of 2021 for the last time. We hope that this paper will allow you to reflect on the years you spent together. Your time at Duke has been filled with many defining moments, from small things, like a weird painting in Keohane to much larger events, like a pandemic and national racial justice movement. Some moments brought tears, some brought laughs, and some brought everything in between. You all have something to be proud of yourselves for. Whether it’s acing that pain-in-the-butt class, winning an award or forming meaningful friendships, you all have something to treasure as you walk out of Wallace Wade. In May 2020, we titled our send-home print paper ‘Resilient.’ There is no better way to describe you. Congratulations, Leah Boyd Editor-in-Chief
Courtesy of Nina Wilder
Courtesy of Rose Wong
Courtesy of Izegboya Oyakhire
SENIOR PHOTOS TOP ROW Brandon Hill, Rose Wong and Rebecca Torrence MIDDLE ROW Izegboya Oyakhire BOTTOM ROW Jennifer Li, Miles Feuer and friends
Courtesy of Miles Feuer Courtesy of Jennifer Li
CONGRATULATIONS,
CLASS OF 2021!
4 | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
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2017-2018 First Year By Staff Reports From the welcoming of a new University president to the softball team’s inaugural season, the Class of 2021’s first year on campus was an eventful one. Shortly after President Vincent Price took office in July as Duke’s 10th president, he faced a controversial decision about the vandalism of the Robert E. Lee statue outside the Chapel. Price ordered the statue’s removal and launched a Commission on Memory and History in September to recommend a replacement. In November, he accepted the commission’s recommendation to leave the spot at the Chapel’s entrance open for the time being. Price was formally inaugurated as Duke’s president at an October ceremony on Abele Quadrangle, followed by a reception in the Brodhead Center. The night before the inauguration, the PricePalooza took place on East Campus. The event featured a ferris wheel, inflatables and food. In another important leadership change, Jack Bovender, Trinity ‘67 and Graduate School ‘69, became the new chair of the Board of Trustees. He took the helm from David Rubenstein, Trinity ‘70, who stepped away after serving as chair since 2013. In early September, a Duke LifeFlight helicopter crashed in eastern North Carolina. A memorial service took place Sept. 20 in the Chapel for the four people who died in the crash. Housing became a topic of serious discussion after Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, announced in late September that 2018-19 would be the last year undergraduate students lived on Central Campus.
Steve Schewel, Trinity ‘73 and a professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, became the mayor of Durham after winning the November election. He appointed Jillian Johnson, Trinity ‘03 and his former student, as his mayor pro tempore. After President Donald Trump announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Duke students established a chapter of Define American, an organization that provided support for DACA students and their allies. Later in November, some of the students traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of Congress to fight for protections for those at risk of deportation. In late November, the men’s basketball team kicked off their season with a come-frombehind victory against Florida to win the PK80 Invitational’s Motion Bracket in Portland, Ore. They eked out the victory by three points, beating the Gators 87-84. Duke would make it to the Elite Eight of March Madness before losing to Kansas in overtime. Coach Mike Krzyzewski reached his 1,000th win at Duke in a November triumph over Utah Valley. The team split the regular season rivalry with the Tar Heels before falling to them in the ACC tournament semifinals. Grayson Allen closed out his career in Cameron with a win over the rivals on senior night, but the walkup line for the game got a bit out of hand. Krzyzewskiville also ran into some issues, including an indefinite shutdown due to the flu and the line monitors being sued in the Duke Student Government Judiciary. Over winter break, Duke’s football team beat Northern Illinois in the Quick Lane Bowl to take its second bowl win in three years. Duke,
Juan Bermudez Grayson Allen enjoying his senior night.
which finished the season 7-6, closed the season on a three-game winning streak—the first time since 1962. In October, Price threw the first Duke softball pitch in the University’s history as softball officially became the University’s 27th varsity sport. The Blue Devils finished the regular season ranked seventh in the ACC and gained their first All-ACC honoree as sophomore pitcher Raine Wilson was named to the conference’s first team. First-years Rachel Abboud and Peyton St. George were also named to the conference’s All-Freshman team. The Rubenstein Arts Center, a new arts facility on campus, began operations in February with an opening party that drew a crowd of over 3000 visitors. Rubenstein funded the creation of the new arts center witha $25 million gift.
1K FOR COACH K Coach K gets 1000th win By Hank Tucker November 12, 2017 Saturday night was not the first time Grayson Allen sat in front of his locker with a white 1K t-shirt on, though he didn’t have as many media around him last time. Allen is the lone active Blue Devil that was on the team when Mike Krzyzewski picked up his 1,000th career win against St. John’s Jan. 26, 2015. Krzyzewski then made up five years worth of wins at Army in less than three more years at Duke, becoming the first men’s college coach ever to win 1,000 times at the same school with a 99-69 victory against Utah Valley. Allen just played three minutes against the Red Storm, before he emerged as a hidden weapon in the national championship that year, but made a bigger impact on this achievement with 18 points as a senior captain. In total, Allen has been at Duke for 90 of Krzyzewski’s wins—with many more likely to come this season. “It’s pretty awesome to be able to be a part of two pretty historic moments for a coach,” Allen said. “This one, being in
Cameron, I felt a lot more love for Coach. I think this one was the coolest just because of the fan support and being at home, being in Cameron with all the Crazies cheering him on.... I can’t believe I got to be a part of two of them.” After the game, Duke President Vincent Price and Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White presented Krzyzewski with a game ball. Price and former national player of the year Shane Battier then spoke briefly to honor Krzyzewski in an on-court ceremony. Krzyzewski took the microphone for a few minutes to thank the crowd and started his remarks by reflecting on his first three years with the Blue Devils from 1980-83, when his teams went 38-47. At that rate of wins, it would have taken almost 79 full seasons to get to 1,000, and at that rate of losses, then-athletic director Tom Butters surely would have let him go well before that time was up. “My first three years, I could have never imagined winning 100 games,” Krzyzewski said. “I had a president in Terry Sanford and an athletic director in Tom Butters who believed in me.”
Philip Catterall
Butters, who died last spring, gave his coach another chance with a contract extension in 1984. Krzyzewski made his first Final Four two years later and he has been entrenched at Duke ever since, turning down several offers from NBA teams and watching Butters refuse his letter of resignation when he offered to step down in 1995 due to back surger y. That happened before every player on his current team was born, but that didn’t stop them from becoming a small piece of history themselves. “It was a special night, to even be part of this team and to go out and play hard for that and to win this game for him,” freshman big man Marvin Bagley III said. “He’s a great coach. I enjoy getting to be around him every day and learning from him every day. I’m just happy to be here and I’m just looking forward to learning
Throughout the year, several high profile public figures visited campus. Reince Priebus, former White House chief of staff to Trump, discussed the 2016 election and his service in Trump’s White House when he spoke on campus in December. Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Convention, talked about the evolution of the party when he visited in April, and Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rev. William Barber II packed the Chapel for their rescheduled April talk on a moral economy. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, visited campus in April to talk about Russian relations and the U.S. embassy in Israel. Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, stopped by in May to discuss political risk. During alumni weekend in April, approximately 25 students took the stage as President Vincent Price stood at the podium. The students, affiliated under the People’s State of the University, presented a dozen demands for the University. The Office of Student Conduct sent notices to these students about possible disciplinary action but eventually chose to informally resolve the cases. The end of the year was marked by racial incidents. A student was called out on the Duke Memes for Gothicc Teens Facebook page for using a racial slur in a Snapchat. A student resident of the 300 Swift apartment complex had a racial epithet written across her door, and a pair of anti-Semitic posters were found along the East Campus wall and sidewalk. In May, it was reported that two baristas at Joe Van Gogh were fired due to the explicit lyrics in a rap song that was playing when Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, entered the store to buy a muffin.
a lot from him.” Saturday’s game was just another early-season 99-69 win, the latest addition to the Blue Devils’ 134-game nonconference home winning streak. Krzyzewski coached it like any other win, and it showed on the bench, as he leapt off the bench to growl at the officials in the opening minutes when Allen and point guard Trevon Duval were both whistled for two quick fouls. He was doing the same job he has done for the last 38 years at Duke, and enjoying it. “I’m the luckiest guy to coach ever. I coached at my alma mater, coached the U.S. team for 11 years and I’ve coached what I think is the greatest basketball program in the country,” Krzyzewski said. “I think there’s more to come, I’m just not sure how many.” After he left the court, Krzyzewski shrugged off the accomplishment to start his postgame press conference, preferring to talk about his team’s play on the court. Win No. 1,001 with the Blue Devils may be as hard to get as any of the last 1,000 Tuesday against No. 2 Michigan State, and in his remarks to the crowd, he finished by trying to shift the focus from his own legacy to his current players. “What was is great, and what will might be great, but it won’t unless we consider ourselves fully invested into now,” Krzyzewski said. “Let’s embrace now with this group and see what the hell happens.”
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Vincent Price inaugurated as president By Nathan Luzum October 5, 2017 As the sun descended behind Page Auditorium Thursday evening, Vincent Price ascended to the stage in Abele Quad to become the 10th President of Duke University. In an inauguration ceremony in front of the Duke Chapel, students, faculty, representatives from other institutions, trustees and two former presidents—Nannerl Keohane and Richard Brodhead—looked on as Price assumed his new role. In his address, Price highlighted the importance of regeneration and growth of the University in a new age while reaffirming Duke’s commitment to the highest standard of teaching. He emphasized interdisciplinary research as an essential component in tackling modern challenges and making new discoveries. Reflecting on the University’s role in North Carolina and abroad, he pledged to use Duke’s intellect not only to better the world as a whole but also improve the local community in which Duke resides. “We are called upon to answer the challenges of the day,” he said. “So let us think of today not so much as a beginning but as another renewal, both a renewed commitment to values that guided the choices of our predecessors at Duke, and a renewed charge to make bold choices of our own.” He touched on the history of Duke’s landscape to draw a comparison between the trees and the University itself. Just as the land that Duke sits on has undergone ecological changes through the years, Price explained, Duke itself has experienced similar periodic renewals. “Throughout our history, each iteration of this institution has risen with purpose to meet the great challenges of its day, and has shaded and seeded the ground for grander things to come,” he said. He noted that Duke’s renewal originates in the classroom with passionate faculty and eager students. Hinting at the importance of transforming education in an age of technology, Price explained that all facets of life have been altered by the digital age—likewise, the education system must also adapt to suit those needs. Price called upon the University not to shy away from, but to instead embrace the new age of technology. “Our new century calls for a university audacious and visionary enough to fundamentally redefine teaching and learning in higher education,” he said. “I believe Duke can and will be that university.” In the past, research along strict disciplinary lines has led to a number of discoveries over the years, Price explained. However, he noted that modern research requires interdisciplinary communication to achieve its goals. He cited several interdisciplinary endeavors that Duke had already created and declared his commitment to continue embracing this new brand of research. “As our collective knowledge has grown, so too has the realization that the most pressing problems and far-reaching opportunities of our world do not fit into one discipline or profession,” Price said. “We must prevent our research from ossifying around practices that were designed to confront another century’s challenges, and that limit our ability to confront the emerging problems of today.” Price then addressed Duke’s role in the community—both locally and internationally—and emphasized that the University’s work “does not stop at Duke’s gates.” He encouraged members of the University to seek out others different from themselves in order to understand—and ultimately better—the world. The inauguration ceremony also featured several other speakers, including Amy Gutmann, President of the University of
Pennsylvania. As president of the university at which Price previously served as provost, she offered her strong endorsement of Price as Duke’s next president. “We’re absolutely thrilled for our good friend Vince, but it stings,” she said. “Truly, if ever an academic match were made in Heaven, this is the one.” She emphasized the linkage between Duke and the University of Pennsylvania, explaining that West Campus architect Julian Abele was in fact a Penn graduate. Price is just the latest example of the qualities and values shared by Duke and Penn, Gutmann said. Noting that Price grew up with five brothers, she humorously added that his upbringing gave him “a true gift for staying cool under fire” and for “fostering affinity out of difference.” Durham Mayor Bill Bell also attended the ceremony and praised Price for several decisions during his first three months as Duke’s 10th president. To considerable applause in the audience, Bell lauded Price for his commitment to raise Duke’s minimum wage to $15 by July 2019 and for the removal
of the Robert E. Lee statue. “Both of these actions, in my opinion, were the right actions at the right time,” he said. “They demonstrated his leadership and sensitivity to the moral and human conditions of justice and equity in our city.” Bell added that the relationship between the city and University had gradually improved throughout his terms on the Durham County Board of Commissioners and eventually as Durham mayor, which has spanned the tenure of four—and now a fifth—Duke presidents. Jack Bovender, chair of the Board of Trustees, also spoke during the event, noting that Duke has long been characterized by its “outrageous ambition.” “In investing Vincent Price with the power of this office, we are selecting him to be the vehicle of our collective and outrageous ambition,” he said. “We are putting our trust in him and urging him to be our guide through the many challenges and opportunities to come.” Bovender also reminded the audience that Duke’s enduring values remain steady even as a new president comes to the helm. “At William Preston Few’s inauguration
as president in 1910, outgoing president John Kilgo suggested that while this institution’s administrators change, its purpose and principles remain the same,” he said.
Charles York Vincent Price is the 10th president of Duke University.
‘PRESIDENT PRICE,
GET OFF THE STAGE’
People’s State of the University protests Price’s address
Bre Bradham A student group known as People’s State of the Union took the stage at President Vincent Price’s alumni address.
By Adam Beyer Sarah Kerman April 14, 2018 A group of organized students disrupted President Vincent Price’s address to alumni Saturday, calling for institutional change in labor practices and student support, among other demands. Looking back to the legacy of the 1968 Silent Vigil, approximately 25 undergraduates—who identified themselves as being from diverse backgrounds—took the stage in Page Auditorium as Price was about to accept class gifts. “President Price get off the stage,” the group chanted, while rushing the stage with signs and a megaphone. Once they gathered onstage, the group continued chanting “Whose University? Our University.” Junior Trey Walk took the megaphone first, connecting the protest back to the Vigil. “These events would later be summarized as a turning point for Duke, but 50 years later so much has still remained the same,” Walk said. “We are still here.” Walk continued, noting that task forces and other measures are still being used to pacify students. After he passed off the megaphone, Price attempted to interject before relenting. Many in the crowd began shouting.
Amid the shouting, the protesters continued, with alumni presenting class continued listing their demands—ranging gifts followed by an address from the from guaranteeing need-blind admissions President. In the question and answer for international students and loan-free session, one alumnus asked Price about his financial aid to opening Board of Trustees thoughts on the protest. meetings to the public and banning medically Price said he would review the unnecessary surgery for intersex newborns at demands and listen to the students, but Duke Hospital. noted that he thought they might have a Many alumni did not respond positively, “misunderstanding” about the minimum booing to drown out the student’s wage issue. He explained that Duke has explanation of their demands, some committed to raising its wage for employees standing up to turn their backs to the stage. and contract workers. Among the comments heard from alums in “The challenge now in a culture that the audience “get off the confuses shouting stage”, “not the time or The future we imagine is back and forth place” and “a**holes.” with conversation, After approximately one free of oppression, we just have to find 10 minutes, Sterly Wilder, suffering and exploitation. vehicles to have Trinity ’83 and associate honest discussion vice president for alumni and I’m happy to affairs, initially announced gino nuzzolillo take up any of the that the talk would be issues which the trinity ‘20 students raise,” he canceled. Five minutes later, the students left to further said. “I disagree address their demands in front of the Chapel. deeply that this was an appropriate way to Before they got onstage, student handle these issues.” protesters reported receiving fliers titled Students also protested in April 2016 “Got something to say? Here’s how to for some of the same causes during the get your message heard...” from Dean of week-long Allen Building sit-in, including Students Sue Wasiolek, which outlined raising minimum wage to $15/hour. Duke’s policies on protesting. The Allen Building sit-in was originally One bullet point states: “Disruptive sparked by allegations that executive vicepicketing, protesting or demonstration president Tallman Trask hit a parking on Duke University property or at any employee with his car and called her a place in use for an authorized university racial slur. It called for Trask’s firing, but purpose is prohibited.” also focused on other concerns regarding The Page Auditorium talk eventually labor at the University.
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2018-2019 Sophomore Year By Staff Reports Sophomore year saw the renaming of an infamous building, a collection of controversies and a star-studded basketball season. In August 2018, the history department filed an official request to rename the Carr Building on East Campus, which houses the department. Named after Julian Carr, the wealthy white supremacist who donated the land that would become East Campus, the building came under fire from history alumni, People’s State of the University and Duke Student Government. At the December Board of Trustees meeting, the Board decided to officially rename the building to the Classroom Building, its original name. The history department had requested the University rename it after Raymond Gavins, Duke’s first African American history professor. The Board declined this request, ruling that the building’s original name would stay until the filing of another official request. Throughout the year, student activists were instrumental in bringing attention to certain Duke policies. Students received a letter in the fall that said financial aid would not pay for Duke health insurance unless their expected family contribution was $0. After pushback from student advocates for health care, President Vincent Price reversed the decision in a letter to the editor. Students also defended workers’ rights in the face of multiple University policies. When housekeepers were forced to work weekends, a student organized a petition to return them to their normal Monday through Friday schedules. Additionally, facilities staff were told they had to rebid for their shifts based solely on seniority, which meant workers were at risk of losing their
existing shifts and buildings. Administration later scrapped the rebidding plans. The 2018-2019 academic year saw an array of scandals. There were several hate incidents on campus during the beginning of the year. In August, a wall at the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture was defaced with a racist slur. In November, a swastika was painted over a mural on the East Campus bridge that honored victims from a shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue. In January, Megan Neely, director of graduate studies for the Master of Biostatistics program, sent an email to the department urging Chinese students to speak English outside of class. She stepped down the next day after screenshots of the email were posted online. Duke agreed to pay $112.5 million in March to settle a lawsuit alleging that a Duke scientist falsified data that was used to obtain $200 million in research grants. Throughout the year, Duke was involved in intense negotiations with regional transit authority GoTriangle about the proposed light rail from Durham to Orange County. The University announced Feb. 27 it would not sign a cooperation agreement in a letter to GoTriangle, all but killing the project. Duke did not want to give up land alongside Erwin Road in the heart of its medical corridor, and it was concerned about the effects of electromagnetic interference and construction on the medical facilities’ operations. Students and Durham officials were not happy with the University’s decision. But in Cameron Indoor Stadium, first-year phenom Zion Williamson had everyone smiling. Duke basketball captivated the University community and the nation. The team featured R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion
Williamson, the top three recruits in their class, as well as fellow top-10 recruit Tre Jones. The year got off to a strong start with a 34-point throttling of Kentucky in the Champions Classic. Arguably the year’s best win, however, came against Louisville, when Duke came back from 23 points down with just more than nine minutes remaining. After a trivia test that determined tenting eligibility, students camped out for weeks in Krzyzewskiville to watch Williamson and the Blue Devils face off against North Carolina. Even former President Barack Obama attended the game. Unfortunately, Williamson broke through his shoe 30 seconds into the game and would not return in a game Duke ultimately lost to the Tar Heels. Duke exacted its revenge on the Tar Heels in the ACC tournament semifinals before going on to win the tournament. Duke’s season ended in the Elite Eight against Michigan State when Kenny Goins hit a go-ahead three in the game’s waning seconds. Led by quarterback Daniel Jones, the football team finished the regular season with a 7-5 record. The season featured wins over North Carolina and Miami and blowout losses to Clemson and Wake Forest. The team capped off the year with a comeback win against Temple in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl. The New York Giants then drafted Jones sixth overall in the NFL Draft, making him the second Duke quarterback ever picked in the first round. Like Jones, this year was the last for Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs. Duke named Tufts University administrator Mary Pat McMahon to succeed him as the new vice provost/vice president for campus life. Ongoing construction projects could be found all over Duke’s campus this year. The largest project was a brand new dorm along
Towerview Road, the Hollows. The suite-style building helped absorb around 700 of the students moving to West Campus after Central Campus was torn down. In the year’s student elections, undergraduate students chose junior Liv McKinney to be the next DSG president, replacing senior Kristina Smith. Trey Walk, a senior, was elected to serve as the undergraduate Young Trustee. Duke “banned the box” this year, meaning applicants cannot be required to disclose their criminal records on initial job applications. Durham celebrated its 150th birthday in April with a birthday party at the American Tobacco Amphitheater. Finally, this February marked the 50th anniversary of the Allen Building Takeover, when black student activists took over the administrative building and demanded change.
Bre Bradham Rallying against gerrymandering at SCOTUS.
Duke pays $112.5 million to settle research fraud case By Ben Leonard March 25, 2019 Duke will pay $112.5 million to the federal government in a settlement for a lawsuit regarding its handling of falsified data that the suit alleged was linked to $200 million in federal research grants. “This is a difficult moment for Duke,” President Vincent Price wrote in an email to the Duke community. “This case demonstrates the devastating impact of research fraud and reinforces the need for all of us to have a focused commitment on promoting research integrity and accountability.” The lawsuit, filed by former lab analyst Joseph Thomas, alleged Duke used the data to obtain grants and covered up the fraud. The lawsuit came from fraud allegedly committed by former Duke researcher Erin Potts-Kant. A researcher in the pulmonary, allergy and critical care department of Duke Health, Potts-Kant has had more than 12 scientific papers retracted since word broke of the allegedly falsified data. Potts-Kant admitted to changing parts of the data but said that experiments
actually were run. Thomas brought the case under the False Claims Act, which could have forced Duke to fork over as much as $600 million. Thomas alleged Potts-Kant falsified data in research on mice’s lungs. From these data, labs at the University were able to secure additional federal funding, calling roughly $200 million in grants into question. Others were also implicated in the lawsuit, including two of Potts-Kants’ supervisors: William Foster, ex-professor of medicine, and Monica Kraft, former division chief of the pulmonary division. The two supervisors were accused of negligence and ignoring warnings of misconduct. The National Institutes of Health implemented additional regulations for Duke researchers in April 2018, requiring those applying for grants for less than $250,000 per year to provide a detailed budget of their proposed costs. The email went on to outline steps Duke has taken to promote scientific integrity. Price wrote that the University has taken many steps in recent years in order to “promote an environment and culture of scientific integrity,” such as creating the Office for Scientific Integrity and appointing Geeta
Swamy as associate vice provost and vice dean for scientific integrity. Duke brought a new data management tool, established required “science culture and accountability plans for all School of Medicine units” and created a program to monitor clinical quality, Price wrote. He added that the University established education efforts on integrity for all faculty and staff and made a committee to review “review scientific programs that have commercial potential.” Price also announced new initiatives in the email. Duke will appoint an Advisory Panel on Research Integrity and Excellence that will provide recommendations to the University
on how to “promot[e] research integrity” by June 30. It will create a new research leadership structure and create an Executive Oversight Committee, which will be chaired by A. Eugene Washington, chancellor for health affairs, to oversee the changes. “To be clear: fraudulent and unethical behavior violates the fundamental values of our academic community and must be addressed,” Price wrote. “However, we know that it does not reflect the vast majority of our students, faculty, staff, and trainees. We are very proud of the work you do every day, and the contributions you make to Duke’s enduring and essential mission of excellence in teaching, learning, discovery, service and healing.”
Henry Haggart
The Chronicle
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Carr Building officially renamed By Bre Bradham December 1, 2018
The University has stripped Julian Carr’s name from the East Campus building that bore it for nearly 90 years. The change comes four years after Duke renamed Aycock Residence Hall on East Campus because of its namesake’s history and amidst a national conversation about removing Confederate or racist memorials. The Board of Trustees approved removing without dissent Carr’s name at its meeting this weekend, Board Chair Jack Bovender said. The decision was announced to the University in an email from President Vincent Price Saturday afternoon. “Our campus is first and foremost an inclusive community of people, not of classrooms and buildings,” Price wrote in his email to the Duke community. “With each new student or faculty member who arrives here, with each new discovery made or perspective shared, this community grows and evolves to better meet the challenges of its time. The renaming of the Carr Building represents one such evolution, at once a reflection of how our world has changed and a demonstration that our values and bonds will endure far longer than mortar or stone.” The Carr Building will be called the Classroom Building until a new name is chosen. Price told The Chronicle after the Board meeting that he does not have a set time frame for recommending a new name, adding that he is considering the building’s name in conjunction with other memorial efforts on campus. The Classroom Building was the Carr Building’s original name before it was renamed in honor of Carr in 1930. The decision to revert to the Classroom Building comes after the ad hoc committee did not make a recommendation on a new name, according to the Duke Today release. Instead, the committee deferred the renaming process to the Board of Trustees. In its request to rename the building, the history department asked that it be named after Raymond Gavins, the first African-American professor in the department. The Carr Building’s name came under scrutiny at the beginning of the semester, when Duke’s history department filed a formal request for the name to be reconsidered. The request stemmed from the department’s concerns about Julian Carr, after whom the building was named. Carr donated the land for East Campus to Trinity College—Duke’s predecessor— and served on its Board of Trustees. “It is a reasonable assertion to say that Duke wouldn’t exist were it not for the generosity of Julian Carr. It is also true that he was a virulent white supremacist,” Taylor wrote in an email to The Chronicle in August. “Both of these things are true about Mr. Carr, and I think Duke needs to tell this story explicitly via a full, academically rigorous contextualization of Julian Carr, and then we all need to wrestle with what it means for us today.”
HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY, DURHAM April 10, 2019 “ ... a very difficult time and a sad time, but a time to be proud, also.” steve schewel mayor of durham
Special to The Chronicle
Carr supported the Ku Klux Klan’s violence, and bragged about “horsewhipp[ing] a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds” because she “publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady” when he spoke at the dedication of the Silent Sam statue—a Confederate monument pulled down by protesters earlier this semester—at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Charles York A slab covers the Carr name on the now-Classroom Building.
The Duke Today release about the name change noted Carr’s contributions of moving Trinity College from Randolph County to Durham in the 1890s, but noted he was “an active proponent of white supremacy throughout his adult life.” “He boasted about being a member of the initial Ku Klux Klan and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1900 on a white supremacist platform,” the release stated. The push to rename the Carr Building kicked off in the spring, when student protesters included it as one of their demands when they interrupted an alumni reunion event where Price was speaking. After the Robert E. Lee statue was removed from the Chapel steps last year, Price created a formal process for requests to be made concerning names and places of memory on campus. At the beginning of this semester, the history department faculty members—who work in the Carr Building—filed a formal request to strip Carr’s name and requested the building to be renamed in honor of Raymond Gavins. Following the request, support for the change emerged from various parts of the Duke community. The student protesters, who formed a group called People’s State of the University, held a rally at
the building in support of the change. More than 140 alumni of the history department sent in a signed letter that encouraged renaming the building, and Duke Student Government unanimously passed a resolution calling for a name change. This is not the first time a building on Duke’s campus has been renamed after its namesake’s questionable past has come to light. The first-year residence hall Aycock—named after an early 1900s North Carolina governor active in the white supremacist movement—was renamed in 2014 to East Residence Hall, though the decision to rename Aycock was reached through a less formal process. The Board also supported the committee’s recommendation to create a display inside the Carr Building explaining “why the university chose to name the building in his honor in 1930, and why it chose to remove his name nearly ninety years later,” according to the Duke Today release. The committee’s report said that it received more than 900 responses to an online survey requesting input and heard from multiple members of Carr’s family. The educational installment is a key part of the recommendation, according to the report. “The unanimity of the committee’s support for the recommendation to remove the name is contingent on the creation of means to present educational and historical information on Julian Carr in order to preserve the record on Carr’s contributions to Trinity College and help the community understand his complex legacy,” the report stated. “We note that no individual is perfect, and we do not pretend to sit in judgment on any individual as a human or citizen,” the report said. “But the white supremacist actions that Carr pursued throughout his life, even when considered in light of the time in which they were held, are inconsistent with the fundamental aspirations of this university, and removing the name will be a powerful statement that lifts up our values as a diverse and inclusive institution.” Per the formalized process, the request was reviewed by an ad hoc committee Price formed in response to the request, which delivered a proposal to him. Price reviewed the proposal and delivered it to the Board of Trustees, which supported removing Carr’s name. Bovender said he appreciated the formalized process. “Julian Carr’s legacy is complicated. His leadership of and philanthropy to Trinity College helped ensure that the small liberal arts school would remain independent and would have the means—and the land—to transform into the great university it has become,” Price wrote in the email.“But this same person also actively promoted white supremacy through words and deeds that, even by the historic norms of the time, were extraordinarily divisive and caused serious harm to members of his community. It is for these reasons that I agree with the History Department, the committee members and the trustees that removal is the appropriate course of action.”
Duke doesn’t sign light rail cooperation agreement By Bre Bradham February 27, 2019
Duke will not sign onto a cooperation agreement for the Durham-Orange Light Rail project before a Feb. 28 deadline. Duke joins North Carolina Railroad, according to a WRAL report, in not signing onto the plan. In a letter sent to GoTriangle Wednesday morning—signed by President Vincent Price, Chancellor for Health Affairs A. Eugene Washington and Executive Vice President Tallman Trask—the University said it would not sign on. “Significant efforts by many people from Duke and GoTriangle have been made over the past year to resolve a number of critical issues connected to the proposed DurhamOrange Light Rail Transit (DOLRT) project,” the letter stated. “Notwithstanding these many good faith efforts, it has unfortunately not been possible to complete the extensive and detailed due diligence, by the deadlines imposed by the federal and state governments, that is required to satisfy Duke University’s legal, ethical and fiduciary responsibilities to ensure the safety of patients, the integrity of research and continuity of our operations and activities.” For the current plan, Duke would have to donate land for the proposed route. In the letter, the University expressed
lingering concerns about electromagnetic interference, vibration from the construction of a proposed elevated line near Duke Hospital and the Duke Eye Center, potential disruptions for utilities and power and liability, since Duke is a private institution. The letter said that Duke would “require insurance or indemnification in an amount high enough to protect Duke University’s ability to operate as an ongoing entity” in the case of a “major disruption” to Duke’s operations or tragedy as result of construction or operation of the light rail. The amount or form of that coverage was not able to be agreed on. “I know you understand Duke’s highest priority is the health and safety of patients who have entrusted us with their care at the most perilous times of their lives,” the letter
stated. “The acceptable tolerance for risk in these circumstances must be as close to zero as possible, and we have an obligation to our patients and the community to uphold that standard.” Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that the Board of Trustees were briefed at their meeting this past weekend but took no action. The letter concluded by re-affirming Duke’s interest in working with GoTriangle. “Duke remains dedicated to working with GoTriangle and our community to advance sustainable and workable public transit solutions that serve the needs of all citizens, especially those who depend on public transportation,” the letter stated.
Selena Qian
Liza Becker
FIRST YEAR
The Chronicle
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8 | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
Leland Ben
Clare Bradshaw
AG Chancellor
Patrick Clinch
Adam Enggasser
Meghana Iragavarapu
Lawton Ives
Merrit Jones
Ben Keegan
Zoe King
Warner Lamar
Serena Lim-Strutt
Nathan Miller
Mary Laci Motley
Michael Muller
Mary Ashley Murrah
Michelle Nandi
Rahi Patel
Naraya Price
Kyle Ryan
Jacob Sheridan
Matthew Smith
Allayne Thomas
Joseph Touma
Adam Ushpol
Sierra Winters
Anna Evans
TOP LEFT CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Coach K picked up his 1,000th career win against St. John’s Jan. 26, 2015. TOP RIGHT CHARLES YORK Vincent Price is the 10th president of Duke University. In his inauguration speech, he touched on the history of Duke’s landscape to draw a comparison between the trees and the University itself. BOTTOM LEFT One of the first major decisions for Price was what to do with the Robert E. Lee statue in front of the Chapel. In the summer of 2017, Price elected to take down the statue. He later chose to keep it empty.
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2021!
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SOPHOMORE YEAR TOP BRE BRADHAM Zion Williamson electrified Cameron Indoor Stadium in his sole year on the men’s basketball team. Here, he completes a 360 slam dunk against Clemson that brought the house down. He would eventually become a no-brainer number one pick in the NBA Draft. BOTTOM BRE BRADHAM During the fall, Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina. Durham was fortunate in that the deadly hurricane largely missed Durham, just leaving Duke’s campus rainy for a few days.
ABOVE HENRY HAGGART President Barack Obama, an avid college basketball fan, attended the Duke-UNC game at Cameron. Unfortunately for Duke fans and game attendees, Zion Williamson ripped his shoe 30 seconds into the game and didn’t play for the remainder of the game.
10 | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
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2019-2020 By Staff Reports While the Class of 2021’s third year on campus will forever be infamous for the University’s transition to empty quads and online courses, the pre-pandemic year was remarkable thanks to student activism, campus renovations and basketball games for the ages. It was a busy year when it came to student life. First-years were barred from O-Week parties, and alcohol was banned from fraternity rush events. Electric scooters began to litter campus sidewalks, though the University placed restrictions on their use. As for student elections, junior Tommy Hessel was elected Duke Student Government president and senior Ibrahim Butt was elected undergraduate Young Trustee. Senior year also saw its share of controversy. Over the summer, Duke agreed to pay $54.5 million to settle a class action antitrust lawsuit after the plaintiff alleged that Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had agreed not to hire each other’s employees. Duke’s Department of Education sent a letter criticizing the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, after which President Vincent Price and Provost Sally Kornbluth reaffirmed the University’s commitment to academic freedom. Two fraternities faced disciplinary action: Duke’s Delta Sigma Phi chapter was shut down in September due to “risk management problems”, and the University suspended its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter in November and required members to move out of their housing section. Students made their voices heard throughout the year, protesting tech company Palantir and a talk by John Bolton, former national security advisor to President Donald Trump. During a weeklong global
Dean Sue stops illegal benchburning effort By Nathan Luzum February 8, 2020
After a win for the ages against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students were fired up to burn benches. There was only one problem—Duke didn’t have a permit. Students dragged the bench for Sherwood House onto the quad, but Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek planted herself atop the bench for around 45 minutes to prevent students from lighting it on fire. As students chanted at Wasiolek, others attempted to give her a handle of vodka and White Claws, which she declined to drink. Some students also approached the bench with lighters and a small blowtorch, but did not set it aflame. Eventually, when they realized a bonfire wasn’t in the cards, students began filing over to Cameron Indoor Stadium to welcome the team back. “I have great appreciation for the school spirit, and I love to encourage that in any way I can,” Wasiolek told The Chronicle after stepping down from the bench. “But I just felt
Junior Year
climate strike in September, students held a rally on the Bryan Center plaza. Alumni, students and faculty won prestigious awards this year. William Kaelin Jr., Trinity ‘79, School of Medicine ‘83 and a member of the Board of Trustees, shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his research on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. Gabriella Deich, Trinity ‘20, who co-founded the Arete Fellowship at Duke, was named Duke’s 50th Rhodes Scholar. and Jenny Tung, Trinity ‘03, Graduate School ‘10 and an associate professor in evolutionary anthropology, won a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant for $625,000. Demolition, construction and renovations changed the face of Duke this year. Construction crews began tearing down Central Campus, and students moved into Hollows Quad for the first time. Ahead of the Spring semester, popular eatery Pitchfork’s also got a new look. Meanwhile, some familiar faces announced their departure. Richard Riddell announced Oct. 1 that he would be stepping down in June as senior vice president and secretary to the Board of Trustees. Two weeks later, Duke announced Executive Vice President Tallman Trask’s retirement. Mary Pat McMahon became vice president and vice provost for student affairs, succeeding Larry Moneta, and Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek announced that she would move into a new advisory role during the 2020-21 academic year. The University community mourned the loss of three Duke students and alumni during the academic year. Former student Morgan Rodgers died in July. Then-senior Grey Spector and thensophomore Raj Mehta died in March. The last two months of the academic year were anything but ordinary. The first hint of the coming storm came Jan. 25, when Duke Kunshan University announced that classes would be suspended until mid-February. DKU
courses moved entirely online Feb. 24. Back in Durham, life went on, but Duke banned University-funded travel to China and eventually announced that students who traveled to areas with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure would have to self-quarantine before returning to campus. On the athletic front, the baseball and softball teams had outstanding seasons. Bryce Jarvis pitched the first nine-inning perfect game in the baseball program’s history, and it seemed possible that the team would make it to Omaha for the College World Series. The softball team finished 23-4 and was ranked 25th in the last ESPN/USA Softball poll after a nine-game win streak, their first time being ranked in a major poll. Duke football had a lackluster season, finishing with five wins and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2016. The women’s basketball team got off to a rocky start but ended the regular season third in the ACC. The men’s basketball team posted a pair of dazzling wins over rival North Carolina. After a comeback for the history books in Chapel Hill, Dean Sue sat atop a bench to stop students from burning it. Students got their second chance a month later, after a second victory over the Tar Heels that featured a spectacular senior night from Justin Robinson. Despite an exciting start, the men’s basketball team’s season was brought to a crashing halt. Three days after Robinson’s shining moment in Cameron, and midway through spring break, students began to receive hair-raising emails from University administrators. Classes were moved online, athletic activities were suspended, and students were told not to return to Durham to collect their belongings. By the end of a tumultuous extended spring break, it was clear that the class of 2021’s junior year would not end in a normal fashion.
Students and professors adapted to holding classes on Zoom, and undergraduate classes became satisfactory/unsatisfactory by default. Research labs adjusted to restrictions. Durham Mayor Steve Schewel issued a stay-at-home order and local businesses closed. Yet amidst the hardship, the Duke community came together. Within days of the announcement that classes would move online, the Duke Mutual Aid Facebook group had formed to help members of the Duke community impacted by the pandemic. The University created three relief funds with seed funding of $9 million, and Duke researchers turned their attention to creating a vaccine for the virus. Students celebrated the last day of classes with a Zoom concert. Commencement was postponed, and seniors attended a virtual celebration called Marking the Moment to commemorate their graduation. And on a quiet campus, the bells of the Duke Chapel continued to ring.
Simran Prakash Coach K and Tre hug it out after beating UNC.
‘This is not an appropriate time or place for me to be consuming alcohol, frankly.’ it was very important not to burn that bench. I really want to preserve the opportunities in the future to be able to burn with a permit. If we do it illegally now, we’re not going to get a permit in the future.” Bench-burning permits are granted for only four games out of the year, she explained. The University has permits for both the men’s and women’s home basketball games against UNC, in addition to the men’s and women’s National Championship game—but none for an away game in Chapel Hill. “What I didn’t want to have happen is any students get in trouble by burning the bench,” she said. “It’s not a matter of whether we could have controlled it and tried as best we could to make it safe, but it’s illegal. It’s against the law. I’m not sure students understand that. I don’t mean that in a condescending way, but the law is very clear.” Wasiolek knew that she might have to intercede even before the Sherwood bench was dragged into the quad following the Blue Devil win. Students have reacted this way to close victories in the past, she said, noting that this was the third time in her career pacifying
a group of students dead set on burning benches. “I didn’t think it was going to happen tonight because of the weather,” Wasiolek explained. “And then I called Duke Police just to see if they knew of anything going on, and they called me back and said it might be helpful for me to find my way to the main quad.” In response to being handed several alcoholic beverages by students begging her to allow a fire, Wasiolek noted she wasn’t tempted to crack one open. “Someone handed me some vodka, some White Claw,” she said. “This is not an appropriate time or place for me to be consuming alcohol, frankly. There’s a time and a place, but this wasn’t it.” As students continued to surround the bench and serenade Wasiolek, Mary Pat McMahon—vice president and vice provost for student affairs—was surveying the fray from the edge of the quad. She told The Chronicle that they were trying to get a bullhorn to Wasiolek. However, students filed
away before she could receive it. Despite several students approaching the bench with lighters and a blowtorch, Wasiolek said she wasn’t afraid that the bench would burn. “The good news is that the collective levelheadedness of the crowd, other students made sure that didn’t happen,” she said. “I was greatly appreciative of that.” As the crowd thinned out, students began climbing atop the bench and taking selfies and pictures with Wasiolek, which she described as “awesome.” There also wasn’t a possibility of acquiring a permit on short notice. Associate Dean of Students Clay Adams and McMahon said that the permits had to be granted 90 days in advance, so there was no chance to apply for one on the spot. In 2001, benches were burned without a permit in Duke’s legendary comeback win against Maryland. After students set them aflame, the Durham fire marshal rescinded the permit for a future game, but was persuaded to return it days later after discussion with administrators.
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Why Duke won’t bar Palantir from campus By Mona Tong January 9, 2020
Should Duke reevaluate its process of deciding which companies can recruit on campus? Administrators and students have clashed over this question since controversy ensued about the revelation that Palantir Technologies—a data analytics company that recruited at Duke’s fall TechConnect career fair—holds a $42 million contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Duke Student Government passed a resolution in December urging the University to cease its relationship with Palantir. However, administrators have struck a different tone. Mary Pat McMahon, vice provost and vice president for student affairs, wrote in an email that it is “core to Duke’s values to strongly encourage critical thinking and open discussion” around the ways that companies and their policies impact people and other issues. “Toward this end, we should not limit how students wish to raise critical questions with a prospective employer,” she wrote. “Some students may want to work for change from within a company, others may steer away from the same organization altogether. Others might want to learn more from a recruiter before deciding, and some may want to catalyze change from outside the process.” McMahon said that she does not foresee the recent DSG resolution changing the administration’s decision. Sophomore Jeremy Carballo wrote in a message to The Chronicle that permitting a company such as Palantir—“regardless of their other good work”—to recruit on campus is helping “a rogue federal agency
take part in their acts of fear and oppression.” This, he argued, does not align with Duke’s value statement. Among the listed values in the statement are that Duke “avoid[s] activities, pursuits or financial interests that are not compatible, in reality or perception, with our responsibilities” and that Duke “encourage[s] questions and challenges, holding individuals and organizations accountable for their actions and decisions.”
Duke’s process Bill Wright-Swadel, assistant vice president of student affairs and Fannie Mitchell executive director of Duke’s Career Center, noted that as long as employers “have legitimate jobs and are involved in hiring practices that don’t discriminate,” they are eligible to recruit at Duke. He added that, while some companies reach out to Duke, Duke also contacts employers first. In Palantir’s case, he doesn’t remember which it was, but he wouldn’t be surprised if “either of those directions happened.” As a company engaged in both the private and government sectors, he said that Palantir attracts students from a variety of majors and career paths. Wright-Swadel said that the Career Center’s mission is to provide students with the broadest array of opportunities as possible. These opportunities should represent the curriculum, students and faculty while also letting students have choices, he said. Therefore, Wright-Swadel explained that the Career Center shouldn’t be “in the business of prescribing [values]” through a vetting process. “I don’t think you want me using my personal values to decide who’s coming, so we try to reflect the community,” he said. McMahon said that if the University gets into
“the process of vetting the values of an employer,” it would set the precedent of granting individual administrators the power to determine where students’ opportunities lie. Ravi Bellamkonda, Vinik dean of the Pratt School of Engineering, wrote in an email to The Chronicle that although Palantir’s technology is “used to enforce immigration policies that are deeply disturbing,” Duke cannot restrict “access to our campus to [all] people and companies that we find objectionable.” He also wrote that he does not believe that a subset of students “should decide for everyone which companies are okay or not.” The Pratt School of Engineering hosts TechConnect in partnership with the department of computer science and with support from the Career Center. Senior Sandra Luksic said that Duke students having direct access to Palantir’s table at TechConnect should not outweigh the lives and safety of undocumented students. They added that by choosing to not reform its vetting process and allow Palantir to continue recruiting on campus, Duke is inherently contradicting itself, as “the lack of action is an action.”
A ‘confounding’ situation Wright-Swadel added that one of Duke’s values is “free speech and openness and choice.” Sometimes, it is very difficult for an institution to meet all of its beliefs concurrently, he said, but he broadly considered this a “case of representing our values and empowering students to make choices.” McMahon said that the “confounding” part of the situation is that Duke is abiding by its ethical and moral principles through recognizing that it is not administrators’ role to perform a value assessment of companies and make decisions for the entire student body.
‘UNSETTLING’ ‘DISTURBING’ ‘FRIGHTENING’ By Carter Forinash Nathan Luzum September 25, 2019
The Louvre displays the “Mona Lisa,” the Museum of Modern Art features “Starry Night,” and Keohane 4B dormitory boasted a work of art known as “Untitled 1.” The piece—painted at an on-campus art workshop—stood near the entrance to Keohane 4B for around two years. However, in response to a post on the Fix My Campus Facebook page and a survey revealing student concerns about the artwork, “Untitled 1” has been taken down and temporarily placed in storage. Multiple students told The Chronicle that the style of the piece elicited a feeling of unease. For senior Lucia Helena Mees, the artwork’s appearance only adds to an already stressful atmosphere at Duke. “It’s just not the sort of relaxing, colorful painting I was expecting to see on a college dorm hallway, and it’s a frightening scene to see late at night,” Mees wrote in an email. “In a high-stress environment like Duke, I’d expect to go home and relax, which is hard when you see paintings like those around.” On Sept. 4, senior Cristina Garcia Ayala posted a photo of the piece to the Fix My Campus page, asking whether it was
possible for the artwork to be removed. friends in 4B. The post has since received 160 likes and She applauded the administration’s reactions as of publication. response to student concerns. In a survey conducted by The “I think the discussion on this issue was Chronicle—on a busy Tuesday afternoon— valid since it finally brought students into students walking past the painting on their the conversation, and allowed us to help walk through Keohane 4B were split on shape a place that we should feel is our “Untitled 1.” home,” Mees wrote. “It was great to see how Of 30 students who were asked about quickly the administration responded to the painting, half of them our concerns, and rated the painting a one In a high-stress environment that our opinions out of five. Five more— are definitely including one student who like Duke, I’d expect to go being taken into asked to give a 1.5 to avoid home and relax, which is consideration.” feeling mean, and whose For senior score was rounded up— hard when you see paintings Dina Daas, the gave the painting a two out like those around. piece brought of five. back unpleasant On the other end, m e m o r i e s many students were more with lucia helena mees associated favorable toward the trinity ‘20 childhood TV. painting, with ten students “I found the rating the painting a three painting to be or a four, calling it an interesting break reminiscent of the artistry in ‘Courage the from other art in the building. Cowardly Dog,’ a television show which Sadly, at least for the painting’s fans, terrified me throughout childhood,” she there were no perfect scores. wrote in an email. “As a result, I felt that Mees, the senior who called the work the painting was unsettling and disturbing “a frightening scene to see at night,” to me and other members of the Duke explained that even though she lives live community.” in Keohane 4E, the art has caught her The piece also adversely affected senior attention many times when visiting her Alice Reed, who wrote to The Chronicle
Carballo said that he understands the argument that Duke shouldn’t be deciding if companies are “ethical” enough to recruit students. However, he noted that Duke cannot foster “free choice without the weight of the irreparable effects that these companies cause,” and Duke should at least use its role as an institution to publicly denounce companies holding contracts with ICE. Luksic emphasized that temporarily banning Palantir from having a table at TechConnect would be in “no way” taking away students’ abilities to make their own free choices or preventing students from working for the company. Rather than pausing Palantir’s recruitment on campus, McMahon said she is open to discussing other ways that Duke can “foster meaningful community engagement and address the same thing, which is supporting migrant communities and undocumented students.” She talked about the possibility of having an open forum or working group that brings people in a conversation to better understand the situation. Bellamkonda wrote that Duke can continue to “facilitate discussion of immigration policy and advocate for policies that are consistent with our values” and “shine a light on what it means to be a socially responsible corporation, so that our students can make their own informed choices about career opportunities.” However, he wrote that it is also fundamental to Duke’s values to respect student’s right to protest policies and corporations counter to their beliefs. Family separation policies are “abhorrent to say the least,” Bellamkonda noted, explaining that engaging in political activism and encouraging students to be involved in civic life is the best way to effect real change.
Nathan Luzum
that she has an anxiety disorder. Whenever she passed by “Untitled 1” for her house course in Keohane, Reed would refuse to look at the work due to increased anxiety and a possible panic attack. She acknowledged that the art has intrinsic value and added that she hopes the voices of students with disabilities aren’t “drowned out” during a potential vote over the pieces. Dean of Residence Life Joe Gonzalez explained that introduction of more art has accompanied renovations of dorms across campus. “Increasing the presence of art in our buildings is something we’ve been pursuing more aggressively over recent years,” he said. “In renovations and new construction projects, we’ve incorporated more artwork than we had previously.” Although there is no official policy governing art in dorms, Gonzalez acknowledged that Housing and Residence Life is striving to create a more formal process for spreading art to dorms, one that he said would draw heavily on Keohane as a positive example. “We certainly want students to support what’s happening in their community and be involved,” he said. “I think this offers the opportunity for that to happen.”
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JUNIOR YEAR TOP SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 Bench burning has been a Duke tradition since the 1980s. It’s much more regulated today than it used to be, but there’s still nothing quite like seeing a bench set ablaze after a fiery Duke victory over UNC. After not being allowed to burn benches following the away UNC game (see below), students got their chance in March. BOTTOM ERIC WEI After Duke men’s basketball buzzer-beating win in Chapel Hill, students were itching to burn benches. One problem—they’re only allowed to be burned after home victories. Dean Sue (pictured) sat on a bench to make sure students didn’t break the law.
ABOVE ERIC WEI John Bolton came to speak on campus in the spring. The former National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump had been in the news prior to the talk about whether he would testify about the Ukraine scandal that led to Trump’s impeachment. Students protested his talk outside Page Auditorium.
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JUNIOR YEAR TOP LEFT HENRY HAGGART Central Campus housed students for around 40 years until 2019, when Duke demolished the apartments. Duke even allowed the Durham Fire Department to burn some of the apartment buildings for drills. TOP RIGHT AARON ZHAO Say what you will about North Carolina weather, but it sure is pretty when all the leaves change colors in the fall. RIGHT HENRY HAGGART Duke’s softball team, in only its third season as a team, had a breakout season this year. The team finished its shortened season 23-4, with a huge win against No. 4 Texas. Pictured: outfielder Caroline Jacobsen.
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2020-2021 Senior Year By Staff Reports Senior year saw activism, a disappointing basketball season and adjustment to a new normal. The summer preceding senior year saw solidarity and activism related to the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. Students hosted benefit concerts, letter writing campaigns and started anti-racist book clubs. The Duke Black Coalition Against Policing (BCAP) issued a list of demands that called on Duke to disband the Duke University Police Department and invest in the Duke and Durham communities. The University also announced a plan to combat systemic racism. The activism continued into the school year, with a K-Ville protest organized by Nolan Smith, Duke men’s basketball’s director of operations. Duke’s fall reopening did not come without its issues. The University’s decision to reopen in the fall without consulting workers prompted activism from graduate students and Duke Workers United, a group that represents the Duke Faculty Union, Duke Contract Workers United and other workers groups representing municipal employees and transit workers. Weeks before reopening, Duke walked back some reopening plans that left some upperclassmen without on-campus housing, resulting in a mad dash for off-campus apartments for some and resignation from others. 2020 also saw a consequential presidential election, and student political groups and
advocacy groups mobilized to get out the vote. Some students adjusted voting plans due to North Carolina limiting registration to college students physically present in their college community. In October, then presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke in Durham, criticizing the Trump administration’s pandemic response and calling on people to vote. Though Donald Trump won the state of North Carolina’s electoral votes, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were ultimately elected, and Biden-supporting Durham residents and students celebrated. Some Trump supporters, however, challenged President Biden’s victory, including Duke alum Representative Mo Brooks. On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob, egged on by Brooks, stormed the Capitol the day of the certification of election results. But despite the stress and loneliness of the condensed semester, the fall was not without its bright spots. One came in the form of the international hit Library Takeout, a song written to explain Duke Library’s new contactless reserve system. This year also saw major changes in Duke’s Greek life and selective living. The Abolish Duke IFC & Panhel group began with the creation of an Instagram page in mid-July for students and alumni to share anonymous stories about their experiences in Duke Greek life, including experiences with racism and sexual assault. In part because of activism from Abolish Duke IFC & Panhel, chapters of Zeta Tau Alpha
women’s fraternity and Alpha Delta Pi sorority attempted to decharter, albeit unsuccessfully. Duke’s Panhellenic Council also voted to ban mixers with all-male groups. Selective groups were allowed to host virtual recruitment this spring though most were not allowed to recruit first years. Some groups decided to cancel rush entirely. Others took a different approach. Several fraternities disaffiliated from Duke early in 2021—forming the Durham Interfraternity Council—and began in-person rush processes. These rush events contributed to a spike in campus COVID-19 cases and resulted in a “stay-in-place” order in mid-March. In January, students were introduced to the Duke Marriage Pact and in February, students were introduced to virtual tenting for the Duke-UNC basketball game. The men’s basketball team lost both regular season games to the Tar Heels and, for the first time since 1995, missed the NCAA tournament. The team was also forced to withdraw from the ACC tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program. But it wasn’t all bad news for Duke athletics. Associate head coach Jon Scheyer earned his first career win when head coach Mike Krzyzewski was quarantined due to potential COVID-19 exposure. Duke women’s golf won the ACC Championship and Gina Kim won the individual conference crown. In August, Duke implemented new Title IX changes without giving the community time to offer feedback.
In October, Duke’s social media team posted a racially insensitive meme on Twitter to much backlash, only removing the tweet after almost 21 hours. In March, a racist printout was hung in Brown dorm, an act for which no responsible students have been found. Students criticized administrators’ response to the incident. In the wake of a shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, Judith Kelley, dean of the Sanford school of Public Policy, sent out an email that failed to properly name the victims. In response to rising anti-Asian violence, Asian student groups released a list of demands, calling for the University to provide greater support for students. This year also saw the renaming of several campus buildings, including the renaming of the Sociology-Psychology Building to the Reuben-Cooke Building and Jarvis dorm to West Residence Hall. The class of 2021 congratulated Rhodes Scholars Jamal Burns and Kendall Jefferys, both seniors. Senior Doha Ali was nominated for Young Trustee in an overhauled selection process. Students enjoyed a virtual LDOC concert with Flo Milli and Dayglow. After initially restricting the attendees, Duke invited all seniors and students who graduated early to the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2021. Plans again changed to allow each member of the class to bring two guests. The Duke community mourned the losses of three of its members this year. Graduate student Michael Mutersbaugh died in December and senior Kenna Tasissa died in January. Longtime carillonneur J. Samuel Hammond died in February.
‘REBUILD Joe Biden elected 46th president of United States THE BACKBONE OF THIS NATION’ By Chris Kuo Anna Zolotor
November 7, 2020
‘A NEW DAY IN AMERICA’ ‘THE REAL WORK CAN BEGIN NOW’
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the next president of the United States on Saturday. Biden will enter office with a vision for liberal governance, including plans to implement a coordinated national response to COVID-19, invest in green energy, expand Obamacare, implement criminal justice reform and undo Trump’s immigration policies. During the campaign, Biden offered the promise of a return to normalcy after four years of chaotic governance under President Donald Trump. His running mate, Senator Kamala Devi Harris (D-Calif.), is the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of Indian descent elected vice president. “I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class and to make America respected around the world again,” Biden said Saturday night, in a victory speech in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. The president-elect thanked the American people for turning out in record numbers to make his victory possible, and he emphasized his commitment to rebuilding and healing the nation. He listed his priorities for the next four years, including tackling climate change and racial injustice, but stressed that his first battle will be against a pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans. Harris took the stage before Biden and thanked the American people for ushering in “a new day in America.” She reflected on the historical importance of her election as the first woman
in the office of Vice President, as well as the first Black or South Asian person in the position. “But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said. Biden’s victory marked the conclusion of a long election whose results were delayed by waits over ballot counts. News organizations including the Associated Press and CNN projected at around 11:30 a.m. Saturday that Biden had won Pennsylvania, and thus the presidential race. Trump has not yet conceded the race, despite Biden’s projected victory, promising unspecified legal challenges to the results, On election night, with many votes still to count, the electoral map had not shown a clear winner: Trump was ahead in key swing states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, while
Biden had pulled ahead in Arizona and Nevada. But as the remainder of absentee ballots were counted, crucial states swung to Biden. He won Wisconsin and Michigan, putting him at 253 electoral votes, even as the Trump campaign embarked on legal challenges to seek a recount in Wisconsin and to attempt to halt the count in Michigan. An early call of Arizona—putting Biden at 264 electoral votes—by the AP and Fox was also met by pushback from the Trump campaign, but both decision desks stood by the decision. As votes were tallied, Biden called for patience and trust in the “messy” process of democracy, while Trump made false claims about attempts to steal the election and falsehoods about voter fraud. In the early morning Friday, Biden pulled ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania and Georgia. He continued to hold his leads in Arizona and Nevada.
Eric Wei Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States of America in a historic election.
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FRATS BREAK WITH DUKE Nine fraternities have broken away from Duke’s Interfraternity Council after Duke announced changes to the rush process and selective housing, forming a new group called the Durham Interfraternity Council that has begun recruiting new members. In November, Duke announced that recruitment for first-years would be delayed to sophomore year and that only juniors and seniors would live in selective living sections next year. These changes are part of the guidelines for Duke’s Next Generation Living Learning 2.0 Committee. According to Durham IFC President Will Santee, a junior, these changes posed a number of challenges to fraternities. Primarily, delaying rush to sophomore fall would be difficult “especially since so many juniors go abroad” and limiting selective living sections to juniors and seniors “wasn’t exactly conducive to the best living situation for sophomores,” Santee said. Santee said that it seemed as though the University “has a very set plan of where they see social life going at Duke” and the disaffiliated fraternities didn’t feel like that plan included them. Durham IFC is compostd of Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Alpha Order, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Chi and Sigma Nu. Evelyn Shi
Full story by Jake Sheridan, Mona Tong and Maria Morrison
BUBBLE POPPED By Evan Kolin March 14, 2021
For the first time in 26 years, Duke was not selected to participate in the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday came and passed, and the Blue Devils were not granted an at-large bid or selected as a COVID-replacement team (the designation given to the top four teams that don’t make the original 68-team field, which can be used to replace a team that drops out prior to Tuesday at 6 p.m.). It remains to be seen whether this officially ends Duke’s season, or whether the team would consider accepting a bid to the NIT (if it is offered one). The Blue Devils pulled out of the ACC tournament last week due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program and subsequent contact tracing, with athletic director Kevin White including in his written statement that “this will end our 2020-21 season.” However, NCAA’s Andy Katz reported early Sunday morning that no teams had informed the selection committee that it didn’t expect to meet NCAA protocols to be able to play in the NCAA tournament (thus withdrawing from consideration) prior to Saturday night’s 11 p.m. deadline. Thus, Duke remained in consideration for a bid. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Duke as one of his “Next Four Out” in his final projections, three spots behind the “First Four Out” (and thus, the COVID-replacement team) line and seven spots behind the “Last Four In.”
The Blue Devils began the season ranked No. 9 in the country, but two early nonconference losses to Michigan State and Illinois, respectively, pushed the team into the latter half of the AP poll. Two separate three-game losing streaks in the first half of conference play then started the chatter of head coach Mike Krzyzewski and company missing the NCAA tournament entirely. Duke ripped off a four-game win streak— including a huge win against then-No. 7 Virginia—to enter back into the conversation, but yet another three-game losing streak to end the regular season kept the Blue Devils on the outside looking in. Even two impressive wins in the ACC tournament weren’t enough to convince the selection committee, with Duke likely needing at least one more victory to get on the right side of the bubble. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the sudden positive COVID-19 test —the program’s first of the season— and subsequent withdrawal from the ACC tournament all but ended any hopes that they’d sneak their way to Indiana.
Henry Haggart
‘This is a movement’ Henry Coleman III approached a single microphone during an August Black Lives Matter protest in Krzyzewskiville. He sported a black T-shirt with the words “Black Lives Matter” across the front, accompanied by Duke basketball and Nike logos. In the next two minutes and 30 seconds, Coleman made himself a Duke legend before he had even notched a minute of playing time in Cameron Indoor Stadium. “This country has had its knee on the necks of African-Americans for too long,” Coleman said at the protest. “This country has put a dagger in our backs and is yet to even acknowledge the dagger, let alone try to pull it out.” As Coleman continued, the entire Duke men’s basketball team came up behind him. When the raw emotion caused Coleman to get choked up, fellow freshmen Jaemyn Brakefield and Mark Williams placed a hand on each of his shoulders, a sign that even though this team had been together for less than a month at the time, unbreakable bonds had already formed. “When those guys came up behind me, it was
By JAKE C. PIAZZA November 15, 2020
almost like a security blanket,” Coleman said in an August press conference. “I just felt like those guys around me—they felt the message with me.” Coleman wrote his speech the night before the rally, the same night the NBA opted to not play its scheduled playoff games in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting. As the professional sports world assessed the best steps to take for social justice, Nolan Smith, Duke men’s basketball’s director of operations, was doing the same. Coleman’s platform for the speech was possible due to the work of Smith in setting up the Krzyzewskiville protest. At the protest, Smith took the microphone first and talked about the importance of making sure that “this is not a moment, this is a movement.” While that August afternoon may have been Smith’s most visible act of social justice, he made himself busy over the following few months as well. Since that day, Smith has been on numerous talk shows spreading his message, organized additional protests in the community and was at the forefront of voter registration efforts. “We have a lot of amazing fans that get it, that see it, that want the same thing that we all want as a country. We love y’all,” Smith said on an @DukeNBA Twitter live. “And to the people that don’t get it, guess what? We still love y’all. We just hope that you listen sooner rather than later, because love wins.” Smith’s activism is showing no signs of stopping. At the beginning of November, he partnered with Vote Riders to issue a Twitter video educating North Carolina residents how to make sure their votes were counted. He earned the nickname “People’s Champ” during his playing days at Duke, but ironically the nickname fits him even better in this new chapter of his life. He’s been recognized two separate times for his community leadership, being named the Tar Heel of the Month for October by the Raleigh News and Observer and a George H.W. Bush Point of Lights Inspiration recipient. Editor’s note: This story has been shortened for print.
16 | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
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SENIOR YEAR RIGHT HENRY HAGGART The Duke men’s basketball team showed their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement at an August protest in K-ville. BOTTOM LEFT CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Duke students and Durhamites took to the streets to celebrate Joe Biden’s presidential victory in November 2020.
BELOW COURTESY OF DUKE TODAY Daniel Ennis is Duke’s new executive vice president, taking over from Tallman Trask. He started his role Dec. 1, 2020.
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Inc. 1993
LEAH BOYD, Editor JAKE PIAZZA, Sports Editor
Congratulations to our 2021
NADIA BEY, Managing Editor ANNA ZOLOTOR, News Editor CHRIS KUO, Enterprise Editor
Graduates!
PREETHA RAMACHANDRAN, Senior Editor MARIA MORRISON, Digital Strategy Director SIMRAN PRAKASH, Digital Strategy Director
FIRST MAJORS
BELLA BANN, Photography Editor
Madison Alvarado
MARGOT ARMBRUSTER, Opinion Editor
June Eric-Udorie
TESSA DELGO, Recess Editor
SHANE SMITH, Sports Managing Editor
OOHA REDDY, Opinion Managing Editor
MADDY BERGER, University News Editor
MARINA CHEN, Opinion Managing Editor
MILLA SURJADI, University News Editor
NAIMA TURBES, Opinion Managing Editor CARRIE WANG, Opinion Managing Editor
GAUTAM SIRDESHMUKH, Health and Science News Editor
DEREK DENG, Recess Managing Editor AMIYA MEHROTRA, Community Editorial Board Chair
ALISON KORN, Features Managing Editor
BEN WALLACE, Community Editorial Board Chair
KATIE TAN, Features Managing Editor REBECCA SCHNEID, Sports Photography Editor
ASHWIN KULSHRESTHA, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
ANNA MCFARLANE, News Photography Editor
MONA TONG, Director of DEI analytics
WINNIE LU, Features Photography Editor
MATTHEW GRIFFIN, Recruitment Chair
LYDIA SELLERS, Photography Social Media Editor
2nd Major Global Health
SECOND MAJORS
CHRISSY BECK, General Manager
PARKER HARRIS, Local and National News Editor
Abla Messie
TREY FOWLER, Advertising Director JULIE MOORE, Creative Director
Shannon Bonney
1st Major Environmental Science
MINORS Lindsey Campbell
GCS in Literature Program
Destiny Mulero Public Policy Major
Nadia Innab
Public Policy Major
Amelia Steinbach
Political Science Major
Madison McAuliffe Psychology Major
Amanda Stevens Public Policy Major
Melody Ward
Political Science Major
GRADUATE STUDENTS Robert Franco PhD, History
Rachel Gevlin PhD, English
Tessa Nunn
PhD, Romance Studies
The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions 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. One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased for .25 at The Chronicle Business office at 1517 Hull Avenue. @ 2021 Duke Student Publishing Company
CONGRATULATIONS! Child Policy Research Certificate Graduates Sara Platek, Public Policy major, Psychology minor Eve Royal, Psychology major, Education minor Noor Sandhu, Sociology major For certificate information, contact Clara Muschkin (muschkin@duke.edu)
childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu
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Congratulations Graduates p
Class of 2021 Political Science Award Winners Alona E. Evans Prize in International Law Sarah Hubner & Olivia Kramer Elizabeth G. Verville Award Danny Cordray & Rahul Krishnaswamy
Robert S. Rankin Award in American Government and Constitutional Law Stefanie Pousoulides Robert S. Rankin Award in American National, State, and Local Governments Brittney Peacock Robert S. Rankin American Gov’t Award for Leadership & Academic Achievement Jessica Sullivan The Jerry B. and Callie Irene Stone Award Natalie Ecanow Ole R. Holsti Award in American Foreign Policy and International Relations Joshua Gohlke Graduation with Distinction Daniel Cordray Natalie Ecanow Katherine Edlein Joshua Gohlke Luanna Jiang Anne Klock
Olivia Kramer Rahul Krishnaswamy Allyson Lee Brittney Peacock Stefanie Pousoulides Daniel Rosen
Duke UNIVERSITY
Levi Schulman Victoria Sorhegui Jessica Sullivan Perry Wallack Ecehan Yurukoglu
. DEPARTMENT of POLITICAL SCIENCE
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Happy graduation, and thank you for being a part of the change we want to see on our campus! Yours truly, the 2021 Senior Giving Challenge Committee Doha Ali Emine Arcasoy Salvador Chavero Arellano Gabrielle Athanasia Teagan Atwood Ana Bambrick-Santoyo Itamar Barak Kate Baynard Omar Benallal Samuel Billig A.G. Chancellor IV Theodore Christakos Edward Coles Jackie Contento
Alyson Diaz Margaret Esrey Katherine Evans Simi Gbadegesin Michyla Greene Cade Habel Annabella Helman Tommy Hessel Simeon Holmes John Honeycutt Luke Jones Marley Kaplan Sophia Katz Nurah Koney-Laryea
Arjun Lakhanpal Bryn Lawson Spencer Levy Patrick Liu Ellie Marlor Catherine Meyer Amina Mohamed Katherine Nicholas Hannah O’Sullivan Matty Pahren Madison Paulik Zara Porter Dryden Quigley Haley Raphael
Jacob Roth Kaan Sahingur Brock Salzman Ethan Sansosti Nicholas Schiciano Evan Seiden David Smoot Frank Thomas Natalie Wilkinson Sophia Zambri Andrew Zheng
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BEST. Congratulations, BURRITO. Class of 2021! The Sanford School of Public Policy celebrates 300+ graduates from the following programs:
EVER.
• BA in Public Policy • International Master of Environmental Policy • Master of Public Policy • Master of International Development Policy • PhD in Public Policy
OPEN LATE
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sanford.duke.edu #PubPol2021
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Celebrating Mentors
The Senior Giving Challenge and Duke Alumni Engagement and Development extend their gratitude to the faculty, staff, and community members who positively impacted the undergraduate experience of the Class of 2021. Members of the Class of 2021 donated in honor of the mentors listed below. Thank you, seniors, for donating through Duke! Thank you, honorees, for making a difference in our students’ lives! Fernando Alsina Edna Andrews Andrew Armstrong Amy Arnold Tearria Beck-Scott Gary Bennett John Caccavale Kimberly Carpenter Avshalom Caspi Michelle Connolly Aaron Dinin Rachel Draelos Juliette Duara William Eward
Bill Fick John Forlines III Elana Friedman Friedman Sarah Gaither Jehanne Gheith Joyce Gordon Bridgette Hard Zebulon Highben Deb Johnson Nahal Kaivan Shambhavi Kaul Anthony Kelley Lisa Kukla Ayanna Legros
Elizabeth Linnartz Jason Luck Elizabeth Marsh Beverly McIver Mary Pat McMahon Brian Murray Philip Napoli Dr. David Need Michael Newcity Stacy Peterson Charles Piot Eve Puffer Marion Quirici Emma Rasiel
Kenneth Rogerson Deondra Rose John Rose Francesqa Santos Aviv Sheetrit Sanyin Siang Debra Silver Jason Somarelli Daniel Sorin Duncan Thomas Robert Thompson Suzanne Valdivia Stephen W. Smith Gerald Wilson
ROMANCE STUDIES SALUTES OUR 2021 GRADUATES! French Majors Ilke Nur Arkan Elizabeth Kayley Dotson
Ella Van Engen Sydney Danielle Wilkerson Trudy Tianyi Zou
Alexandra Claire Johnson Arjun Lakhanpal Marie-Line Lochard
Italian Majors Isabella Marie DeCarlo Emily Cristina Falcon Kimberly Hernandez Ethan Joseph Sansosti Carolina Sierra Correa
(Robert J. Niess/Alexander Hull Award)
(Graduation with Distinction)
Andrew Orme Contessa Popeil Alex Raghunandan
(Graduation with Highest Distinction, Robert J. Niess/Alexander Hull Award)
(Guido Mazzoni Award)
Italian Minors Kaitlin Marie Boncaro French Minors Kassidy Elaine Gales Charity Agasaro Charles Griffin McDaniel Katharine Baynard Maria Papadopoulos Gabrielle Rebecca Bunnell Julia Stefanie Paz Salvador Chavero Arellano Sabrina Pin Anna Elaine Fink Seth Heard Pruitt Antonio Garcia Jordan Moshe Hepburn Spanish Majors Alan Hurtado David Conlin Minjoo Kim Tykira K. Fisher Andrew Joseph Malek Emma Nicole Fleishman Wendy D. Tan Savannah Herbek
Luke Nielsen Jones Mitra Kiciman (Graduation with Highest Distinction, Ashley Rose Kim Richard L. Predmore Award) Maya Raye King Savannah Jane Norman Jasmine Leahy (Graduation with Distinction) Harry Liang Alexandra Scheuermann Quentin Herbert McKenzie Edivan Solano (Fall 2020) Audrey Noel McManemin Liliana Marie Voltaggio Robert Amaury Medrano Rackeb Mered Spanish Minors Lauren Elizabeth Murry Molly Elizabeth Apsel Theresa Jasmine Nardone Carson Sloane Bard Dryden Frances Quigley Sarah June Bond Addyson King Rowe Raina Carter Matthew S. Sclar Katherine Anne Connell Ellen Perry Scully George Ellis Cook Alizeh Myra Sheikh Caroline Olivia Coplin Remi Michele Swartz Henry Preston Don Charlotte Grete Tellefsen Nimish Garg Eritrea Temesghen Dorothy Brooke Gheorghiu Romayne Elizabeth Julia Rose Gianneschi Thompson Lavonne Hoang Rose Trimpey-Warhaftig Christopher Cole Jennie Yan-Ren Wang Honeycutt Renee Michaela Weisz Anjali Isabella Iyer Erin Elisabeth Winslow Troy Scott Minor Jachike “JJ” Ndubuisi
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Congratulations to our
2021 FOREVER DUKE STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS!
TOMMY HESSEL ‘21 YUNYAO ZHU ‘21
STEVEN HERRERA-TENORIO ‘21
LUCAS ROCHA-MELOGNO MS’19, PH.D’21
CATHERINE MCMILLIAN ‘22
BRANDON HUNTER PH.D’21 JESSICA SULLIVAN ‘21
WESLEY PRITZLAFF ‘20
JENNA FRUSH ’15, M.D.’21
ASH JEFFERS ‘20
CASON ROBBINS M.D.’21 AJAY MENON ‘21
JACKIE PEREZ ‘21
GARMAI GORLORWULU J.D.’21 ALY DIAZ ‘21
ANNIE ROBERTS ‘21 COURTNEY CRUMPLER M.F.A’21
ROBERT BALDONI E’21
DRYDEN QUIGLEY ’21 EDGAR VIRGÜEZ PH.D’21
GRAY KIDD PH.D’21 FRANK THOMAS ‘21
SOFIA NIETO ‘20
The Forever Duke Student Leadership Award recognizes graduating students from across campus who embody the “Forever Duke” spirit in their service to the university. Recipients are individuals of high integrity who have done great things not only at Duke but for Duke, and they are leaving the university a better place than they found it. Congratulations and welcome to the Duke Alumni family!
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