the chronicle T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
Duke.edu makeoverto debut Sept.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, ISSUE 3
Insurance shift raises concerns
Hot days, hot dogs
UnitedHealthcare rankings vary widely
by Ashley Holmstrom THE CHRonICLE
After three and a half years with the current Duke University Web site, a new site is set to launch by the end of September, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. The new home page will incorporate audio and video feeds, helpful campus links and social media links, including a calendar and mobile access, Schoenfeld said. He added that extra tools such as an interactive campus map and an “A-to-Z” directory of University departments could be added over the coming months. “The Duke home page is the most visible and busiest ‘front door’ to the University,” Schoenfeld said. “We get well more than 1 million visitors a month…. The Web has evolved into a very dynamic medium and we want to be able to present Duke in a compelling, intuitive and interactive way, while at the same time making it even easier for visitors to find and navigate to the information they are looking for.” Blackwell Interactive, a Web site design division of the office of Information Technology, has been responsible for much of the production, design and testing of the
by Jinny Cho THE CHRonICLE
JaMes lee/The ChroNiCle
undergraduate and graduate students gathered for food and music at the annual Forever Duke event outside the Forlines House Monday evening. SEE STuDEnT SOunD-OFF PAGE 5.
SEE WeB site on pAGE 7
UnitedHealthcare, Duke’s student medical insurance administrator, was listed among the top three health plans in overall member satisfaction in the South Atlantic region, according to a national study. But another survey placed its health plan well below other options. The insurance provider came in just behind Humana in the J.D. power and Associates 2009 national Health Insurance plan Study released in April. Also in the top three was Blue Cross Blue Shield of north Carolina, which had provided health insurance to Duke students for 30 years ending in April 2008, said Jean Hanson, administrative director of Duke Student Health. In its third year, the study measured member satisfaction among 131 health plans in 17 regions across the country. north Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia make up the South Atlantic region. The survey examined seven factors, including coverage and benefits, provider choice, SEE iNsuRANce on pAGE 4
After price hike, Shooters ups security staff by Julia Love THE CHRonICLE
ChroNiCle File phoTo
Shooters ii, a nightclub located off East Campus, has increased its entry fees and hired additional employees to monitor the dance floor.
Admission to Shooters: $10. Riding the bull, caging your inhibitions and bathing in the sweat of your lab partner: priceless? Shooters II, the giant of off-East Campus nightlife, welcomed students back to Durham with a significant price hike. Underage partygoers hoping to sweat off the stress of orientation week were billed $10, double last year’s entry fee. Students over 21 paid $5, up from the previous price of $3. Despite the price increase, a mob of students jostled to enter Shooters II Friday night. The air inside the club was thick with the perspiration of about 800 people. But some students opened their wallets with a hint of remorse. “Shooters is worth $2 and a bottle of Aristocrat—nothing more,” sophomore Ari Bar-Mashiah said. Kim Cates, manager and owner of Shooters, said she increased the fee over the summer to make the Westernthemed watering hole a safer environment for student patrons. In recent months, the club has improved lighting and installed more surveillance cameras. Cates has also increased the number of employees patrolling the bar and dance floor from four to 15 in an effort to curtail underage drinking. “We are concerned that it might slow the business down some, but how else do you pay the bills?” Cates said. “If we drop the price, then we have to drop some of the staff, and
ONTHERECORD
“I have always been a supporter of the death penalty, but I have always believed it must be carried out fairly.”
—Governor Bev Perdue on the N.C. Racial Justice Act. See story page 3
then where’s the safety of the children?” Cates met for the first time with Vice president for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, and Tom Szigethy, associate dean and director of Duke’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse prevention Center, to discuss safety issues potentially presented by the club about two weeks ago. Szigethy plans to meet with the owners of other local bars as well, but he began the year by sitting down with the Shooters management. “We’ve heard from students who have been returning to campus intoxicated, and sometimes Shooters is the last place they’ve been,” Wasiolek said. In response to administrators’ concerns about students traveling to and from the saloon on foot, Cates decided to reinstate the “Shooters bus,” a vehicle that links the club to the East and West Campus bus stops as well as several off-campus apartment complexes. The bus is free and will be in service on nights when the management expects particularly heavy student traffic, but there is currently no regular bus schedule. “I thought the bus was great, except the door was open the whole time,” sophomore Dan Haughton said. “I don’t know how safe that is.” Cates noted that the increased entrance fee for underage students seems to have played a part in reduc-
Women’s Golf: Replacing a legend The Blue Devils hope to replace All-American Amanda Blumenherst with three freshmen, PAGE 10
SEE sHOOteRs on pAGE 5
Men’s Basketball: “Rucker of the South” Duke players take part in former UNC star Jerry Stackhouse’s summer league, PAGE 9
2 | tUeSDAY, AUGUSt 25, 2009
the chronicle
worldandnation
ToDaY:
8869
Afghan president won majority
Report released of possible GOP re-attacks health care CIA interrogation abuse republicans launched their latest salvo against president Barack obama’s healthcare reform plans Monday, rebranding their existing criticism of his proposals as a new “health Care Bill of rights for seniors.” The package immediately drew return fire from Democrats. having seized on the idea that obama’s plans represent a “risky experiment,” republicans have lately focused their healthcare message toward its impact on the elderly. The republican National Committee’s “bill of rights” includes calls to “protect Medicare,”“prohibit efforts to ration health care based on age” and “ensure seniors can keep their current coverage.” The list does not represent an actual reform proposal— congressional gop leaders have not introduced a plan of their own—but rather a series of things republicans think reform should not do.
“
Age considers; youth ventures. — Rabindranath Tagore
”
WashiNgToN -- The obama administration disclosed new cases of alleged abuse in the Cia’s interrogation program, issuing a report Monday that describes prisoners being choked to the point of passing out and threatened with harm to their immediate families. The newly declassified report by the Cia’s inspector general also reveals that agency personnel were nervous almost from the interrogation program’s inception that they might face prosecution in u.s. or international courts. The likelihood of that outcome increased Monday as attorney general eric h.holder appointed a prosecutor to review a collection of alleged Cia abuse cases, setting the stage for an investigation that could lead to criminal charges for Cia personnel. The move was driven largely by disturbing details in the 2004 inspector general report, a document that became available for public view for the first time Monday.
kaBul — an afghan cabinet minister said Monday that president hamid karzai won Thursday’s presidential election with an overwhelming majority of 68 percent. if confirmed, such a result would eliminate the need for a runoff election in october between karzai and his top challenger, abdullah abdullah, but could raise questions about the vote’s credibility. Finance Minister omar zakhilwol, citing partial and unpublished vote tallies, told journalists at a dinner that support for karzai was high enough across the nation to cancel out the problem of low voter turnout in the south. insurgent violence there prevented many people from voting, and there have been widespread accusations of fraud. pre-election polls suggested that karzai, whose base is in the south, would win a high plurality of the vote but not reach the 50.1 percent required to win in the first round.
WeDNesDaY:
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Online Excerpt “although more attention has been paid to Duke slipping to number 10 in u.s. News & World report’s rankings, gQ’s september issue features its own brand of college rankings: america’s 25 Douchiest Colleges. The magazine calls Duke the home of ‘The o.D. (original Douche)’ and adds, ‘They’re probably number one. But we’d rather not rank Duke number one at anything.’” — From The Playground playground.chronicleblogs.com
TODAY in HiSTORY 1814: British forces destroy the Library of Congress, containing 3,000 books
DaViD heNleY/The WashiNgToN posT
Tourists photograph a Padaung woman and girl in the Chiang Dao village north of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. The coils they wear seem to elongate their necks but actually crush their collarbones down. Some tour operators refuse to take tourists to such sites, saying the villages exploit their residents.
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the chronicle TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 | 3
sound-off:sophomoreseatitup Sophomores milled about Main West Quadrangle, chowing down on free barbecue, macaroni and cheese and banana pudding from Tommy’s Rubs and Grubs Monday as they reunited with their classmates. About 1,000 sophomores attended the annual event hosted by the Sophomore Year Experience, the Sophomore Class Council and West Campus Residence Life and Housing Services. Sophomore Year Experience funded the event that featured a DJ, caricatures and balloon creations in addition to the buffet. Students were asked to reflect on the event. —compiled by Lindsey Rupp “I heard there was free food, and wherever there’s free food there’s an Ethan.” —Ethan Pollard, sophomore “I’m happy the Duke administration is putting forth such an effort to welcome not just the freshmen.” —Brian Simel, sophomore
“Came for the free food, stayed for the balloon hats.” —Alex Sloan, sophomore “It’s a good idea. It’s nice to see people in our class. There are a lot of people you don’t see when you’re commuting to class from East [Campus].” —Gaby McKee, sophomore “It’s a good way to reconnect with people and our class, and it’s funny because at orientation you had those organized activities with your whole class and there’s nothing like that after that.” —Betsy Klein, sophomore class president “For the last few days, move-in, people didn’t come in at the same time so I didn’t get a chance to see a lot of friends, but this event brings us all together to eat free food and lie in the grass outside of classes.” —Catherine Moon, sophomore
Naz Cakiroglu/The Chronicle
About 1,000 sophomores picnicked on Main West Quadrangle at the annual barbecue hosted by the Sophomore Year Experience, the Sophomore Class Council and West Campus Residence Life and Housing Services Monday. The event featured music, balloons and caricatures.
N.C. Racial Justice Act signed into law by Julius Jones The chronicle
The North Carolina Racial Justice Act was signed into law Aug. 11, making the state only the second— after Kentucky in 1998—to allow inmates to challenge their death penalty sentences on the grounds that racial bias was a factor in their sentencing. The primary sponsor of the legislation in the N.C. Senate was Democratic state Sen. Floyd McKissick of Durham. According to the bill, prisoners who can prove that race was a significant factor in the decision to impose the death penalty in the state, county, prosecutorial district or the judicial division may have their sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The legislation allows defendants and their attorneys to present statistical evidence as well as the sworn testimony of attorneys, jurors, law enforcement officers, prosecutors or other members of the criminal justice system to support their claims of racial bias. While the Racial Justice Act is not ultimately aimed at ending the death penalty in North Carolina, supporters of the bill believe that the legislation will play an essential part in ridding the criminal justice system of racism. “I have always been a supporter of the death penalty, but I have always believed it must be carried out fairly,” N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, said in a news release. “The Racial Justice Act ensures that when North Carolina hands down our state’s harshest punishment to our most heinous criminals—the decision is based on the facts and the law, not racial prejudice.” See justice on page 7
4 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
insurance from page 1
BCBS did not independently provide customer service. A separate customer service organization, Massachusetts-based Gallagher Koster, provided administrative management of Duke’s student medical insurance plan. “We aimed to do a comprehensive bidding process, and part of what we were looking for was a customer service component,” Hanson said. She recalled that coordinating the three separate bodies—Duke, BCBS and Gallagher Koster—was a “nightmare.” “Duke is the source of information—we have the files of who is eligible to enroll—but someone had to be in charge of enrollment, terminations, payments and answering questions about problems of insurance,” Hanson said. She said UnitedHealthcare not only offered both coverage and customer service, but also agreed to mirror the former BCBS policy and paid for all services that had been previously covered. However, other insurance rankings starkly contrast with the J.D. Power survey, rating UnitedHealthcare among the least satisfactory health insurance plans in the nation. UnitedHealthcare was ranked No. 39 out of 41 national preferred provider organizations, in a September 2009 Consumer Reports ranking, 19 spots below BCBS of North Carolina. The findings were based on responses from 37,481 subscribers reporting on their experiences with Organizations BWPreferred 8/19/09Provider 4:43 PM Page 1
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claims processing and customer service, said Jim Dougherty, executive director of the health care practice at J.D. Power and Associates. Susan Barry, marketing director at UnitedHealthcare, said the organization has always supported national measurements of health care quality, believing that greater transparency and accountability will improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of care. “The J.D. Power and Associates study provides us another view of how we are serving our members,” Barry said. “This is evidence that our dedication to improving customer service, claims processing, member communications and network development are yielding positive results.” However, Barry noted that the survey does not specifically examine UnitedHealthcare StudentResources, a division of the company that provides insurance to college students, but rather ranks the insurance company as a whole. In April 2008, the Student Health Insurance Advisory Council, a group of graduate and undergraduate students and administrators, replaced BCBS with UnitedHealthcare as the health plan provider for all Duke students who do not have insurance. Hanson said the decision, which followed two years of research and deliberation, was largely based onUniversity the fact that 08.19.09 Duke Ad
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over the course of a year. Several Duke students have expressed frustration with UnitedHealthcare StudentResources, noting that they have been facing problems they never encountered with BCBS. Nicole Moore, who graduated from the Department of Pharmacology this year, said UnitedHealthcare has repeatedly misinterpreted billing codes she submitted from the hospital as services that cost patients more, such as emergency room visits. “It has been 11 months since I incurred a charge in question, and after about nine claim resubmissions, countless hours on the phone with the hospital and [UnitedHealthcare], one complaint to the N.C. Department of Insurance and unquantifiable frustration, I received a letter in the mail this week that they will ‘reconsider the charges,’” Moore said. “Now if that gets me anywhere, we shall see.” She added that she was personally relieved to “be through with the mess that Duke student health insurance has become.” Moore, like many other University graduate students, has taken to the Graduate and Professional Student Council’s online health insurance forum to voice her frustration. A folder entitled “Let’s get rid of UnitedHealthcare” is the forum’s most active discussion, with 89 responses as of Monday night. Hanson, who was aware of the negative feedback among graduate students in particular, said problems many have experienced
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, which provided medical insurance for Duke students, was ranked third in the J.D. Power and Associaties study. UnitedHealthcare, the current provider for Duke, came in second in North Carolina. are largely due to misunderstandings and miscommunication errors that occurred in 2008. Hanson said that from August to October 2008, the Duke Patient Revenue Management Organization, which is a separate company within the Duke University Health System, sent student insurance claims to the wrong clearinghouse. “Our claims are all taken care of in Dallas, Texas, which is not where the big UnitedHealthcare is located, and so people were getting denials,” Hanson said. Although UnitedHealthcare StudentResources pledged to mirror the BCBS policy, Hanson said the company did not honor this agreement.
“In January or February this year, we realized that this isn’t right. We knew BCBS had covered some things—we had proof—but [UnitedHealthcare] had made some changes in the way they were paying the claims,” Hanson said. UnitedHealthcare has pulled the claims that were paid incorrectly, however, and is working to “straighten things out,” Hanson added. Glitches often accompany any major change, and discontent is a natural by-product of a shift as significant as a new health care provider, she noted. Although students initially responded with anger, “most of everything has been sorted out, and we hope this year will be good,” Hanson said.
the chronicle
tUeSDAY, AUGUSt 25, 2009 | 5
sound-off:dukeloveforever
SHOOTERS from page 1 ing alcohol citations, which have been a major drain on the club’s liquidity. The saloon has paid as much as $5,000 per night in fines to Alcohol Law Enforcement officials. During orientation week last year, 35 students were cited for underage drinking by ALE, Cates said. This year, only 15 students were flagged. Although the saloon is a perennial student favorite, Shooters has not been immune to the recession, and the club’s management felt it had to raise the entry fee to stay afloat. Skyrocketing property taxes, utility fees and labor costs have left the bar thirsty for cash, Cates said. The management may reconsider the fee increase if market conditions improve. But students said the economic downturn has made a dent in their wallets too, and the increased cover fee may keep them from dancing in the cage as often as they would like. “I can’t even pay for college. You don’t have to raise my Shooters price too,” Bar-Mashiah said. “Rather than it being an every weekend thing, people will think, ‘I’ve had such a hard week, I’m going to treat myself to a little bit of Shooters.’” Some students predicted that they will keep the club packed and sweaty, if only for lack of a better option. George’s Garage—a restaurant that was once a popular venue for greek crush parties and formals—closed its doors in July, further depleting students’ options for drinking and dancing in the wee hours of the morning. Early attendance figures tell the same story. Roughly the same number of students visited Shooters during this year’s orientation week as last year’s, and Saturday night’s foam party was even more packed. “It’s like buying a water bottle at a ball park,” Bar-Mashiah said. “You’re limited in your choices. You have to pay.”
The sun was still out yesterday evening as students, staff, faculty and alumni relaxed after class Duke-style with drinks, food, live music and free T-shirts on Chapel Drive and the lawn outside the Forlines House. The Duke Alumni Association welcomed the community back to campus with their 2009 Forever Duke block party. Students left with class gifts in tow and alumni departed with raffle prizes, but before the party had died down, The Chronicle asked partygoers, “What is something you will remember forever about Duke?” —compiled by Rachna Reddy
“Today I got my first Duke bike.... I’m so excited.” —Jenny Denton, sophomore “Free beer steins.” — Lucas Bradley, senior “Two things—first is financial aid. As a Duke student I was on full financial aid. I will forever be indebted to Duke for that. The second thing is Duke football because I love Duke football.... I think we’re about to watch it take over
by storm.” —Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs “Walking back from a long night of studying and seeing the chapel light up. It reminds you why you’re here.” —Kim Thomas, junior “Everyone has school spirit—everyone loves Duke that’s here.” —Julianne Chiraz, freshman “Walking, I’m so tired of walking... I live in Bell Tower so I’m so far away.” — Melissa Moreno, freshman
JaMes lee/The ChroNiCle
Members of the Duke community lined up for hamburgers, ice cream bars and other free giveaways during the Forever Duke party outside the Forlines House Monday evening. Attendees were serenaded by a live band during the event, sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association.
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6 | tUeSDAY, AUGUSt 25, 2009
the chronicle
Swine flu could infect half Iraqi parties of country, panel estimates tied to Iran form coalition
Swine flu could infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, hospitalizing up to 1.8 million people and causing as many as 90,000 deaths—more than double the number that occur in an average flu season, according to an estimate from a presidential panel released Monday. The virus could cause symptoms in 60 million to 120 million people, more than half of whom might seek medical attention, the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimated in an 86-page report to the White House assessing the government’s response to the first influenza pandemic in 41 years. Although most of the cases probably would be mild, up to 300,000 people could require intensive care, which could tie up all those beds in some parts of the country at the peak of the outbreak, the council said. “This is going to be fairly serious,” said Harold Varmus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in new York, who co-chairs the 21-member council. “It’s going to stress every aspect of our health system.” The estimates mark the first time experts have released specific calculations about the possible impact of the pandemic in the United States. The “plausible scenario” is based on previous pandemics, especially the 1957-58 Asian flu, and how the swine flu behaved in the United States this spring and during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter over the past few months, said Mark Lipsitch of the Harvard School of public Health, who helped prepare the estimate. “They are not a prediction, but they are a possibility,” he said, noting that the estimates are based on various assumptions, including that the virus will not mutate into a more dangerous form or infect more older people. “If it turned out to affect a lot more adults, the severity would be a lot worse,” Lipsitch said. While the seasonal flu causes about 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year, the lack of immunity to the swine flu virus probably will lead to many more people becoming infected and possibly dying—as many as 90,000, the council said. And while most deaths during a typical flu season occur in the elderly, swine flu is more likely to kill children and young adults, the panel said. The primary purpose of the estimates was to help guide planning to protect the public. For example, it was estimated that the outbreak could peak in mid-october, so the panel urged expediting the availability of a vaccine. In addition, the panel recommended clarifying how an-
tiviral drugs should be used to fight the pandemic, speeding a decision about whether to approve intravenous antivirals in case they are needed, designating someone at the White House to coordinate the nation’s response to the virus and improving the system for tracking the spread of the new virus. Swine flu virus, or H1n1, emerged last spring in Mexico and quickly spread to the United States and around the world. Although far less dangerous than initially feared, the virus has sickened children and young adults more frequently than the typical seasonal flu. “This isn’t the flu that we’re used to,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. “The 2009 H1n1 virus will cause a more serious threat this fall. We won’t know until we’re in the middle of the flu season how serious the threat is, but because it’s a new strain, it’s likely to infect more people than usual.” The pandemic has caused significant disruptions and economic damage in parts of the Southern Hemisphere and has contributed to the deaths of more than 1,799 people in at least 168 countries, including at least 522 in the United States. A second wave of infection is expected to begin within weeks in the northern Hemisphere as schools reopen and cooler temperatures return. overall, the panel praised the federal government’s response, which has included signing contracts to spend nearly $2 billion to buy at least 159 million doses of vaccine from five companies that are rushing to produce it. But the first batch is not expected to be available until midoctober, when the outbreak could peak. “This potential mismatch in timing could significantly diminish the usefulness of vaccination for mitigating the epidemic and could place many at risk for serious disease,” the report states. The report recommends that a portion of the vaccine be made available by mid-September for those at highest risk by asking the manufacturers to start filling vials with vaccine even though the studies to determine dosages and whether a booster will be necessary have not been completed. Administration officials said they are already taking action on the panel’s recommendations. All five companies “have been asked to put their initially available vaccine in vials as soon as they are ready,” for example. “This will move forward, even while awaiting results of clinical studies to confirm expected dosing, to ensure the earliest possible availability of initial doses of vaccine.” “This report is being read very carefully,” said John Brennan, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism.
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SAMARRA, Iraq — Major Shiite parties with close links to Iran announced a new coalition Monday that excludes prime Minister nouri al-Maliki, a development that appears to make him the underdog in the coming national elections. If the new coalition remains intact and secures a majority of parliamentary seats in the Jan. 16 vote, Iraq’s next government probably will be run by leaders with deep ties to Iran, which would considerably curb U.S. influence here as American troops continue to withdraw. The new alliance and the likelihood that Maliki will be forced have to partner with Sunnis suggest that Iraqi politicians are increasingly willing to cross sectarian lines in the pursuit of power. Maliki’s exclusion from the alliance was not entirely surprising. Despite his considerable popularity, the prime minister has become a divisive figure, and a recent surge in violence has triggered criticism from Iraqis who view his administration as cocky and incompetent. Because of the volatile nature of Iraqi politics and the fickleness of alliances, analysts cautioned that the political groupings are likely to change between now and the time the ballots are printed. Alliances could even be redrawn after the votes are tallied. “All possibilities are open,” said Shiite lawmaker Jaber Habib Jaber, who is part of the new coalition. “negotiations are still ongoing with Maliki’s camp.” The new Shiite coalition will be led by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a conservative party that is among Iran’s closest allies in Iraq. It also includes the movement of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; the Fadhila party; former pentagon ally Ahmed Chalabi, and former prime minister Ibrahim al-Jafari. Alliance leaders said they invited Maliki to join but refused to guarantee that he would keep his job if the alliance obtained a majority of seats. Lawmaker Samira al-Musawi, who is close to Maliki, said members of the prime minister’s new political wing, known as State of Law, were unlikely to join the new coalition. “We want to have a solid alliance that does not dissolve,” she said in a telephone interview. Maliki is likely to ally himself with Sunni leader Ahmed Abu Risha, who gained prominence as one of the first Sunnis to join forces with the U.S. military in 2006 in western Iraq to fight the Sunni extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq. In recent months, Maliki has also reached out to Sunni and Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq. Many Iraqis are wary of Iranian influence, a connection that could backfire on the new alliance. “This alliance without Maliki is very weak,” said Ali Abdel-Ilah, 34, a government employee. “They have no credibility among people in general and Shiites in particular.”
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the chronicle TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 | 7
web site from page 1 new site, said Senior Manager Blyth Morrell. She added that planning for the new Web site began as early as February and most of the production of the site took place over the summer. Morrell said there will be increased functionality in the new site as improvements are made in response to user feedback. “The current version is relatively flat,” Morrell said. “This iteration [will] really encompass the many things that are happening around Duke. [We’re] trying to wrap that up and give more of a visual display of the many areas Duke is focusing on.” In addition to the new look and organization, Schoenfeld said OIT has been upgrading and enhancing the search engine, which covers 1 million pages of content the Web site currently contains. Schoenfeld and Morrell said the University is currently in the review and testing phase of the site, and will continue to do so until its proposed launch late next month. Schoenfeld added that Duke has created a blog where the community can review the new design and features of the site. “This site belongs to the Duke community, so we want as many people as possible to be familiar with it, and test drive it, before we go live,” Schoenfeld said. As the release date approaches, Morrell said there will be more publicity on campus for the Web site’s launch, which will be done during an off-peak time. She said there should be little, if any, interruption of the Web site’s services. Schoenfeld said the creation of a new site is an important achievement for Duke, adding that the team is constantly looking at Web sites for other universities and organizations, and has garnered a lot of good ideas in the process. “Doing a project like this is quite complex, and ‘under the hood.’ There are many innovations that will be very exciting and useful but don’t necessarily see the light of day,” Schoenfeld said. “This will be a huge step forward for Duke.”
special to The Chronicle
The new Duke Web site will feature audio and video feeds, links to social media, as well as better compatibility with mobile devices. Designed by the Office of Information Technology, the site is currently undergoing review and testing and will launch by the end of September.
making a difference*
justice from page 3 Detractors of the legislation believe that this bill is another attempt to eliminate the death penalty altogether in the state, which has had a de facto moratorium since August 2006. Republican state Sen. Phil Berger of Eden, the Senate’s minority leader, said in a news release the legislation was not geared toward correcting any racial disparities, but rather ending the death penalty. Berger added an amendment to the bill that would have ended the state’s moratorium on the death penalty, but the provision was ultimately stripped from the final version that became law. “Make no mistake this law has little to do with justice and nothing to do with guilt or innocence,” Berger said. “For the first time in North Carolina, the statistical composition of the inmates on death row will outweigh the facts of a particular case in the determination of punishment. Families of the victims of the most heinous crimes will now be subjected to the further delay of true justice for them and their murdered loved ones.” The Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said this particular legislation has nothing to do with ending the death penalty. “Even if you believe in the death penalty, you should not want a justice system that operates with racism,” Barber said. “The fact of the matter is, you could still be guilty of this crime and under the North Carolina Racial Justice Act, you would have your death sentence commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole… but you should not have a death penalty that is implemented by race.” Barber went on to say, however, that the NAACP opposes the death penalty and ultimately seeks to have it eliminated in the United States. He said the opposition was largely based on the number of innocent men who have been nearly executed because of their race. “Surely, we want to see North Carolina and the other Southern states eliminate the death penalty,” Barber said, noting that since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the 1976, several death sentences have been commuted due to wrongful convictions. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 135 convictions have been overturned since 1973. “That’s lives, mistakes we would have made if this thing had been carried to fruition.”
duke marine lab env • eos • marine lab • making a difference
* and having fun doing it!!!
nicholas school of the environment and earth sciences at duke
Did you know you can fulfill pre-health requirements at the Marine Lab? Travel around the world on extended field trips? Earn a certificate in Marine Science and Conservation Leadership? These opportunities and many others are available at the Duke Marine Lab. Add an island adventure to your Duke experience!
• Come visit the Marine Lab in person! Student Visitation Day is Sat., Sept. 12 Free bus ride to and from the beach, great food and activities! E-mail ml_admissions@nicholas.duke.edu for details and to reserve a spot.
Visit dukemarinelab.net or e-mail
ml_admissions@nicholas.duke.edu for more information! Photos by Marine Lab Students
8 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
the chronicle
A night of music with the prez
Bosnia’s old troubles resurfacing after 14 years by Craig Whitlock The Washington Post
Jianghai ho/The Chronicle
President Richard Brodhead and his wife, Cynthia, (background left) watches on as the Duke Ciompi Quartet plays in Pegram dormitory on East Campus Monday evening. See more at background.chronicleblogs.com.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia — Fourteen years after the United States and NATO intervened to stop war and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, the old divisions and hatreds are again gripping this Balkan country. In June, the international envoy who oversees the rebuilding of Bosnia invoked emergency powers that he said were necessary to hold the country together. Although U.S. and European officials have been trying to get Bosnia to stand on its own feet for years, many Bosnian leaders say the only thing that can permanently fix their gridlocked government is for Washington to intervene — again — and rewrite the treaty that ended the war in 1995. The economy is in tatters, with unemployment exceeding 40 percent. Serbs are talking openly of secession. Croats are leaving the country in droves. Religious schisms are widening. In December, street protests erupted after Bosnian Muslim school officials in Sarajevo tried to ban “Santa Claus” from delivering gifts to kindergartens. The national government answers to three presidents, who agree on one thing: Corruption, political infighting and bureaucratic dysfunction are paralyzing the country. In May, Vice President Biden visited Sarajevo and lectured Bosnian leaders to put aside their differences. But the squabbling has only worsened since then. Zeljko Komsic, a Croat and chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite rotating presidency, said the country has increasingly hardened
along ethnic lines. Even as Bosnia dreams of integrating into NATO and the European Union, its population has become more segregated than ever. Many Bosnian Muslim and Croat students, Komsic noted, attend school together but are separated in the classroom so they can learn different lessons about history, geography, religion and language, based on their ethnicity. “What kind of message are we giving to these children?” he said. “As an individual, you almost don’t exist in this society. You are just a member of a certain ethnic group.” The European Union, the United States and other donors have spent billions of dollars trying to rebuild Bosnia since the 1995 signing of the Dayton, Ohio, peace accords, brokered largely by U.S. diplomats. An estimated 100,000 people were killed during the war, which erupted in 1992 after Bosnia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. Serb and Croat nationalists, supported by leaders in next-door Yugoslavia and Croatia, tried to carve up the country along ethnic lines. Nearly half of Bosnia’s prewar population of 4.3 million either fled the country or were forced from their homes. On the surface, Bosnia’s wartime scars appear healed. Sarajevo’s Old City, which was bombarded for three years by Serbian forces, bustles with smiling families snacking on cevapcici, a minced-meat kebab venerated as the national dish. Thousands of damaged houses, churches and mosques in the hilly countryside have been rebuilt with foreign aid. Ethnic violence is relatively rare.
ROMANCE STUDIES SPACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR FALL 2009 FRENCH
Travel and Writing in the Early Modern Mediterranean
French 111S.01
Paris 1913: Avant-gardes in Lit, Art, & Performance Kathleen Antonioli WF 1:15-2:30 Soc Sci 107
This freshmen/sophomore seminar examines novels, plays, and poems by some of the 20th century’s best-known and most important French authors paintings (including a visit to the Nasher exhibit Picasso and the Allure of Language); music and movies, all created in 1913 Paris. ALP CCI FL
French 141S.02
Louisiana Francophone
Professor Deborah Jenson TTH 11:40-12:55 Perkins 2-059
ALP CCI FL
Francophone literature of 19th century Louisiana, especially of the African diaspora in New Orleans. An opportunity to consider the linguistic and literary diversity of the American South, this course will resituate “French Studies” in our own backyard.
C-L: AAAS 199S.12 French 190.01
Introduction to Kreyol Language and Culture Professor Deborah Jenson with Gaspard Louis TTH 1:15-2:30 Languages 305
Kreyol with a survey of Haitian culture from slavery to the 2004 bicentennial. Taught in English. AAAS 189.01 CCI CZ
Professor Michele Longino W: 4:25-6:55 Lang 305
Has travel always meant the same thing? To all people? What kind of writing does travel produce? The field of travel literature as a specific genre examining 17th Century travelers’ journals, correspondences, histories, & fictions, and what it meant to take to the sea in these early times.
MED-REN: 249.01 ALP FL R
ITALIAN Italian 114.01
The Italian Kafkaesque: From Talking Animals to Cruel Families
Saskia Ziolkowski TTH 2:50-4:05 Allen 318
Using Franz Kafka as a guide, this course explores a range of modern Italian authors Italo Calvino, Italo Svevo, Susanna Tamaro, Tomaso Landolfi, Elsa Morante, Massimo Bontempelli, and Dino Buzzati. How Kafkan qualities, thematic and stylistic, are transformed in Italian settings.
ALP CCI CZ FL
*French 200S.01
Archives of the French Empire Professors Laurent Dubois & Mbembe Achille TH: 4:25-6:55 Perkins 2-079
The history of French empire in contemporary France, Africa and the Caribbean. Includes contemporary film, music and performance, works of sociology and anthropology to explore debates about historical memory, racism, and the banlieue in contemporary France, and explore the important role sport played (particularly soccer) in foregrounding the past of empire.
French 247.01 ALP CCI FL
PORTUGUESE Ptg 49S First Year Freshman Seminar:
The Afro-Luso-Brazilian Triangle: Portugal, Portuguese Speaking Africa, and Brazil Professor Leslie Damasceno TTH 2:50-4:05 Keohane 4B402
Whatever happened to the Portuguese empire? Have you ever read a Mozambican novel or seen an Angolan film? The course explores the history and geography of Lusophone cultures from the inception of the Portuguese state to the present.
ROMANCE STUDIES RS 200S.01
The Right, the Left, and the De-colonial
Professors Roberto Dainotto & Walter Mignolo M: 4:25-6:55 Friedl 126 From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the fall of Wall Street, this seminar examines the shift from the right and the left to the de-colonial.
C-L: LIT 255S.05
ALP CCI CZ
SPANISH Spanish 114S.01
Inventing the Mexican Revolution; 1910-20 Laura Cobian TTH 11:40-12:55 Friedl 216
Literary, artistic and historical representations of the revolution in relation to the rise of modern cultural nationalism. How national culture is narrated and collected. Analysis of discursive intersections between the novel’s literary language and the fluidity of the museum’s non-written expression. ALP CCI FL
Spanish 142S.04
Spain and Islam: Five Centuries of National Polemics 15th – 21st. Professor Emilie Picherot M-TH, 10:05-11:20 Lang 305
For 700 years, until 1492, Spain was a multicultural country inhabited by Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In 1492, Jews and Muslims were expelled and Spain defined itself as a Catholic country. What is the legacy of Islam in Spain after 8 Centuries of occupation? How can we understand Arab immigration into Spain in the 21st Century? THIS IS AN INTENSIVE SIX WEEK COURSE WHICH CARRIES A FULL COURSE CREDIT: Aug 24th thru Oct 2nd.
ALP CCI FL
Spanish 181S.03/ Lit 162ZS.01
The Hispanic Challenge & the Rise of ‘Latinidad’ MW 1:15-2:30 Friedl 118 Professor Walter Mignolo
Understanding the historical foundation of racism (and its relationship with knowledge, politics, economy and ethics) through the emergence of Hispanics and Latinas in the U.S. in the 1970’s. Who is Latino/a or what is Latinidad? Where are Hispanics or Latinas coming from? And what is the meaning of Latinidad say, next to Anglicidad or Africanidad? How do they fit into the ethno-racial pentagon?
Spanish 200S.02
Narrative & Identity in Contemporary Hispanic Caribbean
Professor Richard Rosa TH: 4:25-6:55 Languages 305
The Hispanic Caribbean and its relationship with the U.S. government: the collapse of communism in Cuba, the collapse of colonial capitalism in Puerto Rico, and the dubious outcome of the neoliberal experiment in the Dominican Republic. Examines its incorporation into the new economy and the relationship between event and identity during the 1990s and 2000. *200 level courses can be taken by undergraduates and graduate students.
Sports
>>THE CHRONICLE WANTS YOU!
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TUESDAY
August 25, 2009
Want an inside look at Coach Cut’s football team? Join our staff at The Chronicle! Contact Gabe at gs31@duke. edu with any questions. No experience necessary.
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Climbing The Rucker of the South the mountain Men’s Basketball
by Gabe Starosta The chronicle
What a long, strange summer it’s been. Duke Basketball died when Elliot Williams moved closer to home, then, it came back to life, all because Andre Dawkins decided to leave home. Oh, and Greg Paulus is starting. In football. At Syracuse. Next thing you know, Coach K will have more bigs than guards. It’s tempting to get tangled up in this culture of immediacy—The sky is falling! No! Wait! The sky’s the limit!—but instead, let’s timetravel to the unrefined complications of yesteryear and, Ben while we’re at it, switch the sport to football. Also, we’re thousands of meters up in a cerulean sky, surrounded by the peaks of the Swiss Alps. That’s where I was two summers ago, surrounded by a pack of Duke students, hiking Chamonix Mont-Blanc and, somehow, debating whether David Cutcliffe
Cohen
See Cohen on page 10
CHASE OLIVIERI/Chronicle File Photo
Head coach David Cutcliffe said he believes Duke can qualify for a bowl game in his second season.
N.C. Central’s McClendon-McDougald Gymnasium, capacity 3,056, looks like a big high school gym. And for most of the summer, that’s exactly what it is. If you walk in between 6 and 8 p.m., you might see some low-level college players, but the evening’s opening act is made up mostly of high schoolers. At eight, though, the gym undergoes a bit of a transformation. Skinny 15-yearolds shooting 3-pointers are replaced by Duke’s Jon Scheyer. Bigger kids still learning how to execute a hook shot let Carolina’s Ed Davis show them how it’s done. And every now and then, the star of the show—former UNC great and 14year NBA veteran Jerry Stackhouse, the event’s organizer—trades in his jeans and loafers for a pair of shorts and high-tops. Welcome to the S.J.G. Pro-Am, better known as the Rucker of the South. The Pro-Am is the most organized version of pickup basketball you’ve ever seen. There are 10 teams, which vary in size from nine to 18 players, composed of high schoolers, community college guys and current and former players from Duke, UNC, N.C. State and N.C. Central, plus some Triangle locals who went on to play college ball elsewhere. No team is allowed more than two current college players from the same team, so Scheyer and incoming recruit Mason Plumlee were paired together on Team Duhon while Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee played for Team E-Net. Players from the different area colleges do get paired with one another, though— N.C. State’s Tracey Smith and Farnold Degan played alongside Singler and the elder Plumlee, and Duke forward Lance Thomas was paired with UNC’s Davis. Some of the big names on this year’s rosters include Stackhouse, former Blue Devil Chris Duhon and former Tar Heels Sean May and Ray Felton, but the current pros only come into town for part of the summer. When they’re away, their teams simply played without them. Nobody takes attendance at the Rucker of the South, and though each team has a coach, instruction is minimal and entertainment is paramount. Big-time blocks are encouraged, dunks are mandatory and a nasty crossover dribble gets a rise out of everyone, especially the animated public address announcer. Even Stackhouse isn’t immune from a little embarrassment. John Wall, the former Duke recruit who chose to attend Kentucky, threw down a nasty dunk over Stackhouse in one of the incoming freshman’s few appearances in late August. Big surprise: The video of the dunk blew up, making its way onto Youtube and PTI. Street qualities aside, the tournament lets college players get used to one another’s styles, and allows younger players to take on some high-level competition before they get to the college level. Two
Maya Robinson (top),Chase Olivieri (bottom)/Chronicle File Photos
Duke senior Jon Scheyer (top) and UNC sophomore Ed Davis (32, bottom) both played in the S.J.G. Pro-Am at N.C. Central over the summer. The tournament is organized by former Tar Heel standout Jerry Stackhouse. of the best emerging players on the court were Reggie Bullock, who has committed to UNC, and C.J. Leslie, who is leaning toward joining the Wolfpack. Bullock said tournaments like the Pro-Am gives kids his age the chance to learn about how to deal with publicity, such as signing autographs and giving interviews to the media, in addition to the obvious benefits of playing with NBA-level competition. “It’s designed to help the kids continue
their development in the game, and the only way you can continue your development is to play [against] talent,” Stackhouse said. “There’s no shortage of talent here.” Scheyer, who played in the tournament only briefly last year, said the summer league was a great way to stay in shape against top competition, and was thrilled to play against people other than his Duke See M. Bball on page 11
10 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
COHen from page 9 would lead Duke to a bowl in his first season. In retrospect, the prospect seemed about as likely as the sun not singeing my skin. But then, the interlude from a season’s final buzzer and the next year’s opening kickoff is a surging tide of optimism. Suddenly, by August, a team known for its graduation rate can be angling for a bowl bid. Our expectations were as high as the summit. It wasn’t just the altitude making me delirious. Wild dreaming is the purpose of summer, isn’t it? Even in the doldrums of suburbia, it’s all too easy to mentally transform that dull 8:45 a.m. lecture into the one that will change your world. A week into the school year, it will be the same dreaded chore as always. Once, though, it held promise. It always does. Again, this was last summer. That is, before a football game replaced Tailgate as the day’s main event— or, at least, provided a reasonable nightcap for some. Cautious optimism was the most anyone would cede the Blue Devils, yet for some reason, here we were, halfway around the world, already anticipating a game with a bowl bid on the line. It never materialized. Still, even the knockout punch didn’t stop people from speculating about Duke’s first bowl berth since 1994; the lull lasted about as long as my sunburn. There’s always next year! And Cutcliffe, an optimist by nature, is the one leading that charge up the mountain. “I have said this: I believe we will be a bowl team,” he said at the end of July, at the tail end of the dog days and right before the start of training camp. “I believe we are capable of being that. I think my job is to coach them to that level. Is any of that easy? No. Every hurdle gets a little higher on this race, but that’s exciting to me.... The bigger the hill, the more fun you have in accomplishing those things.” Which brings us back to that treacherous hike, the one for which we needed conversation to serve as distraction. Our thighs burned and our calves ached, and after the first few minutes, we were already dehydrated. It was like just another game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. So we talked about football, and, really, we talked about Duke. The summer was about to end—we all knew that—and soon, our glorified exaggerations would come crashing down to sea level. Duke probably wasn’t going to a bowl game. Chances are, it won’t make one this year, either. But until Sept. 5—or until the Blue Devils lose for the first time—who knows? So while you can, let those imaginations run wild with visions of bowl games and bonfires. After all, Greg Paulus is a starting quarterback. Stranger things have happened.
THE CHRONICLE
seasOn PReVIeW: WOMen’s GOlF
Without Blumenherst and Lee, Brooks talks up talented freshmen
CHROnICLE FILE PHOtO
senior alison Whitaker, a two-time all-aCC performer and a native of australia, is one of only three returning players for the Blue Devils. by Alex Keller ThE ChrONIClE
Four new Blue Devils and three returning team leaders give Duke strong prospects for the 2009-10 season, even after graduating All-Americans Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie lee. lindy Duncan, who made it to the final 16 of the US Amateur this August, joins Courtney Ellenbogen and Stacey Kim in a freshman class that will form half of the team’s six-player roster. On the coaching staff, Emily Bastel replaces Jan Dowling as assistant coach after Dowling’s move to the head coaching position at the University of Florida. “I feel like we have experienced people who came onto the team as freshmen,” head coach Dan Brooks said. “They are going to play a big role, and I have every expectation that they’ll handle it well. We’ve got three good leaders on the team, Kim Donovan, Yu
Young lee and Alison Whitaker, who’ve already stepped up and have been contributing to the lives of these freshmen already, trying to get them acclimated and helping out, so I have no question about our leaders....It’s a long season, we don’t play Nationals until May, so we’ve got a lot of time on our hands.” Whitaker, a senior, said she looks forward to working with the freshmen, and hopes to help them make a seamless transition into college academics as well as athletics. “We’re starting off a little earlier this year,” Whitaker said. “Usually we start the season off with the Fall Preview itself...It’s a little different this time. The national match play competition is actually up first, and it’s a little earlier than usual, so the girls are only going to have a week and a half of classes before they are leaving for their first tournament.” Brooks is confident in the freshmen’s ability to handle hard work, though. Duke freshmen have had national success before: Blumenherst won National Player of the Year honors in her first year under Brooks. “All three [freshmen] have been out here,” said Brooks. “It seems like every minute they aren’t busy with orientation they’ve been out here practicing or playing. That’s a very good sign to start off with.” Brooks also looks forward to working with Bastel on the coaching staff. Bastel played three full years on the lPGA Tour and also finished at the top of the Futures Tour early in her career. Whitaker is enthusiastic about working with and learning from Bastel, whose experience on the pro circuit should prove helpful to a young team. “I think she is going to be great,” said Whitaker. “She’s got such a good reputation as a golfer, as a really hard worker and a brilliant player....She’ll bring a lot of intensity and a lot of playing wisdom to the team that will come to us on a level that we can all appreciate and learn from. I’m looking forward to hearing what she has to say, and looking forward to meeting her as a person as well.” The NCAA Championship won’t be played until May, but the Blue Devils’ season starts right away with the NCGA National Golf Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla. from Sept. 6 to 8. Whitaker’s current goal is to improve her short game, especially her putting skills, after her experience this summer playing in the Japanese lPGA. “I’ll be working on it over the next couple of months, and hopefully I’ll be sharpshooting by the time Nationals comes around in eight months or so,” Whitaker said. The Blue Devils already have five national titles in program history, and even without Blumenherst and lee, they’ll be shooting for another in 2009-2010.
THE CHRONICLE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 | 11
sportsbriefs
M. BBall from page 9 teammates. he and Miles Plumlee both said that taking on the same players in practice every day gets tiresome, and were grateful for the opportunity to be challenged by players with different skill sets. This year’s tournament, which features an NCAA-style bracket at the end of the summer, was won by Team PJ Tucker, a team with two Wolfpack players and a former Texas starter now playing professionally in Ukraine. The league loses a little bit of steam during the playoffs, though, because many of the current college players go back to practicing with their own teams. Scheyer, whose team was undefeated while he played, sat out the playoffs, and his team lost to PJ Tucker in the semifinals. Summer league also gave fans a chance to see two of Duke’s incoming recruits, Mason Plumlee and ryan Kelly, perform in game situations. Seth Curry was slated to play in the Pro-Am before making the U-19 national team that took gold in New Zealand, and recent arrival Andre Dawkins was not considered for the tournament. Miles Plumlee raved about his younger brother’s and Kelly’s performances, saying they had both been assertive and confident all summer. And Scheyer delighted fans with his frequent alley-oop tosses to Mason Plumlee, his teammate. “Mason’s a great player, and I think he’s showing at Central the things he can do, whether it be putting the ball on the floor, finishing, rebounding, passing—he can do it all,” Scheyer said. As for Scheyer, he played point guard at the end of last season, and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he will start this year at the same position. Over the
Brrr...
Rowbury earns bronze at Worlds Former Duke cross country runner Shannon rowbury won a bronze medal in the 1500-meter race at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin Sunday. rowbury, who graduated from Duke in 2006, managed to avoid a collision in front of her on the final lap to finish fourth with a time of 4:04.18. race winner Natalia rodriguez was disqualified, boosting rowbury onto the medal stand. rowbury finished seventh in the same event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Blue Devils host hoyas at Koskinen The Duke men’s soccer team plays its second of three exhibition games of the preseason tonight when it hosts Georgetown at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. Georgetown plays in the Big East and finished with an 11-5-3 record last season. The Blue Devils opened their exhibition season with a 0-0 draw against VCU Friday. After the duel with the hoyas, Duke takes on Greensboro College this Saturday. Duke kicks off its regular season schedule Sept. 1 against James Madison. LAWSOn KURtZ/CHROnICLE FILE PHOtO
sophomore Miles Plumlee played on the same team as kyle singler at the s.J.G. Pro-am over the summer. summer, Scheyer played mostly on the wing because his team had another point guard—and because the raucous crowd at NCCU often urged him to shoot from long range. Scheyer and Plumlee connected on all kinds of alley-oops over the summer—off the backboard, one-handed, you name it. But Scheyer said they never got out on a
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2-on-none break, where Plumlee planned to jump over Scheyer for a dunk. Scheyer made no promises about attempting such a move at Cameron Indoor Stadium—under Krzyzewski’s watchful eye—but he didn’t completely rule it out. “If we’re up by 50, maybe,” he said with a laugh.
Two Duke grads win Mll title Former Blue Devil lacrosse players Nick O’hara and Brad ross helped their pro team, the Toronto Nationals, to the Mll championship in the franchise’s first season. ross recorded two shots but no points in the championship game, a 10-9 Toronto win over the Denver Outlaws. O’hara scored the Nationals’ first goal of the contest. It was his second score of the season. —from staff reports
12 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 the chronicle Classifieds Associate
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Mother’s Helper Needed Morning ride to school (7am) M-F, from Southpoint area home to Immaculata Catholic School off Chapel Hill St. and hwy#147, $15/ day. Afternoon care, hours vary, $15/ hour. 919-484-8560
P/T Child Care Needed Durham family seeks enthusiastic, loving student(s) to play with/care for adorable girl, 6, and energetic boy, 4. $12/ hr. Must have own transportation, prior experience and references. Experience with developmental delays a plus. Non-smokers only. Allison 919-401-8641
BOX OFFICE WORK STUDY Get experience in Arts Administration! The University Box Office is looking for students to work part-time in our office. Regular hours scheduled between 10am-5pm M-F; some nights and weekends as needed. AM availability appreciated, work-study preferred. E-mail: tickets@duke.edu
SUNDAY MORNING ERY WORKER
NURS-
Local United Methodist Church is seeking a responsible and committed child care worker for one of its Sunday morning nurseries to begin in early September. Hours are 8:15-12:15, $10/ hour, Ages 21+. References will be requested. Contact: 919-471-0032
Partners
Place
3 BR, 3 bath apartment available immediately for 09-10 year. Just redone. Top floor. $1650/mo. Walk to West Campus. On the bus line. e-mail-JANANCECO@lexcominc. net or call 336-249-0296
Homes for Rent Bright house in Durham 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Modern house in quiet, safe neighborhood in SW Durham. Hardwood floors, gas fireplace, deck, fenced-in back yard. 6 minutes from Duke. W/D included. $1,250 per month, 1 month deposit. 1-year lease, available September 1st. Nonsmoker. Please call (919) 225-3119 and leave message. 919-225-3119
EAST CAMPUS 3 bed 2.5 bath $1,800, 10 or 12 month, will need ref & app. Trinity Heights, quite, nice & landlord lives next door. Call or check community housing site or craigs list 919-6674391
House for Rent 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 5 minutes from Duke. Appliances furnished. Hillandale Comm. 919-620-7880 or 252-354-8813
EARN SERIOUS CASH! INDEPENDENT SALES REPS WANTED TO INTRODUCE HEALTHY ALL NATURAL ENERGY DRINK TO CAMPUS MARKET. SELF-MOTIVATED, ENTREPRENEUR TYPES ONLY. CALL 1 -800-342-3083 www.theactiondrink.com/zilli
Work Study Lab Assistant Needed 10-15 hrs/week for Surgical Research Lab. Email klitz@duke.edu for details and appointment. 919-684-3929
Child Care after
school care seeking after school care/driver for 14 year old, 1-3 days/week, 3 - 6pm. references required. call 537-8455, evenings.
AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE Alum looking for fun and responsible person to watch my 9 & 7 year olds. Brier Creek CC area - 4-6pm, 2x/ week (M, Tu or W). email spatel@nc.rr.com or call 6841826.
AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE/DRIVER needed for two elementary school age children M-W every other week 3-6PM. $30 per day. Call 971-8772 or 812-9157. References required.
Room for Rent Room-mate
wanted:
Townhouse in SW Durham; Hope Valley Farms; separate bedroom/ bathroom. Share living room, dining area, back deck and kitchen. Rent is $450/ month plus utilities. Gas log fireplace, back deck, washer/ dryer, beautiful kitchen with great appliances, and a half bathroom downstairs. I am a female 31 year old elementary school teacher with 2 indoor cats. My ideal roommate would be a professional or grad student willing to go 50/50 on household chores, has no pets, and isn’t a smoker or big partier. Please email: Anna Larson bananner@gmail.com if interested
Room for Rent 52 year old male, health care professional has upstairs one bedroom, private bath and bonus room for rent in Butner. 20 minutes from Duke. Seeking nondrinker, nonsmoker. $600 per month. Utilities included. 919. 730.6768 for appt.
For Sale Off
Mattress
Sets
For students. Must present college id. Delivery, phone orders and layaway available. 336-226-0013
Cannondale cycle Royal
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blue. 24-speed. Straight handlebars. Outstanding condition. $1000. 919-602-0099
25hrs/wk just off EastCampus; flexible hours; email steveg905@gmail.com
Close to Duke Campus $124,900. Pool, tennis, park like setting. Friendly neighbors. 122 Twisted Oak Place. www.cb-wm. com
Approaching Advertising Deadline
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BARISTA Gournet coffee shop in DUMC-North Cafeteria is seeking PT Baristas. Fun, fast-paced environment. $8/hr plus tips. Apply @ EspressOasis. 681-5884.
ham, 27705 2 mi. from Duke. $650 sec. deposit. karatz@msn.com 919-732-2067
35%
Two Year Old — 25hrs/ wk Sweet, smart boy seeks care
Delivery Process Manager Stokton Global Trading needs production managers. No sales. This is a part-time opportunity that could be long-term (up to 24 months). Contract. Stable income from $1,200 per month. Visit us at: http:// stokton.org/ vacancies. html 701-214-5618
$650 - 1BR w/loft & skylight 2671 Hitchcock Dr., Dur-
Townhouse for Sale
Earn $10/hr. Flexible hours for child/pet care, yardwork, errands, driving, housesitting for service business, CH/Durham. Good driving record, reliable car, cell phone, references, criminal clearance. Email gail@waysnc.com. 919-2608222
Townhouse for Rent
Apartments for Rent
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care.
Childcare Needed 15 hrs/wk! For family near Duke M-F 3-6pm. Child care experience and excellent references req’d. Email nebr.99@alum.dartmouth. org for more info
BARTENDERS ARE IN DEMAND!!!
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the chronicle
XXXDAY, MONTH XX, 2008 | 13
Diversions Shoe Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins
Dilbert Scott Adams
Doonesbury Garry Trudeau
The Chronicle Best way to recruit new freshmen: “The Chroncile wants you”: ������������������������������������������ charlie, hon Southern “charm”: ����������������������������������������������������������will, emme “Want a new best friend? E-mail nfk@duke.edu”: noureen, pokie Free food. Lots of it.: ��������������������������������������������������� shuchi, blake “Become a women’s soccer fan!”: ������������������������������������������� gabe Drive them to exotic locales for “lead visual”: ����������������gutterson Play Shakira 24/7: ����������������������������������������������������������������� maddie “We have cookies!”: ��������������������������������������������������������������� ashley Barb Starbuck is now hiring meddling kids: ���������������������������� Barb
Ink Pen Phil Dunlap
Student Advertising Manager:...............................Margaret Potter Account Executives:........ Jack Taylor, Cordelia Biddle, Lianna Gao, Quinn Wang, Melissa Reyes, James Shoetan Amber Su, Paul Yen, Cap Young Creative Student Managers:.................Alexandra Bellis, Akara Lee Creative Services:................................Lauren Bledsoe, Danjie Fang Christine Hall, Megan Meza Online Archivist:.............................................................. Rolly Miller Business Assistants:..................... Stephanie Kye, Rebecca Winebar
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14 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 the chronicle commentaries
Fight on to beat the flu With the threat of the planned and deliberate manH1N1 virus looming over cam- ner in order to best protect pus, it looks like flu season students when seemingly inmight come early this year. evitable swine flu infections And although much of the occur. initial doomsUnforday news covt u n a t e l y, editorial erage of the swine flu is outbreak of H1N1, popularly no stranger to Duke’s camknown as swine flu, was a bit pus. In July, nearly 70 stuunwarranted, it is still a cause dents in the Talent Identififor concern on America’s col- cation Program contracted lege campuses. Not only are the virus. The outbreak was young adults particularly vul- of such concern that Univernerable to this strain of flu, sity decided to cancel TIP’s they also come into contact second session. with many people on a daily In this instance, adminbasis, live in close quarters, istrators’ swift action to adand get little sleep—all factors dress flu outbreaks was levelthat increase susceptibility. headed, and they properly Thus far, University ad- followed the Center for Disministrators have been pro- ease Control’s recommended active in their efforts to pre- protocol for treatment. vent a campus epidemic. But Now, as students prepare this effort must continue in a for the new academic year, it
“
onlinecomment
Rankings might not be a true reflection of a university’s strengths, but Duke must realize that many people, especially international students who are unfamiliar with American schools, use rankings extensively to gauge a university’s worth.
”
—“Duke 08” commenting on the story “Duke drops to 10th in U.S. News and Worth Report Rankings.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
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will robinson, Editor Hon Lung Chu, Managing Editor emmeline Zhao, News Editor Gabe Starosta, Sports Editor Michael Naclerio, Photography Editor shuchi Parikh, Editorial Page Editor Michael Blake, Editorial Board Chair alex klein, Online Editor jonathan angier, General Manager Lindsey rupp, University Editor sabreena merchant, Sports Managing Editor julius jones, Local & National Editor jinny cho, Health & Science Editor Glen gutterson, News Photography Editor andrew hibbard, Recess Editor Emily Bray, Editorial Page Managing Editor ashley holmstrom, Wire Editor Charlie Lee, Design Editor chelsea allison, Towerview Editor eugene wang, Recess Managing Editor Chase Olivieri, Multimedia Editor zak kazzaz, Recruitment Chair Taylor Doherty, Sports Recruitment Chair Mary weaver, Operations Manager Barbara starbuck, Production Manager
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is heartening to know that the University is adopting a realistic stance, acknowledging the high likelihood of swine flu outbreaks and taking proactive steps to prepare for the worst. During last week’s movein, the University distributed thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer. In addition, sanitizer has been installed at dining venues. This is a welcome step, as cleanliness and proper sanitation are key components to preventing infection. To further this goal, it would also be wise to have sanitization options in other highly trafficked places, like common rooms, gyms and classrooms. Administrators have also encouraged students to selfquarantine if they exhibit
flu-like symptoms and to not seek treatment from Student Health. This advice, however, is problematic on a number of fronts. First, Duke’s campus culture encourages students to go to class even when they are sick so that they do not miss out on any important course material. Therefore, it is crucial that the University partners with professors in emphasizing to students the importance of staying home when ill and ensuring that students are not penalized for doing so. Second, it is a bit disconcerting that students have been asked not to seek medical help if ill with the flu. Although it is true that Tamiflu supplies are low and that there is little that can be done by medical profession-
als to treat the flu, this policy could lead to serious unintended consequences. For example, a student could contract meningitis, mistake it for swine flu and fail to seek treatment. This would leave them contagious to others and lacking proper treatment. Surely, a university with a world-class medical facility could conjure a more viable treatment plan of action. In the end, what’s most important is that University officials remain in close communication with all students, faculty and staff, spreading honest information and providing simple and effective recommendations to prevent the spread of swine flu. So far, so good. But let’s keep up the effort.
The future is swine You’re going to get swine flu. Swine 2009. The Swinepire Strikes Back. H1NotFun. Swine flu is coming. This certainly isn’t breaking news. Federal officials are already advising major universities on how to deal with swine flu. Early returns would indicate Duke did in fact get the memo, as RLHS gave out miniature hand sanitizer pumps during move-in that looked like they could stave off an outbreak for at least two or three days. The IFC recently mandated that fraternities replace beer pong cups after every game to avoid potentially dangerous contagions. ben brostoff Shooters took a page from middle bro’s stuff schools across the country by banning lip-locking on the dance floor. Some claim these measures should be enough to get us safely through to mid-October, when a vaccination for H1N1 will become available for universities. They won’t (especially considering the latter two listed are, as you probably guessed, totally fabricated). While Duke won’t be a total alleyoop case for the swine flu (the all-star Medical Center team will see to that), it’s arguably more susceptible than most universities around the country. Duke’s exposure to domestic and international H1N1 hot spots is alarmingly high; we have students from a good number of the 195 countries and every U.S. state. Throw in the thousands of people employed by Duke, and that exposure is even higher. Swine flu already made a cameo on Duke’s campus this summer, infecting a few members of the football team who fortunately made full recoveries; it would be naïve to believe the virus simply left campus afterwards. Swine is still very much alive, and, judging by the hoards of freshmen I saw this weekend traversing across West Campus from one party to another, likely spreading. As the outbreak of swine is pretty much a given at this point, so are the ripple effects of the epidemic. Suppose Duke follows the Centers for Disease Control’s advice and, as the Washington Post states, “suspends any rules—such as penalties for late papers or missed classes, or a required doctor’s note—that might prompt ill individuals to venture out.” Controlling the spread of H1N1 is contingent on isolating the swine-infected, which in a college setting means curtailing consequences for missing class. Need a two-week extension
on a paper? For this year at least, swine flu is the answer. Contracting swine flu also could develop into a good way to make a little money on the side. Once swine is all over Duke, the research teams from the Triangle will no doubt start looking for infected or once-infected students: wads of cash will go to those who can serve as human guinea pigs for lab experiments. In fact, you probably won’t even have to contract the virus to participate in the profit-taking. Odds are some engineer and second-year med student will team up and develop a non-lethal strain of the virus with no side effects to sell on the black market to impressionable undergrads who can then profit off the research jobs. Once this movement gains a little steam, be prepared for your inbox to be overloaded with Larry Moneta e-mails warning of the dangers of the pseudo, human engineered H1N1 virus. The swine flu epidemic will eventually affect every walk of life at this University, your Webmail inbox notwithstanding. Consequently, in a few months you’ll be looking at a disease-ridden campus filled with swindlers, merciless profit-takers and Elmo emails. You can run, but by then the federal government will have quarantined all college campuses and there will be nowhere to go without seriously risking death or imprisonment. If you survive until mid-October, you can vaccinate yourself, but there’s no guarantee a new strain of the virus won’t develop during that time, thereby making the H1N1 vaccine only partially protective. You can lock yourself in your dorm room, but there’s that little problem of food and water. There is no way out. So, for the foreseeable future, H1N1 will be as ingrained in the campus culture as basketball (except that swine flu won’t die out in the second week of March). It’s advisable to simply accept the fact that you will almost definitely have swine flu this semester; rather than deny the impending H1N1 epidemic, embrace it. Come second semester rush, the freshman will be listening to Mike Posner’s hit single “Hand Sanitizer Girl” and trying to cover their sneezes with the inside of their elbows rather than the palms of their hand (frame-by-frame motion capture has shown the former method is more effective at containing germs than the latter; those who stifle sneezes the traditional way will be cut from their desired fraternity/sorority). The pandemic, says the World Health Organization, is “not stoppable.” Simply put, the future is swine flu. In a totally figurative manner, catch it. Ben Brostoff is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Tuesday.
the chronicle
commentaries
I’m not being that way, but... You freshmen need to chillax1. After a long, hard day of FAC-ing, I started thinking about all the things I wish I had known when I was a freshman, aka last year. I’m not talking about “don’t bring a printer,” “the C-2 goes to Central,” “buy fans,” “watch out for the freshman 15” and all that business. I mean the really crazy stuff freshmen do that I wish I had known is ridiculous and not what actual college students do. Yeah, it was only a year ago that I was a newbie from Actionville (Jacksonville), Fla., but I feel like after a year at Duke and a long week of being a FAC, I have some mad street cred2 and totes3 know what’s up. So freshmen, listen up, I’m about to call you anna sadler kooks4 out. First of all, what is don’t judge me the deal with arriving at Duke with 300 Facebook friends from your freshman class? Ok, I’ll admit that I added some friends from the class of 2012 that I didn’t actually know, but to my credit, they were people assigned to live with me in Epworth Residence Hall (holla!5) or that were my older sister’s friends. I won’t pretend I wasn’t desperate for a connection to people, but I knew that friend-ing randos6 was just plain sad. I don’t think you—the freshmen—get this enough: Purge your Facebook friends now. I admire the really nice people that are afraid of offending one of their new classmates by rejecting their Facebook request (and let’s be honest, some people do keep tabs on those things) or closing the door on a potential lifelong best friend, but seriously dudes (obvi7, “dudes” is back in), the majority of the peeps8 you un-friend will never notice. Some of y’all9 might say that being able to start a conversation with someone by saying “Hey, I think we’re Facebook friends” is a good way to break the ice. To those of you I say, no. Stop that. That is sketchy10. There are 10 gajillion11 other things to say to start those types of conversations. And they are destined to be ridic-awkers12,13 anyway. Secondly, there’s a fine line between having school pride and going absolutely FLEX-crazy14 in the Duke store. Don’t get me wrong, I know the ID card that magically turns into money is very tempting, and I def15 love school spirit. I mean, in high school I won the most spirited award in every sport I ever played (note: I never received an award for actual athletic ability), but it is not considered spirited when you buy one of every single article of clothing that says Duke on it in multiple scripts. That’s just poor financial planning. However, owning some Duke gear for different types of weather is acceptable. For instance, I own Duke sweatpants and a Duke sweatshirt for cold weather and Duke athletic shorts and a Duke T-shirt for warm weather. It’s that simple. What I really don’t understand is the completely random team gear peo-
ple purchase. If you go to the games that’s one thing, but I honestly think that at some point freshmen in the Duke University Store must say to themselves, “I’ve seen rugby on TV before, I should get a Duke rugby cap.” So with respect to Duke store shopping sprees, again I say, no. Stop that. Lastly, I would advise (actually, more like beg) you, dear, dear freshmen, not to Frat-Hard16 or Frat-Often until you are actually in a frat. Although girls cannot join fraternities (gosh wouldn’t that be fun?), it seems to me that the Fratting-Hard mentality is becoming all too common in both male and female first-semester freshmen. Diversify your scene, people. Gee wiz. Getting to know and experiencing all the social resources Duke has to offer is not as un-cool as it sounds (p.s., it doesn’t sound un-cool). I’ll tell you that I have been known to Frat-Hard and like it. True story. A dude once asked me “How can one girl be so fratty?” I can only assume that was his way of trying to get my digits, but there were def kids out there that section-stalked17 much more diligently than I did last year. That is so not cool. Of course I encourage you first-years to use e-Print, take the C-1, find air conditioning wherever possible and not eat pizza after midnight, but the advice I’m giving you is to ensure maximum coolness. Trust me, follow my advice, and you, the Class of 2013, will also have mad street cred. 1. chillax—(verb) combination of “chill” and “relax” 2. street cred—(noun) short for street credit; knowledge and respect from people living in or around the hood where you roll 3. totes—(adverb) short for totally 4. kook—(noun) someone who is ridiculous and induces excessive eye rolling from his or her companions; occasionally pathetic 5. holla—(exclamation) an exclamation used to show excitement or enthusiasm 6. randos—(noun) people you know very little about that usually come into your life awkwardly 7. obvi—(adverb) short for obviously 8. peeps—(noun) short for people 9. y’all—(pronoun) contraction formed by combining “you” and “all”; usage indicates a fun-loving, Southern person 10. sketchy—(adjective) iffy, questionable 11. 10 gajillion—(noun) a number I made up, larger than any real number 12. ridic—(adjective) short for ridiculous 13. awkers—(adjective) short for awkward 14 FLEX-crazy—(noun) the phenomenon of overspending when first encountering a DukeCard 15. def—(adverb) short for definitely 16. frat—(noun) short for fraternity; a group of boys who enjoy collecting cans of inexpensive beer 17. section-stalk—(verb) to frequent many fraternity sections with the goal of being able to say hello to and high five as many people as possible. Anna Sadler is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
lettertotheeditor Curriculum requirements necessary In his Aug. 17 column, Nathan Freeman argues that Duke students such as himself should be allowed to opt out of general education requirements as they would use this greater flexibility to improve their college education. This assumes that Duke students can be expected to use everything they have to improve their education. However, Freeman freely admits that he did not use his Spanish course this summer to the greatest degree possible, or really any degree of usefulness at all. He could have been “writing [his] column in pitchperfect Spanish” if he had done such basic things as “complete all of the readings and contribute to the class discussion.” Instead, he decided that he would rather “coast through.” When given the simple chance to choose between excelling for his own improvement or just getting by
because his credits would not be transferring to Duke anyway, Freeman took the lazy way out. If he were given the choice in his education between pushing himself in a variety of quality classes or taking filler courses that would just provide him the quantity of credits necessary for graduation, I would not be surprised if he did the bare minimum again. More importantly, I would not expect more of most students. A good core curriculum both forces students to gain a strong liberal arts education and provides them with a guide along the way. Curriculum 2000 does not come close to providing a core curriculum that gives students a strong liberal arts education, but it does push them far beyond where a majority of students would be without the modes of inquiry and areas of knowledge. Hartley Bancroft, Trinity ’10
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009 | 15
Within and beyond Duke Numb. It’s the way in which I would describe my initial perception of the Duke community’s attitude towards many local issues that take place on campus on a daily basis. From matters of immigration to LGBT concerns, for a long time I felt no substantial conversations took place regarding these topics and their presence on campus. But to be fair, let me expand on this further. During my first months at Duke I was deeply shocked by the fact that a really high percentage of Duke’s employees—at least those with whom we interact the most, like kitchen andrea patiño and cleaning staff—are numb either Latin American or black. What was even more shocking, however, was that throughout the rest of the year I found very little, if any, discussion about this particular situation among students. I don’t want to imply that there is something wrong with having staff members from different races; because certainly there isn’t. But it still strikes me as bizarre that the huge majority of these specific positions on campus belong mostly to these two racial groups in particular. Why do these jobs happen to be filled in by these specific races? Is it just a coincidence from last year or has this situation been taking place for a long time? How is it related to broader issues of immigration, the economy or social dynamics? It is fundamental to read beyond these questions. Duke might be a tiny universe of its own; nevertheless I am sure it still reflects something about the broader world and the society we are meant to go into once we graduate. Or so I hope. And if we avoid looking within our own community, a big part of the goal of the education we are receiving is defeated. When it comes to looking outside, Duke students are incredibly active. But, when it comes to looking within Duke’s borders, I still find that there is a huge gap between what we learn in the classrooms and how we live on campus, and especially how we don’t question our immediate surroundings as much as we question everything beyond them. Throughout my first year, I was very impressed by the immense amount of conversations on campus regarding national and international issues. The numerous opportunities students have to volunteer, either abroad or locally and the great amount of effort, money and time the University devotes to these activities help trigger these discussions. A variety of programs that range from teaching children in Durham to engaging in movements of social change in countries like South Africa are great sources of inspiration and experience for students to be able to apply what they learn in the classroom. They are great opportunities to encourage students to procure change in the future, once they get out to the “real” world. We seem to forget, however, that perhaps a lot of the situations we are being trained to deal with in the future, are in fact happening right under our noses, and we need to be attentive and critical. To a certain extent I still think we remain numb to how we live at Duke and of all the people—like Duke’s employees—who play such a significant, yet for some reason invisible, role in our lives. Perhaps, this situation hasn’t yet been explored for different reasons other than lack of interest. After all, it is true that being self-critical is very difficult. Nevertheless, I am sure that other people have certainly thought about all these issues before; maybe the discussion simply has to be louder. I remember being really glad last year at “All of the Above,” an annual show consisting of a series of monologues written, directed and performed by Duke women. One of the authors expressed a very similar concern regarding students’ indifference towards the employees here. In fact, it was a very angry but honest statement that made people in the audience shiver a bit, and which made me secretly happy because I felt as if my voice was being heard. Sadly enough, however, the anonymous writer’s frustration with the lack of talk on campus about campus issues shows that there’s still a lot for us to discuss and evaluate. Andrea Patiño is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
16 | TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
THE CHRONICLE
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