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
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 8
www.dukechronicle.com
Students crowd‘The Hub’ for tickets 100 convene
for first MMS orientation by Zachary Tracer The chronicle
a Carolina RailHawks soccer match and a show by comedian Brian Regan at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The Hub also offers opportunities to attend performances by the Carolina Ballet and to watch a Durham Bulls baseball game. In addition to events this month, students waiting in line expressed interest in discounted tickets to concerts by musical artists such as The Fray.
Orientation is a bit more serious for students in the new Master of Management Studies: Foundations of Business program than it was for the freshmen who arrived at Duke two weeks ago. The inaugural class of 100 students got to the Fuqua School of Business at 8 a.m. for a day of info sessions, speeches, get-toknow-you games and coffee breaks. They wouldn’t leave until about 8 p.m. And Monday was only day one of what will be a week-long process of team building and workshops, capped off with a Friday night accounting review. And then a party. Followed by another three-hour accounting class Saturday afternoon. “You are about to embark on a very rigorous course of study,” said Kathie Amato, associate dean for the MMS: Foundations of Business program. “We will give you the skills you need to be successful the rest of your life.” The one-year business masters program prepares students for entry-level corporate jobs through courses in subjects such as finance and marketing, Amato said. President Richard Brodhead put the demanding nature of Fuqua’s programs in a slightly different way.
See The hub on page 5
See MMS on page 4
Larsa Al-Omaishi/The Chronicle
An employee of The Hub, a new extension of Duke Destinations, sells discounted tickets to local performances, movies and athletic events to interested students. The program, sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and Facilities, sold tickets at approximately half of the price paid by the University. by Christine Chen The chronicle
Students passing through the upper floor of the Bryan Center may have noticed a new addition to the student center landscape. With an eye to spurring student activity in Durham, the Office of Student Activities and Facilities officially unveiled The Hub, a new source of discounted tickets and gift cards for Duke students. Interest in the initiative was apparent as approximately
25 students waited in line Monday for The Hub to officially open. The program is an extension of Duke Destinations, which offers students access to off-campus events and trips. “[The Hub] is very convenient,” sophomore Sonja Sahlsten said. “If you have a question you can come [here] directly, and good discounts are always a good thing.” Among the discounts offered in September are subsidized tickets to movies,
Beaufort fishery to bring fresh seafood to Gardens by Allison Schulhof The chronicle
This Fall, the Sarah P. Duke Gardens will offer sunshine, flowers and soon, fresh flounder to its many visitors. Duke Fish, Duke University’s graduate student chapter of the American Fisheries Society, has partnered with Carteret County fishermen to open the region’s first community-supported fishery called Walking Fish. A CSF brings local fish directly to local consumers by decreasing the supply chain and cutting out middlemen. This gives consumers direct access to freshly harvested fish. The Walking Fish project seeks to map out the exact process of how the seafood got “from boat to fork,” so that consumers know the precise history of the fish that is on their plate. The 12-week pilot program that is set to launch Sept. 17 allows consumers to pre-order shares of locally caught seafood, which can be picked up on a weekly or bi-weekly basis in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens parking lot. The fresh fish will be delivered from Beaufort, N.C. each Thursday and will be available for pickup by shareholders from 4 to 6 p.m. When consumers purchase seafood from the grocery store, there is uncertainty as to where the food is coming from, said Josh Stoll, a second-year graduate student in the
Nicholas School of the Environment, who organized the Walking Fish project. He is studying coastal environmental management at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. “One of our goals is to very clearly say, ‘The fish you are eating tonight came from this fisherman on this day, and it was headed and gutted at [our fish processor], and was driven up to Durham this afternoon,’” Stoll said. Depending on the species, the fish will come from either a sound in Carteret County or the Atlantic Ocean off of the North Carolina coast. The types of seafood that will be delivered through the Walking Fish program will vary depending on seasonal availability and weather conditions. Members can expect deliveries to include species such as flounder, triggerfish, black drum, shrimp, clams, spot and mullet. Based off of the community-supported agricultural model, the Walking Fish CSF is the first of its kind in the southeastern United States. There are currently only two other recognized CSFs in the country—one in Gloucester, Mass. and the other in Port Clyde, Maine, said Duke Fish President Nick Mallos, a second-year graduate student at the Nicholas School of the Environment who is also stationed at the Marine Lab.
Men’s Soccer: Season opener DUSDAC adds Nosh to Merchants on Points Page 3
The Blue Devils kick off 2009 with a home game against JMU tonight, PAGE 7
See fishery on page 4
special to the Chronicle
The fisheries in Beaufort, N.C. will supply fresh seafood to Durham-area residents through the new Walking Fish project beginning Sept. 17. The program is set to become the region’s first community-supported fishery.
ONTHERECORD
“We now know that powerful lightning can go up as well as down and we look forward to understanding what makes that happen.”
—Associate Professor Steven Cummer on “gigantic jets.” See story page 3
2 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
worldandnation
Scot. defends bomber’s release
Cheney offended by Obama Hurricane moves meeting administration’s CIA probe meXico city — the approach of a powerful hurricane monday prompted officials to move an international tax gathering from Baja california. the organization for economic cooperation and Development said the two-day meeting would be shifted to mexico city tuesday and Wednesday to avoid possible dangers from hurricane Jimena. the group was to have met in los cabos, on the southern tip of the Baja california peninsula,which stands in the likely path of the storm. Jimena, a category Four hurricane with top sustained winds of 150 mph, churned well off mexico’s pacific coast monday as it moved slowly toward Baja california. the miami-based national hurricane center said the storm could reach los cabos by late tuesday. “mexico’s national authorities are advising to take all possible precautions,” the paris-based oecD said in a statement.
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An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. — Sir Winston Churchill
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WashinGton — Former Vice president Dick cheney lashed out at president Barack obama sunday, saying the Justice Department’s decision to investigate whether cia operatives broke the law while interrogating terrorism suspects was politically motivated and dangerous to national security. “i just think it’s an outrageous political act that will do great damage long-term to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions, without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say,” cheney said in an interview that aired on “Fox news sunday.” he also refused to say whether he would cooperate with the Justice Department’s inquiry.“it will depend on the circumstances and what i think their activities are really involved in,” cheney said.
TODAy iN HiSTOry
lonDon — amid continued allegations of political deal-making, scottish officials said monday that the early release of the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a pan am jet over scotland was motivated solely by humanitarian and judicial concerns, not commercial ones. British interests in libya’s large oil and gas reserves were irrelevant to the decision to release abdel Basset ali megrahi, a suspected libyan spy found guilty in 2001, said nicola sturgeon, scotland’s deputy first minister. megrahi, 57, is in the advanced stages of terminal prostate cancer and was set free aug. 20 from a scottish prison on “compassionate grounds” to spend the remainder of his life with his family back in his homeland. “that was a decision taken entirely on justice grounds,” sturgeon told the BBc. “there were no influences relating to political or economic interests that played any part in that.”
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toDay:
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Online Excerpt “midtown Dickens celebrated the release of their second lp, lanterns, Friday at the Duke coffeehouse. the band–augmented by a quartet of horns and megafaun’s Brad and phil cook– spent the time between songs thanking all their friends and those who enabled the album.... a grateful midtown Dickens was matched by an audience even more grateful for the energetic, joyful performance. check out the three videos of midtown Dickens performing some of the tracks from lanterns.” — From The Playground playground.chronicleblogs.com
Karin BrUlliarD/the WashinGton post
1653: Johann Pachelbel, composer, was born
Gas flares form the backdrop to everyday life in ebocha, Nigeria. The flames have come to represent some struggles of the troubled region, where environmentalists, oil companies, politicians and militants argue about the wealth and wisdom of oil exploration. Nigeria flared nearly eight times as much gas last year as it used for power, according to the World Bank.
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 | 3
Team captures Nosh added to MOP program rare sightings of ‘jet’ lightning DUKe UNiVerSiTy STUDeNT DiNiNG ADViSOry COMMiTTee
by Reed Few The chronicle
nosh, an eclectic local eatery located on erwin road, will now join the ever-growing selection of vendors for the Merchants on Points program. Duke University Student Dining Advisory committee met Monday night to address the idea of expanding the Merchants on Points delivery system. Student committee members voted unanimously to add nosh to the program. nosh is a locally owned eatery and a sister restaurant to the an older Triangle vendor, Piper’s in the Park. nosh will be open for delivery from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and will charge a $1.50 delivery fee with a minimum purchase of $10. nosh was approached about joining the MoP program earlier this year but pulled out because they did not feel ready to meet the influx of demand from the Duke community, nosh Manager Kevin Dillan said. The restaurant has since added Dillan as a new manager who will specifically handle the Duke delivery system and hired three new delivery agents who are currently undergoing training. nosh offers a variety of selections for both vegetarians and meat-lovers. Dillan said that 99 percent of nosh’s food options are made from scratch with fresh local ingredients. The vendor also offers an array of desserts and will deliver smoothies, lattes and milkshakes. Although the student panel agreed that the bistro offered flavorful options, it was mainly concerned with the availability of phone lines and the issue of delivery time. Dillan said that nosh is extremely busy on weekends and the restaurant cannot handle Duke student delivery service on weekends at this time. Although DUSDAc members expressed interest in seeing nosh deliver breakfast on Saturdays, members were not derailed by the restaurant’s inability to accommodate this request.
by Christina Pena The chronicle
anDreW ZhenG/the chronicle
Caroline yoder, a member of the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, tastes food from locally owned eatery Nosh. DUSDAC voted to add Nosh to the Merchants on Points program. george’s Diner, a family-owned 24/7 greek-themed diner, could be a solution to the paucity of late-night munchies on campus, DUSDAc members said. The diner is not affiliated with the recently closed george’s garage. it offers breakfast 24 hours a day and calls itself a “northern diner” that offers homefries instead of hash browns.
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This summer, an unusual phenomenon was recorded by Duke researchers not once, but twice: upside-down lightning bolts. Along with a team of researchers, Steven cummer, associate professor of computer science and assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, captured rare bursts of “gigantic jets” on camera. This uncommon meteorological event of upward lightning has sparked great interest among cummer and his fellow Duke researchers and a member of FMA research who also participated. FMA research is composed of a group of scientists who monitor and analyze atmospheric patterns and phenomena. The national Science Foundation supported the lightning research. “We were really surprised to see that we had captured a gigantic jet with our system,” cummer said, adding that the group’s radio recordings are critical to fully understanding the mechanics of the phenomenon. cummer noted that the captured images and radio should show that the “gigantic jets” are power-charged lightning that transfers electric charge from thunderclouds to the upSee LiGhTNiNG on PAge 6
COrreCTiON an aug. 31 article, “n.c. film tax incentives to boost jobs, $91m industry,” incorrectly stated that the television show “privileged” was filmed at Duke. the show mentions Duke but was not actually filmed at the University. the chronicle regrets the error.
4 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 the chronicle
fishery from page 1 Through CSF, members of Walking Fish hope to bring attention to the issue of sustainable fishing to ensure that local stocks are well-managed and habitats are protected. In addition to preserving the marine ecosystems, the Walking Fish project would economically and socially benefit both local fishermen and consumers. The project is expected to assist local small-scale fisherman because they will be presented with a stable, consistent market, Stoll said. Pam Morris, president and education coordinator of Carteret Catch, also said she hopes that people will see the value in eating local seafood. “People are divorced from their food—they don’t understand how it is caught,” Morris said. “I hope that Walking Fish serves as an educational piece to inform the public about where their seafood comes from. I can see how this is going to work. I am very hopeful that it will have a great impact.” Mallos said he wants people to understand the environmental impact of choosing to eat fish from the global market. “We want to make sure that people are taking responsibility for what they are eating,” he said. “I truly believe that if I put a plate of shrimp that has been farmed in Southeast Asia that has been frozen and sent here, and I give you a plate of shrimp that was caught yesterday, in this town by local fishermen, no one would ever purchase that imported seafood again.” The name for Walking Fish was inspired by the idea that walking is connected to one’s carbon footprint, Mallos said, adding that walking is one of the least destructive modes of transportation. By eating local seafood, a consumer would leave a smaller environmental footprint because less fossil fuel is used to transport local seafood, Mallos explained. Walking Fish also offers a broad range of educational opportunities, according to its Web site. In the Fall, the program will host lectures and post a member’s forum online which will include recipes and community input. Stoll said he hopes that such events will open a dialogue between the urban and rural sectors about fishing, conservation and the local food system. If the pilot project is successful, Duke Fish members plan to expand the program’s scope to other areas so that consumers have greater access to fresh, local seafood.
Emily Eshman/The Chronicle
President Richard Brodhead addresses the inaugural class of the Master of Management Studies program at the Fuqua School of Business Monday. The one-year program is designed to prepare students for entry-level corporate jobs through courses in finance, marketing and communication skills.
MMS from page 1 “I know people whose spouses are students in Fuqua,” he said. “Too bad for them.” Amato said the rigorous coursework, combined with job-hunting, networking and training in communication skills outside of class, will help prepare students to enter a “very tough job market.” To help students find jobs despite the economic climate, Fuqua staff has been in contact with many businesses, said Bill Boulding, Fuqua deputy dean and J.B. Fuqua professor of business administration. “As we took this concept to a wide variety of employers, all of them were excited,” he said. But individual students are ultimately responsible for their own success in both the program and the job market, he added, touching on a theme echoed by both Brodhead and Amato. “So now it’s up to you,” Boulding said. “We will do our part, and you do your part.” Despite the suits at the front of the room and the
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Fuqua name tag around each student’s neck, the speeches sometimes strayed from strictly business. “Looking at the bleak world outside, we created a shelter or sanctuary program,” Brodhead said to laughter from the seated students. If the economy stays down and students cannot find jobs, “maybe next year we will create another program,” he added. Following speeches by Brodhead and Boulding, Amato gave students a taste of the challenges they will face in the coming weeks. “Does anybody know what a cold call is?” she asked. After a student correctly explained that a cold call is a call made by a salesman to a potential customer he or she does not know, Amato demonstrated the Fuqua faculty’s version of the technique. Picking out a student at random, Amato asked him for the name of one of the courses he will be taking next week. “Business economics,” the student replied. Amato rewarded the student’s correct answer with a Fuqua keychain, warning the group that next week, the questions will be harder and there will be no prizes.
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 | 5
Iran’s Ahmadinejad to address United Nations by Thomas Erdbrink The WAShingTon PoST
larsa al-omaishi/the chronicle
About 25 students wait in line for The Hub’s grand opening in the Bryan Center Monday morning. The OSAFsponsored program sells discounted tickets for local performances and athletics events to students.
THe HUB from page 1 DPAc season tickets and tickets to The Fray were sold out within an hour of The hub’s opening, according to the program’s Twitter feed. Tickets sold at The hub are expected to be priced at half the value at which the University purchased them, said Kyle Fox, a program coordinator at oSAF and manager of The hub. A ticket bought by Duke at $118, for example, might be sold to students for $50. Fox added that “hub” means a “connecting point,” which makes it an appropriate title as it is meant to connect students to Durham. Senior liz lawner, who works at The hub, said Duke students are relatively isolated and might
not go into Durham because they do not know what is there or they think it is too expensive. According to its mission statement, The hub is also meant to foster “meaningful relationships” between students. For example, The hub buys seats in blocks so that Duke students will be able to sit together. oSAF created The hub to add a physical presence to Duke Destinations, which is two years old, Fox said. The hub also incorporates the Bryan center information Desk. Freshman Jane li said The hub was “a very good opportunity to see different arts and performances.” The budget that Duke Destinations previously used to acquire tickets has been transferred over to The hub, and the University has not incurred additional costs in creating The hub, Fox said.
TehrAn, iran — With weeks to go until a U.S. deadline for opening talks, a spokesperson for iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that he plans to travel to new York to give a speech during the annual meeting of the United nations general Assembly Sept. 23. The announcement came as international pressure continued to build for sanctions unless iran is willing to negotiate over its nuclear program. The visit will roughly coincide with a Sept. 15 deadline set by the White house for iran to respond to an offer to open talks on the nuclear issue. it will be Ahmadinejad’s first visit to a Western country since iran’s June election, which was officially declared a landslide in his favor but which the opposition contends was
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stolen. The vote led to weeks of demonstrations, with dozens of protesters dying after security forces violently cracked down. President obama condemned the violence but stopped short of siding with opposition demands that the election be annulled. in Berlin Monday, german and French leaders emphasized that iran must respond to international concerns about its nuclear program soon or face the consequences. “initiatives must be taken during the month of September which take account of iran’s will or otherwise to cooperate,” French President nicolas Sarkozy said after meeting with german chancellor Angela Merkel. if it does not, he said, “germany and France will be united in calling for a strengthening of sanctions.”
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DUSDAC from page 3
LiGHTNiNG from page 3
The restaurant offers “a wide range of selection and something new,” said DUSDAc cochair Jason Taylor, a senior. Although the panel members said that the diner would fill a niche in the MoP program with its diverse menu and delivery hours, they were concerned that the three-and-a-half month old restaurant is too inexperienced to handle the increased demand from Duke. Many members said that the diner has not yet thought through the decision to join MoP and needs time to sort things out before taking on the responsibility. other members strongly argued that one latenight meal with sub-par delivery service would still be better than none. The panel decided in an 8-2 decision to not immediately take on the diner. But after much deliberation, and an agreement to visit the diner at 4 a.m. to test their late-night efficiency, the panel agreed unanimously to add george’s Diner after Fall Break if the test goes well and if the restaurant agrees to add phone lines. “i don’t think it will be as popular as the some of the Merchant’s selections such as cinelli’s or Dragon gate, but it will fill a void in the Merchant’s dining program because of the 24-hour operation,” said sophomore leila Kutler, a DUSDAc member.
per atmosphere—approximately 50 miles above ground. researchers were trying to understand the effects of “sprites” when they captured a one-second video recording of the gigantic jet along with its radio measurements. Sprites are a common type of electrical discharge in the upper atmosphere that is created as a response to a very strong lightning stroke between the clouds and the ground. “i wouldn’t say that the discovery was captured accidentally since the camera was set up to routinely make observations, and a lot of experience is needed to direct the camera in the right direction,” said gaopeng lu, a postdoctoral associate in electrical engineering and a member of the research team. gigantic jets look much like regular lightning, but when they are 20 miles from the ground, they spread out in the shape of a fan. When the jets reach 50 miles above the ground, they are approximately 20 miles wide, cummer said. “gigantic jets are a rare class of lightning phenomena that might share the same initiation process with regular lightning,” lu said, adding that gigantic jets have a “marvelous appearance” because they extend to greater altitudes than regular lightning. There are fewer than 20 documented reports of these uncommon gigantic jets in the last seven years. Because they most commonly occur during thunderstorms, it is difficult to know
exactly how many have occurred. Most have been seen in tropical locations like the caribbean or Taiwan, which was why it was surprising to document this phenomenon twice in Durham. The term “gigantic jet” was coined in 2001 by researchers at national cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Prior reports by pilots had been dismissed as imaginary and were later categorized as “sprites” or a smaller version of gigantic jets called “blue jets,” whose name was derived from their appearance in videos. The “gigantic jets” term was used to describe a much bigger version of blue jets that extended over a much higher range of altitude. “This phenomenon is not completely understood because it is very rare,” said Jingbo li, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student and a member of the research team. “nobody has been able to analyze these images before because we were the first to capture radio measurements as opposed to just video or a picture.” cummer and his team are now using an intensified high-speed camera that can capture thousands of frames per second and a low-light color camera in addition to previously used technology. They hope that together, the equipment can show how the gigantic jets develop and what kind of light-producing processes happen inside it. “We now know that powerful lightning can go up as well as down and we look forward to understanding what makes that happen,” cummer said.
irAN from page 5 Ahmadinejad has regularly attended the U.n summit since he was elected in 2005. his speeches in new York have been controversial and have generally been met with protests. U.n. officials confirmed Ahmadinejad’s attendance and said he will be accorded the same honors due any other head of state. U.n. Secretary general Ban Ki-Moon recently took a step toward recognizing Ahmadinejad’s disputed electoral victory by sending him a customary diplomatic letter on the occasion of his inauguration. U.S. officials said that the United States respects U.n. invitations to even the most controversial foreign dignitaries and that they assumed Ahmadinejad would have his visa approved for travel to the United States this time. But the prospects for direct talks with the iranian leadership appeared dim in light of the violent post-election crackdown. in July, the United States disinvited iranian diplomats from attending Fourth of July celebrations at American diplomatic missions and embassies. Ahmadinejad press adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr declined to comment on the iranian government’s position on the U.S. offer of talks. iranian leaders, who are reeling from
the worst political crisis since the 1979 revolution, have said they need more evidence that U.S. policies have shifted in their favor before they agree to negotiate. “iran won’t recognize any unilaterally set deadline,” said Mohammad Marandi, head of the department of north American studies at the University of Tehran. “it is planning to give a set of proposals to solve outstanding issues in the near future.” Ahmadinejad is just one of several controversial leaders who will attend the U.n. event, including Venezuelan President hugo chavez and libyan leader Moammar gaddafi, whose government holds the presidency of the general Assembly 65th session. china’s president, hu Jintao, will also address the general Assembly, the first time a chinese head of state has delivered a speech during the annual session. on Farsi-language Web sites, iranian expatriates have already called for demonstrations, and opposition leaders in iran said they expect the protests in new York to be much more intense than in previous years because of the disputed election. The government’s crackdown against the opposition has recently united a large portion of the traditionally divided iranian exile community. But Javanfekr dismissed any protests as insignificant.
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TUESDAY
September 1, 2009
Kyrie Irving, one of Duke Basketball’s top potential recruits for the Class of 2014, is set to take his official visit to Durham Sept. 18, according to ESPN.com
www.dukechroniclesports.com
Cutcliffe’s Dukes look to burst Radio show Yellow Blue Devil bubble begins today Brick Road on WDNC MeN’S SoCCer
It was a funny way for David Cutcliffe—the brains behind Duke’s football program—to begin preseason media day Aug. 11. “Do you guys know that 70 years ago today, the Wizard of Oz was released?” Cutcliffe asked with a wide grin. “And I’m still looking for a brain, a heart and some courage.” Cutcliffe said his favorite character was the Scarecrow, but on Duke’s campus, Taylor he might be the Tin Man. For though Cutcliffe’s work is on the gridiron and not the Yellow Brick Road, his attempt to turn around Duke Football—if successful—would prove that he, like the movie’s metallic protagonist, has had brains all along. You could call Year One with Cutcliffe at the helm the “Anything-But-Roof Era.” It was about having a new face atop the program, winning multiple games for the first time since 2004. It was about not wanting to be the laughingstock of the NCAA or an opponent’s dream matchup. The Blue Devils won four games and seemed to at least compete in almost every game. Cutcliffe is confident he has the personnel to take another step forward
FootBALL
by Andy Moore THE CHRONICLE
Doherty
SEE DOHERTY ON PAGE 8
ChASe oliVieri/ChroniCle File Photo
head coach David Cutcliffe led Duke to a 4-8 record in 2008, the Blue Devils’ first multi-win season since 2004.
SAM SheFt/ChroniCle File Photo
Midfielder Joshua Bienenfeld, a senior, captains a young Duke squad when the Blue Devils face JMU tuesday. by Kevin Fishner THE CHRONICLE
Season openers dictate the tone and intensity for the remainder of the season. And with a handful of senior leaders surrounded by an inexperienced roster, that first opportunity to come out of the gate strong is all the more important for Duke. In Tuesday night’s matchup against James Madison(0-0) in Koskinen Stadium, the Blue Devils(0-0) need to come out with ferocity—making tackles and winning fifty-fifty balls. “We have to be sharp on Tuesday,” head coach John Kerr JMU said. “We have to take vs. every game seriously and make sure we’re Duke lively and ready for any competition.” TUESDAY, 7 p.m. The bout with Koskinen Stadium James Madison cannot be overlooked simply because JMU is not an ACC team, as the Dukes could pose some problems if the Blue Devils aren’t as crisp as they need to be. Despite the dominance that a 4-0 score suggests, last Saturday’s game against Greensboro College was an unimpressive display by Duke. The Blue Devils won based on athleticism and an overall higher skill set, not through teamwork. That approach to ACC soccer will surely fall short, as the talented teams can match up with Duke on the individual level, espcially with opponents Maryland, UNC and Wake Forest—the
top three teams in the country, respectively—on the schedule. Instead, the Blue Devils must continue to develop their passing and movement off the ball if they hope to be successful in the regular season. Kerr stressed the need for proper transition up the field. “We need to work on the movement together from defense to the midfield, midfield to forwards,” Kerr said. Unity and teamwork were certainly the two main themes of the preseason, both of which are developed through precise ball movement up the field. And although the Blue Devils have yet to assume these identities, the preseason was a success in making progress in these areas. Duke can only view ending the preseason with two wins and a tie as a positive performance. Senior center back Matthew Thomas and freshmen Ryan Finley and James Belshaw have been particulary impressive If the team continues to progress and build off its strong preseason, it could see some late-season theatrics. “The preseason went as well as it could have,” Kerr said. “We got answers to some of the questions we had before the preseason started. The puzzle still isn’t finished though—we still have a lot of things to work out.” Tuesday night’s game will lay the groundwork for the remainder of the season, and for that foundation to be well constructed, the Blue Devils need to consciously work together and display a consistent team effort.
The Duke Football Radio Show with David Cutcliffe makes its debut tonight. The program—Cutcliffe’s first radio show in his time at Duke—can be heard on WDNC 620 AM at 7 p.m. Fans can also view the taping live in the Vista Restaurant at the Washington Duke Inn. “We’re excited about the opportunity to share our program with alumni, fans and the local community on WDNC,” Cutcliffe said in a statement. Dave Nathan, 99.9 The Fan’s ACC Insider, will co-host the show with Cutcliffe. Nathan spent eight years broadcasting at Tennessee and already knows Cutcliffe well. “We worked at the same radio station in 2005, and he was the station’s college football analyst,” Nathan said. “At that point, when he was breaking down games, it became pretty obvious that he was watching something different than us.” Because the show is new, details about its format are still up in the air. It is known, though, that the show will devote time each episode to recapping the previous Saturday’s game and previewing the next. Duke Football team members may occasionally make guest appearances. “It will be an evolving show,” said Lane Cody, who works for the company that produces the show, ISP Sports. “It will be a dialogue show between Cutcliffe and Nathan. There will be quite a few questions taken by e-mail and possibly by those in the crowd.” Regardless of how much the show’s content changes, its purpose remains clear. “We’re letting fans know that Duke Football is on the right track,” Nathan said.
ChASe oliVieri/ChroniCle File Photo
Dave Nathan of 99.9 the Fan will cohost the Duke Football radio Show with head coach David Cutcliffe.
8 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 the chronicle
Doherty from page 7 this season. He looks at Year Two as an opportunity to build upon last year’s small successes. And yet, no one on the outside seems to believe his unit has the stuff of a winning team. Vegas Insider has set the over/under for Duke wins at 3.5 for a team that returns a three-year starter at quarterback in Thaddeus Lewis and returns 13 of its offensive and defensive starters. In late July, the ACC’s media outlets predicted that the Blue Devils would finish last in the ACC Costal Division. Duke received the least votes of any team in the conference from the media. And for students, if we are being perfectly honest, the football game has never been Saturday’s main event. At most schools, tailgates are a warm-up, a pregame. At Duke, “Tailgate” is the event, the reason to wake up at 9 a.m. on the weekend, the justification for carefully chosen, clashing clothes and ridiculous costumes. Football is seemingly the optional after-party. Will that change? If Cutcliffe is painting his masterpiece, few have the foresight to watch the strokes take form. Despite it all, Cutcliffe keeps his cool and never wavers in his sincere enthusiasm despite the doubts of his program’s disbelievers. In front of an entire room of reporters—the most vocal of his detractors—Cutcliffe keeps it light, sprinkling in jokes and metaphors as he maneuvers through questions. When he says that his favorite four-letter words are “hard work,” it seems like he really means it. I believe him, and I don’t think I’m being naïve. I believe him because of the way he has stood his ground in the past. After his only losing season at Ole Miss in 2004, Athletics Director Pete Boone asked Cutcliffe to provide a detailed plan to improve the team. The Rebels had gone 4-7 and lost a number of close games—four games lost by a total of 19 points. Then again, Cutcliffe had lost his All-American quarterback from the previous year’s team that went 10-3 in Eli Manning. The shoes were difficult to fill, and Cutcliffe struggled to immediately find an apt replacement on the roster. Cutcliffe was asked to fire his assistant coaches and refused. What some people called maintaining the status quo, Cutcliffe saw it as confidence in and loyalty to his staff. He was soon fired despite going 44-29 in six seasons. Maybe Cutcliffe’s Rebels didn’t need a complete rein-
vention. Maybe they just needed—to use Cutcliffe’s favorite words—some hard work. And maybe Cutcliffe, had he not been fired, would have done better than the 3-8, 4-8 and 3-9 records the Rebels put together over the following three seasons. Fortunately for Cutcliffe, winning four games at Duke is an achievement. If the coach’s team matches that total for the second consecutive year, it will have actually exceeded expectations. If Duke somehow pulls off a berth to a bowl game, Cutcliffe will look like a genius, and everyone might see that the Tin Man had a brain all along.
sportsbriefs Ex-Blue Devil rower Darling earns bronze Former Duke rower Emma Darling earned a bronze medal at the World Rowing Championships Saturday as part of Team Canada. Darling, who is from Vancouver, British Columbia, was part of the Women’s Four that finished the race in third place behind the Netherlands and the United States. “We just went out and had a great race,” Darling said. “It helped us to race the other day because we learned we have to make a move early on.” Darling rowed at Duke from 2004 to 2007 and earned All-ACC recognition as a senior. She captained the Blue Devil squad her last two years in the program. Catanach and Moss named to all-tournament team Just a day after leading the Blue Devils to a pair of wins and a second-place finish at the InnTower Invitational over the weekend, sophomore Kellie Catanach and senior Rachael Moss have been named to the alltournament team. For the tournament, Duke beat host Wisconsin and South Dakota and lost to Ohio, leaving Madison, Wisc., with a 2-1 record. Over the three games, Moss averaged 2.89 kills per set and Catanach, an outside setter, chipped in 9 assists per set. The Blue Devils look to build on this early success next weekend in Athens, Ga., at the Georgia Dawgs Invitational. —from staff reports
Photo Credit/The Chronicle
Former Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning led David Cutcliffe’s Rebels squad to a 10-3 record in 2003, a year before Cutcliffe’s firing.
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the chronicle
tuesday, September 1, 2009 | 9
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10 | TUESDAY, september 1, 2009 the chronicle commentaries
A bad first taste for Duke As a freshman, having to Dining Services Web site and eat at the Marketplace every the freshman Blue Book, an day can be a bad experience. informational booklet sent to Not receiving the proper all incoming students prior missed breakfast credit, to move-in, the missed breakthough, is even fast credit worse. could be editorial Every stuused the dent living on campus must same day for breakfast at the purchase a Duke Dining Great Hall or lunch at the food plan. For freshmen, this Marketplace. But when stuincludes a fixed number of dents tried to cash in their meals served in The Market- credit for a Marketplace place and varying denomi- lunch the first week of classnations of food points that es, Marketplace employees can be used at other campus informed them that the credeateries and Merchants on it program no longer existed. Points. Historically, freshmen In essence, some students who missed breakfast would were charged food points receive a $6 credit towards when they should have relunch at the Marketplace ceived their $6 credit. later that day. This situation exposes a This year, however, things communications failure on started off a little bit different- the part of Duke Dining, ly. According to the the Duke and it highlights the need
“
onlinecomment
It is great to see that foreigners are discovering the transformation of Medellin, Colombia.... Social programs in Medellin are transforming the “city of eternal spring” into one of South America’s greatest cities.
”
—“Ambrose Santiago” commenting on the column “A world of change.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
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I
to introduce further choice to meal plan lacking in flexibility. The rather straightforward meal equivalency policy was not clarified until last Thursday in an e-mail sent out to the entire freshman class by Assistant Director of Dining Services Barbara Stokes. Moreover, the affected freshman were not guaranteed a reimbursement for their improperly charged food points until the following day. In their response to the mix-up, dining officials have opted for a certain degree of opaqueness. They have failed to offer an explanation of what went wrong, and they have been less than cooperative with inquiries into the matter made by students and
Duke Student Government alike. Dining is an area that has a great impact on all students on a daily basis, and it—perhaps more so than any other University department—should be especially responsive to student needs and demands.With Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst on a medical leave of absence, it is upsetting that his staff has not followed through on its imperative. This situation also underscores imperfections in the freshmen dining experience. Since Bon Appetit took over operation of the Marketplace, the number of food points allocated by freshman meal plans has decreased, while the cost of food on campus has increased. Cou-
pled with the high number of meals they are required to eat at the Marketplace, the freshman meal plan offers very little choice. Any means taken to increase its flexibility is a positive step, so we are pleased that the missed breakfast credit was firmly reinstated. But in the future, Duke Dining should respond to the needs of students and allow the missed breakfast credit to be used for lunch at the Great Hall–an idea that last year’s DSG pilot program proved to be successful. Freshmen are at the beginning of their four-year relationship with Duke Dining. Even though this relationship has started off on the wrong foot, it is certainly not beyond repair.
And so it starts
n case you haven’t heard yet, welcome back to Duke! Or should I say ¡Bienvenidos a Duke! Wait, you haven’t stumbled upon the Spanishspeaking section of campus yet? And you thought you were doing well by remembering that Wannamaker is the dorm off to the side with the red and blue benches out front. Don’t worry, my dear innocent freshmen (or really confused upperclassman that spends way too much time in the library), you aren’t really that clueless—most of the Spanish at Duke gets spoken in Duke in Madrid (unless you are one of those unfortunate few who has landed a Spanish professor who laura keeley knows about as eurotrip much English as you do Spanish…. But that’s another story). Duke in Madrid is, surprise, actually in Madrid. I’m sure you saw the Duke Study Abroad brochures with all the smiling faces and quotes speaking about life-changing experiences. It’s one thing to casually leaf through the booklet and say, “Yeah, it would be fun to actually put those foreign language skills to good use and frolic throughout [insert foreign nation here].” But it’s another thing to actually take the plunge and step outside the Duke in Durham bubble for a whole semester (for those unfamiliar, the bubble’s border for freshman is the waist-high stone wall around East campus—trust me, that thing is impenetrable). When it comes to Duke, no matter what year you are, the possibilities are endless. Studying abroad options are no exception. For example, you could be on the cutting edge and travel to untraditional places. Some options include a visit to South America, with Duke in the Andes, or the Far East, with Duke in China. And don’t forget about safari rides through Africa on the weekends and studying in the modern confines of South Africa (they speak English!)? Finally, there is the more traditional alternative–you could be really cliché and do that whole Eurotrip thing that’s been going on for decades now. I opted to skip all that chic new stuff and go
for the last option, and so here I am thousands of miles (I’ve been told you don’t really do work abroad, so in that spirit I didn’t actually look up the distance) from the safe and familiar confines of Duke in Durham. But I haven’t left all of Durham behind. I have a little piece of Wannamaker Dormitory with me in the form of my current roommate who was a resident in those illustrious halls last year. I’ve got other buddies with me here in Madrid as well, in addition to most of my other friends who are scattered through Europe. In fact, two of my best friends are in Spain on a non-Duke program in Barcelona, which they achieved by spending countless hours and killing even more trees last spring when they successfully filled out the paperwork to petition for its approval. And I still have Duke professors because, let’s face it, we all have that burning desire for knowledge that needs to be satisfied. That’s the beauty of the Duke-sponsored abroad programs–you get to stretch your wings and experience new things, but you still have a safety net at your disposal should you need it. So, as you embark on your annual dazed and confused journey into the mysterious land of “college,” I can relate. I, too, am staring down an unfamiliar path in an unfamiliar setting. While it remains unclear what either of us will find, I’m still sure the trip will be amazing. And if this is your first time around the proverbial Duke block, lend me your ear for 0.5 seconds. Venture out of your room at night with the strangers down the hall and travel in those large packs of fresh meat that are an annual sight for upperclassmen. Go to the first Tailgate—I have not heard of another college that does it quite like us. But also, do go to the football game afterwards. I mean, I hear college football is kind of a big deal in some places, so why not here? And finally, go to class–after all, that is why you are here. (Yes, there are classes after orientation week, in case you haven’t picked up on that yet.) And if you are a Duke vet, well then keep fighting the good fight my friend (and wear something ridiculous to Tailgate for me). Welcome to Duke version Fall 2009. It’s a quick four months, so be sure to enjoy the ride. Laura Keeley is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Tuesday.
Want to contribute to the editorial section? We are looking for bloggers and cartoonists! E-mail Shuchi (sp64) to indicate interest.
the chronicle
Weigh in on summer reading
T
hanks are due to Nate Freeman, for his great comments about the 2006 summer reading selection in his Aug. 28 column, “Improve summer reading.” Three years have passed since he and his classmates read, and roundly razzed, “My Sister’s Keeper.” We on the 20082009 Summer Reading selection committee are pleased to update you and other Chronicle readers about the selection process, and about this year’s very successful choice. Theselectioncommittee consists of students, todd adams and faculty and administracarol apollonio tors. The membership changes from year to guest commentary year. Because the book discussions during orientation are led exclusively by students, they have a very strong voice on the committee. Every Fall we solicit nominations from the Duke community. The process yields anywhere from 70 to 90 titles, which committee members read and discuss through the fall and winter months. In early Spring, the committee issues a list of several finalists and invites feedback from the community. One problem Duke had faced in prior years was that many students, including some of the students who were to lead discussions, simply didn’t read the summer reading selection. This led, in some cases, to vapid, cursory and cynical conversations. Interestingly, though many of Freeman’s classmates— and indeed other community members—shared his critical view of “My Sister’s Keeper,” most of them read the book and were eloquent in expressing their opinions. In that sense, the book’s message and central themes led to intellectual engagement. But of course we have learned from our past choices and have, in each subsequent year, made improvements in the selection process and programming around the
summer reading book. It is impossible to please everyone, but constructive feedback from people who have been involved in the book discussions over the years led to what we believe is the best selection ever, this year’s “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” the brilliant 2007 novel by Junot Diaz. Diaz, who teaches creative writing at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology, is one of the most exciting writers of our day, and the novel has won the Pulitzer Prize and countless other honors. By all indications, the members of the Class of 2013 appreciated the book’s virtues and engaged in the active, smart and passionate discussions that it so richly deserves. Indeed, Junot Diaz rewarded them for their efforts by reading to them and answering their questions in Baldwin Auditorium on their second day at Duke. We hope that their remaining four years on campus will be as mind-expanding and inspiring. We are particularly grateful for the editorial because it gives us the opportunity to invite students, faculty, administrators, alumni and parents to nominate a summer reading book for next year’s incoming students. The book should first and foremost be something they will not be able to put down. Its purpose is to spark passionate discussion among students who have never met one another, and to serve as the incoming class’s first taste of intellectual life at Duke. It should not be something commonly assigned in high school English classes, and should be of great literary quality. The book can be of any genre, fiction or non-fiction. We look forward to your input. Look for an ad in The Chronicle in late October and early November with details, or contact one of us directly. Todd Adams and Carol Apollonio are co-chairs of the Summer Reading selection committee.
The bus stop
I
TUESDAY, September 1, 2009 | 11
commentaries
am going to sit at the West Campus bus stop for an hour and a half every week this semester. No, it’s not just because I’m that creepy senior RA who still lives on East and uses the C-1. Nor am I tabling for any club. But I will have a table. And a sign. It will read, “Talk to me.” In a certain sense I suppose I’m tabling for you, if you’ll have me. Three years at this University have shown me that many students don’t feel like they have a way to voice their opinions. Whether these are concerns or kudos, there is no clear place for us to go when we kousha navidar holy diver have something on our minds. This isn’t meant to imply that we aren’t supported— we are. We have a lot of amazing resources at this school: Counseling and Psychological Services, hundreds of different student groups, and the massage chairs at the Oasis... I guess. This University offers us more support than a new mattress, and for that we should be thankful. However, when we as students need to express our opinions, it is easy to feel unheard. That’s where this bus stop escapade comes in. I believe that everyone has a story, and I’d be honored to hear yours. That’s why I will be sitting at the West Campus bus stop on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. I will have the table and the sign. (And some candy.) I want to hear your stories, I want to hear what you like about Duke, I want to hear ways you think we could make Duke a better place: I want to give you the chance to speak your mind. Comments will be kept anonymous, and will be presented as the opinions of the individual, not of the entire Duke student body. The thoughts and issues I hear from you will be used as the material for the next edition of this column.
Originality and diversity of thought are vital for this great buscapade. (Yea, I made that up myself.) No one wants to read the same perspectives about repeated topics, even if they are presented in such an awesome and engaging way as sitting at a bus stop with a chair I dragged from the West Campus Plaza. So I need clever people. And a lot of them. But that’s the beauty of the bus stop. You have to go there. It’s possibly the single most frequented part of campus by every major and every year. Besides my bed—kidding. The bus stop is one of the best places to find interesting conversation, if nothing else because it has one of the highest concentrations of diversity on campus. Plus, there’s not much else to do while you’re waiting for a bus, so why not discuss? We have the who (you), the what (issues on campus), the where (bus stop), the when (Thursday) and the how (people talking). But why am I doing this? To put it in a nice euphemism, the answer is “evolving.” The objective in asking for opinions is not to solve all our problems on campus. Nor is it to discover some unknown truth. For now, I know that sitting at the bus stop will at least give everyone an equal opportunity to have their voice heard. And I know those voices are worth listening to, because they are ours. I’m not entirely sure what to expect. People may come in by the droves, or I may have just gotten an extra hour and a half for personal reading. In some ways this is an experiment, and you are my y-axis. What we talk about and how much we talk about it is completely up to you. I’m going to say thanks ahead of time; both for humoring me, and for becoming part of a larger conversation on campus. This is as much an invitation as it is a column. Come with your ideas. There will be candy. Kousha Navidar is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
Getting involved in social justice
I
have the privilege of introducing the new social justice column in The Chronicle. Members of different social justice groups at Duke will write this column with the goal of promoting campus discussion on a wide variety of issues. This column is not in place to raise demonstrations or brash actions, but rather to educate and allow for conversations about how we as a college community can contribute to the betterment of the world in which we live. Many individuals choose to turn their cheek from social issues ranging from prejudices, such as racism and feminism, to actions such as repression and genocide. These issues, however, duke human are real. Whether they are rights coalition small incidents involving social justice members of the local comcolumn munity or global predicaments affecting millions of people, violations of basic human rights occur everyday. Prolific examples of these violations can be seen in refugee camps all across the globe. A 2006 survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants estimated that 33 million people worldwide are displaced from their homes. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services defines a refugee as someone who is outside of any country of his or her nationality and who is unable or unwilling to return, or someone who is within a country of his or her nationality and who is persecuted for race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion. Refugee camps are put in place by governments, the United Nations, international organizations or non-governmental organizations, to provide a refuge for upwards of one million individuals. They are meant to maintain basic human needs for a short period of time, but without proper support and funding, the term basic human needs can be loosely defined. Many individuals are aware of the reality of refugee camps and other social issues but do not know how they can personally become involved in alleviating them. A college campus, however, is an amazing tool to raise awareness and bring together thousands of students to address a single cause. For example, campus events last year ranged from decorating and sending a tent to Chad to be used as a school building in a refugee camp, to bringing Burmese Monks who helped lead the Saffron Revolution to Duke to speak about their experiences and how we can help. Duke even sponsors students to directly address social justice issues within the United States and abroad through the DukeEngage program. From signing a petition, talking to a group of students, donating time or money or even directly going to the conflict and helping individuals, there are countless ways that every student can become involved in social justice issues. Jason Klein is a Trinity senior. He is treasurer of Duke Human Rights Coalition.
lettertotheeditor Dining article not newsworthy I am writing in response to the Aug. 28 article, “Freshmen lunch credit dropped, then restored,” about freshmen being mistakenly charged for lunch at the Marketplace. This article is the epitome of The Chronicle’s tendency to publish articles that contain no news. This article has no substance and does not belong in a newspaper. The Chronicle’s commitment to publishing a daily newspaper is admirable, but at a university like Duke, there are not enough daily occurrences to fill a newspaper of this length. A shorter version of The Chronicle or an every-other-day system would be far more effective and would eliminate the need for articles that insult the intelligence of the Duke community. Tommy Saunders Trinity ’ 12
12 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 the chronicle
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