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
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2009
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 12
www.dukechronicle.com
Two to run 16 DUKE RICH 24 for YT special secretary BLUE DEVILS SPIDER BITTEN by Stephen Allan
Lack of publicity raises questions for ICC leaders
The chronicle
All it took was one special teams mistake to turn what was supposed to be Duke’s first step toward bowl eligibility into a nightmarish sense of déjà vu. Richmond’s Tyler Kirchoff blocked Kevin Jones’ first punt of the night and the Spiders’ Jonathan Mayfield scooped up the loose ball for a touchdown, setting the tone for a disappointing 24-16 loss Saturday evening at Wallace Wade Stadium. In addition, Nick Maggio missed two field goals under 40 yards which, had both been converted, would have given the Blue Devils a one-point lead for the majority of the contest. “That’s enough to get you beat,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “We were never at a level that we had reached in practice and training camp. This was not reflective of our football team.” Cutcliffe’s second season-opener at Duke marked the second time in four years the Spiders (1-0) defeated the Blue Devils (0-1) at Wallace Wade to start the year. Richmond won 13-0 in 2006. Cutcliffe said on the blocked punt, the punt unit’s best player—whom the secondyear head coach did not identify—missed
by Lindsey Rupp The chronicle
Students voting in the Fall 2009 Duke Student Government Senate elections next Monday will also be electing a student to a new position—special secretary to the Young Trustee. Only two juniors, both with ties to DSG or the Intercommunity Council, are running for the position. Junior Amanda Turner, president of the Black Student Alliance, is a current member of the ICC, and junior Ben Getson is a former DSG senator. Getson resigned his senate position at DSG’s first meeting Aug. 26 so that he could pursue the independent position. Turner would have to resign her position on ICC if she is elected. The special secretary is charged with reforming the Young Trustee selection process—currently handled jointly by ICC and DSG—to make it more transparent. The position will be independent from DSG and ICC. But some members of ICC became concerned Thursday that the position was not being advertised to the whole student body,
Larsa Al-Omaishi/The Chronicle
Richmond quarterback Eric Ward, right, threw for one touchdown in the Spiders’ 24-16 win over Duke Saturday.
See Football on page 9
See young trustee on page 3
Tailgate’s ‘organized chaos’ seen as successful by Samantha Brooks The chronicle
Larsa Al-Omaishi/The Chronicle
The new Tailgate guidelines allowed student groups to bring cars and grills into the Blue Zone Saturday.
The verdict is in. After the season’s first Tailgate Saturday under new guidelines, both Duke Student Government and the Duke University Police Department have determined the event was a “success.” Just before the weekend football game against the University of Richmond, the Blue Zone was buzzing with the usual beer-soaked students, loud music and outrageous outfits. Fairies, bull-fighters, hotdogs and zebras wasted no time to celebrate the upcoming football game, and with it, the return of Tailgate season. But with the new season came new game rules. This summer, DSG and the Office of Student Affairs released new guidelines for Tailgate. The rules mandate that all drinks must be consumed from Solo cups, prohibiting drinking from aluminum cans. The new rules also allow the use of cars and grills for different student groups under the condition that each group clean their assigned spot after the event. Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said DSG and the administration both hoped that the rules would help increase student freedom and responsibility. From an administrative perspective, the event succeeded in both areas. “I think it was fantastic, I think Tailgate went well—
ONTHERECORD
“We’re not a ‘pack it in and run it’ team.”
—David Cutcliffe, on his team’s inability to adjust to Richmond’s defensive scheme. See story page 8
It was organized chaos,” said DSG President Awa Nur, a senior. “To the average student, it is hard to tell by the way Tailgate looks, but every single thing that happened from administrative planning to student planning was organized and planned to a tee. Obviously, there are areas for improvement and we’ll be revisiting that, but overall, it was a success.” Wasiolek said Tailgate was “an improvement” from last year because groups were more responsible for the behavior of their individuals. “Groups cleaned up, there were fewer beer cans thrown,” she said. “My sense was that the overall level of abusive consumption of alcohol was lower than it has been in the past.” DUPD Assistant Chief Gloria Graham said no citations or arrests were made during Tailgate. As for safety concerns, DSG, the Office of Student Affairs and DUPD will meet this week to discuss plans for improvement based on unsafe performances demonstrated by students climbing onto vehicles. If the new rules were intended to lessen the level of “abusive consumption,” students were not easily deterred, as people cheered while pirates danced on top of cars and the Pope shotgunned a Busch Lite.
Volleyball: Dawg Pound Duke beats Georgia and two others at Dawgs Invitiational, PAGE 7
See tailgate on page 4
Blue Devils win Duke/ Nike Classic, Page 6