November 13, 2009 issue

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

friday, november 13, 2009

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 59

www.dukechronicle.com

CAMPUS COUNCIL

DUKE vs. GEORGIA TECH

Council Blue Devils look to spring upset releases RGAC scores Wallace Wade • Saturday • 12 p.m. • ESPN2

by Andy Margius The chronicle

Following the toughest loss of its season last week against North Carolina, Duke looks to bounce back tomorrow against the ACC’s top team in No. 7 Georgia Tech.

The Blue Devils (5-4, 3-2 in the ACC) enter this week’s matchup still hoping to become bowl eligible with two more wins.

However, as large underdogs, pulling off the upset against the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) will prove to be a difficult task. Georgia Tech enters this week sporting the best offense in the conference, averaging 34.7 points a game.

Still, Duke has an advantage playing at home in Wallace Wade Stadium, where the team has performed well all year. The last time a top-10 opponent came to Durham in the form of then-No. 6 Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils managed to hang tough the entire game and only lose by a single score.

Head coach David Cutcliffe remains optimistic about his team’s chances in its toughest matchup of the year.

“It’s one of those great challenges,” Cutcliffe said. “But it comes down, like it always does, to players making plays.”

The big question on the table for Duke will be its ability to stop Georgia Tech on the defensive end. The Yellow Jackets come See FOOTBALL on page 10

by Zachary Tracer The chronicle

zachary tracer/Chronicle file photo

The Blue Devils welcome the highest-scoring offense in the conference to Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday at 12 p.m. A victory over Georgia Tech would bring Duke to within one win of bowl eligibility.

arts & sciences council

Council OKs provisional pass/fail policy

by Lindsey Rupp The chronicle

At its meeting Thursday, The Arts & Sciences Council tentatively approved a new pass/fail policy and discussed faculty reaction to the CourseRank Web site.

Because Peter Feaver, Alexander F. Hehmeyer professor of political science and the chair of the committee that designed the new policy, was not present at the meeting, Arts & Sciences Council Chair Ruth Day, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, identified several inconsistencies. These included how the new designations— satisfactory/unsatisfactory rather than pass/fail—would appear on students’ transcripts and affect their GPAs. The new policy would require students to earn at least a C-minus to receive a “satisfactory” designation, up from a See pass/fail on page 6

Duke begins NCAA tournament versus Rutgers, Page 9

Selective living groups, including fraternities, will be choosing new sections next week, after Campus Council determined a new slate of available sections Thursday.

The release of a new set of sections comes at the end of the three-year residential group assessment process, designed to evaluate the impacts of selective living groups on campus.

“Tonight was the culmination of a whole lot of work, both on the part of Campus Council and on the part of [Residence Life and Housing Services],” said Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a junior.

In the assessment process, groups were divided into three groups based on membership and evaluated yearly in categories such as section management and membership experience. Campus Council released scores from the final round of the process Thursday night.

Groups scoring higher than the average score in their size categories have the ability to remain in their current sections—they must choose whether they will do so by Monday night. After eligible groups have chosen See council on page 5

Barnes’ visit emphasized academics

Basketball recruit met with Fuqua dean, VA Secretary Shinseki

by Samantha Brooks The chronicle

Today, Harrison Barnes will make a decision that could shape the course of Duke men’s basketball for the next four seasons.

Barnes, this year’s No. 1 basketball recruit in the country on scout.com, will publicly announce his college decision at a ceremony held in his high school gymnasium at 3 p.m., according to DesMoinesRegister.com.

The recruit’s Oct. 23 visit to Duke, which included a meeting with the dean of the Fuqua School of Business, the senior associate dean for Academic Affairs, the secretary of Veteran Affairs, a stay at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club and a lobster and steak dinner at Head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s house, reflects the University’s treatment of high-profile recruits.

“It was just great to see more of the academic side [of Duke] and develop closer relationships with the players and spend more time with them,” Barnes wrote in an online diary on highschoolhoop.com—a Web site that follows high school basketball and college recruiting.

Barnes added that dining with Krzyzewski was “just a really cool time,” and that the Washington Duke Inn was a “really nice hotel.”

The recruitment process was especially tailored to incorporate Barnes’ academic and athletic interests. Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard met with Barnes to discuss how an undergraduate degree at Duke could prepare the basketball player to achieve his goal of starting his own business.

Sheppard said he was asked to speak with Barnes by an alumnus friend.

“As I understood the goal, it was to help [Barnes] think through how you could achieve the same things at Duke that you could at a school with an undergraduate business major,” Sheppard said. “I was in the best position to say what he needs to achieve that.”

According to the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid, Duke gave $13.4 million in athletic aid last academic year.

Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag described the admission process for varsity athletes as similar to that of non-athletes with a stronger emphasis on extracurricular athletics.

“Athletics is one of the many things that is taken into account in the admission process for all students,” Guttentag said. “It is true that one of the many things

ONTHERECORD

“At the Smart Home, your home is a huge lab” ­—Senior Andrew First on living in the Smart Home. See story page 3

See barnes on page 7

Duke opens against UNC-G without Nolan, Mason, Page 9

2 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

worldandnation

TODAY:

5447

SATURDAY:

6847

Sri Lankans still in brutal living conditions, no gov’t help

Obama announces summit Senate faces opposition to battle unemployment WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s largest health insurance carrier is urging its employees to lobby the Senate against reform proposals that would hurt the firm’s bottom line, according to copies of e-mails released Thursday by a liberal advocacy group.

UnitedHealth Group, which is based in Minnesota, e-mailed its 75,000 employees Tuesday, asking them to write their senators and local newspapers in opposition to a public insurance option, alleging that “governmentrun health care” will force “millions of Americans” to drop their current coverage.

Proposed form letters from the company also lay out opposition to cuts in the costly Medicare Advantage program. The e-mail was sent by United for Health Reform.

“

All men are caught in a network of mutuality.

— Martin L. King Jr.

”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama plans to hold a White House forum on job creation next month, an attempt to signal his concern about the growing ranks of the unemployed and build consensus on future action to stoke the economy.

The summit will bring together small business owners, corporate executives, economists, financial experts and union leaders to discuss ideas for accelerating job creation amid the worst labor market conditions in a generation, Obama said Thursday.

“We all know there are limits to what government can and should do even during such difficult times,” Obama said at the White House before leaving on a nine-day trip to Asia. “But we have an obligation to consider every additional, responsible step that we can to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country.”

TODAY IN HISTORY 1997:Pedro Martinez wins NL Cy Young Award

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka — Six months after Sri Lanka’s decades-old civil war ended with a final assault, about 200,000 people remain trapped in overcrowded government-run camps that were once safe havens for those fleeing the conflict.

Facing pressure from the President Barack Obama’s administration and the European Union, the Sri Lankan government last month launched a campaign to resettle tens of thousands of the minority Tamil detainees.

But interviews in the country’s war-ravaged north reveal that many civilians have merely been shuffled from the large camps to smaller transit ones and are being held against their will. Others have been released, only to be taken from their homes days later with no indication of where they have gone.

After the army defeated the Tamil rebels in May, top government officials paraded their success on the streets of Colombo,

the capital, and the country’s leaders made noble promises about ensuring national harmony. Now analysts say the real test of Sri Lanka’s success in building a stable, post-conflict society lies in the fate of these scores of thousands of detainees.

Human rights groups say the government is lying about its resettlement efforts; authorities concede they are using the camps as a tool to uncover any remaining Tamil militants but deny they are deliberately stalling civilians’ return home.

“We thought this war was over. But for Tamils, it’s like going from the frying pan and into the fire,” said Devander Kumar, whose brother was released, only to be taken away by police without explanation, one of 30 men in this seaside city who have disappeared soon after their homecoming.

“Do we Tamils have to prove every second of the day that we are not terrorists?”

Marvin Joseph/The washington post

John Robinson, of Severna Park Md., was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with valor for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Medals such as the Bronze and Silver Stars are reviewed by an Army decorations board but first need a recommendation from a member of Congress. The Army receives about 200 of these requests annually.

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the chronicle

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 3

Smart Home celebrates 2nd birthday DUPD puts

officer on unpaid leave

by Will Hyung The chronicle

The Duke Smart Home Program celebrated the two-year anniversary of its completion of the Home Depot Smart Home Thursday.

The house, which received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008, has provided a place for students to live while they work on innovative technology projects.

The initial idea of a ‘smart house’ was proposed by Mark Younger, Pratt ’03, during his independent study course, said Jim Gaston, Smart Home program director. Although ‘smart rooms’ existed for students where they could showcase inventions, Younger came up with an idea of a place where students would live and work on projects at the same time, Gaston added. After graduation, Younger took his idea to the administration and was hired as the project manager, overseeing construction, fundraising and student teams. The Smart Home, operated by the Pratt School of Engineering, was completed in 2007 and the first student residents moved in January 2008.

Today the Smart Home has 10 residents and approximately 100 students involved in the various projects that are constantly being brought up and worked on, said junior Kelvin Gu, president of Smart Home.

Gaston said Smart Home strives to involve students and faculty not only from Pratt, but also from the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, the Terry

by Julius Jones The chronicle

michael naclerio/Chronicle file photo

The Home Depot Smart Home, completed in 2007, celebrated its second birthday Thursday. Certified as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Smart Home currently houses 10 students.

Sanford School of Public Policy, the School of Law and the Fuqua School of Business.

“One of the goals of Smart Home is to give students project experience outside of the classroom,” Gaston said.

“We encourage students to have diversity in [their] teams.... Students aim to tackle problems not just from a technical point of view but from an interdisciplinary perspective.”

Gu said Smart Home currently focuses on two categories of invention— green technology and cutting-edge high-tech solutions. At the present time, there are nine active projects, with anywhere between three to five

people working on each, he added.

Smart Home provides a unique opportunity to work innovatively in teams, especially for the residents, said senior Andrew First, vice president of Smart Home.

“At the Smart Home, your home is a huge lab,” said First, who is a current resident. “So many things are going on and it is a convenient place to test out technologies and their practicality on other people and yourself. You can tinker around with the environment that you live in.”

Gu said that for every project,

Duke University Chapel

Organ Recitals 2009-10

See smart home on page 7

A Duke University Police Officer charged with raping an Alabama woman is no longer being paid by the University, DUPD Chief John Dailey confirmed Thursday night.

Webster Delenn Simmons, 37, was arrested by the Houston County Sheriff’s Department Oct. 26 on first-degree rape and sodomy charges. Simmons was placed on paid leave following his arrest until he was placed on unpaid leave last Wednesday.

DUPD is currently conducting a standard investigation into Simmons’ conduct during his time with the department to see if he committed any crimes during time on the force.

Dailey declined to comment on whether or not a change in the investigation prompted the change in Simmons’ status, citing the University’s policy of not commenting on personnel issues.

“The fact is he’s still an employee, with unpaid status, and we are continuing our investigation,” Dailey said.

Simmons is accused of assaulting a 34-year-old woman after leaving a local nightclub with her the morning of Oct. 24.

CORRECTION A Nov. 12 story “Merger elicits student outcry” incorrectly identified senior Abby Tinsley. Tinsley is the former co-director of Common Ground, an immersion retreat program organized by the Center for Race Relations. The Chronicle regrets the error.

Embrace the Universe of Latin American Literature

GERRE AND JUDITH HANCOCK Sunday, November 15, 2009 5:00 p.m.

Duke Chapel Free admission Gerre Hancock, one of America’s most highly acclaimed concert organists, returns to Duke this season with his wife, Judith Hancock, for a program of solo and duo organ works. Gerre, lauded as “a legend among organ recitalists and a titan among improvisers” (American Record Guide), will conclude the recital with a large-scale improvisation. Judith, acclaimed as a “virtuoso performer” (The Cleveland Press), assisted him at St. Thomas Church in New York City for many years. Both have now joined the faculty at the University of Texas, where they direct the Sacred Music Center.

Duke University Chapel  Sundays at 5:00 p.m.

November 15, 2009 January 24, 2010 February 21, 2010 March 21, 2010 OrganRecital_Hancock.indd 1

Prof. Ariel Dorfman

Latin American Literature in Translation

ORGAN RECITALS 2009-10

October 18, 2009

SPRING 2010

Catherine Rodland Gerre and Judith Hancock David Arcus Michael Radulescu Robert Parkins 11/5/2009 4:26:45 PM

SPANISH 121AD * LIT 161AD * ICS 131CD Tuesdays-Thursdays 10:05-11:20 a.m.

This class, taught by the renowned playwright Ariel Dorfman, is only offered every 4-5 years, and enrollment is limited.

Explore the crucial themes, obsessions, genres and stylistic strategies of Latin American culture. Organized as an introductory course, students who are already familiar with this sort of literature may find these explorations provocative and stimulating. Readings include canonical authors such as Sarmiento, Garcia Marquez, Lispector, Cortazar, with more recent writers who address contemporary issues. Ethical and political dilemmas will be constantly examined.

Knowledge of Spanish not necessary.

4 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

DPS on track to unite campus service groups

Blazing the stage

by Shaoli Chaudhuri The chronicle

This year, DPS is behind the wheel for social action.

Formed last March, Duke Partnership for Service is the new social action governance organization that oversees more than 70 service groups on campus, including Circle K, Nourish International, Camp Kesem, Habitat for Humanity and Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research.

DPS was established after the Duke Community Service Center dissolved last Spring. As a new completely student-run umbrella organization, DPS has taken strides to improve social action groups’ visibility on campus, initiate collaboration and assist with funding and student recruitment.

“In a sector of student organizations that was so dysfunctional and uncoordinated, just a little of assistance goes a long way,” said DPS President Adam Nathan, a senior.

Nathan said earlier in the semester, DPS conducted a needs assessment of student service groups to identify internal issues. The organization plans to launch a transportation fund and assume the Student Organization Finance Committee’s role in allocating funds to student service groups.

“Everything we’re doing is crucial to the health of our groups,” he said.

Another goal is to redefine social action on campus.

One measure is a Happy Service Hour, during which students and groups can socialize outside of “picking up trash together or tutoring,” Nathan said. This would help pave the way to better relations in the service See DPS on page 8

christina pena/The Chronicle

Members of Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Omega Phi Beta Sororities perform in the “Blaze the Stage” Stroll Show 2009 Thursday night. The dance competition, held in Page Auditorium, was sponsored by Fraternity & Sorority Life and the Inter-Greek Council.

Study finds manly names useful in law

by Shaoli Chaudhuri The chronicle

Parents who hope to see their daughters grow up to become lawyers should take note of a recent study co-authored by a Duke alumnus.

A study conducted by researchers at Clemson University and George Mason University found that women with masculine names are more successful in the legal profession. The study looked specifically at members of the South Carolina Bar and their names as they relate to their success in law, including those women who ultimately became judges.

Bentley Coffey, Grad ’04, said the idea for the study evolved out of his wife’s assertion that giving their identical twin daughters hyper-feminine names would hurt them in the future.

“I seriously doubt that,” Coffey, an assistant professor of economics at Clemson, said in response to his wife, who is a lawyer.

But after examining the genders and names of local judges and members of the South Carolina Bar, Coffey said shocked to learn how important the masculinity of a name could be.

The study found that naming one’s daughter Kelly in

lieu of Sue increases her chances of becoming a judge by 5 percent—the name Cameron triples her chances, and Bruce quintuples them.

Patrick McLaughlin, the study’s other author, was unavailable for comment.

A follow-up study Coffey led, which has yet to be published, also found that, based on the survey responses of 1,000 different lawyers in South Carolina, a female lawyer’s nominal masculinity is correlated with the amount of money she makes. That is, the more masculine a female lawyer’s name, the more money she earns.

Although Coffey and McLaughlin have found a correlation between nominal masculinity and success in the legal field, Coffey said the cause of this phenomenon is unknown.

“The theory varies from something subtle and psychological to just basic ignorance,” he said.

One possible factor, at least where a judge’s election is concerned, is that voters wrongly identify a female candidate’s masculine name on a ballot as belonging to a man.

Hence, given these theoretical circumstances, voters could cast their ballots for a female candidate they See names on page 8

the chronicle

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 5

council from page 1 whether to squat, all groups not remaining in their current locations will choose their new homes on the basis of how they scored within their size categories.

At its Thursday night meeting, Campus Council chose the set of sections that will be available to groups from a pair of options for the arrangement of sections across West Campus. The two slates of sections were prepared by Campus Council members and RLHS staff.

The slates were designed to distribute selective living groups more evenly across quads, limit the number of groups placed near each other in individual buildings and avoid placing small clumps of independent students near groups, Temple said.

No new groups will be given housing and no groups will lose their housing as a result of the process.

Jen Frank, assistant director of accommodations for RLHS, said fewer sections will have dedicated common rooms.

Some sections that groups currently live in have been altered or eliminated.

In the chosen slate, one of Wannamaker Quadrangle’s two large sections has been removed—a small group section is now available on the building’s second floor and a medium section is available on its third and fourth floors. Craven Quadrangle will now hold four groups, down from five—a medium section was eliminated.

A small section in Edens Quadrangle has been replaced with a large section, increasing the number of selective living group members who will live in that quad.

“I think that the result that we ended up with at the end of the day is the best one we could have chosen,” Temple said, adding that the new sections will be beneficial for both independent and affiliated students.

Some selective living groups may receive warnings for receiving low scores on the assessment process. Campus Council passed a resolution Thursday stating that groups with overall scores lower than one standard deviation below the mean will be placed on probation.

According to the resolution, groups may also be placed on probation for receiving a score lower than one standard deviation below the mean in the assessment’s fundamental categories—section management, group conduct, quad interaction and membership experience—or if the group’s section management and group conduct scores combined are lower than one standard deviation below average.

“This is essentially a warning,” Temple said. “You need to get it together or you risk having your section taken away.”

Groups will be told they need to improve in specific areas and will be given a year to make changes before reporting back to Campus Council, Temple said. It is unclear what progress groups need to make in order to avoid losing their housing.

Campus Council will release a list of groups on probation today, after informing the groups’ leaders. According to scores released Thursday night, Sigma Nu fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and Scott House will be among the groups placed on probation.

In other business: Bob Johnson, senior director of communications infrastructure for the Office of Information Technology, said the University is working to improve cell phone service across campus. Duke will add additional cellular nodes by the end of the month to West Campus. No plans were made to improve cell service on Central Campus because Duke intended to renovate it.

Now that plans for New Campus have been postponed indefinitely, “we’re going back to see what we can do about that,” Johnson said.

Office of Health Professions Advising Medical School Application for 2011 Matriculation

KICKOFF MEETING If you are planning to submit an application to medical school for 2011 matriculation, this is a required meeting. Dean Scheirer will present an overview of the application process, including timelines and deadlines.

Two identical sessions.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 7:00PM French Science Center 2231

Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:00PM French Science Center 2231

prehealth.duke.edu

indu ramesh/The Chronicle

Campus Council president Stephen Temple leads the discussion on restructuring SLG and fraternity sections at Thursday’s Campus Council meeting. The new arrangement will be based on the groups’ RGAC scores.

6 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

pass/fail from page 1 D-minus under the previous policy.

Despite concerns, the Council decided to take a provisional vote on the new proposal.

Members approved opening the policy to freshmen. Students may also be allowed to take prerequisite and co-requisite courses for majors on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis if approved by the academic department and the student’s dean.

Members also overwhelmingly voted to require students to declare that they are taking a course on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis by the end of the course correction period, which is a week after the drop/add period.

Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College, said he is happy with the vote’s outcome, particularly with the decision to allow freshmen to take advantage of the policy.

“We have already had careful and deliberate and long conversations,” Baker said. “This is basically the end of the road, even though Ruth [Day] picked up on some inconsistencies, [we] trust the process and [the Executive Committee of the Arts & Sciences Council].”

Members also discussed the Duke Student Government-sponsored CourseRank site.

George McLendon, dean of the faculty of Trinity College, questioned the site’s effectiveness, pointing to course evaluations compiled by the Office of Assessment that appear with some courses on ACES as an alternative.

But Provost Peter Lange said administrators anticipated that students would develop a site like CourseRank when it was decided that professors could “opt-in” to making course evaluations available online, rather than creating an “opt-out” policy.

Members voted to ask the ECASC to revisit the current opt-in policy.

Duke Student Government President Awa Nur, a senior, said she would also suggest re-evaluating the policy.

“I would say in this economy, it’s a tremendous waste of money that we have the Office of Assessment [compiling evaluations] and the student body doesn’t feel it’s filling their needs” she said in the meeting.

In other business: Day reviewed the results of the Arts & Sciences Priorities Poll with the Council. The poll saw responses from 29 of 31 representatives who were asked to rank the importance of issues that come before the Council’s purview.

The budget was prioritized significantly higher than other issues. Several anonymous comments from faculty representatives showed concern for the effects cuts could have as well as the transparency of budget changes, calling for more faculty participation.

“What will be cut and who decides?” one

respondent commented.

Another expressed concern for the “effect of Arts & Sciences budget on instructional budgets and [teaching assistant] support.”

Day said the budget was a “big standout” in the poll, and said she anticipated faculty concerns being addressed in a future meeting, but did not know when.

Baker said the faculty does have input on cuts.

“We do consult with faculty,” he said. “I think George [McLendon] in particular has been very transparent—maybe they want more involvement because they know [the situation].”

In addition, the Council voted unanimously to approve changing the Study Abroad Committee name to the Committee on Global Education for Undergraduates. Members also approved a change to that committee’s charge so that it oversees the domestic projects in New York City and Los Angeles.

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Messiah

dianna liu/The Chronicle

Council chair Ruth Day elaborates on the proposal to update Duke’s pass/fail policy. Changes included raising the passing grade from a D- to a C-, and setting the deadline to declare pass/fail a week after drop/add ends.

G. F. Handel’s

Performed by the Duke Chapel Choir & Orchestra Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 5, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 6, 3:00 p.m.

Duke University Chapel Durham, North Carolina Rodney Wynkoop, conductor

NOW E L N SA O S ET TICK

David Arcus, Continuo

!

-SoloistsLisa Saffer, soprano Martha Hart, mezzo-soprano Dann Coakwell, tenor Grant Youngblood, bass

Tickets: $15 general admission, $5 Duke students (free for first 200) Tickets from University Box Office: 919-684-4444 ww.tickets.duke.edu Messiah_2009.indd 1

11/10/2009 3:32:30 PM

the chronicle

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 7

smart home from page 3

Special to the chronicle (LEFT), christina pena/Chronicle file photo (RIGHT)

During his official visit, basketball recruit Harrison Barnes met with both Blair Sheppard, dean of the Fuqua School of Business, (left) and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinsheki (right) to discuss the academic opportunities available to him at Duke.

barnes from page 1 we look carefully at is the ability to contribute to our athletic program. We pay very careful attention to the recommendation of coaches and their interests.

For athletes that have accomplished at the level that they’re going to catch the interest of a program at Duke, their extracurricular activities are going to show some impressive areas in athletics.”

Not every athlete is recruited with the same vigor as Harrison Barnes. Freshman Alyssa Ogle, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, said her visit involved attending a basketball game and a lacrosse team practice and dinner.

Ogle said other women’s lacrosse players were recruited in the same way.

“It’s different for basketball and football because they’re the revenue sports for the

school,” she said.

Students’ opinions of the athletic recruitment process are not always as enthusiastic as those of the athletic department.

“The sports add an atmosphere, but then again [a non-athlete] may work harder than [an athlete] while [the athlete] gets special treatment,” said freshman Bennie Padgett. “I think it should be more equal.”

Ogle said the work level of athletes is often misunderstood.

“A lot of the [non-athletes] think that everything is handed to athletes which is not the case. Being an athlete is like having a full time job,” she said. “We work so hard. Harrison Barnes had to work so hard to get where he is now, the special treatment is the reward he’s getting. He’s obviously earned that treatment. He’s the No. 1 recruit, I want him here so we win a national championship.”

Smart Home guides the students through the organization process. From budgeting to meeting challenges on goals to matchmaking each project with a faculty or a client who wants the innovative technologies made, Smart Home provides leadership and resources.

This year, Gu said he has focused on improving the fundamentals of the organization. “[In] previous years we did not have a strong sense of community,” he said. “This year, I’ve focused on having students meet every week for training and workshops. We have also started documenting all of our work.”

Gu said Smart Home has kept true to its original goals, which are to allow a place and opportunity for students to showcase their inventions. First added that some of the house’s other goals include gaining more attention from the Duke community, becoming a model for similar initiatives at other universities, and participating in the surrounding community to apply the technologies in Smart Home to influence ordinary homes.

“We want to become an integrator for inventors and entrepreneurs in technology,” Gu said.

“We want to network students to industries so that people who come out of the program know each other and other people in the industry.”

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Family #7 – Partial blindness and a recent eye surgery have sidelined this mother of three from her job. While she awaits approval for disability income, her family struggles to make ends meet. Holiday gifts of (list a few) will be a ray of hope for this family.

Family #48 – This mother fled domestic violence to find safety for herself and her two children. She is now searching for a job and a home of her own. The family has few belongings now and needs household items and clothes to make a new beginning.

Family #87 – The godparents of an 11 year-old with severe mental illness now provide a loving and supportive home for him. They want nothing for themselves this holiday, but would be very grateful if their godchild receives new clothes for Christmas.

Family #180 – This single father is struggling to provide for his two children and a nephew on a very small monthly income, You can help him make this a memorable Christmas for all his boys this year with gifts of basic clothing, a digital camera and action figures.

Family #208 – Two sets of twin grandchildren, ages 3 and 11, now live with their grandmother. Her love and support for them is boundless, but her income is limited. You can help her make this a Christmas for them to remember fondly with gifts of clothes, games and bikes.

8 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

names from page 4

Modern troubadours

believe is a man.

Katharine Bartlett, A. Kenneth Pye professor and former dean at the School of Law, agreed that it is difficult to establish cause and effect, but emphasized the importance of looking beyond outside factors or ignorance and instead at the subtle psychological factors.

“Rather than having it all determined by how other people view you, it can be about how you view yourself,” she said, adding that having a more masculine name might give a woman confidence in the male-dominated world of law. “Parents who are going to push their kids to be male-type figures

DPS from page 4 group circles and increase the number of longterm service projects, he added.

Senior Sam Bowler, president of Purple, a new non-profit student organization that seeks to raise awareness about various social issues, said DPS aims to redefine social action as well.

“We’re an inspiration business, and we’re going to work with DPS to inspire students to come back into these student groups,” he said.

Bowler noted that students sometimes have difficulty committing to service groups on campus.

“Every student has a whole lot on their plate... and with our social lives and academic lives… it’s difficult to look up sometimes,” he said.

Junior Joyce Kim, a member of Purple, said the group hopes to make activism and volunteering a

genevieve werner/The Chronicle

Brooklyn-based dance group Urban Bush Women performs Thursday in the Bryan Center.

The performance was the culmination of the group’s three-day residency at Duke.

will give them male-type names.”

Such was the case with Coffey and his wife, who ended up giving one of his daughters a traditional feminine name, but named the other Collins, referring to this decision as “our own little experiment.”

But Ranjana Khanna, Margaret Taylor Smith director of women’s studies and professor of English and literature, said she found the decision to give one’s daughter a more masculine name compliant to misogyny, and in no way a solution to the problem.

“If you see the problem as a devaluing of the feminine or of women... then you’re not going to think you solved the problem by giving your daughter a male name,” she said. more “organic” part of students’ lifestyles.

Although DPS was only launched a few months ago, the organization has already made headway in advancing the service aspect of Duke life, Nathan noted.

“There was just nothing like this going on before,” he said.

As a new organization, however, DPS still has a ways to go, said Circle K President George Hernandez, a sophomore. He added that DPS is still not 100-percent organized and has yet to effect concrete changes.

“I think there’s potential in DPS, but I feel like we did all this before last semester,” Hernandez said.

But Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost of undergraduate education, praised Nathan and Bowler for their visions of service and recruitment on campus, noting the importance of fresh ideas for Duke.

“Duke wants to create an environment where that diversity of models can flourish,” Nowicki said.

 RELIGIOUS DIRECTORY 

Imagine a religion...

HINDU STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

that welcomes your questions and makes room for your beliefs!!!

Come Join Us For

Weekly Gita Discussion • Diwali Puja • Shivratri Puja • Temple Trips • Hinduism 101 • Yoga • Ram Navami • Garba • Meditation • Open Discussions and Speakers on issues that deal with campus life and Hinduism and many other events!

November Events 1) Weekly Sunday Discussion, 12pm, Graduate Student Lounge - Gray Building (2nd floor) 2) Bhutanese Empowerment Project - tutoring every Thursday 5:30-9:30pm 3) Open Exec Meeting every Wednesday at 8:30pm in OSAF. We’re looking for new people to brainstorm and plan new events, so stop by if you’re interested! ALL members of the Duke community are welcome to join HSA If you have any opinions regarding the recent merger of the MCC and IHouse and want them to be represented at future meetings, please email them to ym15@duke.edu.

Email ym15@duke.edu to RSVP for these events

Join our Facebook Group: Hindu Students Association @ Duke University or visit our website: www.duke.edu/web/hsa for frequent updates!

Temples in the Area we visit: 1.) HSNC Temple 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560 2.) Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple 121 Balaji Place, Cary NC 27513

Trinity

United Methodist Church In the heart of Downtown Durham Between Mangum and Roxboro Streets

215 N. Church Street

Sunday Mass Schedule 11am

Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus

9pm

Duke Chapel

Daily Mass Schedule Monday

5:15pm

Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

Tuesday

12 noon

Duke Hospital Chapel (6th Floor)

Wednesday 5:15pm

Duke Chapel Crypt

Thursday

11:30am

Yoh Football Center, Team Meeting Room

Friday

5pm

Fuqua School of Business, Seminar B

catholic.duke.edu

(919) 684-8959

Rev. Duke Lackey, Senior Pastor

Sisters’ Discussion Group: Thursdays at 9 in the prayer room

11/13 Friday Meeting 6:30 at Center for Muslim Life Volunteering Opporunity: Project Downtown Durham 12/6 NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR MSA SPOKEN WORD NIGHT! Contact nsk7@duke.edu for more info Join MSA Listserv to find out more about these and other events in the future Center for Muslim Life: 406 Swift Ave.

OPEN TO ALL!

www.dukemsa.org ~ Duke Search: Muslim Life @ Duke

Join us in your spiritual quest for truth and meaning!

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship @ Duke

Resisting Simplistic Theology since 1789

Muslim Life @ Duke.

The Muslim Students Association at Duke University is a place where students can learn about and discuss the teachings of Islam. We serve to spread knowledge of Islam to non-Muslims who are interested in the religion and sponsor a wide variety of social events and educational forums throughout the year-ranging from lectures and discussions to artistic demonstrations.

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that believes in the inherent worth of every person, the authority of reason and conscience in religion, freedom of religious belief, and a faith that is manifested in justice and love.

www.duke.edu/web/uu

Muslim Student Association &

Jumu’ah on Campus--Join us for our weekly Friday Service: 12:45 in the York Room; refreshments will be served after the service.

Come as you are— leave different!

Sundays at 5pm Downtown Chapel Hill (919) 360-4320 www.greenleafvineyard.org

037 Duke Chapel Basement (office) & 402 N. Buchanan Blvd.

Sunday Early Worship: 8:45 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

E-mail: church@trinitydurham.org Web Site: www.trinitydurham.org Phone: (919) 683-1386

Honor God. Love the Community.

Live like Family.

Come explore faith with us:

Everyone Welcome!

Morning Meditation

When: Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8:30 - 9AM Where: Chapel Crypt (stairs left to altar)

Sunday Worship and dinner 4:00pm Wednesday Bible study 7:00pm (Link Classroom #2)

evening Meditation & dharMa Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind When: Monday from 7-8:30pm Where: Multicultural Center in the Bryan Center

www.duke.edu/web/meditation

All are welcome!

505 Alexander Ave. (Off Campus Dr.) www.episcopalatduke.org

Sports

>> VOLLEYBALL

The Chronicle

DUKE

FRIDAY

November 13, 2009 www.dukechroniclesports.com

UNC-G

FRIDAY • 7 p.m. • CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM • FSS MEN’S BASKETBALL

Depleted Duke tips off season

by Danny Vinik The chronicle

Basketball season has finally arrived.

No. 9 Duke opens the 2009-2010 season Friday night at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium against UNC-Greensboro. After reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in three years last season, the Blue Devils look to begin this campaign with a victory.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is in his 30th year at the helm for the Blue Devils as Duke kicks off its 105th season, ready to make a run deep into March. The Cameron Crazies will be out in full force after waiting months for their beloved Blue Devils to take the floor.

“It’s a fresh start for us and we’re very excited. It’s a lot of fun for us,” junior Kyle Singler said.

UNC-Greensboro struggled last year, going 4-16 in the Southern Conference and 5-25 overall. The Spartans return four of their five starters—including leading scorers Mikko Koivisto and Ben Stywall—but the team lacks depth, as only one player other than Koivisto and Stywall averaged more than six points per game last season.

Duke will be without two of its starters.

Junior guard Nolan Smith will serve the first of a two-game suspension for playing in an unsanctioned basketball league this summer, and freshman Mason Plumlee is out with a fractured wrist. Without Smith, the Blue Devils will have to rely on senior michael naclerio/Chronicle file photo

See m. Basketball on page 11

The Blue Devils head on their last road trip of the year to take on Virginia and Virginia Tech, needing two wins to stay alive in the race for the ACC regular season crown

Junior Kyle Singler will lead the Blue Devil scoring attack in Duke’s regular season opener Friday night.

Barnes to announce decision Harrison Barnes, the 6-foot-6, 190-lb. swingman considered by many to be one of the top high school players in the country, will announce where he will play college basketball today at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. Barnes is listed as the best small forward in the country according to scout. com, and the third-best player in the senior class. Duke is one of several finalists to snag Barnes, along with Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, UCLA and North Carolina.

The Iowa native made his official visit to Duke’s campus the weekend of Oct. 23, when he met with the basketball team as well as Christoph Guttentag, Dean of Admissions. The Cameron Crazies came out in full force for Barnes’ arrival, even creating a life-size cutout of the recruit in a No. 40 Duke jersey.

Barnes, who will announce his decision in the Ames High School gymnasium, is prized for his ability to score both from the permieter and near the basket. He can play a variety of different positions. As a junior, Barnes averaged 19.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, leading his high school to an undefeated season and a state title.

Duke already has three verbal commits for the Class of 2010. Point guard Kyrie Irving—the No. 2 point guard in his class— currently highlights a group that includes guard Tyler Thornton and forward Josh Hairston. Sophomore transfer Seth Curry will also be available for the Blue Devils next season after sitting out this year as per NCAA regulations.

-from staff reports

women’s soccer

Duke hopes to extend NCAA tourney success

by Nicholas Schwartz The chronicle

DIANNA LIU/Chronicle file photo

Freshman Nicole Lipp and the Blue Devils will have their work cut out for them against a stingy Rutgers defense.

Come NCAA tournament time, Duke student-athletes live by a collective creed: survive and advance.

This particular set No. 12 Rutgers of Blue Devils has been repeating the vs. line since September, when a rocky Duke start to the schedule combined with the FRIDAY, 4:30 p.m. losses of key players Columbia, S.C. to injury left even head coach Robbie Church questioning whether his team would advance to postseason play.

“We were a bit of a mess in August, losing players, and we hit a tough stretch of games in September,” Church said. “But once we started making some personnel

changes, we really turned it around.”

Thanks to strong senior leadership, and outstanding play from five freshman starters, Duke (8-8-4) now has a fresh start in the NCAA tournament, and a first-round matchup with No. 12 Rutgers (13-3-4) Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Columbia, S.C. After battling through the regular season gauntlet of powerful ACC squads, Duke will look to continue the recent success it has had in the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils have been selected to play the last seven years, and have advanced to the elite eight the past two seasons.

To advance, Duke must find a way to break down a stalwart Scarlet Knight defense, which was one of the best in the Big East. Rutgers has only allowed 10 goals all year, and is ranked seventh nationally in See w. soccer on page 11

10 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

Women’s basketball

Duke opens with homecoming game in Texas

by Rachel Apostoles The chronicle

When traveling to an away game, teams do not usually expect an exceedingly warm reception. The Blue Devils, however, received just that, as they kick off their regular season in Houston—the hometown Houston of junior Karima Baptist Christmas. vs.

Upon arriving in Houston Thursday No. 6 evening, the team exDuke perienced a taste of FRIDAY, 8:30 p.m.

Texan hospitality, visHouston, TX iting the Christmas home and sharing a No. 16 meal with her family.

Texas However, after this A&M brief period of revs. pose, the Blue Devils No. 6 will have to get down Duke to business as they commence regular SUNDAY, 3 p.m. season play.

College Station, TX No. 6 Duke will face Houston Baptist University Friday at 8:30 p.m. and will take on No. 16 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

“This will be a great opportunity to bring Karima home and spend some time with her family,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Christmas, an explosive rebounder and defender, said that playing in Texas will be like reliving her high school days. A slew of the players on both opposing squads were previously her opponents in high school

XAVIER WATSON/Chronicle file photo

Junior Karima Christmas gets a chance to play in her hometown in the Blue Devils’ first game of the season. and AAU contests.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun because we spent the majority of our high school careers playing against each other and we got to know each other on a personal level,” Christmas said. “It will be fun to see familiar faces and to play against them again.”

If the Blue Devils maintain the trend of domination that they showed in their exhibition games, Christmas and her teammates

FOOTBALL from page 1 into Saturday’s game with the nation’s top-ranked rushing offense, averaging 314.9 yards a game. They also lead the country in rushing touchdowns with 36.

Combine that with last week’s abysmal performance stopping the run and Duke could be in for a long game.

Last week, Tar Heel backup running back Ryan Houston rushed for 164 yards on 37 carries, averaging an embarrassing 4.4 yards per carry. A similar performance against an even more experienced rushing team like Georgia Tech could have disastrous results for the Blue Devils.

Offensively, Duke will also need a significantly better performance than against North Carolina, in which the team was held to a pair of field goals. The ground game— which has been the weak spot for the Blue Devils all year— was held to 12 total yards, while senior Thaddeus Lewis

will fare well against the Texan teams. Duke breezed past Wingate 99-31 and Alaska Anchorage 100-32 last week.

McCallie was pleased by the performances she saw at the exhibition games and anticipates dynamic play from her team this season.

“I am excited. Excited about our potential. Excited about playing harder. Excited about getting better, particularly defensively,” McCallie said. “I loved our balance in

threw for 113 yards. For Duke to win Saturday, the running game will need to improve to open up passing lanes for Lewis. Fortunately, Georgia Tech’s defense is not as strong as North Carolina’s, as the Tar Heels boast the conference’s top-rated defense. The Yellow Jackets come in with a middle-of-the-pack rushing defense, but an unimpressive passing defense, ranked 10th in the conference.

Georgia Tech’s suspect pass defense may play right into Duke’s strength as a predominantly passing offense. It will allow Lewis to take more control of the game and relax more in the pocket than last week. If Lewis can pull out the kind of game he did against the weak pass defense of N.C. State, in which he threw for 459 yards and five touchdowns, the Blue Devils could have a big game.

Cutcliffe reiterated that the game will be a shootout in which both defenses will have trouble.

“They have the same issues [on defense],” Cutcliffe said. “We put the ball and spray the ball all over the place

scoring. It was just a good start. A good start to get going and see our possibilities.”

That being said, McCallie and her staff noted numerous areas that she would like the team to improve on during the regular season, emphasizing transition defense, passing and taking care of the ball.

It will be vital for the Blue Devils to remedy these weaknesses, as they face more exacting challenges from both Houston Baptist and Texas A&M. “The key is just to focus on playing off each other, playing aggressively and dictating the physicality of both games,” McCallie said. “It will be a great test for us.”

Duke is approaching the game against the Aggies with a particular hunger. The last time the two teams met, Texas A&M knocked the Blue Devils out of the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. This time around, however, Duke is looking to reverse the outcome.

“Of course it’s in the back of our minds, because that was a game we really wanted.

But in the same sense, we aren’t the same team and they aren’t the same team,” Christmas said. “It’s just going to be that mindset of who wants it more.”

McCallie said that she intentionally scheduled the Texas A&M game to challenge her team.

“You go after teams that have done good things and they are an excellent program,” McCallie said. “[But] it’s more about us than the opponent. We are really trying to put together 40 minutes of what we do in terms of aggressive defense, running, and rebounding.”

and run screens and do this and that. And if they don’t execute and play their techniques to their full capabilities, we’re going to bust some big plays, so it comes down to the execution on Saturday.”

The bottom line for Duke is that this matchup against Georgia Tech might as well be a must-win if they want any shot at a bowl game. Next week is a road game against No. 14 Miami, a game which will be equally challenging, plus the added pressure of playing on the road. To play in the postseason, the Blue Devils will need to take down one of these two ranked opponents, in addition to winning their season finale against Wake Forest on Nov. 28.

As for Saturday, the game holds many big questions for Duke. If the defense can hold Georgia Tech to a respectable number of yards, and if the offense can come through, there may be a chance. If either unit doesn’t perform, then Saturday will be another long game at Wallace Wade, and the Blue Devils can say goodbye to the possibility of going bowling.

addison corriher (LEFT) and Ian soileau (right)/Chronicle file photos

Senior Thaddeus Lewis (left), sophomore wideout Johnny Williams (right) and the Blue Devil offense will have to improve upon a subpar performance against the Tar Heels in order to beat No. 7 Georgia Tech Saturday.

the chronicle

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 11

M. BASKETBALL from page 9

w. soccer from page 9

Jon Scheyer and freshman Andre Dawkins to do much of the ball handling.

“We do have a lack of guards and with Nolan not playing, we have to be more aware of staying out of foul trouble and just being smart,” Singler said.

Along with Dawkins, freshman Ryan Kelly will also get his first taste of Division-I basketball. Kelly, Lance Thomas, Miles Plumlee and Brian Zoubek will be relied upon to establish the inside game, particularly in the absence of Mason Plumlee.

“We’ll try to pass the ball high and get the ball down the court,” Singler said. “With that bigger unit we have, the main thing we have to do is not get rushed as a team. We have to stay poised and make good passes.”

Singler, who was chosen as the preseason ACC Player of the Year and named to the AP preseason All-American team, leads the Blue Devil scoring attack while Miles Plumlee looks to overpower the Spartans inside. No player on UNC-Greensboro is taller than 6-foot-8 while Duke boasts a lineup that includes five active players who are 6-foot-8 or taller.

“Our strength is the big guys around the court,” Scheyer said. “When [the big lineup] is in there, we need to be strong inside and get the ball in there.”

Friday’s game marks the first of four games in nine days for Duke. The Blue Devils take on Coastal Carolina Monday and the winner of the Charlotte-Elon matchup Tuesday in the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. Duke finishes the stretch by playing host to Radford next Saturday afternoon.

But first, the Blue Devils have to take care of business against the Spartans. The team knows that upsets can happen at any moment and must therefore play hard.

“It’s exciting to see where we can go from here and we still have a lot of work to do, but we’re looking forward to it,” Singler said.

goals-against-average with a 0.47 mark.

“If we come out slow, they’re going to place a lot of players behind the ball, and it’s going to be tough to score,” Church said.

The Blue Devils boast a solid back line as well, and allowed only nine goals in 10 ACC contests. While possibly overmatched in terms of defense, Duke has a definite advantage in attack over the Scarlet Knights. The Blue Devils have scored four more goals and have tallied 25 more assists than Rutgers this season.

Junior Ashley Jones poses the biggest threat to the young Duke defense. Jones leads the Scarlet Knights with eight goals in 15 games.

The Blue Devils are led offensively by senior captains KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond, who hold team-high totals in goals and assists with 11 and 12, respectively. Duke will look to put pressure on the Scarlet Knights from the opening whistle, and not allow

the Rutgers offense time to execute. If the Blue Devil midfielders can beat their opponents in 50-50 situations and provide service to the attackers, Church expressed confidence that his players can finish in the final third, something they’ve been focused on all week.

In a win-or-go-home environment, the Blue Devils are determined to extend the season, and give their senior teammates one extra game.

“It’s so exciting, because you know you have to put everything out there. It could be your last game, nothing is guaranteed,” freshman midfielder Nicole Lipp said. “We just want to give the seniors one more game, and keep winning for them.”

With a victory on Friday, Duke would face the winner of No. 2 seed South Carolina and Davidson.

Given a fresh slate, a hungry Blue Devil team has all the tools necessary to make a run in the postseason.

“I’m excited to see what our team can do,” Church said. “We were a little nervous in the ACC tournament, but we’ve got some great leaders on the field, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we come together.”

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Freshman Andre Dawkins will have increased ball-handling duties Friday against UNC-Greensboro due to junior Nolan Smith’s suspension.

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12 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

fromstaffreports

Blue Devils sign five to score nation’s top recruiting class Duke announced the signing of five top high school prospects Wednesday, giving the Blue Devils the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, according to ESPN HoopGurlz. The Class of 2010 is Duke’s best incoming group in the program’s history.

“It really is one of those incredible team deals—everybody coming together, everybody playing their role to recruit these great women,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “It’s truly been one of the most amazing and unique experiences I’ve gone through in recruiting and I think that this class has an opportunity to have an incredible career together.”

Four of the five recruits are ranked in the top 33 of the ESPN HoopGurlz rankings, led by No. 4 Chelsea Gray from St. Mary’s High School in Manteca, Calif. and No. 6 Richa Jackson from Midwest City High School in Midwest City, Okla. The rest of the group

includes Chloe Wells of Colton, Calif., Tricia Liston of River Forest, Ill. and Haley Peters from Red Bank, N.J. Peters is the younger sister of Duke men’s basketball walk-on Casey Peters.

The newest group of Blue Devils is backcourt-heavy as four of the five commits are listed as guards.

“We’ve got incredible guards in this class,” McCallie said. “The group together just speaks of versatility, work ethic, commitment to Duke, excitement for the future in pursuing championships.”

Snyderwine named semifinalist for Lou Groza award Junior walk-on kicker Will Snyderwine has been named one of the 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which is given to college football’s top placekicker each year.

The Duke kicker is seventh nationally with a .917 fieldgoal percentage and has connected on all of his 18 extra points. Snyderwine had his best game of the 2009 season Oct. 31 against Virginia. The junior was 5-for-5 on field goals to lead the Blue Devils to a 28-17 victory, and was named ACC Specialist of the Week.

Announcements DUKE SUMMER SESSION 2010!

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11am - 2pm • West Campus Plaza 3-Point Shooting Contest Free Throw Shooting Contest FREE Domino’s Pizza & Buffalo Hot Wings FREE Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad Sandwiches FREE Fountain Drinks & Bottled Water ®

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the chronicle

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 13

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14 | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009

“

Out of sight, out of mind Last Spring, the Univer- offices so central to students’ sity announced that the Ca- lives to a location so periphreer Center would ultimate- eral to students’ everyday ly be relocating to a new and milieu is concerning in the larger space in the Smith short term.

Warehouse.

The migration of campus Since then, entities to the editorial the University more spacious has continued Smith Wareto consolidate auxiliary house makes sense for some groups and offices on cam- departments, such as the Ofpus to the warehouse. The fice of the University Regislist now includes the Global trar and Duke Performances.

Education Office (formerly Others, like the Career CenStudy Abroad) and the Duke ter and the Center for Civic Center for Civic Engage- Engagement, are hurt by the ment, which houses the Du- lack of casual student foot keEngage program. traffic that is more common While we are happy to in busier venues like Page or see that the University has Campus Drive. improved access to Smith The original plan for some Warehouse with the recent Smith Warehouse relocations addition of a bus route be- was that the building would be tween the building and West a temporary measure—a place Campus, the relocation of where various offices could set

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As a fellow American Muslim, thanks for writing this.

”

—“haahaamagician” commenting on the column “An open letter to Major Hasan .”

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up shop before the completion of New Campus. But with last year’s economic collapse, many of the offices that temporarily moved to the Smith Warehouse are there to stay.

Realistically, the location has one advantage over prime West Campus real estate—an abundance of space. Furthermore, the Smith Warehouse will allow for more comfortable interview rooms, instead of the current cramped interrogation-style cells in the basement of Page Auditorium.

One concern with moving student-oriented offices like the Career Center and the DCCE to the Smith Warehouse is that the location is simply inconvenient. Even with the addition of a dedicated bus, few students will casually visit the building, with most trips the

result of a necessity.

But more importantly, the way that offices have been relocated is incoherent and inconsistent with institutional priorities. It seems like departments have been moved around willy-nilly without any sensible overall plan.

And that Global Education and DukeEngage—two of the University’s defining programs—have been relegated to Smith Warehouse, away from the center of student life, is equally puzzling.

Because the offices have already been moved, the University should pursue possible solutions to the problem of decreased traffic to Smith Warehouse. Buses are a good first start, but it might be a good idea for student-centered departments in Smith to have

satellite offices in more prominent, busier campus locations like the Bryan Center. Satellite locations would establish a visible presence as well as provide interested students with information about services provided at main offices at Smith.

Also, increasing signage within the warehouse’s many bays would help students who are making the trek for the first time find their way around the cavernous building.

When all is said and done, these measures will likely be necessary only for a few years.

Over time, students will adjust to the new reality, and starting with next year’s freshman class, the office locations won’t be “new” at all. In the short term, however, administrators should not let current students fall through the cracks.

Vigilantes and snitch

itizens in the fictitious Gotham City rely on Batman to fight crime when the justice system cannot.

The legendary archer Robin Hood took his egalitarian convictions to the road by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

Although the Engcourtney han lish hero probably the good life? didn’t exist, the romantic notion of a justice-minded outlaw so entranced us that the story of Robin Hood continues to be retold, over and over again.

Facing injustice, vigilantes take action into their own hands with disregard for their own safety. They inspire an oft-imaginary Manichean world of right and wrong that people crave, and generate the conveniently perfect hero who fights against evil for the good of the common people, the law and the natural order when the proper authorities can’t, or won’t.

A more diluted and common version of the vigilante’s modus operandi is the Neighborhood Watch group, which gives ordinary citizens responsibility to protect their respective communities. Three years ago, Duke students voted in a University-wide referendum that overwhelmingly approved a similar commitment on campus, and appended the pithy but powerful eight-word line to the Community Standard—“I shall act if the Standard is compromised.”

Since Fall 2007, incoming students sign a pledge to act with integrity both on and off campus, regarding “every aspect of undergraduate life.” When encountering anti-Standard behavior, “students are… expected to take action—to do something—as a responsibility of membership in the Duke Community.”

On paper, the new addition gives the Standard more oomph, but does it give students more motivation to act? Perhaps anticipating confusion about what said action entails, Student Conduct offers suggestions on its Web site that include speaking directly to the offending person, publicly calling attention to the behavior, alerting a residential assistant or the associate dean for judicial affairs.

But disciplinary statistics show that students initiated only 11 out of 934 adjudicated cases, and zero of the 107 academic complaints taken since the new clause was adopted. None of the cases were initiated through The Chronicle, only five by an academic dean and around 15 percent by a residence coordinator, graduate assistant or resident assistant. Complaints from these four groups have not changed from numbers before 2007.

It doesn’t seem then, that the new clause is inspiring students to act, at least not in the ways that Student Conduct recommends.

But not only that, the new Standard may be unintentionally lending a minority population greater justification to act above or against the law.

Cases in point: A fellow student who comes from a poor family consistently steals food from the Great Hall because he believes other, wealthier Duke students should pay for his meals and counter the massive wealth imbalance on campus.

Outside Duke, Student Two feels that stealing from stores like Walmart is morally justifiable because theft is an active form of protest rather than passive ones such as boycotting. Student Three fulfilled his commitment to act by humiliating classmates on the former JuicyCampus.com because he thought they behaved poorly.

If we take Turgenev’s argument that all people can be categorized as Hamlets or Don Quixotes, the vigilantes fall into the latter and the majority of the student population, the former.

Both are dangerous—Hamlet’s paralysis results in missed opportunities for community improvement, and Don Quixote’s headstrong and rash decisions can lead to socially destructive consequences.

For both extremes, the impetus to act, or not act, hinges not on what is considered “right” in a higher sense, but by how the consequences of action will affect the individual. Hamlets might hesitate to snitch because they prioritize protecting each other over protecting the institution and its institutionally-issued standards. For Don Quixotes, the claim to action is attractive because it generates instant gratification and a sense of selfaffirmation for contributing “to the greater good.”

But again, their sacrifices are often actions thinly disgusted over desires to satisfy a personal injury, not duty to a higher law.

Ad-hoc, covert moral judgments and punishments are too vulnerable to personal biases and lack of information. Vigilantes who take responsibility into their own hands may work as superheroes and in fables, but in Duke’s reality--at least in the examples I’ve encountered--vigilantes are too frequently self-rationalists, not martyrs of justice.

We could better fulfill the obligation to act we voted for by seeking the mean between Hamlet and Don Quixote. There’s nothing wrong with Duke students taking action in informal spaces that feel more comfortable than official proceedings, but in this community, there’s no need to break the law.

Duke vigilantes, I hope you are reading this.

Courtney Han is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Friday.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 | 15

commentaries

A disservice to service

I

f one were to list the distinctive experiences characteristic of Duke undergraduate life, Duke Dining horror stories do not come immediately to mind.

Yet, for a striking number of students, the frequency of these bad service experiences has been startlingly consistent over time.

Indeed, the service problem at the Marketplace, and to a lesser extent the Great Hall, has been around as long as most people can remember. To be sure, the majority of Duke Dining vikram employees do an excellent job. Some are true models srinivasan of character that students uncommon could benefit to learn from conviction and emulate. Still, there seems to be a disproportionately high concentration of persistently rude (if not outright insulting) employees in a few campus eateries (primarily the Marketplace and, to a lesser extent, the Great Hall). That these are union eateries does not appear to be a coincidence.

According to Duke Student Government Chief of Staff Mike LeFevre, a junior, who served as last year’s DSG vice president for athletics and campus services, the annual dining survey has consistently shown student appraisals of overall service quality as “disgusting.” The service problem, he said, consisted in student reports of being outright “harassed and mistreated” as well as unsanitary conduct by employees. Several sources report students being yelled at or insulted by employees for asking simple questions.

Sophomore Pete Schork, the current vice president for athletics and campus services, noted that this year’s dining survey reflects similarly poor reviews of the service quality in these eateries.

So by “horror stories,” I don’t mean the petty complaints you sometimes hear about employees being lessthan-exuberant towards every student with whom they interact. What for a student is just a passing moment may be what an employee does all day. That reality qualifies the intensity of student complaints somewhat, and upfront, is something with which students should (and by all accounts it would seem, do) sympathize.

Nonetheless, as most any student can tell you and the survey results show, the kinds of service complaints most students bother reporting are instances of behavior which would be inappropriate in any situation involving other

human beings, not just a student-employee interaction.

A basic problem is that there is little to no accountability for underperforming employees, since managers have few tools for disciplining employees and the required evidence threshold to take action is unreasonably high, Schork said.

“It’s unfair to have any situation where you can’t be held responsible for behavior that is in most venues very inappropriate,” Schork explained. “I’m not saying we should have to fire people. In my experience… the [Local 77] union hasn’t even been proactive in addressing any of our concerns. They haven’t even said they’ll take proactive steps, to say that we’ll talk to those people, and I think that’s the very least we deserve as students.”

Currently, students can report complaints by filling out comment cards after their meal. But identifying employees by name can be difficult, since it is common for employees to switch name tags, according to multiple student sources. Moreover, LeFevre said, the union will “go to bat for employees every time” without exception, creating an enormously high burden of proof for student complaints.

This situation, in addition to a significant problem of employee absenteeism (which former Chronicle columnist Elliott Wolf alluded to in his February 2008 column, “Attention, Duke Employees”), led to the installation of 12 surveillance cameras in the Marketplace and a monitoring screen so that employees know where their behavior can be observed, LeFevre said. That the situation has deteriorated to this point reflects the extent to which administrators are fearful of engaging the union on these issues. Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst could not be reached for comment on this issue.

Schork and LeFevre were keen to point out that they have no problem with unions in general and believe that they can serve a valuable role against a bad employer. But Duke, both observed, is far from a bad employer, with its payment of a living wage and numerous employee benefits.

If students were being systematically disrespectful towards employees, then perhaps cases of employee misconduct would be more understandable. However, although there are surely exceptions, students generally go out of their way to be polite and respectful to employees, LeFevre said. Positive student-employee relations is a two-way street, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that an effort be made by all parties involved.

High-performing unionized employees lose out under the current system as well. Existing union policies base promotions and raises on seniority rather than performance, whereas non-union eateries utilize merit-based

Look for Nathan Freeman’s newest column in Monday’s edit pages.

nathan freeman good night, and good luck performance reviews, LeFevre said. It’s not hard to infer how these different incentive structures might contribute to an explanation of the variation in service quality between union and non-union locations.

One problem, Schork and LeFevre both suggested, may be in Duke-Durham relations overall. No doubt, the political sensitivity of these issues restrains how administrators can deal with it. Recognizing the intractability of this problem, Schork offered the partial solution of creating more dialogue between students and employees at these facilities in the hope of generating greater mutual understanding. For his part, LeFevre suggested that students should be more diligent about submitting comment cards rather than venting privately.

Fair enough. But although such efforts certainly couldn’t hurt, I am less optimistic about how far they will go. The problem here is not the union per se, but particular factors in the University’s agreement with the union that limit the accountability of employees. Until that is addressed, it seems that little will change.

Absent a commitment from administration to address students’ service grievances when they confront Local 77, these provisions will continue to neuter the effectiveness with which student complaints can be remedied. And that is a real disservice—both to students, and those employees who take their jobs seriously and excel in them.

Vikram Srinivasan is a Trinity senior. His column usually runs every other Thursday.

America’s Generation Next

I

n the eternal drama of global dominion, masters are somehow indelible and short-lived. The specters of such bygone powers as ancient Rome, imperial China and industrial Britain still loom, almost legendarily, as ever-present reminders of nation and empire in their grandest forms.

Yet though the empires of old are eternal in our historical consciousness, the extent of their global mike meers dominance is usually finite. mike check Thus, our pressing question, especially in a time of perceived economic and social deterioration, becomes not if but when will American dominance end?

Popular columnist and TV personality Fareed Zakaria addressed this and other questions regarding America’s place in a new global community in a compelling lecture here at Duke Monday. In his estimation, the stagnation of American investment in education and growth industries smacks of a potential death knell to our throne atop the world, just as it has for the crowned rulers of the past. If that is the case, then we, the next productive generation and members of a spectacularly educated class of potential future leaders, hold in our hands the keys to American destiny: no pressure, but our time is now.

The validity of Zakaria’s warning is no more apparent than here on campus, where the best and brightest upon whom a nation pins its hopes overwhelmingly choose paths of personal stability at the risk of broader stagnation. With-

out slighting those here who are at the forefront of fueling education and innovation, it is clear that those who opt for old guard careers such as finance, consulting and specialized medicine are still numerous. It perpetuates a trend of major talent flocking to established, internalized sectors largely devoid of the sort of global productive power that molds great nations.

The problem, as Zakaria would put it, is that there is no growth. Finance pushes money around, producing only “financial instruments” that most recently were the root of a near-collapse in global economics. Consulting enhances the rigidity of finance hegemony by advising said institutions in strong-armed market power brokering and consolidation. And apart from the extent to which American doctors can treat the patients of the world (only the obscenely wealthy at this point), health care remains an ever-ballooning, intranationally financed drag upon earnings and production in comparison with the rest of the developed world.

The merits of growth in one sector over another need not be debated because the facts are clear: these are examples of professions in sectors that are indeed essential, but whose dogmatic centrality to the new American economy has weakened its capacity for adaptation and true growth.

It would be more illuminating to discuss the propensity for our generation to overwhelmingly flock to the safety of those established fields or, perhaps more accurately, our hesitance to take the bull by the horns and forge something new in the way that Zakaria advocates.

Zakaria had his own historical take on this as well, reminding us that the Cold War generated a social mandate for personal contributions to the advancement of science, education and technology in the 1950s and 60s, which

largely contributed to our current (or former) dominance in those fields. The 2009 analog to that mandate would seem to be a selfish desire to take what’s ours in the form of safe employment, driving us in the opposite direction.

Say what you will about the right to choose one’s own path, but there’s something a little unsettling about our generation’s conspicuous consumption culture in contrast with the sacrifices of past generations.

Then again, maybe the onus falls upon our nation’s leadership to make it “safe” to invest our labor in the country’s future as opposed to the future of Goldman Sachs (with the hope that they are independent of each other).

Just as a cold war government invested heavily and propagandized shamelessly for the sake of a unified fight for superiority, perhaps their contemporaries can make it worth our while to participate in the recovery of “American dynamism,” as Zakaria put it). Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet, and therein lies our generation’s greatest challenge: If it doesn’t ever happen, will we choose of our own accord to make America’s business our own business?

There is no doubt that our generation is up to the challenge. More young people are service oriented than ever before, with a desire to effect real, beneficial change.

Shrinking job markets in traditional sectors have encouraged us to look elsewhere for opportunities, and some of those that we find will undoubtedly make strides in the right direction. Even better, if we choose to make a concerted effort to work for our collective benefit as a nation, then we may yet embody the greatest generation of our time. Now is the time to make our choice.

Mike Meers is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Friday.

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