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
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 62
www.dukechronicle.com
Students 101 DUKE UNCC 59 robbed off Smith makes all the difference East Campus by Jeff Scholl The chronicle
by Samantha Brooks The chronicle
Two seniors were robbed at gunpoint early Tuesday morning near East Campus. The two students, a male and a female, were sitting in a parked car in the 1200 block of West Markham Avenue around 1:15 a.m. when two men approached the passenger side of the vehicle, Public Information Officer Kammie Michael of the Durham Police Department wrote in an e-mail. One of the men pointed a gun and demanded money and car keys from the students, who were returning to their off-campus residence. Michael said the suspects took an undisclosed sum of money but did not acquire the car keys because the robbery was interrupted when another vehicle turned on to West Markham Avenue. No one was injured in the incident. Michael described the suspects as black males of medium build in their early 20s, weighing between 140 and 150 pounds. One suspect was wearing dark jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt and the other was wearing dark jeans and a gray sweatshirt, Michael said. Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said both students are doing fine and that the number of police patrols in the area has been increased. Students were informed of the incident in an e-mail sent by Wasiolek around 8 a.m. Tuesday. See robbery on page 5
sam sheft/The Chronicle
Junior Nolan Smith’s return to action after a two-game suspension ended up being one of the best games of his Duke career. Smith led all scorers with 24 points as the Blue Devils broke away from Charlotte early.
courtney douglas/The Chronicle
Bo fo’ sho’ DUU confirms plans for comedian Bo Burnham’s Dec. 3 show in Page, PAGE 3
See M. BBAll on page 8
N.C. to limit 11 children’s vaccines by Shaoli Chaudhuri The chronicle
Two Duke students were robbed at gunpoint on West Markham Avenue early Tuesday morning. Police patrols in the area have been increased.
For Duke’s first two games, Nolan Smith could only sit and watch from the bench. Tuesday night, he showed his teammates what they had been missing. Behind a career-high 24 points from the junior guard, the No. 9 Blue Devils (3-0) crushed Charlotte 101-59 in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. “I was definitely itching to play,” Smith said. “Watching those two games, watching my team play, I was getting anxious, so I was ready to get back out there.” Duke stumbled out of the gates Monday night against Coastal Carolina, but had no such slow start against the 49ers (21), jumping out to a 14-2 lead in just over three minutes of play. Smith accounted for eight of those 14 points, scoring his first bucket of the season off a drive right through the middle of the lane. But the shooting guard provided more than a scoring lift—his presence on the court gave the Blue Devils a familiarity and confidence they had missed while he was suspended. “With Nolan back it just felt a lot more comfortable, and he was a big spark for us in the beginning of the game,” junior Kyle Singler said.
Financial strains have led the state to cut funding for 11 immunizations for insured children. The North Carolina Immunization Program will no longer provide these vaccines for free to pediatricians and their insured patients. Among these immunizations are the Hepatitis A vaccine, the Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella vaccine, the second dose of Varicella, the Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis vaccine, the Hepatitis B vaccine, the polio vaccine and combination shots like Pediatrix. “Funding formulas need to be re-explored during tight financial times,” State Health Director Dr. Jeff Engel said. NCIP participants were notified of the decision in an Oct. 30 memo from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which announced the measures will take effect Dec. 1. Engel said the cut was made from the $18 million universal vaccine fund in North Carolina, a state fund that provides necessary immunizations to all children, including those who are insured. “Taxpayers pay [this fund] for insured kids,” Engel said, adding that some vaccines—like the combination shots—cost $100 or more. As a result of this first cut, $4 million were moved back to the state general fund. Before the institution of the universal vaccine fund, pedia-
tricians privately purchased patients’ vaccines up-front, at high retail costs. In addition, insured patients’ parents often had to pay deductibles and co-pays to insurance companies for the immunizations. Engel said the new cut “is going to force those problems to re-emerge,” adding that North Carolina Public Health is working with the North Carolina Pediatric Society to explore other ways to fund the program. He noted, however, that the state does not believe the cut vaccines are any less essential than those that will still be universally funded by the NCIP. “All these vaccines are vital to public health and we would never want a child to go without them,” he said. Certain vaccines were cut because similar vaccinations are still available, as with the combination shots, or—as with Hepatitis A—the shot is not required by public school systems because Hepatitis A is not contagious, Engel said. Amy Caruso, public information officer for the NC DHHS, added that the vaccination fund was not the only sector of the department to suffer cuts. “Tons of huge cuts were made. This was just one piece of a lot of cuts,” she said. “They definitely thought about it for a while as much as they could think about it.” This decision will not affect patients eligible for the Vaccines for Children program, according to the Oct. 30 memo. VFC is
ONTHERECORD
“We wanted to show the world that we play great defense and we deserve to be mentioned with the best.”
—Nolan Smith on Duke’s defense. See story page 7
See immunizations on page 5
Duke heads to Miami with winning mentality, Page 7