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
thursday, november 19, 2009
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 63
www.dukechronicle.com
Duke student gov’t
YT reform back at ‘square one’
Groups respond to RGAC scores
Group in deadlock after 2-hour debate Senate to hold special session after break by Matthew Chase The chronicle
After debating for almost two hours on the Young Trustee selection process at Duke Student Government’s meeting Wednesday night, DSG members will meet later in the semester to continue the discussion. Members will hold a special session after Thanksgiving break in which discussions will start at “square one,” Executive Vice President Gregory Morrison, a junior, said after the meeting. “This bill has failed,” Morrison said. “There is no more action to be taken on this bill during this session. We pretty much have to recess because there is nothing else for us to do.” During the nearly three-hour meeting, senators motioned to make a variety of amendments and replace other See DSG on page 5
michael naclerio/The Chronicle
Interfraternity Council President Eric Kaufman (left) and other fraternity members voice their concerns about the RGAC process Wednesday night in front of administrators and representatives from RGAC and Campus Council. The heated exchange lasted 2.5 hours, but did not reach a conclusion to reform RGAC. by Lindsey Rupp The chronicle
Stakeholders in the residential group assessment process gathered Wednesday to discuss the process and its results and determined more discussion was needed before changes to the process or delays to the section selection process scheduled for Sunday could be made. The two-and-a-half hour, occasionally heated meeting revealed concerns that the process was opaque, inconsistent and discriminated against some living groups, while its results would have unintended consequences on the University’s estab-
lished social scene. Attendees included Interfraternity Council and Selective Living Group representatives, Campus Council leaders, Residential Group Assessment Committee co-chairs and Residence Life and Housing Services and Student Affairs administrators. Approximately 60 people attended the event. “You want someone to say, ‘All right, you won.’ That can’t happen at this point,” Zoila Airall, assistant vice president for student affairs, said at the end of the meeting. “What I am saying is we’re all going to talk, and that’s the best I can do.” Members of IFC fraternities, includ-
ing IFC President Eric Kaufman, a senior, expressed concerns that their organizations were given little or poor information about the “murky at best” process, that their groups were poorly represented and that the scoring categories were unfairly tailored to the missions of a few groups. RGAC is composed of four internally selected IFC representatives, four internally chosen selective house council members and four elected Campus Council representatives. The scoring committee consists of two IFC, two selective house See RGAC on page 6
New facilities to shelter lemurs through winter
Priced at $8.2M, project was last before construction moratorium by Julia Love The chronicle
nate glencer/The Chronicle
Lemur Center Director Anne Yoder gives a tour in one of the two new facilities that will house lemurs for the upcoming winter. The facilities cost the University $8.2 million and will house 140 lemurs.
Offensive line builds continuity, Page 7
Winter is a dark time for Duke’s lemurs. In spring and summer, many of them are free to explore the Duke Forest as they please. But after Oct. 15, when the skies turn gray and the frost sets in, the lemurs are corralled into cages pumped with warm air to wait out the cold for six months. After the holiday season, 60 of the University’s 200 lemurs will move into a $3.2 million, 7,000 sq.-ft. Duke Lemur Center facility surrounded by 10,000 square feet of grounds where they will be able to roam free year-round. The building will receive a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. More lemurs live on Duke’s grounds than anywhere else in the world outside of their native Madagascar, but the opening of the new facility is the first major expansion the Duke Lemur Center has undergone in 40 years, Director Anne Yoder said. “This is a very exciting day for us,” Yoder, who is also a professor of biology and biological anthropology and anatomy,
said before a tour of the new building Wednesday. “It’s a big step forward for us and we are delighted with the product.” Since Colony Manager Andrea Katz started as a workstudy student at the center in 1975, the facilities had remained essentially unchanged until now, she said. A second building housing 80 lemurs will open Jan. 15, affording some of its residents a semi free-range lifestyle. The $8.2 million bill for both facilities has been covered entirely by the University. The Lemur Center expansions are the last projects administrators approved before announcing an indefinite moratorium on debt-financing construction last Fall, Yoder said. “I think everybody’s pinching themselves,” she said. “We got in under the wire.... I am extremely grateful to Duke University.” Lemur Center administrators were forced to scale back the second building by eliminating a wing due to increased construction costs, Katz said. The wing would have housed 20 more
ONTHERECORD
“We set the bar pretty high.” —Dean Lee Baker on graduation with distinction requirements. See story page 3
See lemur center on page 4
Christmas can never come too early, RECESS 4-5
2 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 the chronicle
worldandnation
TODAY:
6949
FRIDAY:
6543
Iran foreign minister states opposition to nuclear deal
U.S. and China to cooperate Obama admin. defends trial in measuring gas emissions WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama’s administration came out swinging Wednesday in support of a criminal trial for the alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but it faced criticism from Republican lawmakers who said a public trial is a “perversion” of justice that will make New York a prime target for a terrorist attack. Obama said those offended by the legal privileges being given to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others by trying them in a civilian court ultimately won’t find it “offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.” In testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder said,“We need not cower in the face of this enemy. Our institutions are strong, our infrastructure is sturdy, our resolve is firm and our people are ready.”
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Television has raised writing to a new low. — Samuel Goldwyn
”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States and China have agreed to cooperate on developing an inventory of China’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday, an initiative that appears be a response to criticism of Beijing’s data collection. Several senators whose votes are key to passage of domestic climate legislation, including Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., have questioned whether they will be able to trust any greenhouse gas reductions China reports to the international community. China has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases; together they account for roughly 40 percent of the world’s output. The two nations have already worked together on monitoring other industrial emissions, such as sulfur dioxide.
TODAY IN HISTORY 1965: Kellogg’s Pop Tarts pastries are created.
TRIPOLI, Libya — Iran’s foreign minister vowed Wednesday that his nation will not allow any of its enriched uranium supply out of the country, the most definitive statement so far on an international proposal to exchange the bulk of Iran’s nuclear material for fuel rods fitted for a Tehran, Iran, medical reactor. Manouchehr Mottaki told the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency that the Islamic Republic does not trust Russia and France—which under the plan would further refine and mold the refined uranium—to follow through on the deal. Iran would prefer to exchange its uranium within its own borders. “We will definitely not send our enriched uranium out of the country,” he said in comments published by the agency Wednesday. “That means
a simultaneous fuel swap inside Iran could be possible.” The latest comments were seen as either a dismissal of a U.S. and U.N.-backed proposal to ease international tensions over Iran’s nuclear program by lowering its supply below the threshold required to make a bomb or an attempt by Iran to haggle over the deal. The United States, Europe and Israel suspect Iran is attempting to attain nuclear weapons capability. Iran insists that its complex of nuclear technology installations is meant for civilian purposes only. An International Atomic Energy Agency report this week said international inspectors harbor doubts that Iran has been completely candid about its program, but it found no evidence that Iran was actively trying to build a bomb.
Lawrence ho/Los Angeles times
TV and film composers and lyricists, including (from left to right) Alan Elliott, James DiPasquale and Bruce Broughton, are joining forces over insufficient pay. Their crafts are among the few in the entertainment industry not covered by a union contract. About 400 of them met in Burbank, Calif., this week to discuss joining the Teamsters union, which currently represents studio drivers, location managers and casting directors.
the chronicle
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 | 3
Distinction program expands after reform by Paul Horak The chronicle
courtesy of Ildar Sagdejev
Opened three years ago, Duke Integrated Medicine is the first facility of its kind to offer non-conventional treatments such as acupuncture, hypnosis and meditation. The center’s 8-week meditation program has been shown to improve participants’ sleep quality.
Integrated medicine center emphasizes ‘mindfulness’ by Tullia Rushton The chronicle
For those tired of the same old conventional medical practices, Duke Medicine is offering an alternative way to address health needs. Duke Integrative Medicine is a branch of Duke Medicine that has recently pushed to publicize its unique approach to health and treatment. More than three years ago, Duke In-
tegrative Medicine opened a new 27,000 sq.-ft. facility that offers alternative treatments for patients. “Our approach at Duke Integrative Medicine is a combination of conventional Western medicine and complementary treatment, such as acupuncture, nutrition, fitness, hypnosis and meditation,” said Isabel Geffner, director of communications at Duke Integrative
Medicine. “We look at the non-pharmaceutical options for treatment.” A main point of emphasis at Duke Integrative Medicine is the idea of “mindfulness,” said Jeffrey Greeson, a clinical health psychologist at the facility. “Being mindful means that we have an awareness of what’s happening as it’s happening,” See medicine on page 5
Weird, funny, vibrant, upsetting, and political These are just a few words to describe feminist art and its engagement with visual culture. In this course we will study feminist art and how it goads us to re-see and re-think the images of women, men, sex, race, and gender circulating through culture and impacting our lives.
WST 175/VISUALST 180/LIT 133 Feminism and Visual Culture Kimberly Lamm, MWF 10:20 - 11:10 AM
One of Lee Baker’s first acts as Dean of Academic Affairs of Trinity College was to push for a new Graduation with Distinction program. And since the initiative was passed in April, students with serious interdisciplinary interests have started to work toward graduating with honors for achievements in fields outside their majors. But to do so, students Lee Baker need more than just commitment and passion. “We set the bar pretty high,” Baker said. “We don’t want students to suddenly, in their senior year, say they have a great idea and write a paper about it. We gave the process a great deal of thought, and decided that students should have an extensive background in their area of interest, certain stepping stones.” These “stepping stones” include at least five classes taken in the area of interest with a 3.5 GPA or higher and convincing three faculty members that the semester-long project is interesting and valuable. The panel of faculty helps students with their
research, gives advice and evaluates the undertaking. Baker said there are approximately eight seniors working on semester-long projects, with about half in documentary studies. Senior Kevin Tolson is one of the eight. A political science major with an extensive background in documentary studies, Tolson is working with three members of the documentary studies faculty to complete a documentary about four boxing athletes he first encountered early in his freshman year. The boxers range from enthusiast to professional, but all work out in the same gym in Tolson’s hometown of Baltimore, Md. Tolson said he chose to pursue the research to find out why the athletes use the same gym. He has since kept in touch with them and said that as a senior, he can offer the project more depth and diligence. See distinction on page 6
CORRECTION A Nov. 17 photo caption, “From bones to batteries,” incorrectly identified the person in the image as Dave Benson. The Chronicle regrets the error.
lations CongtorathetuClass of 2013 Baldwin Scholars!
Elizabeth Clark
Vivian Lorencatto
Rajlakshmi De
Emily McGinty
Michaela Dwyer
Andrea Mihic
Casey Edwards
Estefany Noria
Beth Gordon
Alexis Oparah
Alana Jackson
Molly Superfine
Samantha Lachman
Sophie Throsby
Kristen Lee
Lauren Vernon
Courtney Liu
Nailah Waterfield
4 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 the chronicle
lemur center from page 1 primates. But the University has honored the plans it made to finance the center’s expansions before the economy plummeted. Its commitment to the center has not always been so resolute. “There was a dark period in our history when the University rightfully asked, ‘Why are we supporting all these exotic animals?’” Yoder said. In 2001, Provost Peter Lange launched an initiative to evaluate the worth of the center after a review conducted by Vice Provost for Research Jim Siedow found it was neglecting research in favor of conservation goals. “We certainly recognize that the primate center is an attractive place where schoolchildren and others can learn, but Duke does not have a zoological mission in and of itself,” Lange told Duke Magazine in 2001. “Rather, our core missions are research and teaching. Our service to society is linked through those missions, and all of our facilities need to make a substantial contribution to teaching and to advanced research.” Lange could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening. Administrators decided not to close the center in 2004 after dozens of outside experts affirmed that the facility is central to the scientific community’s understanding of primates, Yoder said. In 2002, then-director William Hylander penned a master plan for the center to bolster its contributions to Duke’s mission of research and teaching, Lange told Duke Magazine. The two new buildings were called for in the first stage of the plan. Future phases call for a new research facility, another “releasable” building to house the rest of Duke’s primates and a center for visitors and conferences, Yoder said. Although realizing the entire plan will cost
Duke.
nate glencer/The Chronicle
About 70 percent of the 200 lemurs in the Duke Lemur Center will be housed in the two new facilities for the upcoming winter. With a price tag of $8.2 million, the two buildings were the last project that the Board of Trustees approved before last Fall’s indefinite construction moratorium in light of the financial crisis. tens of millions of dollars, the Lemur Center is already plotting its next move. Administrators submitted an $8.9 million proposal to the National Institutes of Health to construct a new space for veterinary services and research with stimulus funds, Yoder said. “The point of this growth is we want to move forward on all three prongs of our mission: research, conservation, education,” she said. She added that many Duke students conduct non-invasive research with the primates. “After studies, the lemur goes back to his family group, has a glass of wine, ends the day,”
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Yoder said. “We do no harm to the lemurs.” On a guided tour of the completed building, spaces for lemur families included displays of stuffed animals dangling from faux trees to paint a picture of how the primates will inhabit their new homes. Staff members will not have to imagine for much longer. Temperatures in Durham increased last week, but the lemurs could not enjoy it because they had already been sealed in their cages for winter, Katz said. Each family space in the new facility includes a trap door that swings open to the outside world. From now on, whenever Durham is blessed
with warm weather, trainers will be able to let the lemurs out to play. Taking advantage of a mild morning outdoors, Limerick, a baby ring-tailed lemur, and his twin, Hibernia, ran forward with their arms outstretched, wrestled in a mound of leaves and buried their snouts in the ground. When he remembered the visitors’ presence, Limerick put his games on pause and sat on his haunches with his tail curled high over his head, gazing quizzically up at Katz. “It’s hard for humans to define happiness in another species,” Katz said. “But they have to be happier like this.”
the chronicle
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 | 5
DSG from page 1
medicine from page 3
amendments, but ultimately none of the motions came to fruition. Morrison said discussions and amendments from last night and from previous meetings will be considered before the special session Nov. 30. Senior Danny Lewin, a former Chronicle columnist, motioned to replace an amendment passed at last week’s meeting that called for a general body election to select the Young Trustee. His proposed amendment would allow six at-large representatives of the Young Trustee Nominating Committee, six representatives of student groups and the DSG Senate to collectively select the Young Trustee. Senators also drafted an amendment that would allow the three groups to make a non-binding selection of the Young Trustee and then have the student body vote on DSG’s recommendation. Athletics and Campus Services Senator Ben Bergmann, a junior, said he supports the inclusion of a general body election in the selection process. “I think there is considerably more bias in this room about who the Young Trustee should be... than there is out there,” Bergmann said. Nothing concrete came out of the meeting, however. Senators also voted on overruling a veto by DSG President Awa Nur, a senior, of a proposal for a new Young Trustee selection process, but failed to reach a two-thirds majority. “The debate, negotiations and compromises are integral to an open and democratic process,” Morrison said. “And so the fact that this is taking some time is frustrating, yes, but in the end it will leave us with a much better outcome because all of the debate we have had.” But junior Will Passo, vice president for Durham and regional affairs and co-author of the general election amendment with sophomore Pete Schork, vice president for athletics and campus services, said in an interview that senators did not prepare for the meeting. He said the senators did not come to a consensus because of their lack of preparation. “[The senators’] thought process was only taking place on the Senate floor instead of both on the Senate floor and whatever,” Passo said. “That’s why it got crazy. I think it shows the incompetence of the DSG Senate and I think that proves one of our points that we want to have a general body election, because senators a lot of the time don’t do their homework. This was awful today.” Morrison said he will present senators with two competing bills after break—one that will be similar to the bill passed last week and one that will be similar to the proposal junior Amanda Turner, special secretary for the Young Trustee process and president of the Black Student Alliance, submitted Nov. 4. Morrison added that senators must decide on the Young Trustee selection process and elect members to the Young Trustee Nominating Committee by Dec. 2—the deadline set by the Board of Trustees. Morrison said he will hold sena-
Greeson said. “We need to be aware of our trains of thoughts and mindfully observe our habits and impulses without necessarily acting on them.” Researchers at the facility are also trying to conduct studies to quantify the benefits of integrative medicine. Greeson is currently conducting a study funded by the National Institutes of Health that focuses on an eight-week meditation program to improve sleep. He has been teaching meditation skills, mindful breathing and body awareness to patients at Duke since 1998. Greeson said he wants to see the program’s effectiveness on sleep quality, stress-related symptoms, compassion and positive and negative emotions. Although still in its early stages, Greeson said those who finish the program have exhibited a significant improvement in sleep quality and take sleep medication less frequently. He added that he also wants to learn how raising awareness of one’s mind and feelings can improve overall sleep. “Daily meditative practices, mindful breathing or a series of yoga postures can both prevent the effects and ameliorate the treatment of stress and tension,” Greeson said. In addition to mindful sleeping, there are also studies on mindful eating, Fikkan said. “My area of interest is in applying integrative medicine and holistic approaches to weight-related problems and eating,” Fikkan said. She added that she wants to observe the benefits of mindful eating and distinguish between eating out of hunger as opposed to emotional eating. “Traditional approaches to weight loss have pretty mixed results,” Fikkan said. “Weight is typically gained back afterwards, which makes people feel demoralized.” Mindful eating includes paying attention to what’s being eaten and observing certain body signals while eating, Fikkan said, adding that many people rely on external cues to indicate fullness, rather than on the more subtle body signals. As a whole, integrative medicine is more of a complement instead of a replacement to traditional medical treatment, Greeson said. He noted that integrative medicine has been shown to decrease symptoms of stress, anxiety and pain as well as showing signs of lowering blood pressure and causing changes in brain structure and function. “Conventional medicine reacts to health issues, but integrative medicine is proactive and plans for health,” Geffner said.
margaux mcaulay/The Chronicle
Senator Ben Bergmann, a junior, consults with others during the DSG meeting Wednesday night. The Senate failed to reach a consensus on Young Trustee reforms after the two-hour debate. A special session will be held the Monday after Thanksgiving Break to continue discussions. tors in the special session until they reach a resolution, and senators will elect members to the nominating committee during the regularly-scheduled Dec. 2 meeting. In other business: Three members of the International Association presented a plan for DSG to put together a committee to create a plan for a need-blind admissions policy for international students. Not having such a policy for international students who apply for aid puts them at a disadvantage, members said, adding that other top universities have instituted need-blind international admissions policies. DSG accepted the memo. DSG members also passed a resolution urging the administration to either reverse its decision to dismiss two staff members of the Multicultural Center or hire new staff members to fill those empty spots. Another resolution established a resident assistant basketball lottery that will allow five randomly selected RAs to attend each game, and a third asked administrators to allocate space for a center for student activism in the future. Senators also voted to recognize the student groups Pakistanis at Duke and DreamCorp at Duke and approved the Student Organization Finance Committee’s allocation of $1,991.50 for the Duke Dance Marathon. They also allocated funds for today’s Duke-Durham Hunger Alliance Meal Swap.
6 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 the chronicle
distinction from page 3
RGAC from page 1
“Having this opportunity to express yourself in this medium allows you to expand your outlook and I am glad that I can take advantage of it,” Tolson said. “This is something that I can really appreciate.” Baker said the Graduation with Distinction program offers students like Tolson a transformative experience. Baker added that he hopes future students will take advantage of the program’s “interdisciplinarity.” “This is something really meaningful and I think that the experience does last a lifetime,” he said. The Graduation with Distinction program was approved in April by the Arts & Sciences Council and spearheaded by Baker, who had heard stories from colleagues across many departments about exceptional students who had strong interests in areas outside of their majors. Before the new program was approved, students could only receive honors for theses or projects within their respective majors. Melissa Malouf, associate professor of the practice of English, recalled an economics major with a passion for creative writing who Malouf hoped would receive honors for his distinguished works of fiction. “I inquired about the possibility of his doing a thesis through the Creative Writing Distinction program because of his serious preparation through coursework at Duke and his record of achievement,” Malouf wrote in an e-mail. Because the student was an economics major, he could not graduate with distinction in writing despite his achievements, which included winning the Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Creative Writing twice. With the new graduation with distinction program, a student like Malouf’s could graduate with honors for his demonstrated commitment to an area outside of his major if he so chooses. Senior Lindsay Kunkle, a psychology major, considered pursuing graduation with distinction in documentary studies. But she ultimately decided to complete her capstone in documentary studies and not pursue distinction. Kunkle said she hopes to earn graduation with distinction in psychology instead. “I wish I could have pursued the new program,” she said. “I think its great because it allows you to engage with your community, more than other programs where there is a lot of research, and because it allows you to explore your interests.”
council, two Campus Council and one independent quadrangle representatives. RGAC co-Chair Sean Puneky, a senior, said there was low variance among each of the judges’ scores, which he said showed consistency among their evaluation of qualitative measures. But Kaufman said it was difficult to know what was expected from groups and what earned a good score. Junior Ben Klitus, IFC vice president for chapter services IFC representative for RGAC, said there was no way for RGAC liaisons or for the scorers themselves to interpret the information. Rubrics came with very few guidelines and there was no discussion among the panel of scorers. “My scores, I will tell you, are a complete joke. I don’t know where they were factored in, but you say there’s not much score deviation,” Klitus said. “I don’t see how that’s possible. The idea of student involvement is great, but in practice I actually think student involvement is one of the biggest problems with this process because there is no way to make it unbiased.” The highest and lowest scores for each group were dropped before determining averages. Some representatives said groups themselves did a poor job of selecting their representatives and liaisons. RGAC co-Chair John Pryor, a junior and Campus Council facilities and services chair, said no one is free from fault. “IFC scores were the least consistent, they were all over the place—we’re talking like 20-point differences from the other tightly grouped scores,” Pryor said in the meeting. “The only explanation we could come up with for this is that IFC reps were trying to help their friends or hurt people.... These are statistics, they do not lie. If you’re looking for fault, maybe you should look at yourselves.” IFC members raised concerns that although effort put into the process increased, scores have trended down over the past three years. Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a junior, said in an interview that it is an overall trend that should not have affected the standard deviation. Several groups also called into question the criteria RGAC uses to evaluate groups, which committee members said is an eventdriven process. Selective living groups, including Scott House, Round Table, Prism and several fraternities, pointed out that the criteria used to evaluate groups do not necessarily reflect their efforts or their missions. Kaufman said in a previous
interview the process attempts to “compare apples and oranges.” Associate Dean for Residential Life Joe Gonzalez, said the categories were not designed to suit any group perfectly. Rather, they reflect what the creators of the RGAC process thought separated groups from large blocks and represented the organizations’ responsibilities to the greater community. Supplemental categories allow groups to choose what they wish to be judged on outside of the fundamental categories. Supplemental categories include intellectual focus, service and philanthropy, faculty and staff interaction and social programming. Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity President Kevin Lincoln, a junior and Recess music editor, said there was a possibility that groups like Round Table—which had the highest average score—are by nature “better suited” to the RGAC process. Round Table co-Coordinators Hilary Robbins and Andrew Zonderman, both seniors, said “that’s fair.” Some other concerns pertained to the new sections for groups. Jen Frank, assistant director of accommodations for RLHS, said the Campus Council Executive Committee worked with RLHS to design the menu for SLGs. She said officials started with the floor plans of all West Campus dormitories and reduced it to sections that would better spread groups across campus. The new sections offer four fewer dedicated common rooms and “three or four” fewer first-floor downstairs sections to better reflect the distribution of independents, Frank said. “It’s not a fair judgment that a group can use a common room better than an independent,” Temple said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t represent the third voice here... and say that 70 percent of West is independents.” But fraternity representatives said the changes will make it much more difficult for them to host events that independents attend. Several said the new sections give groups little incentive to perform well because they have privileges equivalent to those of a large block. “I think you’re going to find groups utilizing their off-campus facilities more often, I think as a result of that you might see an increase in who knows what,” Kaufman said in an interview Monday. “I don’t think groups are going to have an incentive to contribute to residential life because a lot of the groups feel like they’ve been shafted by the process, and regardless of what the bare-boned truth slash facts are, perception makes a difference.” Many attendees agreed that RGAC did force groups to improve themselves and reminded them that residential space is
MICHAEL NACLERIO/The Chronicle
RGAC co-Chair John Pryor responds to students’ concerns about the RGAC process and its results at a meeting Wednesday night. a privilege. “This hasn’t been brought up and it’s something I think should be mentioned— sororities don’t have living space,” Robbins said in the meeting. “Women as a large group don’t have living space, so you really should have to earn your space on campus.” Several administrators, Campus Council members and RGAC committee cochairs remained for more than two and a half hours after the meeting ended, leaving the meeting room at 2:45 a.m. After, Temple said they were still considering many options.
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recess
volume 12, issue 14 it’s never too early
November 19, 2009
Fairytale of Chapel Hill Trekky Records revs up to celebrate the holiday season with its annual Christmas at the Cradle
PAGE 4
Andrew Hibbard/The chronicle
the warehouse
Local artists turn a warehouse into a performance venue
page 3
half a dollar
Curtis Jackson continues to disappoint with his new LP
page 7
the humbling
Critic Kevin Lincoln humbles Philip Roth’s new book
page 6
Page 2
the
sandbox
recess
I don’t know why I’m admitting this, but I watched Waterworld this past weekend. Maybe it was because of the post-tailgate daze, or the Taqueria La Vaquitainduced food coma spell. From start to finish, I was unable to tear my eyes away. It was like watching a train wreck. Except a train wreck where Kevin Costner drinks his own urine and has webbed feet. Waterworld is one of those movies where you just can’t help but ask yourself, “What the f—?” At an inflation-adjusted budget of $251 million, it is the (source-depending) fourth or sixth most expensive movie ever made, and star Kevin Costner supplied $20 million of his own fortune for its production. That check didn’t even get Costner a Razzie. As I watched a one-eyed Dennis Hopper and thousands of extras whose homeless-looking wardrobes probably each cost a year of Duke tuition, I pondered many questions. Were the makers of Waterworld convinced that it would
revolutionize cinema? Doesn’t Jean Tripplehorn look just like Michael Jackson? How much would one of those flamethrowing jet skis go for on eBay? Skyrocketing movie budgets, an increasingly common industry reality, can go one of two ways: critical and financial success (Titanic) or plague-riddled disasters (Cleopatra). I wonder, then, what will happen with the film about to take the title of most expensive of all time: James Cameron’s Avatar. Cameron’s epic, more than a decade in the making, has been touted as one to change film forever. Cameron has proclaimed the 2-D to 3-D jump to be cinema’s next major transition, following in the footsteps of silent to sound, from black-andwhite to color. But nothing is certain. Avatar’s Web site promises to take you to a “spectacular world beyond imagination.” Please let there be a drought. —Charlie McSpadden
[recesseditors] underrated holidays Andrew Hibbard........................................................the last recess production ever Eugene Wang.........................................................................festivus for the rest-iv-us Claire Finch...........................................may day: the oppressed of the world unite! Charlie McSpadden...........................................................................................bid day Kevin Lincoln...........................................................................RGAC assignment day Jonathan Wall............................................................................................my wedding Maddie Lieberberg.............................................................................................iPurim Dishonest Robinson...............................any day a banana costs $1.35 is a good day
November 19, 2009
duke,Horizontal
A list: All the math you didn’t learn in high school. One: Losing your virginity. The difference between something and nothing. A binary number. Yes or no. Experience or naivete. One is the first important number. You’ve created a formula that didn’t exist before. Plus one. Puberty hits, and suddenly arithmetic is making everyone horny. The law of double standards: When determining the true value of an individual’s claimed sexual history, a girl’s total is divided in half. A boy’s sum is multiplied by two. X: The number you dial when you’re drunk and alone on Valentine’s Day. The virgin paradox: Unleash a group of sexually frustrated girls on a dance floor filled with unsuspecting strangers, and prepare yourself for a savage and barbaric phenomenon worthy of its own Planet Earth special. Sexual experience is inversely proportional to the number of faces sucked. Relative attractiveness on either side of the equation is not a controlling factor. FHAL: First Head, Anal Last Infinity: Any number higher than that with which your boyfriend is comfortable. Asymptotic liaison: A consistent hook-up that progressively resembles a committed relationship, but fails to ever become one. Trends when graphed include initial infrequent date function invitations, a plethora of text fights and a final refusal to meet one of the variable’s parents. Area: Width times length. (Footnote: It matters.) Obtuse angle: Any position not intended to be replicated by the human body. Undefined: Solve through DTR (de-
fine the relationship). See also: problem, unsolvable. Three: Null set. See also: imaginary number. Geometry: Tall male plus short female does not equal 69. Cosine: What two significant others should never do to a lease agreement. Extra-large: An unnecessary purchase for the majority of the male population. See also: Magnum. Positive correlation: The relationship between alcohol consumption and the relative attractiveness of a total stranger. Experience theorems: Experience equals one plus one plus one, etc. Experience, however, also equals one times a large number. Does this mean that there are two types of experiences? Can both equations solve for the same total and still not mean the same thing? Are some numbers worth more than other numbers? Is a make-out worth less than a blow job? Is a boyfriend worth more than a rando? Maybe this is why I got a B+ in high school pre-calculus. Median: Six-and-a-half inches, twelveand-a-half minutes and 34B. Mean: Not swallowing. Two: The only number ever really worth calculating. Brooke Hartley is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Thursday.
Picasso and the Allure of Language On view through January 3, 2010 The Nasher Museum presents a groundbreaking exhibition examining Pablo Picasso’s lifelong relationship with writers and the many ways in which language transformed his work. Picasso and the Allure of Language was organized by the Yale University Art Gallery with the support of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Pablo Picasso, Dog and Cock, 1921. Oil on canvas, 61 x 30 1/8 inches. Yale University Art Gallery. Gift of Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903. ©2009 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Tickets: 919-660-1701 | www.nasher.duke.edu/picasso Duke students FREE (1 ticket per ID)
(919) 560-3030 • www.carolinatheatre.org 309 West Morgan St. • Downtown Durham
Carolina Theatre Gift Certificates Available! Great Holiday Gift - Good for any show/film!
going home for Thanksgiving? you can still find us here.
the chronicle on-line: anytime, any place, overeating not required.
www.dukechronicle.com
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November 19, 2009
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Creativity abounds in 715 space by Claire Finch The chronicle
Just outside the hipster hub that is the Main Street-East Chapel Hill Street intersection is a low cinderblock warehouse, unmarked except for a large “715” painted across the front in splashy colors. Formerly an auto garage, then a supplier of cremation-ready coffins, the 2,400-square-foot warehouse at 715 Washington Street is now the home of a vibrant artistic collective. The Space—as the warehouse is called—is shared by seven local artistic figures, spearheaded by poet-cum-muscian and Duke Performances Marketing Director Ken Rumble. He and other scene stalwarts had been using a different venue across from the Marriott for regular rock music sessions when forced to relocate. After a day of biking around Durham and making mostly fruitless inquiries, Rumble landed upon the current garage space. The sprawling room became an official studio in late April. Now, shared by artists whose interests cast a wide net from writing to performance to painting, The Space has become a place of artistic innovation and collaboration. A frequent rehearsal space for various musical ventures, The Space has hosted two art installations since its inception. In tell-tale, genre-swapping form, an original “poet’s play” by Space member Chris Vitiello is slated for tomorrow’s Third Friday events. “I think Durham has a really great art scene, but in my experience it’s pretty genre-specific,” Rumble said. “There’s not necessarily a space where things that don’t fit into any categories happen. On a really basic level, that kind of variety is necessary. It shows people... that they can do something much more idiosyncratic and much more particular to what their vision is.” Looking around The Space, evidence of media integration abounds. Musical instruments are set up in one corner mere feet away from a makeshift stage Vitiello is constructing for his play. Drawings, amateur graffiti and musical bars span the walls, while a disco ball glistens at the center of the ceiling. Creative detritus such as
by Stefanija Giric The chronicle
maddie lieberberg/The Chronicle
A group of seven residents have adopted a warehouse space at 715 Washington St. for their myriad artistic creations. They will host two performances of Chris Vitiello’s poet’s play at 7:30 and 9 p.m. Friday. masks, figurines and empty beer cans spill from available surfaces, lending a colorfully cluttered air to the montone cement flooring. The overall impression is not only of the mingling interests of the many players who practice and perform there but of a tension between private studio space and a more universally welcoming performance environment—an issue that has become vital in The Space’s current and continuing evolution. “The challenge is navigating between the public and private. Personally, I’m not interested in running a gallery or venue. I want to maintain a modicum of privacy in the space for it to retain a somewhat anarchic and free-form aura,” wrote Space member Brian Howe in an e-mail. “If you can point to The Space and say, ‘it’s a venue,’ or ‘it’s a gallery,’ then something has gone wrong from my perspective.” Frequenters of The Space are constantly finding themselves negotiating this
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relationship along with the different artistic ambitions of seven people, a balancing act that is complicated by a common desire to share the warehouse’s potential with the outside community. “At first, it was really just intended to be practice and studio space, but it’s such as large and evocative space, we immediately thought we need to have events here, performances here,” Vitiello said. “The work we’re making—we should be presenting it and letting people in.” For the time being, the artists seem to have struck a comfortable agreement. Most days, at least a few of the members can be found in The Space, creating, collaborating or just hanging out on the building’s front stoop, sipping drinks and watching a resident family of foxes dart down the street. The venue will continue to periodically open to outsiders, at least until the lease runs out. Rumble, illuminated by the shifting light of The Space’s disco ball, said, “It’s basically a billion dreams come true.”
Arts groups from Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill have decided that it’s time to give the Triangle arts scene a facelift—or at least a makeover. Golden Belt, CAM/now and the Cotton Room are sponsoring the first-ever Triangle Arts Mixer to encourage a fresh batch of artists and art enthusiasts to discover, celebrate and advance the already booming Triangle arts scene. The event was brainstormed by members of CAM/now, a group of young professionals that is part of the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh. Together with Golden Belt, CAM/now planned the mixer to break in Golden Belt’s newly opened Cotton Room event space. In addition to being named one of the Top Ten Hubs for the Creative Class by Fast Company magazine, the Triangle has seen a surge in arts organizations in recent years. As a response to the growing need to pay tribute to the region’s thriving arts scene, CAM/ now envisioned the Triangle Arts Mixer as allowing local arts groups more opportunities to introduce their work to the community, said Nicole Welch, curator of education for CAM/now, in a press release. The mixer will feature over twenty nonprofit and for-profit arts organizations who hope to increase their visibility in the area, ideally using the event’s visionary vibe to attract more members and volunteers. “We wanted to provide a casual setting for the young community to mix and mingle and for arts groups to be able to share more of what they do,” said Allison Polish, director of marketing for Scientific Properties, the developer for Golden Belt. The evening will showcase organizations from all segments of the creative spectrum, including visual arts, theater, film, dance and music. Participating groups include the See mixer on page 8
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by Michael Woodsmall The chronicle
urning off 15-501, I attempted to navigate myself down dimly lit backroads using an iPhone. But even the Apple geniuses didn’t think to properly map the residence where I was scheduled to meet Martin Anderson and Will Hackney, the label heads of Chapel Hill-based Trekky Records. (Let’s be clear, it’s Martin and Will—not Anderson and Hackney.) As I squinted out of my car’s windows I realized why the street hadn’t been drawn on a map. The sign that informed me of my arrival on their street led me down a dirt road past a row of rustic mailboxes toward a small, two-story house. As I walked up the front porch, deer ran through the surrounding forest. I’ve never felt more like I was in North Carolina. This unmapped authenticity is much the same with Trekky Records. The brainchild of a 12-year-old punk rocker, Trekky began with Martin distributing CD-Rs of his friends’ bands with labels designed and printed from his home computer. With the help of then-14-year-old Will, the label expanded as they managed to convince several local bands to allow them to release their albums. Years later, Trekky Records has become one of the leaders in the revitalization of Chapel Hill’s legendary indie scene. “There was this perception that the ‘golden age’ was in the past,” Martin explained. “But we were like, ‘We’re just getting here. It has to happen in a little bit.’” “There was this myth that was around,” Will said in reference to the so-called golden years. “We wanted to bring it back to be just as true now.”
November 19, 2009
kind And it is. With a collaborative effort, the indie scene is as vibrant as ever. “In the past, Troika has had two or three headliners,” Martin said of the recent local-centric Durham festival. “This year, the headliner was the scene.” Will said he feels the same, mentioning that the festival affirmed his belief that the scene has regained its legendary status. “Troika this year was one of those moments. It’s cool. It’s happening,” he said. Sitting down in mismatched chairs in what I assumed to be the dining room of their new residence and office, Will and Martin are not the suits most people would associate with record labels. They are young—in their early 20s—shaggyhaired and bearded, casually dressed in jeans and sneakers, more the people who would attend shows rather than organize them. Their musical taste and enthusiasm are rooted in the community of local bands, stemming from their experiences in middle school and high school playing in bands and attending concerts as often as they could. And this intimate knowledge of the scene is what has helped with the revival of the once-fading community. Perhaps this is best exemplified by their holiday concert, Christmas at the Cradle, which began as a CD release party for an album they recorded in a barn in Chatham County during a scorching three-day stretch in August 2006. Members from the so-called Trekky Mafia, including Will and Martin and some other friends, formed a supergroup, the Trekky Yuletide Orchestra, and recorded A New Old-Fashioned Christmas, an album born out of shared enthusiasm for Christmas music. “The format, the album and concert came organically,” Martin said. “It is
kind of funny and kind of cool. It became a tradition instantly.” The concert has become not only a scene staple, but also a holiday must for locals. In a season that already provides enough incentive to come home, the show is one more reason for the season. An earnest celebration of family and friends, the concert emphasizes all the small things that made Christmas what it was when you were young and waited with eyes wide-open in bed to hear Santa jimmying down the chimney. And it’s more event than concert, with highlights including a photo-ready Santa and classic holiday tunes between sets. It’s a refreshing change of pace in an industry that has become overwhelmingly ironic and a season more associated with shopping than sharing time with each other. This past summer, while touring with Trekky act Lost in the Trees, Martin was approached by a Chapel Hill native at a concert in Boston asking when the Christmas show would be. Martin said he was hoping it would be after his last exam, so he could make sure to book a flight and attend. Although the concert supports the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the spirit of giving isn’t the main audience draw. “Some people don’t even know that the concert supports a charity,” Will said. “They come to the show to have a good time.” Will added there is a gift exchange at his house after the show. “There is a very familial vibe.” The concert is more than an opportunity to play with each other. It’s an opportunity to play something new for an audience of faithful followers. “I love a band like the Hammer [No More the Fingers],” Martin explained. “But I’ve seen them so many times. When they’re thrown into something different, it’s a unique experience.” With an increasingly busy schedule due to Trekky’s rising profile, Martin said he appreciates the holidays as an opportunity to relax, to enjoy the reason he and Will have poured so much effort into the label—the music and community that they have championed back to glory. “We moved into this house. We toured with Lost in the Trees,” Martin said of 2009. “This year, we really hit the pavement. During the holidays, we can kind of let our guard down.” As I walked out the front door, Will mentioned he was surprised to hear the doorbell ring, explaining that no one ever comes through that entrance, that they come in usually unannounced through the screen door off the back porch. Their residence and office feels more like a commune more than anything else. And it’s this feeling that has allowed Trekky Records and the indie scene in Chapel Hill to thrive, returning to its rightful place atop the musical communities.
A Cat’s Cradle Dec. 15, 2009
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T
he fourth annual Christmas at the Crad Tickets are $8 advance, $10 at the door. A tiple Sclerosis Society. The event will be h
The Trekky Yuletide Orchestr Dexter Romweber Stuart McLamb (of The Love Language) Des Ark Whatever Brains
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d of
special to The Chronicle
local rockers deliver christmas for the kids by Kevin Lincoln
T
photos by andrew hibbard/The Chronicle
e Christmas
dle is scheduled for Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. All proceeds benefit the National Mulhosted by Billy Sugarfix
ra
Veelee Birds and Arrows Organos Mount Weather
The chronicle
he Christmas season is about giving and getting, and Sir Walter Records is providing Triangle residents with a local, musical variety of both. Tonight, Raleigh pub Tir Na Nog is hosting the CD release party for this year’s iteration of the label’s annual compilation of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill bands playing Christmas songs—the fourth such volume since 2006’s Have a Holly Raleigh Christmas. This year’s album, entitled Have a Holly Raleigh KIDSmas, reflects the label’s request that groups submit tracks oriented toward children as well as celebrating the holiday spirit. Stephen Votino, a member— along with Jeff Carroll, Shawn Gillen and Robert Courts—of the four-person cohort that comprises Sir Walter Records, said the decision to release a children’s album this year was done largely as a change of pace. “I think it was Shawn who was talking about how bands like Mommie and Sandbox—bands we have on the CD this year— how they write normal music like rock and roll or pop, but make it more of a kids’ song, and
that’s become trendy and popular,” Votino said. “So we thought we’d just give it a shot and see what our artists could come up with and see how sales do this year.” It’s clear what the listener is receiving: 12 tracks from some of the area’s best young bands, including nationally known Merge act the Rosebuds and Durham
program or [enable us to] add an additional student. It’s been tougher the last couple of years with all the [city] budget cuts... so some of these fundraisers are becoming really important for us.” The bands involved took a variety of different approaches to the challenge of writing a Christmasthemed kids’ song for a charity compilation. The Rosebuds’ par-
“I feel like you’ve only really made it when you’re on a Christmas album.” — Matt Douglas jazz/hip-hop foursome the Beast. But anyone who purchases Holly Raleigh is giving as well. All proceeds from sales of the compilation go to Raleigh’s Community Music School, a nonprofit organization. The school gives private music lessons and loans instruments to about 120 students a year from low-income families, and it puts on recitals for those involved. “Basically, it costs the school about a thousand dollars a year per student,” he said. “So any money we raise can either help enhance the
ticipation goes all the way back to the first Have a Holly Raleigh Christmas compilation, and band member Ivan Howard wrote in an e-mail that Carroll approached them again this year to write a song for the children’s version. The song is called “I Hear (Click Click Click),” taking a novel approach to the concept of Santa’s nighttime visit. “It’s basically the chorus of the song,” Howard said. “It’s about that excitement you get as a kid when you are laying in bed listening for Santa on your tin roof. I think this really captures my
idea of what Christmas felt like.” The Beast’s contribution came about in a very different manner. Rapper-frontman Pierce Freelon said it was taken from the soundtrack of a documentary made by his brother-in-law, filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr., about Kwanzaa, which is the subject of the song as well. Both pieces share the title “The Black Candle.” “The idea behind [Kwanzaa], the reason for the season, is based upon seven principles... Swahili words that mean things like faith, cooperative economics, collective work and responsibilitiy,” Freelon said. “I basically take each of those words [in the song] and define them lyrically... I think the song really explains the meaning behind the holiday in a really comprehensive way.” Freelon said though the song wasn’t written originally for kids, they are the audience that understands it best. “[Kids] listen, and they can interpret, and they can recite verses that our parents would hear and would never be able to understand what the people are saying,” Freelon said. “So, while I guess you could say it wasn’t written for kids, hip-hop music and culture is of young people.” And then there’s just general Christmas excitement, as exemplified by the Proclivities frontman Matt Douglas. The band’s contribution is originally from a Christmas EP, Yule Love It, that the band released last holiday season to raise money for buying presents for poor children. It’s a “fun, pop version” of standard “Carol of the Bells,” and the group will be playing that, as well as other Christmas and non-Christmas selections from their back catalogue, at the CD release show. Douglas affirmed the good cause, the sense of community and the spirit of the season, but he had a more unique reason for the Proclivities involvement with the compilation as well. “With a very very mild sprinkling of sarcasm, I think that I’ve been dreaming about being on the Holly Raleigh Christmas for years now,” he said. “I feel like you’ve only really made it when you’re on a Christmas album.” The adult-oriented CD release party begins at 7 p.m. tonight at Tir Na Nog, 218 S. Blount Street, in Raleigh. A more child-friendly release party will be held Saturday at noon at Raleigh’s Marbles Kids Museum, 201 E. Hargett Street.
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the humbling philip roth houghton miffling harcourt
It is a terrible feeling to read a book by your favorite author and wonder whether you should go back and reread their previous works to see whether they were really as good as you remember. Although Philip Roth’s new novel The Humbling never quite forces this sort of reevaluation, parts of it come awfully close. The book, which is the 30th work of fiction by America’s greatest living writer, is at its heart about an old man’s sexual fantasy. Simon Axler loses his brilliant acting abilities all of a sudden, sending him into a tailspin from which he is only able to begin his recovery after meeting a lesbian named Pegeen Mike.
November 19, 2009
From there, Roth explores themes of mortality, selfworth, sexual deviancy and the horrors of ageing, all of which have been more adeptly handled in his past stories. In fact, certain scenes in The Humbling’s brief 140 pages draw direct parallels with previous events in Roth’s fiction, and the results are rarely flattering. The obsession with aging and lost potency that plagues Axler was portrayed by Roth to perfection only three years ago with the modern masterpiece Everyman. And harkening back to nearly the beginning of his literary career, a faux-risky threesome in The Humbling recalls the actually risky threesome—which remains brazen, hilarious, absurd and unapologetic even today—that Alexander Portnoy recounts in the classic masterpiece Portnoy’s Complaint, now 30 years old. Mentioning these two books brings the main issue with The Humbling out from the darkness. The prob-
lem is Roth has written too many great novels about essentially the same themes. In comparison, The Humbling is reduced from being a capable book to something tepid and unfortunate. It is still well-written; it is, in isolation, intriguing. As a novella, it is taut and contained. With all that he has done already, what need is there for this? —Kevin Lincoln
50 cent before i self destruct aftermath
eeEEE
50 Cent’s back, he’s mad as hell and he’s not gonna take it anymore. At least, that’s the premise behind Before I Self Destruct, his fourth fulllength album. Fiddy described it as a prequel to his blockbuster debut Get Rich or Die Tryin’. It’s a worthy, if obvious, goal. The appeal of a back-to-basics album is clear, not only in light of the trajectory of 50’s career (I believe “downward spiral” is the correct term), but also given the current hip-hop climate. The prominence of the Kanye-Kid Cudi school of paralyzing self-doubt has so altered the perception of the rap genre that 50 Cent’s bullet-ridden gangster persona is actually something of an outlier. Fiddy, to his credit, comes out with guns blazing. Whether or not you can take him seriously as he literally snarls his way through opener “The Invitation,” he at least appears to care about these tracks, which itself marks a substantial improvement over 2007’s dismal Curtis. “So Disrespectful” is the class of the album, with 50 dissing just about everyone who comes to mind while reserving special vitriol for former protege Young Buck. And on “Psy-
john mayer battle studies columbia
eeEEE
Angsty pre-teens rejoice: John Mayer has finally made an album just for you. Mayer’s fourth studio release, Battle Studies, is consistent with his previous works, replete with his unimpressive vocals and ridiculously repetitive lyrics. The instrumentals are the strong point of the album, but the bland guitar sound that makes up the bulk of the songs lacks the ability to captivate. In recent years, Mayer has taken steps toward blues music. Battle Studies is mostly a step in the other direction, but the blues influence is still evident. This shows most heavily on “Crossroads,” an update of the Robert Johnson track. The cover is the album’s high point, but in this case, high is barely middling. When he steps away from the blues, though, Mayer falls straight back into his soft boy-rock cocoon. “All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye” has a bit of John Lennon influence, but, in karaoke bar tradition, is a sort of failed tribute. The entire last minute-and-a-half of the song is devoted to repeating the title over and over, and over. This has already been seen in previous offerings like “Waiting on the World to Change,” but on Battle Studies, the repetition reaches new levels of tedium. Of course, the lyrics aren’t the only repetitive aspect of the album. Every song seems to be some fraternal twin of the one before, lacking the ingenuity that might differentiate it from any of the others. Collectively, the album deals with heartbreak, heartbreak, impending heartbreak, marijuana, heartbreak, pretending to be okay with heartbreak and then, covering new ground, heartbreak. In these times of economic hardship, there is an easy way for John Mayer fans to save money. Download one track and simply listen to it on loop. It will be exactly like Battle Studies, but significantly cheaper. —Nathan Nye
cho,” who cares if guest Eminem gets the better of 50? It’s refreshing to hear the two making a song sans clumsy sex rhymes (50) and tossedoff phallic jokes (Em). Unfortunately, the second half of Before lacks the motivation or the firepower of the first. “Baby By Me” sounds like a 50 single, but the hook, courtesy of Ne-Yo, just doesn’t
land like those from Get Rich. By the end of the album’s disastrous closer “Could’ve Been You,” a collaboration with R. Kelly, the aforementioned novelty of 50’s outsized boasts has long since worn off. What’s left is a bloated, overlong attempt at returning to a form 50 may no longer have in him. —Ross Green
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November 19, 2009
2012
dir. r. emmerich sony pictures
eeeEE
Roland Emmerich’s 2012 is not as disastrous a disaster flick as one would think. In 2009, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a prototypical apocalyptic movie scientist, discovers that the rising heat of the Earth’s core will cause the world to end in three years. He warns the American president (Danny Glover), who bands together with world leaders on an arkbuilding crusade (what subtle use of symbolism!) to save as many billionaires as possible. Meanwhile, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a struggling science fiction writer who plans to see his family through the coming cataclysm, hoping his heroism will rekindle his relationship with exwife Kate (Amanda Peet). The plot, of course, is a paper-thin excuse to get to what people really came to see: the complete obliteration of historic structures. On this front, the film delivers. The CGI ef-
pirate radio
dir. r. curtis universal pictures
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A film that could have easily been shipwrecked, Pirate Radio is held afloat by its carefree laughs and blasting tunes. Based on a true story, the film follows Rock Radio, a rogue music station broadcasting from a ship bobbing off the coast of Great Britain. Although the crew fights the government’s efforts to ban rock from the airwaves, the story veers from this vendetta, celebrating instead the camaraderie and senseless fun on board. Fearlessly captained by acutely endearing Quentin (Bill Nighly), the rowdy DJ clan achieves the goal of delivering what the kiddies really want: 24 hours of non-stop, speaker-thumping rock ‘n’ roll. The scene-stealers are certainly the two dueling DJs: The Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), an American broadcaster unequivocally devoted to the music, and Gavin (Rhys Ifans), a rambunctious showman in every sense of the word. Writer-director Richard Curtis’ film is an ode to a time when rock meant everything, and the true love affair was between the fans and their music. With no scruples, no rules and no girls (aside from the token lesbian, Felicity), we revel in the hilarity of the quasi-fraternal gang’s taunting of both one another and the increasingly frustrated government. The plot is predictable but lovable, the characters a collection of extremes. But then again, Pirate Radio is about fun and the indisputable love of rock for which these bad boys would give their lives. Curtis brings us into a world where even the darkest of problems are solved with a game of chicken, and music is the only law to live by. So leave your judgments in the present, jump aboard and let the music be your guide—it’s a rockin’ ride. —Arielle Silverman
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fects are spectacular, and the sand-castle kicking child in all of us can’t help but feel giddy delight while watching the Washington Monument crumble to the ground or the Sistine Chapel collapse with the Pope still inside. The most visually arresting moment comes from an overhead view of Hawaii as it is completely engulfed by volcanic eruptions. To its detriment, the script is poorly written, and the events play out quite predictably. The actors impart us with such gems as “The world as we know it is coming to an end,” and “We have to stop this madness!” There’s even a homeless man with a cardboard sign that reads “Repent! The end is near.” Similarly, the movie ropes in an impressive cast, but how much acting skill does it take to sit in a boat watching the world end? But it’s hard to have any qualms with these setbacks when the movie’s main attractions are executed so masterfully. 2012 is exactly what it promises to be: a montage of mankind’s greatest architectural achievements being destroyed in glorious CGI. —Jose Lamazares
FREE SENIOR PORTRAITS TAKEN FOR THE 2009-2010 YEARBOOK
FREE senior portraits taken for the 2008-2009 yearbook, The Chanticleer:
There is no fee for the sitting, and remember - if Lifetouch doesn’t shoot it, it doesn’t go in the book.
When: Nov. 9-13 and Nov. 1620 from 12:00pm-8:00pm all days Where: 02 Bryan Center (between the Post Office and McDonald’s). Men should wear a jacket and tie, and women a nice blouse or sweater. Arrive early to avoid long lines!
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mixer from page 3 Carolina Ballet, NC Symphony, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern and Bull City Headquarters’ Art Attack. As part of Golden Belt’s Third Friday, patrons of the mixer will also have the opportunity to complement their experience with the opening of a new exhibition in ROOM 100, Hiroshima: After Aftermath from elin o’Hara slavick, and the final day of The Obama Effect, which features works by visiting Virginia Artist-in-Residence Yonsenia White. Organizers especially encourage students to participate in the mixer, and hope that their foray into the arts scene will prompt them to take advantage of the dynamic artistic environment in which they study. “One of our goals is to integrate students further into the arts community,” Polish said. “There is such a wealth of opportunities to get involved and experience art in different formats that make the area really unique.” Ultimately, the event is perfect for all those who call the Triangle home—professionals and newbies alike. “We are inviting all of the Triangle community to network and celebrate what is a common passion—supporting and participating in the arts,” Polish said. The event lasts from 6 to 9 p.m. and will feature music by DJ Yes! Sputnik, light food and a cash bar.
November 19, 2009
Defying genre, blowing minds
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Alejandro Escovedo (top) and Kurt Wagner of Lambchop (bottom) played to a sold-out crowd at Reynolds Industries Theaters Friday. The bill paired two genre-defying monsters of music.
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The Chronicle
THURSDAY
November 19, 2009 www.dukechroniclesports.com
On Harrison Barnes
My girlfriend is a UNC alumna, and she is not what you would call a huge basketball fan. Sure, she was on Franklin Street after the Tar Heels won each of their national championships. And yeah, she did love Sean May. But she certainly could not pick the Wear twins out of a crowd, and when Alex we recently saw Marcus Ginyard at a restaurant, the best she could do was, “Hey, that guy plays for Carolina!” But this weekend, she looked at me and asked, “Are you jelly that UNC signed Harrison Barnes?” So yeah, losing out on Barnes was kind of a big deal. But that doesn’t mean that missing out on Barnes was Coach K’s fault. It doesn’t mean that North Carolina head
Fanaroff
coach Roy Williams is a better recruiter than Mike Krzyzewski—or, as one of my friends put it, that “Roy continues to eat K’s lunch.” It doesn’t mean that recruits don’t think Duke is cool. It doesn’t mean that the Tar Heels are the new dominant team in the country. All it means is that one kid decided he wanted to go to UNC over Duke. To a certain extent, recruiting appears to be like trying to convince someone you met in a bar to go home with you. Except this would be the case only if bar scenes were always characterized by rich old men pursuing very tall and athletic high school boys while thousands of other old men broke down the rich old men’s strategies on the Internet and tried to guess which rich old man the tall, athletic young boy would sleep with. The presence of the pursuer and the pursued makes it tempting to compare recruiting See fanaroff on page 8
Football
Criticism inspires Duke’s improving offensive line by Archith Ramkumar The chronicle
In the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech, Duke backup quarterback Sean Renfree dropped back to pass when a breakdown in protection resulted in Renfree having to step up in the pocket as it collapsed around him. The redshirt freshman soon crumpled to the ground two steps later, lost for the year with a torn ACL. The play was just another example that critics have used to point fingers at the Duke offensive line since before the season even began. Whether it is failing to run the ball or giving up a sack in a critical situation, the Blue Devils’ big men up front have seen more criticism than any other unit on the team. Rather than get frustrated, however, the linemen use
Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was named one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually to the nation’s best senior quarterback
the criticism for more motivation. “We’ve gotten called out as a line,” right guard Bryan Moore said. “We have to take that as a challenge.... You have to work harder.” Duke’s inability to run the ball is the team’s most prominent weakness. The Blue Devils have averaged a paltry 63.9 yards per game so far this season, but have been much more proficient in the air. This might suggest that Duke’s offensive line is better suited or prefers to pass block, as opposed to run block. Ironically, the players insist they do not mind run blocking when the situation calls for it. “I enjoy both of them,” center Bryan Morgan said. “If I had to pick one, pass See o. line on page 8
ian soileau/Chronicle file photo
Duke’s offensive line is smaller than most of the defensive fronts it faces but has held its own for much of the year.
Men’s basketball The Captains, part 1 of 2
sam sheft/The Chronicle
Jon Scheyer has finally settled on a position—point guard—after three years of mixed responsibilities.
Scheyer comfortable running the point by Will Flaherty The chronicle
The signs are pointing up for Jon Scheyer as he enters his fourth and final season as a Blue Devil. Duke’s only returning captain, Scheyer has started the season at point guard, reprising the role he assumed in February 2008. Through all the assignments the 6-foot-5 guard has filled during his Duke career, from starting on the wing as a freshman to serving as a sixth man ace during his sophomore season, Scheyer is at peace playing the point in his senior campaign. “Point guards will have different shots that we get, so that’s something going into this year that I’m excited [about],” Scheyer said. “It gets me more excited that people don’t think we have enough guys to handle the ball, so that’s something that just gets me motivated.” Scheyer spent significant time working on his ballhandling over the summer and spent four days in June at the Deron Williams Skills Academy training alongside other top collegiate point guards like Kansas’ Sherron Collins and Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas. But Scheyer views his point guard duties differently than he did last year. For one, the presence of Nolan Smith as another steady guard in the backcourt means that Scheyer will not bear the ballhandling burden alone. Factor in a more up-tempo role for forward Kyle Singler, who practiced exclusively with the guards this offseason, and Scheyer feels strongly that there are plenty of helping hands available on the Duke roster to bring the ball up the court. “It all starts with me, but there’s not going to be a whole lot of pressure on me,” Scheyer said. “Nolan and Kyle are going to have ballhandling responsibilities too, and I’m not going to have the ball in my hands long bringing it up the court. I just want to get us into our offense.” With opponents likely to pressure Duke in an attempt to wear Scheyer down,
Smith’s ability to periodically take on point guard responsibilities should also pay dividends in allowing the duo to stay sharp. “I think with both of us interchanging and taking turns with the ball, off the ball, it allows us to stay fresh,” Smith said. “We have a big team this year so we wont have to push the ball as much as we did last year with guys like Gerald [Henderson] on the wing running the court.” The frontline size that Smith referenced—three of Duke’s current starters are all 6-foot-8 or taller—also should benefit a high-volume shooter like Scheyer, who led the Blue Devils in three-point attempts last year with 205. “When you shoot your shot, you’re confident that those guys can get the rebound,” Scheyer said. “For me as a guard, it’s really exciting to know that you’ve got big guys behind you.” Another adaptation that head coach Mike Krzyzewski hopes to implement with his larger lineup is an increase in motion offense plays, which Scheyer also feels will play to his strengths. Motion will allow for Scheyer to quickly get upcourt, pass off the ball and work within the set for an open shot. So far, Scheyer has been cashing in on those opportunities, shooting 43.8 percent from three-point range and averaging 16 points in Duke’s first three contests. “I’ll become a playmaker off of that,” Scheyer said of the team’s motion offense sets. “I’ll look for my shot in the normal way we play.” When asked about his expectations for the season, Scheyer jokingly quipped that he saw the team going undefeated and winning an NCAA title. But after a bit of reflection, the senior captain put his focus on a much smaller span than a full year. “The main thing for me is that I just want to take it one game at a time,” Scheyer said. “I’m going to enjoy it, but really not look past any game or practice this year. That would be perfect for me.”
8 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 the chronicle
Women’s basketball
Blue Devils hope for quick recovery versus Eagles By Patricia Lee The Chronicle
faith robertson/Chronicle file photo
Senior Bridgette Mitchell has averaged 13.5 points per contest in the Blue Devils’ two games so far this season.
fanaroff from page 7 to hooking up. Doing this enables one to say things like “Coach K isn’t cool enough to score top talent” and “Coach K can’t close.” Only, this is kind of a silly comparison because recruiting is not at all like trying to close the deal on a Friday evening. Trying to hook up requires that the pursuer convinces the pursued that he is worth spending one night with. Trying to get a recruit to come to your school requires the coach to convince the player that he’s worth spending at least one year (and possibly four) working without pay. In that sense, it’s less like hooking up and more like actual real-world dating. When we think about it like that, the analogical phrases we’d use are “Those two just couldn’t make it work” and “They weren’t right for each other.” That’s what happened: Harrison Barnes and Duke just were not right for each other. And really, should we be surprised? For all the talk about Barnes surprising Coach K on his birthday, and Barnes having a 3.4 GPA, and Barnes taking AP Physics, and Barnes basically being God’s gift to the state of Iowa, did we ever know Harrison Barnes well enough to say that he and Duke were compatible? Think about it. His name is Harrison Bryce-Jordan Barnes. He has a sister named Ashle Jourdan Barnes. His mom started taping Tar Heel legend Michael Jordan’s games in 1987 just in case she had a son to show them to. She kept taping MJ’s games until he retired. You think Shirley Barnes likes Michael Jordan? Of course, that might not have been what swayed Barnes. Maybe he thought his game fit better in Roy Williams’ up-tempo scheme. Maybe he didn’t really want to work that hard on defense. Maybe the Dean Dome appealed to him more
than Cameron Indoor Stadium (Hah!). Maybe he really did want that undergraduate business degree (Hah!). Maybe he didn’t think he’d fit in with Duke’s Twitter-centric basketball team culture. (As another of my friends said, “Harrison Barnes doesn’t even have a Twitter. How cool could he be?”) The essential fact is that Coach K can only sell the program he has. He could set up a meeting for Barnes to talk to the dean of Fuqua about why a Duke education prepares a young man for a career in business better than a generic Bachelor’s in finance, but he couldn’t convince his school to offer Barnes the option of majoring in finance. He could tell Barnes that he really does look great in Duke blue, but he couldn’t change the team colors. He could show Barnes the energy and excitement of a game in Cameron, but he couldn’t promise to tear down the building and put up a 20,000-seat arena. He could tell Barnes that he’d get plenty of shots if he came to Duke, and that Kobe Bryant and Lebron James didn’t mind playing in the Krzyzewski system, but he couldn’t promise to change his defense-first philosophy. Perhaps most importantly, Krzyzewski could tell Barnes that if he came to Duke he could be the next Grant Hill, but he could never promise him that he’d be the next Michael Jordan. I’m sure Coach K did his best to get Barnes, just like he does his best to get every kid that he thinks would be a good fit for his program. But Barnes thought UNC was a better fit. Other kids, faced with the same choice, have picked Duke— Josh McRoberts (the second-ranked player in his class) is the most recent example—and, in the future, kids will pick Duke again. Of course, Barnes actually made the wrong choice, but maybe that’s just the sour grapes talking.
Duke first met Georgia Southern Jan. 9, 1982 in Statesboro, Ga., with the Eagles narowly edging out the Blue Devils 64-58. Two seasons later, however, Duke delivered a victory at the USF Holiday Classic in Tampa, Fla., tying the short-lived rivalry at one win apiece. Twenty-five years GSU later, the two teams vs. are ready to battle it No. 11 out again. Duke And this time, more than a quarter Thursday, 7 p.m. Cameron Indoot Stadium century later, things are looking even better for No. 11 Duke (1-1), which has won 18 straight home openers and boasts a 25-game winning streak against Southern Conference teams. The Blue Devils take on the Eagles (1-0) tonight at 7 p.m in Cameron Indoor Stadium as Duke looks to extend its not-sorecent success against Georgia Southern. “We’re excited to play, and we had a really good practice Monday,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Sunday was a lesson loss, as in there were many lessons and losses in that game, and now we’re [focusing on] our defense, rebounding and positioning.”
o. line from page 7
The Blue Devils look to ammend their recent struggles, especially after their blowout 95-77 loss against No. 15 Texas A&M Sunday. In its matchup against the Aggies, Duke was plagued by poor offensive execution, as the Blue Devils did not shoot the ball well and posted a less-than-inspiring 33.3 percent mark from the field. And defensively, the 95 points that Duke allowed were the most since giving up 104 to Connecticut over 10 years ago. McCallie’s squad, however, looks to shape up on both sides of the floor today by following through on certain plays in the backcourt. “We just didn’t display a great defense, and after watching film, we need to be putting more emphasis on plays that caught us off-guard,” senior forward Bridgette Mitchell said. “Losing always brings extra motivation, but it definitely shouldn’t have to take a loss to love defense and playing it.” Hoping to bounce back from Sunday’s loss, the players expect to earn a significant win after a hard week working on defense and performing with greater intensity in practice. And though the players revel in playing at home, McCallie said it should not make a big difference in the players’ performance. “We love playing in Cameron and we love our fans,” she said, “but we need to be able to play anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”
nied that the line has gotten noticeably better since the start of the season, beginning with Morgan. The junior is an interesting case because he started his career at left tackle before switching to center this year and the transition has been relatively smooth. Morgan admitted that at the beginning, he had trouble with snaps but now has great rapport with the quarterback, even on the road. Despite the season-ending injury to Mitchell Lederman, the unit has come a long way since the season-opening loss to Richmond. Its progress was perhaps most on display in Duke’s 49-28 victory at N.C. State Oct. 10, when quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was given all day to throw time and time again on his way to 40-of-50 passing for 450 yards and five touchdowns. The continuity the line has developed has allowed it to gel and help the potent passing at-
tack become even more explosive. “It’s funny because we’re a tighter group in terms of age difblocking is my best attribute, but ferences,” left tackle Kyle Hill said. I don’t mind hitting somebody in “It’s easier to communicate with the face either.” each other and understand where Nevertheless, there is a funone person is and just communidamental difference in the techcating on the line. We all have each niques involved in run and pass other’s backs on the team.” blocking. The Blue Devils’ line The other factor that has greatis small relative to the rest of the ly aided the line’s development is ACC. Consequently, it can be more Lewis’s presence. suited to sitting back and protectThe senior quarterback is on his ing the quarterback as opposed to way to a record-breaking season and moving larger defensive lines out will probably leave Duke as the allof the way for running backs. time leader in most statistical catego“Weight wise, our guys are ries as a passer. Lewis’s leadership playing guys a little bigger,” ofand poise have had a pronounced fensive line coach Matt Luke effect on the line’s performance. said. “Run blocking is a more “I think his confidence rubs aggressive art form. You’re atoff on the whole line,” Moore tacking the line of scrimmage, said. “His attitude’s great for us. whereas pass blocking you’re He’s not a selfish guy. There’s backing up and staying in front been games where he’s been most of the time.” knocked down a little bit and Whether pass blocking or run he’s always there not getting blocking, though, it cannot be demad and wanting to get up for the next play. You just want to play harder for that guy.” While they have definitely progressed this year, the players on the line know that there is always room to get better. Both Miami and Wake Forest boast prolific offenses, and for Duke to keep up, it must improve on its recent offensive displays. But despite all the flak the line has taken this year, it remains motivated and determined to improve every week. And at the very least, the players the offensive linemen battle every day in practice have noticed. “From the beginning of the season, a lot of guys have really stepped up,” defensive end Ayanga Okpokoworuk said. “Kyle’s really good and Bryan Morgan at center is going against guys who weigh 60, 70 pounds more than him and is still one of the best courtney douglas/chronicle file photo centers out there. Watching them Bryan Morgan’s pass-blocking skill has helped Thaddeus Lewis have a career year. grow, they’ve gotten a lot better.”
the chronicle
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 | 9
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The Chronicle
10 | Thursday, November 19, 2009 the chronicle commentaries
The future of residential assessment In yesterday’s editorial, we opportunity for a group to commented on the inconsis- demonstrate to their peers tencies evident in the Residen- why its contributions render tial Group Assessment Com- it worthy of this real estate.” mittee evaluation at the end Her statement belies the of its first cycle. These flaws larger premise behind the call for a critical RGAC process: look at the pura section on editorial pose of RGAC, campus is not with an eye toward possible a right but a privilege. changes in the future. Occupying a reserved As it stands rights now, set of housing from year to RGAC’s evaluation of groups’ year is indeed a privilege contributions to their mem- for living groups. Its members and the larger Univer- bers do not have to enter sity community overreaches the housing lottery, and they its rightful purview, resulting are guaranteed housing on in several unintended con- West Campus for at least two sequences and perpetuating years. To a certain extent, the status quo of housing on groups should have to justify this campus. this privilege—a process that As former Campus Coun- RGAC aspires to fulfill. cil president Molly Bierman In addition to examining wrote in a guest column last how well living groups mainDecember, the goal of the tain their residential space, RGAC review is “to be an RGAC is also charged with
“
”
—“Worldwide Pants” commenting on the editorial “RGAC’s inconsistent assessment.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
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The ideal RGAC model would only assess the residential aspect of living groups (how well they respect their section) and let each group’s respective oversight organization conduct internal evaluation—in conjunction with University officials—to determine its overall impact on its members and the Duke community. Such a system based solely on residential performance could prevent RGAC from being perceived as an overarching, pseudo-disciplinary body that will drive greek life off campus. As IFC President Eric Kaufman has noted, fraternities that score low on the assessment may be incentivized to find space off campus rather than settle for an undesirable living space on West. For the sake of both campus culture
and town-gown relations, this is an outcome administrators should seek to avoid. Involving more organizations and individuals in the evaluation of residential groups would help to combat the fact that RGAC as it exists right now is too rooted in the status quo and fails to articulate a larger vision for housing at Duke. Group assessment should not simply reshuffle the same pieces of the University’s housing puzzle, but also consider what, if any, new groups should be added and which deserve to be removed. Criticisms of the RGAC process are merited, but moving forward, University officials and students should collaborate to re-formulate residential assessment that is both fair and functional.
Sarah Palin legs
onlinecomment When is Campus Council going to stand up for students and stop getting pushed around by RLHS? The lobbying power of CC is next to nil and this process lacks transparency, consistency, and clear organizational rationale. For all we know, Joe Gonzalez is the one typing in these RGAC scores.
measuring a group’s impact on its members and its contributions to the larger residential community. But as far as a small, relatively unrepresentative body like RGAC is concerned, a section should be considered a privilege only in the sense that groups should take care of their space and exhibit good behavior. Any hope to evaluate groups on their efficacy and impact, however, should be left to IFC, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Selective House Council working in collaboration with other administrators. RGAC’s generalized criteria of evaluation are too inflexible and rigid to adequately examine residential groups that exist for a wide range of purposes and functions.
L
et me begin this column by stating, I am a ever dare do this to a male political figure? As staunch liberal and Democrat. If asked to journalist David Brody states, where are the align my beliefs with those of a string of “sexy photos of Tim Pawlenty with an unbutpoliticians, among the group would be Barbara toned shirt relaxing on a couch in the Twin CitBoxer, D-Calif., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., ies?” Or how about the famous shirtless photos and the late Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Given the of Barack Obama? option of voting for my old gym sock or Sarah In the end, this is undoubtedly a ploy at inPalin for future president and/ creasing sales. It is no secret that or vice president of the United the print world is suffering in States, I’d place my bets on the circulation—Newsweek itself, acgym sock. cording to its owner, The WashThis is why it will come as a ington Post Company, has stated shock to all who know me that I that the magazine has been losing am, for once, on the side of forprofit. They also noted, however, mer governor Palin. that in overhauling, the magazine thomas The latest issue of Newsweek would now target a smaller “elite magazine features Palin on its while further reshapgebremedhin audience,” cover. She is wearing a red working itself as a “thought leader.” word-by-word out pullover, black shorts and Whether or not I agree with tennis shoes as her hand rests on Palin’s views is irrelevant, as I still her hip, leaning gently against a barstool draped believe that an individual in her position should in the American flag. The cover story reads be granted the respect that her peers—especial“How Do You Solve a Problem like Sarah? She’s ly, her male peers—are given. Some may argue Bad News for the GOP—and for Everybody Else, that Palin’s entire political campaign was sexualToo.” ized, and that she was a willing participant, but The cover has caused much controversy over why then must Newsweek—a “thought leader”— the past few days as it’s been labeled “sexist” buy into such nonsense? The fact of the matter and “disrespectful.” Palin even took to her Face- is that Newsweek knew very well what they were book page to address the issue: “The choice of doing. Their attempts at delegitimizing Palin as photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is a political authority are quite transparent. Takunfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this ing the cover on its own, the title asks the reader ‘news’ magazine has relished focusing on the to question wherein the problem lies with Palin. irrelevant rather than the relevant.... The one- Is it her legs? Is it her hair? By emphasizing her page profile for which this photo was taken was female features and portraying her as nothing all about health and fitness—a subject to which more than a “pin-up girl,” the implication is that I am devoted and which is critically important what is in fact wrong with her is her femininity, to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek ap- and that such an attribute marks her uneducatproach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If ed and unfit for political life. anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why In my opinion, Palin is certainly misguided on you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender many (most!) issues, and should never hold any or color of skin. The media will do anything to high office such as the presidency, but what does draw attention—even if out of context.” Newsweek’s portrayal of her suggest of women And it is out of context. The image was origi- in general? It suggests that women can only be nally shot for the August 2009 cover of Runner’s taken seriously in the field of politics if they subWorld, a monthly magazine for recreational run- mit themselves to the heteronormative ideal of ners focusing on health and fitness. Runner’s what a woman is and what she isn’t. A woman World issued a statement as well, noting that the tinged with even a single ounce of sexuality will photograph was not provided to Newsweek by be ridiculed and objectified as nothing more them, but by the photographer’s stock agency. than a poison on our country—not because of So is the cover sexist? At the very least, it is what she thinks, but how she looks. disrespectful. Although within the context of its Now you’ll have to excuse me as I’m a bit original form the photo serves to portray Palin queasy after defending Palin, but to be quite as a runner, and is completely appropriate, out- frank, I’d feel worse if I hadn’t. side of that it attempts to delegitimize her as a politician—which, trust me, I understand she is Thomas Gebremedhin is a Trinity senior. This is very capable of doing herself. Would Newsweek his final column of the semester.
the chronicle thursDAY, november 19, 2009 | 11 commentaries
S
‘Shaking my head’
MH. It’s the latest urban dictionary Journal. All we can wonder is when will it all term, meaning “shaking my head.” And end? In the mean time I can only SMH. I’ve been doing it a lot lately. But a particularly good example of riThe national news and even news here diculous news stories was the Balloon Boy at Duke are full of stories that just make me incident. CNN and other reputable news shake my head. Where to even begin? Let’s stories bemoaned the sad fate of the 6-yearstart with the latest news and old boy supposedly trapped then work backwards. in a hot air balloon. In realFirst, there is the news ity, the child was really hidabout the delayed merger den in an attic and it quickly between the International became apparent that this House and the Multiculturwas just a family’s desperate al Center. There has been a attempt for attention. This lot of student outrage, and same family had already apdayo oshilaja peared on ABC news’ “Wife justifiably so. This decision was made without any stuSwap” and had unsuccessfulcan’t we all dent input. The justification ly attempted to pitch a story get along? for the merger that the two about their family to the TLC organizations were redundant also seems network. It’s really terrible what a family will tenuous at best, and it appears to be an do get their five minutes of fame. SMH. ill-advised attempt to reduce the budget. Back to politics, Democrats proposed an What is particularly disturbing to me is the amendment that passed in March that ended termination of MCC Director Julian San- the D.C. Voucher Program in 2010. This prochez and Staff Assistant Juanita Johnson, gram allowed 1,700 students to receive up to especially because the layoffs weren’t an- $7,500 to attend local private schools in the nounced until last week. SMH. D.C. area. Two of the participants even atNext is the Oprah interview of Sarah Palin, tended the Sidwell Friends School, the same which happily coincides with the release of her school that Malia and Sasha Obama attend. autobiography, “Going Rogue: The American There is some hope that the program might Life.” No doubt this should be an entertaining continue, but if it does not receive authorizaand enlightening read. (I hope you can hear tion from Congress and the D.C. City Counthe sarcasm dripping from my voice.) But that cil, hundreds of students face the prospect is not why I’m shaking my head. of returning to D.C’s public schools where No, I’m shaking my head because in a fu- there are plenty of problems, as I wrote about tile attempt to justify her poor performance in a previous column. SMH. in her Katie Couric interview, Palin claims in And do you remember when Duke adher book that she did the interview because ministrators talked about finally renovating she began to “feel sorry” for Couric. She Central Campus? Of course, this decision was claims that Couric was “badgering” and had a made when administration realized that New “partisan agenda.” Anyone who has watched Campus was no longer feasible because of the the interview knows this is far from the truth economic recession. Dean of Undergraduate and that Palin is not exactly well-known for Affairs Steve Nowicki said he wanted Central her intelligent comments. When asked about Campus “to be both livable and feel like a part her foreign policy experience, Palin referred of Duke.” I know this is in progress—I can see to Alaska’s proximity to Russia and Canada the blue construction tarps whenever I walk and readily agreed when Couric said that this on Central—and they claim it will be finished “enhanced her foreign policy credentials.” next semester. But I have a feeling things won’t Later when Couric asked her what newspa- change on Central until after I graduate. pers she read, Palin intelligently responded These are only a few stories that have that she reads all of them. I could go on, but caused me to shake my head in disgust, outthis is not an article about Sarah Palin. rage and disbelief. I’m sure that there are But dare I even mention the economy and others. My only hope is that as 2009 draws the unemployment rate, which has reached to a close and 2010 arrives, the United States 10.2 percent as of October, according to the and Duke will get their act together and stop U.S. Labor Department. And economists be- making me shake my head. lieve that the unemployment rate could surpass 11 percent and actually reach the level of Dayo Oshilaja is a Trinity junior. This is her 12 to 13 percent, according to the Wall Street final column of the semester.
A
Away from home
T
hanksgiving is next week. Where are Add on top of these changes your tranyou going? Are you going home? sient post-high school, pre-“settling down” Back to your family’s house? The lifestyle, and suddenly your room becomes house of your birth? Your parents’ house? the guest bedroom. Or worse, it’s converted If all of these places refer to one brick into an office with a pullout mattress, its house surrounded by one white picket metal bar jabbing into your back as you sleep fence inhabited by one set as a constant reminder that of people, what, if anything, you are cramping your famdifferentiates them? ily’s post-you lifestyle. College Class is done for the day. and life as a nomad can alter Are you headed back to your where you consider home to dorm? Back home? Is there be. some moment when the place Perhaps as a freshman, you currently live becomes you called Duke “school” jordan rice “home?” Must it supplant a and your hometown “home.” real talk previous “home” in order to Maybe then, as a sophomore take the title? or junior, Duke and your In short, where, what and when is home, hometown shared the “home” designation. and can you have more than one? Later, as a senior, the balance may have shiftTraditionally, the answer is the place where ed fully, transforming Duke into the Kansas you live with your family. But maybe home is to your Dorothy. Unfortunately for you, howand can only be your childhood home, com- ever, your Kansas will get blown away by the plete with your childhood bedroom with tornado that is graduation, and off you will your childhood bed, sheets, wallpaper and wander in search of home again. posters. But what happens when your big kid As we go on from college, it becomes bed becomes a non-racecar-shaped socially even more difficult to pinpoint home. Can acceptable bed? What happens when you the place we live during a year-long internrealize that your “Babar the Elephant” pil- ship be home? When we move far from our lowcase only perpetuated a colonial world- hometowns, far from Duke, does our Gerview and it is replaced with plain white? Can man Willkommen mat welcome us home, or you still call this place home—this room with does it welcome us simply to the foreign walls that lack pictures of dinosaurs? place we live within some stark apartment Unless your concept of home is bound building? by an overwhelming sense of place and It is conceivable that you can manufactime, you probably can. More likely it is ture home outside of your hometown or a the physical characteristics of your home, pre-made community like Duke in the limbo like your sorely missed dinosaur wallpaper, years of your twenties before you settle down, combined with your experiences with those but the prospect of this gypsy life is in many who lived in it, that shape your concep- ways frightening. Perhaps this is why some tion of home. Consequently, time and the fail to launch. This is why in Italy, where the changes it brings become integral factors average age for moving out of the parental that influence your sense of home. household is a staggering 36, the governWhen your beloved Lassie moves on ment offered tax and other economic incento doggie heaven—which of course is in tives in 2007 to encourage mammoni, a term reality a factory in eastern Germany built equivalent to “mama’s boys,” to leave home. during the Soviet era that manufactures a But if you are not a mammone, there is adlow quality dog-based glue—can the floor venture to be found in the fluidity of home, Lassie once slept on continue to be the and excitement in the rogue wanderer lifefloor of your home? style. Doesn’t Sarah Palin look like she is havWhen siblings move out—to college, to ing fun since she went rogue or became a take a job in that Eastern Bloc dog glue plant maverick or whatever it was that she (or her (tough times stateside) or to form a home of ghostwriter) talks about in her book, which I their own—you may begin to lose the sense assume you have already read? that the place where you grew up is home. Well, bad example, but it could be liberatThe same certainly goes, as I imagine, when ing. your parents leave to live in a community for active seniors in Boca Raton, Fla. (or wherJordan Rice is a Trinity senior. This is his final ever goyim go when they grow old). column of the semester.
MCC will lose valuable staff
s former staff members of the Multicultural Center, we are stunned and dismayed to learn of the decision, announced abruptly last week, to eliminate the positions of its director Julian Sanchez and staff specialist Juanita Johnson. As of this writing, we understand that the proposed “integration” of the MCC and the International House is being christina chia delayed pending a task force charles mckinney review—but that the terminaguest column tion of Sanchez and Johnson will proceed full steam ahead. In this space, we won’t restate the arguments others have already made about the conceptual and practical problems in “merging” two centers with distinct missions and constiuencies. We like freshman Nichole Ogojiaku’s analogy: It’s like glomming the LGBT Center and Women’s Center together. What we would like to offer here is a historical perspective: a longer view of what the campus is being asked to dispense with, both in terms of human cost and institutional value, in the name of budget adjustments. The two of us were hired by Sanchez as graduate assistants in 1999-2000, before the Multicultural Center even existed. Back then, Julian was director of the Office of Intercultural Affairs, which occupied a cramped office suite across from Chick-fil-A in West Union. There were barely places to sit for the parade of students who came to seek advice from the staff:
Muslim students in need of permanent worship space, Native American students looking for more robust recruitment efforts, Asian American and Latino/a students and their allies working towards greater diversity in the curriculum, any number of other student leaders scrambling for meeting space or program funding—all striving for a more inclusive campus. Under Sanchez’s guidance, a coalition of cultural groups came together under the banner “Unity through Diversity” and presented their individual as well as collective concerns to then-President Nan Keohane, in a public event attended by students, faculty and administrators from both Student Affairs and the academic side. A broad range of services and resources we now take for granted on this campus emerged directly from “Unity through Diversity” and related efforts organized and advocated by Sanchez and the ICA/MCC. The establishment of the Cultural Fund, the founding of the Center for Race Relations and the Council of Cultural Group Presidents, not to mention the creation of the open, inviting space of the Multicultural Center itself are a few examples. Beyond these material and institutional resources, Sanchez and Johnson, along with their MCC colleagues Linda Capers and Vivian Wang, also provide something vital but intangible. In the year that one of us (Christina) spent working full-time as program coordinator at the center, she witnessed, everyday, the care that Johnson put into making the MCC (as well as the LGBT Center, where she worked part-time for a period)
a home away from home for students who worked, studied or just hung out at our space. At the MCC, and in many small centers across Student Affairs and the university at large, the human and the institutional are inseparable. We recognize that the University is faced with difficult economic times. Yet times like these also behoove us to ask as a community: What values and legacies are we slashing along with the budget? Who is being asked to bear the brunt of the new austerity? Whose labor, whose security is considered expendable? We have no reason to doubt the skill and dedication of the current International House staff and the contribution they will make, along with the remaining MCC staff, to whatever new entity emerges from this process. But we do question the message that the termination of Sanchez and Johnson—two people who have dedicated their careers at Duke to fostering greater inclusiveness—sends about Duke’s commitment to “global cultures.” Any sincere conversation about what we want “diversity” to mean at Duke in the 21st century would have to begin with a reconsideration of their firing. Christina Chia is assistant director of the Franklin Humanities Institute. She is a former graduate assistant and program coordinator for the Office for Intercultlural Affairs and the Multicultural Center. Charles McKinney is an assistant professor of history at Rhodes College. He is a former graduate assistant in the Office for Intercultlural Affairs and the Multicultural Center.
12 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 the chronicle
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