December 4, 2009 issue

The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 71

www.dukechronicle.com

Trustees weekend: eyeing China and the world Trustees to discuss finances, health care

by Lindsey Rupp The chronicle

is the richest, the most successful small city in China being 1.5 million [people],” Blue said. “The way Duke delivers education is the way China feels education should be delivered to China in the 21st century.”

Pending Board approval, the Kunshan government will provide 200 acres of land at no cost to Duke and build the facilities for the Fuqua programs on the land, Blue added.

Under the proposal, the initial facilities

The Board of Trustees will review the University’s financial situation, consider replacements for two trustees and discuss the potential effects of health care reform on Duke and the health system.

As the University continues to try to cut about $70 million from its budget this year, the Trustees will hear an update on Duke’s financial state at its meeting this weekend. Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said he and Provost Peter Lange are on target to meet their budget goals so far.

Trask added that with monthly retirement incentive decisions due Dec. 8, the Duke Administrative Reform Team has completed its major personnel projects and has begun to examine program budgets, including those for the units of Information Technology and Communications.

Lange said that as units begin to see reductions in personnel from retirement initiatives, vacancy management and reductions in overtime, he will look to update the Board on how those units are beginning to adjust to smaller staffs.

See china on page 6

See trustees on page 6

Duke’s Board will consider groundbreaking expansion into China

by Lindsey Rupp The chronicle

The Board of Trustees will consider the first phase of the University’s involvement in China at its meeting this weekend.

Duke is considering building a presence in Kunshan province in two phases—the first is a partnership between the Fuqua School of Business, the government of Kunshan province and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said Trustees Chair and Democratic state Sen. Dan Blue, Law ’73.

If the Trustees approve the Fuqua

phase in China, the University will send a delegation to China to sign the phase one agreement and break ground on facilities for Fuqua programs in Kunshan in January 2010, according to a Nov. 19 slideshow presentation posted on the Academic Council Web site. The facilities would be ready for occupancy in 2011, the document states.

“As people look at the kind of interdisciplinary approaches that we have to dealing with different issues, it’s attractive to people, and the government of Kunshan

Duke weighs consulting option Complaints prompt RGAC UNC, Cornell among peers who have hired Bain & Co. to revise menu

by Will Robinson The chronicle

by Nicole Kyle The chronicle

The Residential Group Assessment Committee has decided to revise the section menu for selective living groups beginning in early January.

The shift follows complaints from the Interfraternity Council and the Selective House Council.

“This is going to be a collective process between [IFC, Selective House Council and Campus Council] to make sure, at the end of the day, we have a menu that’s most beneficial for all stakeholders and students­­—both unaffiliated and affiliated,” said Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a junior.

Although the original RGAC scores will remain, there will be changes to where groups can choose to live. The scores determine the order in which SLGs can See RGAC on page 4

RLHS RLHStotorestore bring Saturday back Saturday cleaning,Page Page33 cleaning,

When the Board of Trustees Business and Finance Committee convenes this weekend, its members will be acutely aware of the steps that Duke’s peer institutions are taking to confront the challenge of a recession. Several of those schools have hired external consulting firms, just like a private company would do, to scrutinize management practices and identify ways to save money.

The trend-setter for this approach is located only eight miles down the road from Duke.

Holden Thorp, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, announced last Spring that he would use a gift from an anonymous donor to hire management consulting firm Bain & Company to help UNC cut about $150 million, or 7.9 percent, of its $1.9 billion operating budget.

The donor specifically requested that UNC hire Bain.

“Public confidence in the way that universities are managed, is strained,” Thorp said in a video posted on UNC’s Web site after Bain completed its report in July. “I’m proud that Carolina has been ahead of the curve in addressing these concerns this year.”

Several weeks later, Bain started working on similar

projects at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. When Duke’s Board of Trustees last met in October, the growing trend was a focus of conversation for its Business and Finance Committee.

“We did discuss the possibility of bringing in an outside consultant,” professor of biomedical engineering Warren Grill, a faculty representative on the committee, said in an October interview. “I think it’s something we will consider going forward.”

But for now, the committee has opted to pursue a “ground up,” “grassroots strategic planning process” that will occur at the level of the University’s individual schools, Grills said.

“There’s going to have to be some shared pain at all levels,” he said.

The Duke Administrative Reform Team, created in February to identify ways to help the University trim $125 million from its budget over three years, will continue its own efforts to reduce costs. DART is headed by Provost Peter Lange and Executive Vice President Tallman Trask.

Trask said in an October interview that members of DART will rely on its existing experience in cost-containment

ONTHERECORD

“Our aspirations in the last year or two certainly have not declined... but the capability to fund all those aspirations has.”

­—Warren Grill, University Priorities Committee Chair on objectives. See story page 3

See consulting on page 5

Duke pulls the upset against Buckeyes, Page 7

2 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 the chronicle

worldandnation

TODAY:

5236

SATURDAY:

4341

India offers plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2020

Report shows major gap Stem cell research approved in graduation rates WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration this week approved the first human embryonic stem cells for experiments by federally funded scientists under a new policy designed to dramatically expand government support for one of the most promising but also most contentious fields of biomedical research.

The National Institutes of Health authorized 11 lines of cells produced by scientists at the Children’s Hospital in Boston and two lines created by researchers at the Rockefeller University in New York. All were obtained from embryos left over by couples seeking treatment for infertility.

“This is a real change in the landscape,” NIH Director Francis Collins said.“This is the first down payment on what is going to be a much longer list ... that will empower the scientific community to explore the potential of embryonic stem cell research.”

“

A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.

— Edgar Howe

”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report, billed as one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how low-income and minority students fare in college, shows a wide gap in graduation rates at public four-year colleges nationwide and “alarming” disparities in success at community colleges.

The analysis, released Thursday, provides a statistical starting point for 24 public higher education systems that pledged two years ago to halve the achievement gap in college access and completion by 2015. Together, the systems represent two-fifths of all undergraduate students in four-year public colleges.

The research found that about 45 percent of low-income and underrepresented minority students entering as freshmen in 1999 had earned bachelor’s degrees six years later at the colleges studied, compared with 57 percent of other students.

TODAY IN HISTORY 1973: Pioneer 10 reaches Jupiter

NEW DELHI — India offered a plan Thursday to unilaterally slow the pace of its carbon emissions by 2020, and assured lawmakers that the offer does not amount to a sellout of national interests.

After a four-hour discussion on climate policy in parliament, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said that India’s decision to cut emission intensity by 20 to 25 percent—that is, emissions relative to the size of its economy—will not be legally binding or subject to international verification. But he added that, if India were provided with international aid or technology, it was prepared to offer more at the global climate negotiations that are to begin next week in Copenhagen.

“Our emissions will go up, but its pace will slow. We are not doing this because of the Copenhagen meeting, but out of

our own national interest,” Ramesh said during a parliamentary session in which lawmakers cautioned against succumbing to international pressure.

The offer is a marked shift for India, which has argued that the international onus to curtail carbon emissions should be on rich, industrialized countries because their it was their development that was at the root of global warming and because they can more easily afford to take action. Today, however, rapid economic growth and development have made India—a country of more than a billion people—one of the world’s top emerging emitters of greenhouse gases.

“We did not pollute for the last 200 to 300 years, but will we do it in the next 30 years,” Ramesh said. “We cannot sit like a frog in the well and say we won’t do anything. The world will laugh at us.”

Carla riverA/The los angeles times

Rochelle Carros, a senior at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif., plead to the Cal State University board earlier this month. Courses in her program have been cut, and she is not alone. The California State University system—the nation’s largest, with 23 campuses and 450,000 students—had its state funding cut by more than half a billion dollars this fiscal year.

Winter Break required reading

On stands today!

the chronicle

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 | 3

campus council

academic council

Committee reviews cost-cutting efforts Saturday

by Zachary Tracer The chronicle

Warren Grill, chair of the University Priorities Committee and Addy professor of biomedical engineering, presented an update on the committee’s work to the Academic Council Thursday.

The committee works to define University and academic priorities in order to help administrators allocate funding. “Our aspirations in the last year or two certainly have not declined... but the capability to fund all those aspirations has,�

Grill said.

In the next few months, administrators will be making decisions for the next fiscal year about compensation and other priorities at the school and University levels, said Craig Henriquez, Academic Council chair and professor of biomedical engineering and computer science.

During the Fall, the committee monitored Duke’s efforts to cut its budget in response to financial difficulties. It has reviewed the Duke Administrative Reform Team’s efforts to cut costs and examined how cuts in the Facilities Management Department have affected the University. “The grounds will not be kept in the splendor that we are used to,� Grill said, adding that faculty offices will be cleaned less frequently, trash cans will not be emptied daily and litter will not be picked up as quickly across the University.

Groundskeeping has to be maintained at its current level in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, at the Hospital and in athletic facilities, he noted.

Building temperatures have also been

reduced to about 68 degrees to cut spending, Grill said. “I think that we have largely done the easy things,� he said. “I think the challenges going forward are going to be a little more demanding and we’re going to need to be very prudent.�

The committee will also discuss Duke’s administrative structure and the impacts of the faculty early retirement incentive. “It’s prudent to look at our administrative structures and ensure that those are in alignment with our strategic plan,� Grill said. “This will be a big part of what we will try to do in the coming semester.�

The committee should ensure that the faculty retirement incentive does not cause more professors to retire than are hired, he said. He noted that efforts to generate additional revenue, such as the creation of new masters programs, have resulted in more students attending Duke.

Grill displayed several slides listing the committee’s past and future initiatives.

Among the issues the committee plans to consider in the Spring are fringe benefit cost containment, “envisioning a smaller Duke� and how auxiliary enterprises such as Dining Services and Residence Life and Housing Services will be budgeted and funded.

In other business: The council approved a proposal submitted by the Fuqua School of Business for a Master of Management in Clinical Informatics degree. The Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal at its meeting this

cleaning to be restored

by Shaoli Chaudhuri The chronicle

caroline rodriguez/The Chronicle

Warren Grill, chair of the University Priorities Committee, said Duke needs to be ‘very prudent’ as it continues to cut costs to close its deficit. weekend.

In a closed session that ran for almost an hour, the council continued its discussion of Duke in China, which it also discussed in a closed session at its Nov. 19 meeting. Dr. Sanders Williams, senior adviser for international strategy and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, led the discussion.

The new year will see the return of Saturday cleanings.

At Campus Council’s meeting Thursday night, Bernard Smith, assistant director of housekeeping operations for Residence Life and Housing Services, announced that Saturday cleanings of West and East Campus dormitories will resume Jan. 16.

RLHS eliminated the cleanings in August because of significant cuts in housekeeping operations, he said, noting that the number of positions was reduced from 120 to 88 this year.

Smith said the decision to bring back Saturday cleanings was a result of a semester of complaints and concerns from students.

Following the elimination of Saturday cleanings, RLHS monitored the effects and complaints, ultimately finding it feasible to bring back the old cleaning schedule, Smith said. Starting next semester, 16 housekeeping staff members will be in charge of Saturday cleanings, with six on East and 10 on West. In order to overcome the difficulty of having fewer employees, housekeeping staff will be working with a new “team cleaning concept.�

See council on page 4

3 4 3 34 3

34 3

3 3 3 34 3 3 3 34 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Â 3 Â?3

3 � �3 �� 3� 3  3 3�� 3 3­ � €33‚ 3��  3 3    3 � 3�  3� 3 3 ƒ� � 3 3�� 3„  3…  3 � 3 3† 3� 3 3 ‡ 3 3�� ˆ�3… 3‰Š 3 ‰ €3 �  3 3�  3  �3�� 3  � 3 �3 � �3� �3 3 �  � 3  3 3  �3 3 ‹ 3  €3 3 3 3

34 3 � ˆ3›‰‰33 3 3 34 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 ��� �� ­3� 3€ 3‚3 34 3 3 3 3 3­ 3‹‰ 33 3 3 3 3… �� 3­   3›‰ 33 3  �3 3 3 ��3 3 ƒ 3 3„�…­3† 3€ 33 3 3 3 34 3‚ ‘‘ �� 3›‰ 33 3 3� 3 �­34 3 3„  3† 3›‰‰33 3 � �­3€ �

3†� 3† � �� 3›‰ 33 3 3 3” 3›‰‡33 3‚ 3 ­3ƒ 3„ 3œ  � 3… �� 3›‰‰33 3€  3 3… 343† 34 3œ 3›‰ 33 3‡ 34 3 ‡ 3ˆ ‰Š 3‹��­3… 3€ 33 3 3• 3  3›‰‰33 3 �

3 3  3›‰ 33 3  3 3 � � �3›‰ 33 3 � �ˆ‰ Š 34 � 3  3›‰‡33 3 3 Œ 3 3„�†­3Ž 3‡ 33 3 3 3 ˆ3 ˆ3ž ˆ3›‰‡33 3 �

34 ˆ 3Â&#x; 3›‰‡33 3 3‹ ­3ÂŒ Â?

3Œ � 3 4 3Ž 3 � 3� 3 � � 3� 3 3 � 3  �3 ‘  €3‰3 3’ 3“‡ 3 3 3’ 3“ 3‡3 3’ 3“‰ 3” 3• � 3“Š €3

3 � –3 �   3­ � 3‰ �3’ —33 33˜ � � 3™ š3” 3• � —3 ’ 3 3 3 33˜„ 3 š3‡ 3’ €

3  3 3�� 3 �� 3 �3�� 3™ 3’  �3� 3�� 34 � 3 34 34  � 3 3­ 3­ � 3 3 3¥  � 3¥ 3™  34 � 3­ �� 3 3 �� 3 �3 � �34 � �  3 3‚ �  3 3 � �3† � 34 � 3 � 3”  3 3�� 3• 33„ 3  3­ � 3� 3 3­ � €

4 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 the chronicle

rgac from page 1 select housing. The decision to keep the original scores is a reflection of RGAC’s faith in the RGAC process, said Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life.

“The RGAC process reflects a great deal of effort from a lot of students, and it produced results that are very balanced and very accurate in many ways,” he said. “The students managed the system very well.”

The leaders of IFC and Selective House Council approached RGAC and Residential Life and Housing Services, who ultimately approved the decision to revise the menu.

“We’ve invited the presidents of Campus Council, IFC and Selective House Council, among other representatives, to come forward with a resolution,” Gonzalez said.

Once there is a resolution that all three groups support, the proposal will be submitted to RLHS. RGAC co-Chair John Pryor, a junior, said the decision to revise was warranted.

“The original menu was prepared

by Campus Council, which represents the student body—we’re simply making the process more inclusive,” he said.

“It’s important to remember, though, that RLHS has its own views on how the space should be used and we still need to consider independents.”

Temple said the new menu will differ from the original but will still adhere to the initial priorities set by Campus Council.

These priorities include making sure there are no small pockets of independents stuck between large

SLG sections, the “orphan-resident effect,” maintaining an equal distribution in each residence area and keeping in mind the balance between non-affiliated and affiliated students.

“A lot of the priorities that went into the old menu will remain. The primary difference is that there will be more involvement from other stakeholders,” Temple said.

When it comes to revising the menu itself, both IFC and Selective House Council will have significant input, Temple said. It comes down to flexibility and how the groups are going to divide open space selections among IFC, Selective House Council and Campus Council, he added.

Negotiations between the presidents of Campus Council, IFC and Selective House Council, under RGAC’s leadership, will begin in January, Pryor said.

Gonzalez said he is very excited about the enthusiasm shown by the three groups involved and is looking forward to seeing the end result.

Campus Council released the original menu before Thanksgiving break. The results sparked concern from both IFC and Selective House Council.

“Basically, [the original menu] reverted most sections so they wouldn’t get the quality of section that distinguishes fraternities from other blocks,” said IFC President Eric Kaufman, a senior. “We’re going to get together, and literally start from scratch. I have no plans except for making sure there’s common space and that more sections are on lower levels.”

Messiah

council from page 3 “We’re just doing more with less,” Smith said.

RLHS Associate Dean Joe Gonzalez said the reinstitution of Saturday cleanings will incur no additional cost, a factor that played heavily in RLHS’ decision.

He added that staff levels during the weekday workdays will be adjusted accordingly to compensate for the Saturday schedule.

Campus Council President

Stephen Temple, a junior, said members were strongly in favor of reinstituting Saturday cleanings.

Students can continue to do their share in keeping the campus clean, Smith said.

“Just be more considerate... you’re going to be having your parties Friday nights and that’s fine, but pick up [after] yourself so we don’t have to pick up 400, 500 beer bottles or beer cans,” he said. “Just pick up, that’s all we’re asking.”

INDU RAMESH/The Chronicle

At Thursday’s Campus Council meeting, Campus Council President Stephen Temple (right) listens to proposals to restore Saturday cleaning in dormitories. RLHS says the decision came after a semester of complaints from students.

Laptop Parts and Repair

G. F. Handel’s

Save 20%

on Parts or Repair expires Jan 31, 2010

[ must present this coupon ]

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

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

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

Duke University Chapel Durham, North Carolina Rodney Wynkoop, conductor David Arcus, Continuo -SoloistsLisa Saffer, soprano Martha Hart, mezzo-soprano Dann Coakwell, tenor Grant Youngblood, bass

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

In other business: After a presentation from LDOC committee members, Campus Council moved to provide $15,000 for the Last Day of Classes. Duke University Union decided to grant a cash allocation of the same amount for LDOC in its meeting Tuesday.

Next semester, Campus Council will discuss giving space on Central campus to Panhellenic Association sororities, Temple said.

11/10/2009 3:32:30 PM

triangle laptops llc 1320 Old Oxford Rd. Suite 10 Durham, NC 27704 • Ph: 620-6886

www.trianglelaptops.com

Let us take the stress out of your Holidays!

SPRING CLASSES BEGINNING IN JANUARY

• A History of Race in Durham • Beginning Bagpipe • West African Drumming • Irish and Scottish Music • Traditional Country Music • What’s My Genre?

• Finishing Your Novel

• Parent Coaching • Islam 101 • Jewish Geneaology • Home Design • The Successful Entrepreneur • Grantsmanship • AND DOZENS MORE!

For more info or to register, visit www.learnmore.duke.edu/weekend or call 684-6259.

the chronicle

consulting from page 1 measures to replicate the expertise that an outside company like Bain would provide.

Trask noted that Vice President for Human Resources Kyle Cavanaugh worked in a similar capacity during his time at the University of Florida.

“It didn’t make sense to me that I’d pay millions of dollars when I had the in-house talent,” Trask said.

The services offered by a firm like Bain are indeed expensive. Berkeley’s Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has said that the school’s agreement with the company will cost Berkeley $3 million.

“If we could save $30, $40, $50 million for an investment of $3 million, I’d be estatic,” Birgeneau told The New York Times last month. “I’m a physicist, not an expert on organizational structures. But I believe we can be more efficient.”

At Cornell, Provost Kent Fuchs initially planned to conduct his own budget review aimed at cutting costs and trimming fat from the school’s bureaucratic structures.

“When I decided I wasn’t personally involved in a number of those areas, I realized we needed professional support,” he told The Cornell Daily Sun in August.

Fuchs declined to comment for this story.

Although Duke has not contracted a similar service, both Trask and President Richard Brodhead have pointed to the same person who fills a role similar to that of an external consultant: Timothy Walsh,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 | 5

formerly of Huron Consulting Group and system’s been growing like a weed for the now an assistant vice president and control- past decade.” ler for the University.

Walsh also identified the proliferation Walsh’s position involves controlling of federal research regulations, which have the flow of money through the budget, forced universities to hire more employees Trask said. and spend more on resources that ensure Brodhead called Huron a leader in high- compliance with new mandates. Walsh er education consulting, and Walsh said added that Bain “totally missed that piece he worked with about a dozen public and about research” in its UNC report. private universities, including two peer priGetting down to the “Our collaborative vate schools in the reimplementation process, I believe, will gion, before coming to Both Grill and Walsh Duke five years ago. said Duke can learn from be far better” Many higher eduBain’s work at other cation experts have — Timothy Walsh, schools, despite the fact identified administraBerkeley and UNC assistant vice president/ that tive growth and buare publicly funded. reaucratic bloat, par- controller for the University “Universities are ticularly in places like universities,” Walsh student services, as said. “We’ve dissected one of the primary reasons for universities’ every word of the Bain study at Carolina.” financial struggles.

Public schools face pressure from taxpayBetween 2002 and 2006, the level of edu- ers, but Duke still faces a large dose of what cational spending for classroom instruction Walsh called “internal pressure,” largely from decreased across the board while spending its deans and its donors. in other areas such as student services, adBut Duke administrators are confident ministration and maintenance increased, they can do the same work as an outside according to a January 2009 report by The consultant. Cooperation between the TrustDelta Project on Postsecondary Education ees, the administration and the faculty have Costs, Productivity and Accountability. led to a successful cost-cutting formula so The issue goes beyond just student growth, far, Grill said.

Walsh said, noting that research spending “We’ve applied the exact same methodhas been a large area of expansion at Duke. ology that a Bain or a Boston Consulting “The administration grows not just to Group or a Huron would use,” Walsh said. support the students... research being one “Our collaborative process, I believe, will be of the biggest factors,” he said. “The health far better in achieving savings... simply be-

cause we know the place so much better.”

Walsh said DART and its contributors have far better internal knowledge of Duke, and will never enact cost-cutting measures that interfere with the University’s central educational mission. It can be easy for outsiders to identify places to cut costs when they are not responsible for the implementation of those cuts, Walsh said, noting that he will oversee Duke’s cost reduction measures through to completion.

“The implementation is the hard part,” he said. “UNC will have a very hard time implementing [some of Bain’s recommendations].”

Bain’s work at UNC and other schools has drawn skepticism from students, alumni and faculty members alike.

“They think the budget realignment process has been taken out of the hands of academic administrators who will be continuously conscious of the mission of the university and the needs of the academic faculty, and placed in the hands of consultants who are outsiders,” Lange said.

Walsh said he hopes the Trustees will continue to consider bringing in outside professionals, and he noted that the University frequently hires external consultants to examine specific departments. He said he expects the Board to discuss the option at all future meetings, and would welcome the help of external consultants if Trustees do decide to go that route.

“I’d be thrilled to have more resources,” he said.

Lindsey Rupp contributed reporting

 RELIGIOUS DIRECTORY 

Imagine a religion... that welcomes your questions and makes room for your beliefs!!!

Trinity

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

215 N. Church Street

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

Join us in your spiritual quest for truth and meaning!

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship @ Duke www.duke.edu/web/uu

Muslim Student Association &

Sunday Early Worship: 8:45 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Rev. Duke Lackey, Senior Pastor

Muslim Life @ Duke.

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

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

12/4 Friday Meeting 6:30 at Center for Muslim Life Muslim Mocktail Party Friday at 6:30 at the Center for Muslim Life Sisters’ Discussion Group: Thursdays at 9 in the prayer room Volunteering Opporunity: Project Downtown Durham 12/6

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

Come as you are— leave different!

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR MSA SPOKEN WORD NIGHT! Contact nsk7@duke.edu for more info Join MSA Listserv to find out more about these and other events in the future Center for Muslim Life: 406 Swift Ave.

OPEN TO ALL!

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

Temples in the Area we visit: 1.) HSNC Temple 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560

2.) Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple 121 Balaji Place, Cary NC 27513

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

www.duke.edu/web/meditation

since 1789

Come Join Us For

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

Morning Meditation

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

Resisting Simplistic Theology

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

Everyone Welcome!

Come explore faith with us:

Honor God. Love the Community.

Live like Family.

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

Worship

Sunday Mass Schedule 11am

Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus

9pm

Duke Chapel

Daily Mass Schedule Monday

5:15pm

Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

Tuesday

12 noon

Duke Hospital Chapel (6th Floor)

Wednesday 5:15pm

Sunday, Dec 6th, 5:00pm Advent lessons and carols followed by fireside dinner

Duke Chapel Crypt

Thursday

11:30am

Yoh Football Center, Team Meeting Room

Friday

5pm

Fuqua School of Business, Seminar B

catholic.duke.edu

(919) 684-8959

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

All are welcome! www.episcopalatduke.org

6 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 the chronicle

trustees from page 1 Chair and Democratic state Sen. Dan Blue, Law ’73, said he is confident Duke is on track to meet its budgetary goals.

He added that the Trustees will continue to stay informed about cost-cutting methods, including decentralized layoffs.

“The Business and Finance Committee will probe that, I’m sure... and the entire Board will be interested in that,” Blue said. “As you know, there is no policy to have a reduction in force using [large-scale] tactics. Duke is a decentralized campus in many ways... we discussed that again and thought at one point as this recession got deeper and deeper that we had all kinds of options available to us and [mass layoffs] is not the one that we chose.”

Blue also said the Board will review the project definition for K4, the proposed fourth wing of Keohane Quadrangle.

The basic inside design has been completed, Trask said.

The Board is considering two candidates to fill the unexpired terms of Rev. Charles Smith, Trinity ’62 and Divinity ’65, and Dr. Lewis “Rusty” Williams, Ph.D. ’77 and Medicine ’78. The approved candidates will take their

positions in July 2010, Blue said. Smith will have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 years old and Williams chose to retire before the expiration of his term to pursue other things, Blue added.

To fill an unexpired term, the Board may vote to approve candidates and bypass the traditional Trustee approval process, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations.

The Board will also discuss how national health care reform could affect the University and the Duke University Health System, Blue said.

In addition to discussing the future of the University health plan for employees, Trask said the Trustees will engage in discussions already taking place in DUHS about potential health care reform scenarios.

“Duke is not a minor player in this, [Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and chief executive officer of DUHS,] is very involved at the national level of what health care ought to look like,” Blue said.

“We are a major player in the region and nation, so how this regulation impacts Duke will be very representative of how this will impact a lot of other institutions as well.”

china from page1 in Kunshan would provide a minimum 20-year free lease and free utilities for five years and probably be “free in perpetuity,” the slideshow presentation states. The Kunshan government will also provide money and help Duke start its programs and “create a tax exempt entity able to deliver all activities except local Chinese degree programs,” which would “put us on an equal footing with Chinese universities, never been done before by a U.S. school,” the document states.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University would be involved in faculty hiring, post-doctorate training and in partnering with Duke on activities—including sponsoring Fuqua’s financial and professional services activities in Shanghai, the presentation states.

Although Blue said Fuqua initiated the partnership with China, the site in Kunshan could house many more Duke programs in the future.

Blue said the Kunshan facilities will be built large enough to accommodate potential programs from other Duke schools on an experimental basis, but with no obligation for Duke to create other programs there.

Other schools and institutes that could sponsor future programs in China include the Nicholas School of the Environment, the Pratt School of Engineering, the Sanford School of Public Policy, the School of Law and some undergraduate experiences like DukeEngage or study abroad, Blue said.

This first phase has no direct cost to the University, so continued financial support from Chinese players—primarily the government—will be key to the future success of Duke’s plans, Blue noted.

Blue emphasized that the only portion of Duke’s plan in China the Trustees will discuss this weekend is the Fuqua phase. The Board will not discuss the second phase of the program, which would include experimental graduate programs and eventually undergraduate experience.

There is “still a lot of work to be done” in considering expanding Duke’s presence in China, Blue said.

The University and the Board will analyze many concerns before committing to further plans in China, including the effect overseas programs could have on education quality in Durham, financial stainability and cultural differences.

Still, Blue said a presence in China fits with Duke’s international goals.

“Duke, like the other universities that aspire to be world class, recognize that they need to have a presence in China,” Blue said. “If we’re going to get the best students, the best resources, the best faculty, we decided a long time ago we needed to be a player in the world.”

CLASSIFIEDS Help Wanted Survey Takers Needed: Make $5-25 per survey. www. GetPaidToThink.com Student Position Available

The Brain Imaging and Analysis Center is looking for a student employee to assist with subject recruitment. The ideal candidate must be organized and have strong communication skills.

Work-study status is preferred, but not required. We are located in Hock Plaza (accessible from East Campus by H-5 shuttle). If interested please email: carr@ biac.duke.edu

Computer Help Wanted!

The Brain Imaging & Analysis Center at Duke is searching for a computer science major to help with basic network computing issues (setting up computers, user accounts, web design, etc). Work study is preferred, and compensation will commensurate with experience. Please send resume to info@biac.duke.edu.

Homes for Rent Walk to Duke! 1112 Hillan-

dale. 3BR, 2BA, DR, Large LR w/ fireplace. Central heat/air. Large kitchen, refrigerator, stove, W/D. $1100/mo. 919-475-5270

Rustic Cabin near Duke

(4 rms, 1 ba), unfurn. quiet neighbors, nice yard - on Eno Rv and lake, 8 min to Duke.

Appli. inclu. Well water, $525/ mo+$525 deposit. Avail.

1/1/2010 or before. 2 adults max. Full info online at: communityhousing.duke.edu/ & 919-672-7891, epartp@aol.com

Tickets ALL MY SON WANTS FOR XMAS IS TICKETS TO CAMERON!!!

NEED 2 TIX TO ANY MEN’S BBALL GAME AT CAMERON. PLEASE CALL 610-283-1121.

DUKE ’85 ALUM. THX!

Travel/Vacation BAHAMAS SPRING BREAK

$189 for 5-DAYS or $239 for 7-DAYS. All prices include: Roundtrip luxury cruise with food. Accommodations on the island at your choice of thirteen resorts.

Appalachia Travel www. BahamaSun.com 800-867-5018.

Sports

INSIDE

The Chronicle

ONLINE

FRIDAY

December 4, 2009

Find out how Duke shut down Ohio State and its best player in the post More insight and more pictures from Duke Basketball’s loss to Wisconsin

www.dukechroniclesports.com

women’s basketball

Thomas delivers knockout blow 83

67

Junior’s 29 points, production from bench keys late run to give Blue Devils marquee win

by Nicholas Schwartz The chronicle

In a nonconference battle that more closely resembled a late March prize fight, Duke got a good look at a potential NCAA tournament favorite. After an evenly matched first period, No. 11 Duke (6-1) made all the necessary hustle plays in the second half, forcing 21 Buckeye turnovers overall, and rode a career-high 29 points from guard Jasmine Thomas to a signature 83-67 win over No. 3 Ohio State.

Duke’s physical defense and extra effort from the opening tip prevented the Buckeyes from establishing any sort of offensive rhythm, and held a high-octane offense to a season-low point total. Ohio State (8-1) entered the game Thursday night as the third-highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 89.4 points per contest.

The first half was closely contested, with each team missing opportunities to separate itself. Despite forcing 12 turnovers in the first period, the Blue Devils were often unable to convert defense into offense, only shooting 41.9 percent from the field.

Just five minutes into the game, senior forward Joy Cheek got tangled up with a defender when positioning herself for a pass and had to leave the game with an apparent left ankle injury. Without one key rebounder in the post, junior Krystal Thomas and freshman Allison Vernerey were tasked with handling a stout Ohio State frontcourt, led by 6-foot-4 center Jantel Lavender.

With an impressive array of post moves, Vernerey took advantage of shaky interior

defense from the Buckeyes, scoring a quick eight points off the bench in the first half.

Duke’s bench outscored Ohio State’s reserves 28-2 Thursday night.

Cheek’s rebounding ability was missed, however, as Ohio State outrebounded the Blue Devils 23-14 in the first period. By taking advantage of offensive rebounds with five second-chance points in the first half, the Buckeyes were able to stay within striking distance, down only four points at the break.

Ohio State came out firing in the second half, and two straight threes by guard Brittany Johnson—part of a 14-6 Buckeye run to begin the period—tied the game at 33. After Thomas and Ohio State guard Tayler Hill traded 3-point shots to make it 45-44 Duke, the Blue Devils made a visible effort to play more aggressively on defense and fight for rebounds in the post. After being outrebounded by nine in the first half, Duke slimmed the deficit to just five in the second period to go along with seven blocks and 11 steals.

“I think we didn’t react well to their physical play,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said.

“They came after us and we didn’t respond.”

The Blue Devils began a decisive run with 5:35 left to play in the game when Jasmine Thomas curled off a screen and buried a three from the right side to make it 69-61.

Thomas would go on to score five more points as part of a 12-0 Duke run that stretched the lead to 78-61 with just over three minutes remaining. Thomas torched the Buckeyes with 24 second-half points, many of which came from incisive drives to the bucket.

“I noticed I was rushing my shots a little

andrew zheng/The Chronicle

Junior Jasmine Thomas continued her stretch of All-American play with a career-high 29 points Thursday night. bit in the beginning, so I decided to attack the basket in the second half,” she said.

The Duke guard erupted for 29 points, breaking a career-high mark of 26 she set earlier this year against Texas A&M. Thomas stole an Ohio State inbound pass with 46

Men’s Basketball

seconds remaining to cap a stellar second half defensive performance and seal an upset win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in front of a spirited home crowd.

“That’s the kind of game I came here for,” Vernerey said.

Volleyball

Blue Devils hope to upset Duke puts loss in rearview mirror host Volunteers No. 6 Duke vs. St. John’s

Cameron Indoor Stadium • Saturday • 3:30 p.m. • ESPN2

by Jason Palmatary The chronicle

Sometimes when a team goes on the road and takes one on the chin in a hostile environment, the quickest remedy can be to get back to its home arena and correct its flaws against a lesser opponent.

That situation is the exact one before No. 6 Duke (6-1) as it returns to the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on a St. John’s squad with a deceptive undefeated record early in the season. The Red Storm (6-0) hasn’t been particularly impressive against a paltry nonconference schedule, as its largest margin of victory has been just 13 points. One of those victories was a three-point squeaker at home against Brown Nov. 20.

In the preseason, St. John’s was ranked 11th out of 16 teams in the Big East. But regardless of its early competition, the Red Storm has yet to post a loss, and if the Blue Devils learned anything from their misstep against unranked Wisconsin, it is that they cannot take any opponent lightly.

“We learned a lot. There is a lot we can take away from this game,” Jon Scheyer said after the loss to the Badgers.

See m. bball on page 12

chase olivieri/The Chronicle

Andre Dawkins hopes to continue establishing himself as a productive player for Duke against St. John’s Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke’s long ride in the ACC is finally over, and now, the Blue Devils kick off what they hope will be a long journey in the NCAA tournament.

After 20 conference matchups—including 17 wins—unseeded Duke (27-5) opens postseason play Friday at 7 p.m. against Tennessee (23-7) in Knoxville, Tenn. The Volunteers are also not seeded, but Tenn. their campus is being used as one vs. of 16 host sites for the tournament’s first round, meaning that TennesDuke see has the advantage of playing in front of its home crowd tonight.

FRIDAY, 7 p.m.

The Blue Devils and Volunteers Knoxville, Tenn. are two of four teams playing their first-round contests in Knoxville.

The others are No. 11 Minnesota and Louisville, who meet Friday as well, and the winners of the two games will meet Saturday for a spot in the Round of 16. The second-round match is set for Saturday.

Duke has advanced past the first round of the NCAA tournament in its last four appearances.

—from staff reports

8 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 the chronicle

women’s soccer: Season in review

Duke perseveres past several injury setbacks

by Nicholas Schwartz The chronicle

After a 2-0 defeat at the hands of No. 12 ranked Rutgers, a roller coaster season came to a close for a depleted and exhausted Blue Devil squad. Though Duke was bounced from the NCAA tournament at an earlier stage than in any other tournament team during head coach Robbie Church’s tenure, the Blue Devils have reason to celebrate a sixth-place finish in the toughest conference in the country.

Duke was forced to overcome a turbulent pre-conference season that saw a number of first-team players lost for the year to injuries. Kim DeCesare, an incoming freshmen pegged to start, suffered an ACL tear before even stepping onto the field at Koskinen Stadium, starting what seemed to be an epidemic in the locker room.

“It was very challenging early in the year— every week it seemed we were losing a major player in our program,” Church said.

All in all, Duke lost five potential starters for the 2009 season, including senior captain Sarh Murphy and defender Ashley Rape, a 2008 All-ACC Freshman Team honoree.

Faced with a challenging schedule early on, Church was forced to rely on a group of talented, yet still unproven freshmen to fill the void, especially on defense. After the midseason switch to a more defensive-minded 4-4-2 formation, Duke started five freshmen: midfielder Nicole Lipp, fullbacks Erin Koballa and Maddy Haller, centerback Libby Jandl and goalkeeper Tara Campbell.

“We had to have a number of freshmen step in and play, and we had only seen them for a month,” Church said. “I almost just wanted to shut it down and look forward to

next season. It was demoralizing.”

A young Blue Devil squad performed admirably for Church, and even forced thenNo.1 North Carolina into overtime on the road. The freshmen’s play, combined with the exemplary leadership provided by the Blue Devil seniors, rejuvenated the team halfway through the year, propelling Duke to a .500 record in the ACC and a berth in the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight season.

“The seniors could have been the first ones to give in, but they’re the ones who kept the team together through all the injuries and kept us motivated,” Church said.

The Blue Devils were led by their onfield general, midfielder Elisabeth Redmond. Already a three-time All-ACC selection, Redmond’s consistently stellar play anchored the Duke offense. With 12 assists on the year, Redmond led the ACC for the

rob stewart/Chronicle file photo

Freshmen Tara Campbell (in green), Nicole Lipp (10) and Libby Jandl (3) all contributed heavily for Duke this year.

second time in her career. Her 87 career points place fourth all-time in Duke history, while her 35 assists are second all-time.

KayAnne Gummersall’s scoring touch also landed her in the record books this season, as she lead the team with 11 goals, the genesis of which often came from Redmond. The senior striker finished her career at Duke with 34 goals, fifth-most in Blue Devil history.

Though less apparent in the stat sheets, senior midfielder Jane Alukonis provided the youngest Blue Devils with much-needed guidance on and off the pitch. Alukonis, a fouryear starter, was one of four captains, along with Redmond, Gummersall and Murphy.

While the onslaught of injuries crippled Duke’s chances of reaching the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year, the youngest Blue Devils were able to gain valuable playing time against ACC opponents. Five Duke freshmen played in at least 19 games in 2009, and Church expects the on-field experience to correlate into success in the future.

“There’s a great base for us in 2010,” Church said. “We’re going to have a high number of players coming back, a lot of experience and some really talented young players.”

With the return of proven players like Rape and defender Molly Lester, along with the expected emergence of DeCesare, many players will be able to return to their more natural positions in 2010, after having to switch positions in order to accommodate injuries this year. If capable players like winger Cody Newman and forward Chelsea Canepa can make up for the lost production from Redmond and Gummersall next year, the Blue Devils are confident they can return to the top of the ACC next fall.

SKY EXPRESS INC. Virginia Asheville Wake Forest

85

Winston 103 Salem 93

N.C. State 173

Raleigh

Grand Asian Market

Duke UNCCH

76

95

58

Exit 41

120

85

85

Statesville

40

77

www.dukechronicle.com Classifieds

d3 ƌĂǀĞů3ƚŽ3EĞǁ3zŽƌŬ3ĨƌŽŵ34ƐŚĞǀŝůůĞ͕3 3 ŚĂƌůŽƚƚĞ͕3Žƌ3 ŽůƵŵďŝĂ3ĨŽƌ3ůĞƐƐ3ƚŚĂŶ3ΨϭϬϬ͊Ύ

49

N.C.

45

W.T. Harris Charlotte

UNCC

Trad St. Bus Terminal

85

The print edition of The Chronicle does not publish from 12.8 to 1.12 but you can place classifieds online any day during that time.

5 Star Luxury Tours Bus Professional Owned & Operated

3701 C entral A ve

S.C. • Daily run between NC/SC & New York • Available for group charter • Corporate & business groups

3701 Central Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205

(704) 763-6964 (704) 465-1313 www.skyexpressbus.com *One way ticket only. Call for details.

Columbia

Student discounts available.

• School transfers & camps • Senior citizen & club tours • Weddings & special events

the chronicle

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 | 9

Diversions Shoe Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins

Dilbert Scott Adams

Doonesbury Garry Trudeau

The Chronicle semi predictions: help! i’m caught in between: ��������������������������� clee, fontasha, hon over/under broken plates: 3.5: ������������������� will, emmeline , honx2 flirting with lindsey goes a little overboard: ������������������������������ray LOTS of opinions get expressed: ������������������������������������������� shuchi palmatary buys one too many: ��������������������������������gabe, JP, taylor 5:30 pregame: bad idea?: ������������������������������ chase, pena, crod, ian can we livestream dean?: �������������������������������� klein, dennis, carter someone in this group ends up in WM: ���������������� toni, julia, lrupp Barb Starbuck does not approve: ��������������������������������������������� Barb

Ink Pen Phil Dunlap

Student Advertising Manager:...............................Margaret Potter Account Executives:............................ Chelsea Canepa, Liza Doran Lianna Gao, Ben Masselink Amber Su, Mike Sullivan, Jack Taylor Quinn Wang, Cap Young Creative Services:................................Lauren Bledsoe, Danjie Fang Christine Hall, Megan Meza Hannah Smith Business Assistant:.........................................................Joslyn Dunn

Sudoku

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. (No number is repeated in any column, row or box.)

save time and money by advertising in the Chronicle Classifieds.

think SMART. Answer to puzzle

w w w.dukechronicle.com /classifieds www.sudoku.com

The Independent Daily at Duke University

The Chronicle

10 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

“

The cost of unrivaled ambition

In the case of Duke’s De- ment’s dwindling reserve partment of Athletics, the funding. numbers tell the story, and In fact, for several years, as they are striking. both the department’s budget In fiscal year 1995-1996, and the size of the University the department’s operat- subsidy have increased, defiing budget totaled $18 cit spending has become the million. And norm. in the current Now, the editorial fiscal year, the University is department’s budget is trying to close a $125 mil$60.3 million. lion deficit in its general Based on these figures, operating budget with, the athletics department among other mechanisms, does not turn a profit for the early retirement packages University. for employees, cuts to acaIn May 2008, the Univer- demic department fundsity decided to increase the ing and reductions in facannual subsidy paid from ulty hiring. the University’s central fund Large-scale layoffs are beto the athletics department ing avoided at all costs, alfrom $7.2 million to $15 though Executive Vice Presimillion. Even then, in fiscal dent Tallman Trask has said year 2008-2009, expenses that layoffs may well become exceeded revenue by almost necessary in anticipation of $1 million, and that deficit fiscal year 2010-2011. was covered by the departBut while the University is

onlinecomment

I personally think it’s a bit sad when great universities feel compelled to become an athletics/entertainment business and, to varying degrees, lose sight of the mission of a university.

—“Duke-affiliate” commenting on the story “Athletics’ growth provokes debate.”

See more at www.dukechronicle.com.

Letters Policy The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address.

Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns.

The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.

Est. 1905

the chronicle

commentaries

”

Direct submissions to:

E-mail: chronicleletters@duke.edu Editorial Page Department The Chronicle Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708 Phone: (919) 684-2663 Fax: (919) 684-4696

The Chronicle

Inc. 1993

will robinson, Editor Hon Lung Chu, Managing Editor emmeline Zhao, News Editor Gabe Starosta, Sports Editor Michael Naclerio, Photography Editor shuchi Parikh, Editorial Page Editor Michael Blake, Editorial Board Chair alex klein, Online Editor jonathan angier, General Manager Lindsey rupp, University Editor sabreena merchant, Sports Managing Editor julius jones, Local & National Editor jinny cho, Health & Science Editor Courtney Douglas, News Photography Editor andrew hibbard, Recess Editor Emily Bray, Editorial Page Managing Editor ashley holmstrom, Wire Editor Charlie Lee, Design Editor chelsea allison, Towerview Editor eugene wang, Recess Managing Editor Chase Olivieri, Multimedia Editor zachary kazzaz, Recruitment Chair Taylor Doherty, Sports Recruitment Chair Mary weaver, Operations Manager Barbara starbuck, Production Manager

zachary tracer, University Editor julia love, Features Editor toni wei, Local & National Editor rachna reddy, Health & Science Editor Ian soileau, Sports Photography Editor austin boehm, Editorial Page Managing Editor rebecca Wu, Editorial Page Managing Editor naureen khan, Senior Editor DEAN CHEN, Lead Developer Ben cohen, Towerview Editor Maddie Lieberberg, Recess Photography Editor Lawson kurtz, Towerview Photography Editor caroline mcgeough, Recruitment Chair Andy Moore, Sports Recruitment Chair CHRISSY BECK, Advertising/Marketing Director REBECCA DICKENSON, Chapel Hill Ad Sales Manager

The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 103 West Union Building, call 684-3811. To reach the Advertising Office at 101 West Union Building call 684-3811 or fax 684-8295. Visit The Chronicle Online at http://www.dukechronicle.com. © 2009 The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, N.C. 27708. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior, written permission of the Business Office. Each individual is entitled to one free copy.

P

in the middle of implementing sophisticated, difficult and wide-ranging budget reductions in response to the recession, the athletics department is trimming fat from its extravagant budget by reducing media luncheons and printing costs.

Revenues to the department are down by about 7 or 8 percent, but costs have only been cut by about 5 percent.

In a paltry piece of windowdressing, the University subsidy was cut to $14.5 million.

In short, the athletics department has come to depend on the University to support its extravagant spending. And when the University needs to save every dime it can, and every sector of the University is sacrificing, the athletics department is cutting next to nothing.

For it appears that al-

though the department has received more and more money from the University to help fund substantial increases in facilities, scholarships and coaches’ salaries, the University has not acquired any leverage over the athletics department in return.

The University now finds itself inexplicably unable to demand major cuts to the athletics department’s budget in a time of general scarcity.

As a consequence, the University is funding the athletics department’s largesse with money that could directly be used to fill crucial faculty openings or prop up the Multicultural Center— actions that are central to the mission of the University.

The Department of Athletics is in part to blame for this state of affairs. Its costs

have ballooned in recent years, without comparable increases in its revenues.

Far from laying out a plan to reduce its budget, the department’s 2008 strategic plan, “Unrivaled Ambition,” in fact called for a larger University subsidy and massive renovations to almost every athletic facility on campus.

The real blame, however, does not lie with the athletics department for wanting to spend money.

It lies with the University for failing, over the long term, to rein in the steadily increasing cost of athletics to Duke. During the recession, this failure of oversight has become an even more clear failure of priorities, which should be corrected as soon as possible. At the very least, it should be explained.

The fundamental problem

olitics at its heart is a delicate balance between preservation and destruction: maintain the things that work and replace those that don’t in an effort to forge more perfect systems. As we mike meers all learn from obmike check serving the federal government, problems arise when individuals aquire a bias that is no longer the best outcome for all. The deadliest vice of a functional democracy is the stall tactic, employed as a means to obstruct needed change for the sake of more specialized interests. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot recently in the way of painstaking political stubbornness on many levels and in many organizations.

Consider examples from the last two weeks at Duke. When Duke Student Government ever accumulates measurable legislative progress in a process directly relevant to student affairs, its leaders should feel proud that the system has served its students. Yet that was not the case last week when the Young Trustee reform bill was uncompromisingly expunged by way of presidential veto last month. Though slightly less mean-spirited than former DSG president Jordan Giordano’s executive smackdown of “East Campus Gardening Day” this past Spring, President Awa Nur’s swift dismissal of recommendations compiled from over a month of debate and open forum suggestions is short-sighted at best.

Nur has forcibly injected herself into a process that by her own admittance deserves freedom from DSG executive intervention. This seems more like a personal move to prevent something potentially bad from happening on her watch than a conscious effort to bring the “right” type of change.

The result: postponement until an equally flawed amendment was pushed through, implementing a student vote that will likely see even less turnout than the current sorry state of DSG elections. The fundamental problem is that few involved parties care enough about the best process for selecting the Young Trustee to sacrifice time or reputation to achieve transparency and fairness.

Political inanity again reared its ugly head Nov. 19 when whining about low scores prompted administrators, Campus Council and the Residential Group Assessment Committee to agree to postpone the process. The adminstration has repeatedly expressed the need to reform general living

space requirements on West Campus. In that light, living groups and Campus Council took a large step backward by calling the RGAC process into question. A metric designed to ensure fair living conditions and reasonable contributions from living groups on campus is now in danger of collapsing under the weight of its entrenched opponents.

Consider that when Interfraternity Council members complain that the RGAC selection process is “unfairly tailored to the missions of a few groups,” they are exactly right. Maintenance of a clean section and reasonable living environment for surrounding dorm inhabitants should be non-negotiable obligations. If some fraternities can’t find a way to reconcile their extracurricular activities with these basic and ideally universal responsibilities, then it should be no surprise that the RGAC process has no place for them. The fundamental problem is that few living groups care enough about the RGAC to exert the effort necessary to abide by its stipulations.

These are conflicts that are shadows of the sort of stick-in-the-mud tactics that may conspire to doom federal health care reform from both sides of the aisle in Congress. Though the House bill passed with a slim margin, the Senate is likely to pose a gauntlet of its own, with some senators publicly vowing to reject reform in its entirety on the basis of legislation containing or lacking a public option. With a general consensus on the need for some sort of change to the current system no matter the style, outright refusal to participate in the process is foolish and insulting.

Of course, with voters tuned in to ideological purity more than ever, it is nearly impossible for legislators to engage in real debate forged through compromise and meeting each other halfway without being perceived as “weak” for stepping back on key ideological issues. The fundamental problem is that few legislators care enough to risk political backlash in order to fight for fundamental, game-changing reform of the current system, even as it is widely agreed that the status quo is unacceptable.

The picture looks bleak all around. Though I would characterize myself as a general optimist, it is difficult to have a sunny outlook when political infighting echoes all the way from the Bryan Center to the halls of the Capitol. As it stands now, it makes more sense at all levels for offending parties to simply drag their feet and wait it out. Perhaps the best we can do is to wait ourselves, hoping that the stalling game may wear out its welcome over time.

Mike Meers is a Trinity senior. This is his final column of the semester.

the chronicle

No to term papers

“I

’ve got a week to cram for my BME 83 final,” Pratt says to Trinity over burgers at the Loop, “When’s your paper due?”

“Next Monday,” replies Trinity. Thank God it’s a term paper and not a final exam, thinks Trinity. Or at least, should think.

After finals are over, Pratt and Trinity are likely to share a similar bewilderment of not having retained much from their courses. Only for Pratt, it’s cramming for an exam. For Trinity, it’s a protracted term paper completed not by deep sea diving, but by spurts of hydroplaning across the material’s surface. courtney han Writing a term paper today could the good life? hardly be called advanced learning.

But it’s not really our fault either.

What denigrates the intellectual rigor of the undergraduate academic paper is the ubiquity of analyzed information available online and the revisions-for-dummies built into today’s word processors.

In “Phaedrus,” Plato recounted Socrates’s fear that writing would rob men of their memory. By transferring knowledge in their minds onto paper, men would adopt “the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom,” and “receive a quantity of information without proper instruction.”

Although we now know Socrates’s concern is unfounded, there is something to be said about the erosion of our memory. Retaining facts is something of a lost art now, easily substituted by the Internet, with its remarkable capacity to capture some twenty centuries of advanced thought at the click of a mouse.

Playwright Richard Foreman laments the loss of our “inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance” in a recent web publication of the British science and technology think tank Edge Foundation, Inc. Alluding to Socrates, he imagines “pancake people,” stretched thin by too much information too readily available in his play “The Gods are Pounding My Head!” Foreman’s “pancake people” may too well refer to the 21st-century man, or college student, as the case may be. One wonders if the process of building a “complex, dense and ‘cathedral-like’ structure” of a self-made liberal arts education has become replaced by the convenience of the Internet.

We can still construct the cathedral-like structure that Foreman refers to with universally-accessible information on the Web if we are forced to interpret it in new forms. The Internet gives us knowledge— fast. And to quote Sir Francis Bacon via the paraphrased Latin truism, scientia potential est, “knowledge is power.”

How we use that knowledge, however, is a different notion altogether. Knowledge, as organic matter, nourishes new growth of something more synthesized, something more commonly known under the Genus Analysis in the college context.

Microsoft Word subverts the natural conversion process of that readily available knowledge into new growth. Just imagine how much one can revise information into new shapes, like gluing together pieces into a convincing model of time-earned ideas.

The power of word processing is rather astounding when one thinks about how writing used to be done—yes, by hand, in notebooks (gasp!). On the increasingly rare occasion that we encounter such a writer today, like the Turkish Pulitzer Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, the idea astounds us by its novelty.

To be clear, I’m not harboring some archaic nostalgia for handwritten term papers. Typing is good if not for its speed, then undoubtedly for its cleanliness and ability to help us streamline our thoughts. After Friedrich Nietzsche bought a Malling-Hansen Writing ball, his first typewriter, a friend commented that his writing had become tighter.

When we begin to think of ourselves typewriting, the way, say, Cormac McCarthy wrote “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men” exclusively on a 1958 Olivetti, it seems laughable to imagine ourselves clacking away in Perkins elbows deep in globs of white-out. That McCarthy could write great American novels without Shift+F7 is enough to make us shake our heads at the whimsy of a world before MS Word’s thesaurus.

With SparkNotes and time to revise, students in courses with term papers are less likely to invest in gaining knowledge from the classroom. Seduced by Web shortcuts, they are more likely to stave off readings until days before a paper deadline. In that brief window, they have the luxury to play around with words until information takes the shape of something original.

There may be an easy solution: If professors really want to make their students think and cultivate analysis throughout the semester instead of in the last two weeks of finals, they should enforce timed paper exams or hold written exams in class, and increase the importance of class participation during the semester.

That would not only save students the agony of learning the history of political thought from 1700 to 1875 in the span of two weeks, it might motivate them to invest more in helping to preserve and contribute to the “dense cultural heritage” we’ve been handed down over the years. Not to mention make us more interesting and insightful.

Courtney Han is a Trinity senior. This is her final column of the semester.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009 | 11

commentaries

lettertotheeditor Union workers are burden to Duke Dining Duke Dining has a problem, and it is not the $2 million deficit.

Instead of coercing students to spend their food points at non-contracted establishments, why doesn’t the University identify why these particular venues have become so unattractive. It is my belief that many in the administration have done so, but either those voices are suppressed or they are too afraid to publicize their findings.

What do all of the non-contracted venues, the Marketplace, the Great Hall, Subway, Chik-fil-A and Trinity Café, have in common? Two words: Local 77. Unionized workers staff only and all of these eateries. This can only mean that the Dining deficit is a product of the union’s absurdly bloated contracts, including designed impediments to any disciplinary action and bizarre provisions allowing workers to skip work at will. Despite unnecessarily increasing the Dining deficit, these contracts make it nearly impossible for the Bon Appetit Management Company to police their employees. Not surprisingly, the administration forces Bon Appetit to hire these unionized workers just as they are planning to force us

to eat at their workplaces.

Bon Appetit is a great management company. Its staff works tirelessly to respond to student needs and improve the dining experience, however, union workers drastically burden the service of their venues. I don’t have to tell you how bad that service really is. It seems that every Duke students has a dining “horror story” from one of these establishments. In fact, I often have my politically astute friends guess which campus eateries are run by union employees. Rarely do the Marketplace, the Great Hall and Subway go unmentioned.

Interestingly, as sales data confirm, these also rank high on the “least favorite” and “worst service” lists. It is not fair to the management company to dictate who they can hire and on what terms they can “manage” them. Nor is it fair to require students to spend their money on food and service that they so clearly do not want. Let the management company manage however they wish, and let the students eat wherever they wish!

Jake Bullock Trinity ’11

‘Ignition (Remix)’ is the best song of the decade

A

s the Aughts near their inevitable end, I’ve chosen to write about the masterpiece that will surely go down as the best song of the decade: “Ignition (Remix)” by R. Kelly.

Even on a purely aesthetic level, the verdict is clear. As soon as the silk-smooth delivery of the introductory incantation of “Now usually I don’t do this but uh…” seeps through the stereo speakers on a Friday night, your troubles nathan freeman begin to subside. good night, And if you, like Our and good luck Narrator, are also sippin’ coke and rum, by the time the triumphant rally cry of “It’s the freakin’ weekend baby imma ‘bout to have me some fun!” comes along, your problems will dissipate into the hazy blur that’s absorbing the dance floor.

But the mechanisms at play within the recording make it infinitely more than just the perfect example of a feel-good party song. First of all, the conceptual elements of the song dutifully encapsulate the pre-recession boom that will act as a counterpoint to the economic downturn of this decade’s second half. Even better, the context that Kelly chooses to couch the song in—the conceit that not only is this the “remix” to a song entitled “Ignition,” but also a song about the remix to a song entitled “Ignition”—makes the track a textbook example of self-referential expression, illustrating how a piece of art can become doubly rich when there is a subtle but effective reminder that a work’s content is inextricable from the style in which it is presented—or that, as my existentialist cinema professor is wont to say, “All great art is about what it is about.”

Grab your iPhone and click down to the song; at about a minute in, you’ll realize that there’s a lot going on there. The first hint that Kelly is reppin’ some serious poststructuralist self-commentary is the address to the invisible entity that will, if it abides by Kelly’s request, “go ‘head and break ‘em off wit a ‘lil piece of the remix.” One can assume that the “‘em” refers to us, the listeners, who will now be privy to a “piece” of the remix to the original version of “Ignition” (which appears immediately before “Ignition (Remix)” on Kelly’s 2003 album Chocolate Factory), but it is unclear as to whom Kelly is directing this demand. What this im-

provisatory-sounding preamble does accomplish, however, is that it informs us of the song’s primary focus: the song itself. And then, 30 seconds later, as the double-kicked snare hits and oscillating synthesizer lead us into the chorus, this hypothesis is proven true—the chorus, the song’s prime real estate is devoted to the proclamation that, yes, it is none other than “Ignition (Remix)” that is “Hot and fresh out the kitchen.”

Once it is established that the song is a metacommentary on the song itself, the anecdotal tales of Kelly’s wild night fall into place within the work’s general schematic. In what may be the most ingenious revelation in a song chock full of them, Kelly creates a scenario in which he and the rest of the people at the party (and the after-party, and the hotel lobby) are partying to the song that he has created about the party. There’s even an explanation of why they’re listening to “Ignition (Remix),” Kelly informs us that the action occurs “while they sayin’ on the radio, ‘it’s the remix to ‘Ignition’” (which, of course, would be impossible if Kelly were still laying down the part of the vocal track that contains that lyric, when the remix is only half-complete at best). This technique creates an infinite wormhole, something akin to looking at a hypothetical picture of you looking at a copy of the resulting picture.

Therefore, when “Ignition (Remix)” is played at a packed 4:00 a.m postgame full of sweaty boozeand-Red-Bull-fueled kids (as, I’ve found, it often is), it creates a seamless convergence of temporalities: not only are the revelers dancing to a song with lyrics designed to mimic their actions precisely, but the people at the post-game and the people in the song are also dancing to the exact same song.

But, if you’re not a big fan of picking apart radio gems to find out how relevant they are to current postmodernist theory, the song is still a treasure trove full of unforgettable moments. To name a few: the “bounce bounce bounce bounce…”; the totally bonkers “Murder She Wrote” reference; the POP! of a snare drum that syncs up perfectly with the third syllable of “crystal poppin” and, my personal favorite, the laudatory moral equivocation of “I’m like so what I’m drunk.”

In short, “Ignition (Remix)” is the best song of the decade. 2010s—you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Nathan Freeman is a Trinity senior. This is his final column of the semester.

12 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009

the chronicle

m. bball from page 7 “We need to know that every game we play, no one is going to give us a game. Every team is going to fight.”

After allowing a patient Wisconsin offense to methodically wear down its defense en route to 40 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line and 17 assists on 26 made field goals, head coach Mike Krzyzewski noted some weaknesses on the end of the court where Duke usually wins games.

“You have to communicate really well against [the swing offense] and play passing lanes well,” Krzyzewski said. “Their offense just beat our defense, especially early on, which gave them more confidence.”

The Blue Devils will get the opportunity to adjust on the perimeter against a Red Storm offense led by bouncy swingman D.J. Kennedy, who comes into Durham averaging 17.7 points an outing. Also playing a big role thus far for St. John’s has been junior guard Dwight Hardy, the team’s second-leading scorer and

leader in 3-point field goals made.

For Duke, Saturday will be an early indication of how Krzyzewski sees the rotation shaping up as his team moves closer to the meat of its schedule. The Wisconsin loss marked highly touted freshman Mason Plumlee’s collegiate debut, as he came off the bench and played 10 uneventful minutes.

Having missed opportunities to get accustomed to the system in live play against weaker teams, Saturday’s game will be a great chance for the center to find his comfort zone. In contrast, Ryan Kelly did not see game action against the Badgers.

Another freshman who has already started to make his mark is Andre Dawkins. The sharp-shooter has made 14 of his last 18 attempts from downtown and should see an increase in his minutes if that production keeps up.

More importantly, though, Saturday’s tilt with St. John’s represents a chance for the players to get back out on the court and rid themselves of the bad taste in their mouths left over from the loss in Madison.

Our Holiday Gift To You...

Time’s Running Out...

Use your Flex Spending Dollars Now! Eyeglasses and Sunglasses

50frames! %

Off

With Purchase of Lenses.

Hundreds of styles to choose from including fashion and designer lines.

Offer only available with purchase of lenses.

No other discounts, coupons or insurance plans apply.

Offer excludes: Sihouette • Maui-Jim • Oakley • Rudy Project • Hobie Offer expires December 30, 2008.

Payroll Deduction Available for Duke Faculty and Staff Duke Eye Center Location Only

S

EYE CARE

SUPEROPTICS

WE ACCEPT SPECTERA VISION PLAN! Duke Eye Center

Main Lobby • 684-4012 M-Th 8:30-4:30, F 8:30-4

14 Consultant Place 493-3668 M-Th 9-7, F 9-6, Sat 9-3

Northgate Mall 286-7732 M-Th 8-7, F 8-6, Sat 9-6

Women’s basketball

Intense defense shackles OSU’s All-American

by Jeff Scholl The chronicle

Jasmine Thomas may have stolen the show on offense Thursday night against Ohio State, but the Blue Devils’ defensive performance against Buckeye standout Jantel Lavender was equally important in Duke’s upset victory.

The two-time defending Big Ten Player of the Year seemed primed for a big night after scoring 33 in a victory against California Sunday. Although she posted a team-high 20 points against the Blue Game Devils, Lavender never found a comfort under the basket because of Duke’s Analysis zone unrelenting defensive intensity.

“She had 20 points, but I felt like she had to earn every single one of those points that she scored tonight,” junior center Krystal Thomas said.

When one takes into account the fact that eight of those 20 points came as a result of foul shots and a 3-pointer in the game’s final seconds, the 6-foot-4 center’s numbers seem much less impressive.

Thomas played an integral part in taking Lavender out of the game and made her look far from deserving of the All-American status she received in the preseason. Thomas blocked Lavender twice during the game and forced her into awkward shots from the opening tip.

Lavender’s first basket was indicative of her performance as a whole. She scored the Buckeyes’ opening points of the game but did so on a short jumper that banked off the glass and rolled on the rim before finally dropping through the net.

Lavender scored only six points in the paint on the night, whereas Duke racked up an impressive 46 as a team. The Blue Devils frequently double-teamed her when she received the ball down low, which often led to open 3-pointers for the Buckeyes. Ohio State made 7-of-14 deep balls in the second half, but Duke was willing to allow attempts from long range simply because the Blue Devils, especially Jasmine Thomas, always seemed to find an answer on the offensive end.

The stifling man-to-man defense on Lavender was even more noteworthy given that senior forward Joy Cheek, the team’s most experienced post player, went down with an

“Joy [Cheek] is not a person that gets hurt ever.”

— Jasmine Thomas ankle injury about five minutes into the game and only returned for a brief period in the second half.

“It was a little surprising—Joy’s not a person that gets hurt ever,” Jasmine Thomas said. “When she did come in [again in the second half] and she was a little bit unstable, I just knew that our post players were going to have to take it over.”

Head coach Joanne P. McCallie also occasionally employed a zone to keep the Buckeyes guessing. And indeed, Lavender said she was surprised at how poorly her team reacted to the changes in Duke’s defensive schemes. Ohio State’s lack of awareness was compounded by the Blue Devils’ renewed commitment to staunch defense after giving up 95 points to Texas A&M in their only loss of the season.

“After Texas A&M it was definitely a big lesson learned— how important defense is,” Krystal Thomas said. “It’s something that we’ve stressed ever since that game and that’s what won us the game tonight. I thought everyone worked very hard on their assignments. Everyone defended, everyone rebounded and it’s just been a mindset all throughout practice and it showed tonight.”

Lavender shot 7-of-18 from the field on the night, well below the 55.6 percent shooting clip she had averaged in her first eight games. Even though she grabbed a seasonhigh 18 rebounds, only three of them came on the offensive glass, further demonstrating Duke’s defensive dominance in the post.

And in shutting down the best player on a national powerhouse, the Blue Devils learned another lesson: If they can limit the effectiveness of their opponent’s primary scorer, they can compete with any team in the country.