The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 77
www.dukechronicle.com
Rabbi Stanton aims to ‘lower barriers’ 15 to run
for Young Trustee
Duke’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration continued Tuesday with a performance showcase titled, “Chaos or Community: A Mosaic of Dr. King’s Living Dream,” which featured a monologue by the Rabbi Alysa Stanton as well as student performing groups. Stanton, who became the first black female rabbi when she was ordained in June 2009, performed a monologue she wrote in 2008 titled “Layers of Healing, Layers of Hope.” The piece detailed her journey from her Pentecostal roots to Judaism and the challenges she has faced in her lifetime. The showcase, held in Reynolds Auditorium, also included performances by In Motion, Bull City Slam Team, Purple, Center for Race Relations and United in Praise. After the showcase, an intimate reception was held in the Mary Lou Williams Center where students and members of the Duke community had the opportunity to ask Rabbi Stanton questions about her life and faith. —compiled by Cate Harding Q: You use your life story for teaching. When you’re back at your congregation what part of that personal story do you reveal? A: A lot of rabbis hide behind the book, behind intellectualism. And it’s one thing to hide behind robes, but it takes more energy to be real. As I walk through this journey in life there are things I’m struggling with—I’ve realized there are probably five people in the room going See stanton on page 6
by Matthew Chase The chronicle
nate glencer/The Chronicle
Rabbi Alysa Stanton delivered a monologue as part of Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration events in Reynolds Auditorium Tuesday night. Stanton became the first black female rabbi in June 2009.
Fifteen students applied to be Young Trustee, but one prominent student was not one of them—Duke Student Government President Awa Nur. Nur, a senior, told The Chronicle Monday that she decided not to apply for Young Trustee to instead focus on finishing her term leading DSG. “We have so much on our plates that I think it would be a disservice to not only the student body, it would be a disservice to my [Executive Board] and my Senate for me to take this personal time to campaign for another office while I am still in office,” Nur said. Nur’s decision comes after lengthy efforts to reform the Young Trustee selection process. Instead of members of DSG and the Intercommunity Council selecting the Young Trustee, the Young Trustee Nominating Committee will choose three finalists and the student body will elect one. As in the past, the nominating committee will consist of DSG members and presidents of certain campus organizations. But it will also consist of six at-large students: See YT on page 5
Ubuntu faces Central’s ‘stigma’ in first recruitment by Lisa Du
The chronicle
james lee/The Chronicle
Interested students attend a rush event for Ubuntu, a new selective living group focused on civic engagement which is running its first official recruitment this year.
As selective living groups on campus gear up for the routine of recruitment, one group will be experiencing rush for the first time. Ubuntu, a selective living group based on civic engagement, is holding its first official recruitment on Central Campus this semester. The SLG was organized by a group of juniors when they were freshmen and approved last academic year. “We’re very excited to be official at Duke this year, and rush has been a continuation of that,” said Ubuntu President Ryan Echternacht, a junior. “It’s been a tumultuous process, but we’ve enjoyed it.” Ubuntu began with 16 sophomores last year, and had a small recruitment process during which it added four freshmen to its roster. Echternacht said the freshmen were recruited through prior connections. That challenge of being a new SLG has continued into this year, as Ubuntu faces the difficulty of not having the “feel and branding” of other long-existent living groups on campus, Echternacht said. “Other groups have been established for so long they know what to do for rush... they have traditional events, and I’m just making it up as I go,” said junior Elizabeth
ONTHERECORD
“People forget that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.” —Senior Justin Robinette, Duke College Republicans chairman. See story page 3
KonKolics, an Ubuntu rush chair. So far, the group has had an open house, a themed party on foreign cultures and a milk-and-cookies event. Echternacht said the group is trying to add more of Ubuntu’s unique flavor into rush events—one will incorporate students from the Durham Nativity School, whom Ubuntu members mentor regularly as part of their commitment to civic engagement. The focus on service has been an attractive factor for some freshmen rushing Ubuntu. “Most other service groups remind me more of high school groups where there’s a required amount of service hours, [but] for Ubuntu it seems most of the members are involved because they want to be,” freshman David Watson said. Freshman Don Tucker, who heard about Ubuntu through a friend, said he enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of Ubuntu’s recruitment events. “It’s more easygoing and not quite as intense, which appealed to me,” he said. Although the number of interested freshmen has not been as high as expected, Ubuntu members said they are satisfied with the turnout. “Central has a stigma attached to it, and I think that’s
Men’s Basketball: Road Warriors Duke faces N.C. State in major test away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, PAGE 9
See ubuntu on page 5
Union irons out rXn Dance Party arrangements, Page 3