February 10, 2010 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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010

DUKE

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 92

www.dukechronicle.com

UNC

The new Young Trustees Undergraduate

Graduate

John Harpham

Adrienne Clough

DEAN E. SMITH CENTER • WEDNESDAY • 9 p.m. • ESPN/RAYCOM

Harpham wins Young Trustee by three votes Disputed campaign and slim victory cap first undergraduate YT election

by Maggie Love THE CHRONICLE

RIVALRY RENEWED zachary tracer/Chronicle file photo

Reeling Tar Heels look for season-changing win

Blue Devils prepared for Carolina’s best shot

by Vignesh Nathan

by Scott Rich

For the Tar Heels, the importance of tonight’s game extends far beyond the Carolina-Duke rivalry. It’s about more than getting a ‘W’ and improving in the ACC standings. For the defending national champions, the last few weeks have been nothing short of disastrous. For that reason, tonight is about redemption, and returning pride to a university that has historically boasted some of the finest basketball players in the world.

“Everybody knows the situation here. Nobody is ignorant,” sophomore guard Larry Drew II said.

“Everybody’s aware of what’s going on and the magnitude of the situation. Nobody is going to quit—we just got to work harder.”

Even though many predicted that the Tar Heels (13-10, 2-6 in the ACC) would struggle with the departures of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, their season still began with promise, including a big win at home against then-No. 9 Michigan State in a rematch of last year’s national championship game. However,

To the casual viewer, something may seem unusual about tonight’s matchup between No. 8 Duke (19-4, 7-2 in the ACC) and North Carolina.

Yes, the heated rivals will once again renew their rivalry in what is sure to be a hostile Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill at 9 p.m., and it will still be a battle between royal and baby blue. But unlike most years, something will be absent—an Associated Press Top 25 ranking beside the Tar Heel logo on the scoreboard.

Just don’t mention that to any of the Blue Devils.

Indeed, Duke is preparing for this contest against North Carolina (13-10, 2-6) just as it would any other, despite the Tar Heels’ unforeseen and uncharacteristic struggles this year.

“It doesn’t make the game more or less important for us. Despite what they’re ranked or if they are ranked, they’re a really talented team,” senior Jon Scheyer said of his rival’s subpar performance this season. “It’s obviously going to be a really tough game, and it’s a big game for us.”

See preview on page 8

See duke on page 8

THE CHRONICLE

THE CHRONICLE

ONTHERECORD

“They have recognized a void where their foundation can make the greatest impact. ”

­—DVHI Director Dr. Barton Hayes on Bill and Melinda Gates. See story page 3

Tuesday night, the general student body voted on an undergraduate Young Trustee for the first time. After 2,169 votes were cast, senior John Harpham was elected by the narrowest of margins.

The election was decided in an instant runoff, with Harpham defeating senior Chelsea Goldstein by three votes, 1,054 to 1,051.

Although the polls closed at 8 p.m., Harpham was not confirmed as the winner until approximately 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Goldstein and junior Gregory Morrison, Duke Student Government executive vice president, both filed complaints that led to a last-minute DSG judiciary meeting in DSG’s Bryan Center office.

Harpham, former chair of The Chronicle’s editorial board, declined to comment on the judiciary proceedings, but said he was pleased with the election results.

“I’m honored, I’m thankful, I really wanted to do this job and I am very much looking forward to See yt election on page 5

GPSC

Grad students pick Clough for Board

by Carmen Augustine THE CHRONICLE

Adrienne Clough was elected graduate Young Trustee at Tuesday night’s Graduate and Professional Student Council meeting.

“I’m elated,” said Clough, a second-year student in the Fuqua School of Business. “I was really looking forward to today.”

General assembly representatives said the election was efficient and only required one round of voting.

There was a movement to skip the open discussion, and all debate occurred during closed discussion.

“Basically what we did was... debated the strengths of all the candidates and honestly none of

Men’s Basketball Breakdown The Chronicle gives you all you need to know about Duke-UNC, PAGE 7

them had many weaknesses,” Inderpreet Jalli, a second-year biology graduate student, said.

Clough’s platform was based on her previous experiences and vision for the next Young Trustee.

“My vision for Young Trustee is as fundamental as the ABC’s— A for asset management, B for borderless education and C for career services,” Clough said.

Clough said her previous endowment experience at Princeton University would allow her to defeat proposals that are bad for graduate students. She also said she hopes to facilitate See clough on page 4

Pick up your copy of Towerview today.

2 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 the chronicle

worldandnation

TODAY:

3626

Iran is offered medical isotope

Body found in Delta jet

Obama calls for bipartisan support on employment bill

NEW YORK — A body found in the landing gear compartment of a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet that flew to Tokyo’s Narita Airport from New York may spur a fresh review of U.S. aviation security.

Lack of oxygen or hypothermia may have killed the stowaway, said a police official at Narita, who asked not to be identified because of department policy. The corpse of a dark-skinned male in civilian clothes with no identification was discovered Sunday, the police official said.

The case highlights a possible weak spot in the safety crackdown ordered after a failed attempt to blow up a Detroitbound Delta flight on Dec. 25. Tarmacs are supposed to be protected against intruders, so a man climbing onto the plane would have breached security wherever the incident began.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama told Democratic and Republican congressional leaders on Tuesday that the public is “frustrated” with the stalemate in Washington and challenged lawmakers to approve a job bill and take “concrete” steps to reduce the deficit.

Everyone should be able to agree on tax breaks, spending money on roads and other infrastructure and on small business hiring incentives, Obama said at an unscheduled appearance at the daily White House briefing after meeting with the lawmakers.

“The sooner the business community has a sense that we’ve got our act together here in Washington and can move forward on big serious issues, the better off the entire country is going to be,” he said.

“

Beauty is a form of genius.

— Oscar Wilde

TODAY IN HISTORY

”

1947: World War II peace treaties signed.

TEHRAN — The United States and other nations seeking to restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions are offering to help the Islamic republic purchase medical isotopes on the international market, administration officials said Tuesday.

The offer, officials said, is meant to persuade Iran to halt its controversial push to produce fuel for a medical research reactor. U.S. officials say Tehran’s enrichment plan is evidence that it is pursuing fuel for a bomb. Iran announced this week that it is producing higher-grade enriched uranium than ever before.

The previously undisclosed proposal came as President Obama told reporters that his administration is “developing a significant regime of sanctions” to impose on Iran. He said that action at the U.N. Security Council, which is currently stymied by China’s objections to a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, “will be one aspect of that broader effort.”

THURSDAY:

4124

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— ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde Read more at sports.chronicleblogs.com

JOSHUA PARTLOW/The WASHINGTON POST

For the 5th Stryker Brigade Team, the most important U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan is to uphold transportation and commerce and to restore credibility to the local governments. The Brigade team, deployed around the southern city of Kandahar, hopes to establish a cordon of coalition forces around Kandahar in order to preserve the freedom of movement on key roads and protect town residents.

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the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 | 3

Gates pledge Sugar Ray may perform at Duke this Spring $10B to fund vaccinations Duke University Union

by Ray Koh

THE CHRONICLE

April could rock the Gothic Wonderland, as Duke University Union members announced four artists will perform on campus in April.

DUU members discussed Cameron Rocks concert at their Tuesday meeting.

Although Major Attractions Director Liz Turner, a senior, said the concert will feature two performers, she said DUU will not release the lineup until all the artists are confirmed.

“Two artists will perform at Cameron Rocks,” Turner said. “One of them has already confirmed, and we are expecting the other to do so by Friday.”

The Cameron Rocks concert will be held April 1 in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but Turner added that a time for the concert has not yet been set.

Two artists will also perform at this year’s Last Day of Classes celebration April 28, Turner said.

Sugar Ray is in talks with Duke about a show, Publicist Amanda Charney of Plan A Media, wrote in an e-mail. Plan A Media, a publicity company based in New York City, represented Sugar Ray during its fall 2009 tour. Charney noted that a date has not been confirmed.

Both Turner and DUU President Zach Perret, a senior, declined to comment on Sugar Ray following Tuesday’s meeting.

Plans for the weather-delayed rXn Dance Party are also still in the discussion phase. The event will have a new time and location, but those have not been decided yet, said Special Projects Director Christie Falco, a senior.

by Ann Kang THE CHRONICLE

James Lee/The Chronicle

At DUU’s meeting Tuesday, President Zach Perret (above) declined to comment on the possibility of Sugar Ray performing at Duke. But Major Attractions Director Liz Turner said April 1’s Cameron Rocks concert will feature two artists, and she expects to receive confirmation from them by Friday.

Falco, who is also co-chair of the LDOC Committee, said the rXn Dance Party will take place after spring break and that the Special Projects Committee is looking for a new location. The event was previously planned for Wilson Gym Jan. 30.

In other business: Duke Coffeehouse is hosting Marco Benevento Trio from Brooklyn, N.Y., this

Wednesday night at 9 p.m., said senior Andrew Kindman, DUU Coffeehouse director and general manager.

“Benevento is extremely well-known and he has played with very famous people,” Kindman said.

Benevento, a jazz pianist, was named a 2009 “artist to watch” by the Los Angeles Times in December 2008.

Lindsey Rupp contributed reporting.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged one of the largest donations in history to support vaccination around the world Jan. 29.

The foundation will donate $10 billion toward the development and distribution of vaccines. Bill Gates estimates that the initiative will save the lives of 8 million children around the world, particularly in developing countries, The New York Times reported.

Representatives from the Duke Global Health Institute and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute were excited to hear about the pledge.

“It’s very exciting and wonderful that the Gates Foundation has decided to provide this support for vaccine development and implementation,” said Dr. John Bartlett, DGHI’s associate director of research. “Around the world for children under the age of five, mortality due to infectious diseases can be a significant problem. Any means that we can undertake to diminish this mortality can be a tremendous advance.”

Bartlett added that resources provided by the Gates Foundation could bring great advances to the development of vaccines for diseases that did not previously have any immunizations, such as HIV, AIDS See donation on page 4

4 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 the chronicle

donation from page 3 and malaria.

Dr. Barton Haynes, director of DHVI, said Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, Trinity ‘86, Fuqua ‘87 and a former member of Duke’s Board of Trustees, continue to make important contributions in global health.

“Bill and Melinda Gates have really changed the dialogue globally not only about global health but particularly about the need to get vaccines in the developed countries to the developing world,” Haynes said. “They have recognized a void where their foundation can make the greatest impact. The void is that vaccines are made and developed in developed countries, but there are people all over the world who don’t have the vaccines.”

Duke has enjoyed close ties with the Gates Foundation in the past and is already benefiting from its support, Haynes said. In 2007, for example, the University debuted DukeEngage after receiving nearly $30 million of support from the foundation.

He added that he is optimistic about how the Gates Foundation will benefit the practice of medicine.

“They are very committed to taking good ideas and getting these ideas translated. They are very into translational medicine—translating good, basic ideas and getting the ideas to the clinic and to people as fast as possible,” Haynes said.

Haynes said interested students could get involved in developing and distributing vaccines through Duke Global Health Institute or by being selected to work in Duke Human Vaccines Institute laboratories.

clough from page 1 interdisciplinary study by addressing the hurdles to study across departments.

To address career services, Clough said she wants to increase mentoring of graduate and professional students. She also suggested giving international students, who have 20 to 30 percent lower job placement than do students from the U.S., increased visa and job opportunities.

Clough emphasized her passion for Duke and desire to have a bigger impact on the University community.

“I think you can actually get things done at Duke,” Clough said.

This semester Clough is taking French 2, which she said has given her a taste of

the undergraduate experience. Although she did not get her undergraduate degree from Duke, she said the Board of Trustees is looking for independent thinkers, not necessarily someone who has had the most Duke experiences.

In response to the financial crisis, Clough said she hopes to reduce the debt recent graduate students leave school with. She also said she hopes to ensure that the University’s more limited funds are distributed between the humanities and the sciences.

Graduate Young Trustees serve twoyear terms on the Board. Clough will be a non-voting observer this Fall and a voting member the following year.

Starting this fall, Clough will be working for The Boston Consulting Group while living in Durham.

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION FORMS NOW AVAILABLE AT: www.duke.edu/APSI/grants/undergrads.html for:

1. Sirena WuDunn Memorial Scholarship 2010-11 undergraduate tuition awards 2. Janet B. Chiang Grant awards for undergraduate & graduate projects, and for need-based study in Asia

CONTACT: The Asian/Pacific Studies Institute 323A Trent Drive Hall email:mpmoore@duke.edu | 684-5073 DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: March 5, 2010

michael naclerio/The Chronicle

Adrienne Clough was elected graduate Young Trustee at GPSC’s meeting Tuesday night. Clough, a second-year student in Fuqua, said her previous experience working with the Princeton Endowment will help her adjust to her new role on Duke’s Board.

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 | 5

YT election from page 1 serving Duke,” Harpham said.

Goldstein said she filed her two-part complaint with the Young Trustee Nominating Committee before election day. She said she took issue with Harpham’s campaigning techniques, which included soliciting personal letters of support that were published in The Chronicle and later, on Harpham’s campaign Web site, and a video he released on his Facebook page Monday challenging basketball player Nolan Smith, a junior, to a one-on-one game. Goldstein felt these tactics were against the spirit of the election, which she said should have been more focused on content than personal qualities.

The DSG judiciary meeting concluded that all of the YTNC’s actions during the campaign were valid and in accordance with campaign policies.

“I’m excited for John and I think he’ll do a great job,” Goldstein said.

But she added that the events that concluded early Wednesday morning indicate problems with the election process.

“There’s actually nowhere for candidates to turn if they feel wronged by the election commission,” Goldstein said.

None of the three finalists—Goldstein, Harpham or Duke University Union President Zach Perret, a senior—received a majority Tuesday night, with Goldstein earning 908 votes, Harpham 818 and Perret 442 before the runoff. Runoff numbers were determined by tallying Perret’s voters’ second choices and adding them to Goldstein and Harpham’s initial vote totals. Of the 442 people who voted for Perret as their first choice, 235 chose Harpham as their second choice, 142 chose Goldstein as their second choice, 44 voted for Perret again and 21 abstained from voting for another candidate. Repeat votes for Perret were not counted in the runoff.

There were other questions surrounding ballots. For example, one ballot listed Perret as its first choice with no second choice, and Goldstein as its third choice. Sophomore Lauren Moxley, YTNC chair, said the committee agreed not to count that third-place vote for Goldstein in the runoff.

Morrison expressed concerns about the YTNC’s ability to establish a consensus on some of the election’s controversial points.

“None of the razzmatazz we did tonight was intended to reflect poorly on John. I think John will make an excellent trustee,” Morrrison said.

As the newest Young Trustee, Harpham will sit on the Board of Trustees for three years, one year as a non-voting member and the last two as a voting member. Harpham’s first Board meeting will take place in September.

Harpham said he feels his undergraduate education best prepares him to serve on either the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee or Undergraduate Education Committee.

“I still see the role of Young Trustee not as representing students alone, but as representing the University as a whole,” Harpham said. “That said, this election brought me face-to-face with hundreds of students and it has made me realize how much I want to serve them.”

The 1,054 students who supported Harpham were part of an election that saw a 32 percent turnout rate among undergraduates, who voted using electronic ballots Tuesday. One ballot was left blank.

“I am very pleased with the voter turnout,” Moxley said. “I thought it reflected a real sense of interest from the student body.”

This election’s turnout is an increase from the 27 percent who voted in the Fall 2009 Duke Student Government Senate election, but is less than the 38 percent who voted in the most recent DSG presidential election.

In previous years, the undergraduate Young Trustee was chosen through a joint process by DSG and the Intercommunity Council. But Moxley said vote counting ran smoothly in the first student body Young Trustee election.

“It is a close vote, but the statistics are clear,” Moxley said before the DSG judiciary convened for its meeting.

michael naclerio/The Chronicle

Senior John Harpham was elected to serve as the new undergraduate Young Trustee Tuesday, winning a student body election by three votes.

Gearing up for the big game

lawson kurtz/The Chronicle

Cameron Crazies attend the Coke Zero Fannovation Forum inside Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night on the eve of the Men’s basketball team’s matchup with UNC. The event featured CBS Sports broadcaster Seth Davis, Trinity ‘92 and a former Chronicle sports writer.

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Sports

>> FENCING

The Chronicle

ONLINE

WEDNESDAY February 10, 2010

Becca Ward won Fencer of the Week honors after going 12-0 over the weekend Look for a Q&A with CBS Sports analyst and former Chronicle writer Seth Davis

www.dukechroniclesports.com

Toss out the records for Duke-Carolina

Welcome to one of the best days of the year.

Yeah, Christmas is great, and so is Super Bowl Sunday and the first two days of the NCAA Tournament, and the Duke-UNC game in Cameron is the most anticipated contest of the regular season. But the game in Chapel Hill is right up there.

For Blue Devil fans, this one is especially promising. As you know, North Carolina has won five of the past six rivalry meetings. And as you also know—but really, do you ever get sick of hearing it?—the Tar Heels have been awful lately, losing six of their last seven and seven of their last nine. If Duke is going to reverse the recent trend in this series, this seems like the perfect time to do it. The Blue Joe Devils are ranked in the top 10, are first in the ACC and have rebounded nicely from a few bad January losses.

But don’t expect a blowout at the Dean Dome tonight.

Make no mistake: Duke is the better team, and I expect it to win. But the gap between the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels may not be as big as you think.

North Carolina, after all, has beaten Michigan State and Ohio State (with Evan Turner), and it narrowly lost to Kentucky. You could point out that those games all took place before the New Year, and you would be right. But the point is, the Tar Heels have the ability to compete with the nation’s top teams.

(Still don’t believe me? Coach K: “They’re very talented and deep.” Jon Scheyer: “They’re a young team, but they have a lot of talent.” Nolan Smith: “They have a very talented team… and it’s very surprising to me [that they’re struggling].”

Kyle Singler: “They have a lot of talent…. They can definitely beat anyone.”)

So in case you missed it, Carolina has talent. What it doesn’t have is experience, the ability to hold onto the ball, and lately, any sign of a pulse. There is no reason this team should lose to Maryland by 21 or to

Drews

zachary tracer/Chronicle file photo

Lance Thomas won’t have to go up against North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough this year, but Joe Drews still expects a close game Wednesday.

Virginia by 15 (at home!), but that’s exactly what has happened in two of its last three games.

It won’t happen tonight. You can be sure of that.

The Tar Heels need this game, not just because it might save them from what looks like a sure NIT season but because this rivalry is kind of a big deal. A win

wouldn’t eliminate UNC’s seven losses this calendar year, but beating Duke might make those struggles palatable.

“It’s different from any game that we play,” senior forward Lance Thomas said Monday. “We’re both See drews on page 7

women’s golf

After bright start, Blue Devils slip into pack

Chronicle file photo

Junior Kim Donovan carded a 77, Duke’s third-best score of the day, Tuesday afternoon in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Duke slipped from its second-place perch Tuesday in Palos Verdes, Calif., as the Blue Devils carded a 21-over 305 to fall into a tie for fifth place at the Northrop Grummon Regional Challenge after two rounds of play.

No. 5 Duke finished Day One in second place, eight strokes behind leader USC, and on Day Two, the Trojans held onto their place at the top. USC leads second-place Pepperdine by just two strokes, and leads Duke by 17.

The Blue Devils could not keep up their torrid pace from the day before.

Freshman Lindy Duncan played wonderfully Monday and shot a 4-under 67, which tied her for the individual lead with the Trojans’ Jennifer Song. Yesterday, though, Duncan came back down to earth with a 5-over 76. Duncan currently sits in sixth place on the individual leaderboard.

“It wasn’t a good day for the Blue Devils,” head coach Dan Brooks said. “We were doing O.K. at the start and we lost a bunch

at the end—it leaked away. We were not driving it that well and we were not putting it that well. It was just an off-day.”

Two Pepperdine players, Lisa McCloskey and Taylore Karle, sit at first and second in the individual competition with scores of 4-under and 1-under, respectively.

Despite slipping slightly compared to some other teams, several Blue Devils showed noticeable improvements from the day before. Freshman Courtney Ellenbogen displayed consistency by firing her second straight round of 3-over, and Kim Donovan and Stacey Kim regrouped after difficult first rounds to improve by two strokes.

Senior Alison Whitaker struggled the most Tuesday. She followed up her excellent 1-over 72 on Day One with an 11-over 82 yesterday.

The third and final round of the event at the par-71 Palos Verdes Golf Club tees off tomorrow morning.

—from staff reports

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 | 7

thebreakdown

drews from page 6

BACKCOURT

NOLAN SMITH 18.1 ppg, 3.1 apg

JON SCHEYER 18.9 ppg, 5.6 apg

Duke’s big three of Smith, Scheyer and Singler is the best trio in the country, averaging 53.6 points per game. Scheyer has established himself as one of the most efficient players in the country, and all three are a threat on the perimeter. The Tar Heels are still getting used to life after Ty Lawson, and point guard Larry Drew II has yet to find a steady hand during ACC play.

ADVANTAGE: DUKE

BENCH LARRY DREW II 8.7 ppg, 6.2 apg

THE SKINNY

MARCUS GINYARD 8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg

FRONTCOURT

KYLE SINGLER 16.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg

LANCE THOMAS 5.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg

e Th

10 0 2

The Blue Devils have found depth and inconsistency in this category lately. There have been flashes of brilliance (vs. Wake Forest) and a fair share of struggles (@ Georgetown).

Unfortunately, Ed Davis shapes up more like Greg Monroe than Chas McFarland, and the tandem of Davis and Deon Thompson has that higher level of athleticism that Duke has struggled against.

ADVANTAGE: UNC

ED DAVIS 13.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg

DEON THOMPSON 14.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg

encement Stud m m ent Co

could be YOU!

Duke’s bench could be the difference if the Blue Devils can get quality time from Brian Zoubek and the Plumlees as they try to counter Davis, Thompson and John Henson down low.

ADVANTAGE: DUKE

North Carolina has struggled mightily in conference play, but never underestimate the emotion of college basketball’s best rivalry. The Tar Heels have shown the ability to contend with top teams, especially on their home floor, while Duke has shown that it can struggle in true road games. North Carolina will keep it close, but look for Scheyer, Smith and Singler to overwhelm the Lawson-less Tar Heels on the perimeter.

Duke 77-71 —by Ryan Claxton

playing like we’re [Nos.] 1 and 2 in the country. That’s what the game’s going to be like on Wednesday. Whatever they’re doing, as far as how they’re playing, that has no bearing on how we’re going to go over there and play.”

Normally, I don’t buy into the argument that a team is going to win because it needs a victory more than its opponent does. I tend to favor factors like talent, recent performance and home court. Plus, the opponent is, you know, trying to win the game, too.

And in Duke’s case, this game is far from meaningless. There is obviously the rivalry component, but in the context of the entire season, the Blue Devils are still trying to figure out how to win on the road. As gutsy as Saturday’s win at Boston College was, it only moved Duke to 2-4 away from home, and it should never have gone down to the wire. It’s entirely possible that the game was so close because the Blue Devils were playing their second game in three days, but Singler was still talking Monday about stringing together a few road wins to turn that record around. That doesn’t sound like a team that thinks it has everything completely figured out.

The key comparison isn’t whether North Carolina wants to win more than Duke.

That’s going to be a wash. It’s whether the Tar Heels want to win more than they did against Maryland and Virginia, and I would be shocked if they don’t.

That will help UNC keep the game close, but I still think those other factors— turnovers and inexperience—will prove too much for the Tar Heels to overcome.

If they don’t, I may have to start reevaluating whether this day is really as great as I think it is.

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8 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 the chronicle

duke from page 1 But if fans’ expectations for a victory don’t raise the Blue Devils’ blood pressure, their recent failures against North Carolina might. Duke was swept by Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels last season, and has lost five of its last six against Roy Williams’s squad.

“I don’t know if there could ever be more pressure on Duke playing any game,” Krzyzewski said. “There’s pressure on us as much as any team in the country to perform well because of the high visibility that we have. It’s heightened in a game against North Carolina because they have that similar expectation and then the basketball world watches.”

One difference between this year’s team and previous incarnations that faltered against the Tar Heels is the Blue Devils’ size down low. Duke is averaging more than 39 rebounds a game and has four players— Kyle Singler, Brian Zoubek, Miles Plumlee and Lance Thomas—averaging at least 4.9 boards per game. In contrast, the Blue Devils averaged only 36.4 rebounds per game last season, and were outrebounded in both contests against North Carolina.

What’s more, Duke has found a surprising amount of scoring from the post. The elder Plumlee has taken advantage of his increased minutes as a sophomore, averaging 6.5 points per game. Additionally, Zoubek and Thomas both average more than five points per game, and freshman Mason Plumlee has shown flashes of brilliance on the offensive end, despite his inconsistency.

“I think overall the big guys as a group have done a really good job, and they can get better,” Krzyzewski said. “[Thomas] is one of the best defenders in the country….

[Brian] has had a really good workmanlike year.”

However, anyone who has followed Duke knows that a majority of the team’s scoring will come from its big three of Singler, Scheyer and Nolan Smith. The group is averaging more than 53 points per game, making it the top-scoring trio in the country.

Recently, though, the burden on the three S’s has been exacerbated by the disappearance of freshman Andre Dawkins from the rotation. All three average more than 35 minutes a game, and in the team’s last

dianna liu/Chronicle file photo

Sophomore Miles Plumlee will have his hands full inside with North Carolina’s talented frontcourt duo of Deon Thompson and Ed Davis.

preview from page 1 that win against the Spartans has turned out to be one of few impressive victories thus far. Come conference play, North Carolina fell apart, dropping six of its last seven games—good for 10th place in the ACC. “Twenty-one years as head coach, and I’ve never been in this spot,” head coach Roy Williams said. “But someway, somehow I’ve got to help these kids get out of it. Being 2-6 is not comfortable. It’s just not good.”

But the Tar Heels’ record may not do their talent justice.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski would be the first to say that the Tar Heels have a lot of raw talent in a young squad that has yet to fully develop and mature. That fact, combined with the do-or-die mentality with which they view this game, could prove dangerous to the Blue Devils tonight. After all, this game could put North Carolina back on the map, and even spark a late-season run to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve got a couple more ACC games left to go,” senior forward Deon Thompson said. “This could be a great opportunity for this team to rally around this game and definitely come together to win.”

two contests the trio has missed only six of a possible 240 minutes on the court.

Still, Krzyzewski remains confident in the conditioning of his stars, and plans to use them in a similar fashion against the Tar Heels.

“I don’t think [their minutes] are so unusual,” he said.

“A player wants to play all the time.”

But if the Blue Devils are to claim a road victory in this heated rivalry, they know that the entire team will have to perform, even with North Carolina’s difficulties of late.

“You see them struggling, and we don’t want to be the team that they get started on,” Zoubek said. “This means a lot to us too, especially the senior class, because… they’ve gotten the better of us the past couple years and we really want to go at them.”

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Forward Ed Davis’s numbers have improved dramatically this season, and the sophomore is averaging nearly a double-double.

The Tar Heels will need to utilize their big-man duo of Thompson and sophomore center Ed Davis if they hope to control the boards and score in the paint. These two lead their team in scoring and rebounding, combining for 28.3 points and 16.2 rebounds. Their ability to score and their physical style of play could give Duke’s frontcourt a tough time.

If there’s one thing the Duke-Georgetown contest exposed, it’s that talented big men, such as Davis, can dominate inside the paint against Blue Devils.

“They’re really athletic and strong underneath the basket,” Duke senior Brian Zoubek said of Thompson and Davis. “I think that if we don’t play smart, then they could really pose a problem to us.”

On the other end of the court, it is imperative for the Tar Heels to improve their perimeter defense. North Carolina has allowed its opponents to hit 33.9 percent of their 3-point attempts, placing them at second-to-last in the ACC. In the Tar Heels’ last game against Maryland, they allowed the Terrapins to hit a dozen 3-point shots off of 52.2 percent shooting from behind the arc. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they’ll be up against the trio of Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singer that not only has the highest combined scoring average in the NCAA, but also can pose a serious threat from long range.

No matter how much the Tar Heels utilize their big men or improve their defense, they’ll always know that their home-court advantage favors them—the Blue Devils are simply not the same team on the road. If North Carolina manages to get a couple of easy buckets to start the game, as well as a few defensive stops, it just may frustrate Duke into making poor decisions on both ends of the court. It happened to Duke against Wisconsin, then against N.C.State and finally against Georgetown. And in a deafening arena filled with 21,750 Duke-loathing fans, who says the same couldn’t happen in Chapel Hill?

CORRECTION A story in Monday’s paper about the fencing meet hosted by Duke last weekend incorrectly identified fencer Becca Ward’s accomplishments at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Ward, now a sophomore, won two bronze medals at the Olympics.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 | 9

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Brodhead must assert leadership President Richard BrodBut the financial melthead’s first years in office were down that hit last Fall gave not easy. Coach Mike Kryzyz- Brodhead a chance to define weski threatened to leave, himself in his own terms, to the Palestinian Solidarity take charge of the University Movement set up on campus and assert himself as a public and false rape figure. A $125 charges were million budeditorial leveled against get shortfall the men’s lacrosse team. loomed in the University’s In addressing these situa- future, and the situation retions, Brodhead was on the quired true leadership. defensive. He garnered sigAt first, Brodhead rose nificant criticism from mem- to the challenge. He quickly bers within and outside of addressed the concerns of the Duke community, and he the University community was forced to make difficult through a comprehensive edecisions at every step along mail message, and he made the way. public statements assuring After these crises, the that administrators would do Brodhead that emerged was everything in their power to strong yet reserved, shying keep Duke solvent. away from controversy and During the last 12 months, maintaining a low public however, as the fallout from profile. the budget crisis has trickled

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T

down to every department from academics to auxiliary services, active communication from Brodhead has largely disappeared. He has not sent out even a University-wide e-mail since March of last year.

When compared to Harvard’s Drew Faust, Princeton’s Shirley Tilghman and Yale’s Richard Levin, Brodhead’s communication efforts have faltered. Whereas the presidents of our peer institutions have made bold, clear statements about their universities’ financial futures and have detailed their plans to balance budgets, Brodhead has opted for a different approach.

Instead of outlining Duke’s comprehensive response to the budget crisis upfront,

Brodhead and his Executive Vice President Tallman Trask have gradually announced their cost-cutting plans as they are implemented.

It may be the case that the second floor of the Allen Building is in total control and that we will weather the financial storm just fine. But the absence of a publicly available, holistic plan for Duke to close the budget deficit leaves University stakeholders uncertain and employees unfairly questioning the security of their jobs.

This afternoon, Brodhead will address the faculty about the state of the University, and Tuesday he will speak with employees at a “Primetime” forum.

These events, although a step in the right direction,

are not enough.

Instead of addressing specialized segments of the University, Brodhead should speak openly and candidly to the Duke community as a whole. We need to know the specifics of how the administration is moving forward and how it plans to finally close the budget shortfall.

But more than that, we need to know how the University’s strategic goals have been affected by the crisis, how the administration is adapting and how they will move Duke forward despite the difficult financial times.

We need active, clear and consistent communication from our president that the future of our University is strong.

Use, abuse and misrepresentation

he tables are empty. The service is so fast that I don’t even need a buzzer. Apparently, this is the golden hour in which I don’t have to wait for food at the Loop. The cashier and I joke about why I’m here alone at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday.

“I’m meeting up with a friend who’s getting McDonalds,” I tell him.

“Su-ure,” he says sarcastically. “Well, at least you got it to go.” Laughing, sue li he hands me my philosopher’s stone food as I secretly try to look less like a loser for not being out partying.

On any given weekend night, many Duke students are not sober. Although by far the most abused drug at Duke and most college campuses, alcohol is not the only recreational drug that’s being consumed tonight. Behind closed doors, marijuana use follows, trailed by cocaine and a variety of obscure and designer drugs. In 2007, USA Today reported that about a third of college students had used marijuana and almost half of all college students engaged in binge drinking at least once a month.

Although the stigma and barriers to access of many illegal drugs is high, alcohol—an unclassified legal substance—seems to sneakily get by branding itself with the air of coolness and passing itself from Solo cup to Solo cup. Associated with kicking back and watching the game and bottle service in the cosmopolitan clubs of New York City, alcohol has both an elite status in our culture and positive associations with everyday enjoyment. The guise of its relatively safe nature, however, seems to slip past the dangers that linger in the back of our minds.

We refer to drugs and alcohol as two separate entities, as if alcohol is so benign that it is barely even considered a drug anymore. Arguments for its social acceptability based on its legality are flawed, especially when a large percentage of drinkers are underage, and the legal classification system for illegal drugs does not always accurately represent the actual harm inflicted onto users and their societies. From order of most to least harm, drugs are classified as Schedule I, II III, IV and V. The lower numbers are supposedly the most dangerous and usually have the harshest

penalties for possession or distribution. Schedule I includes heroin and cocaine but also LSD and Ecstasy which, like marijuana, have been associated with medical benefits.

In 2007, researchers evaluated 20 substances based on physical harm, social harm, physiological dependence, psychological dependence, intoxication levels, health care costs, and other factors. On average, alcohol ranked as the fifth most harmful drug, exceeding tobacco in ninth place and cannabis in 11th place. It also ranked above LSD, which was in 14th place. Ecstasy, which supposedly causes holes in one’s brain, was the third least harmful drug. Heroin and cocaine ranked first and second respectively, in most harmful drugs.

The results from this study are incongruous with the general behavior, attitudes and policy regarding drug use on our campus and across the nation. Researchers “saw no clear distinction between socially acceptable and illicit substances. The fact that the two most widely used legal drugs lie in the upper half of the ranking of harm is surely important information that should be taken into account in public debate on illegal drug use.”

I do not support the use of illegal drugs. This study, however, sheds light on the hypocrisy of government policies regarding drug and alcohol use, lobbied and advertised heavily by the tobacco and alcohol industry.

Although I am not opposed to alcohol consumption, the misconception that alcohol is one of the safer drugs, or not a drug at all, has direct consequences. Disguised by a college culture and even encouraged in some circles, substance abuse remains an issue on campus. According to USA Today’s report, 23 percent of college students meet the medical definition for alcohol or drug abuse or dependence. When you live anywhere long enough, the weird begins to look normal.

At Duke, people are expected to be drunk on a Friday night. The cashier at the Loop is surprised I am not.

Blurring the line between substance use and abuse, college will continue to exist as the only time in our life we can live so uninhibitedly every weekend. We should at least realize, though, that this behavior is kind of weird. If you do party heavily, drink up now—because after college it’s called alcoholism.

Sue Li is a Trinity senior. Her column run every other Wednesday.

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 | 11

commentaries

The dialectics of democracy

T

here is perhaps no more reviled a figure among the left than former vice president Dick Cheney.

Even after the end of the Bush administration, Jon Stewart and liberal bloggers repeatedly portray Cheney as an arrogant liar. My interest does not lie in confirming or debating these statements; rather, I want to emphasize that remarks like these do nothing but obscure the fact that the Demdaniel bessner ocratic party, and in mutatis mutandis particular President Barack Obama, must recognize Cheney as perhaps the most brilliant political tactician of modern times.

Cheney, more so than any political leader—and especially more so than any Democratic candidate from Dukakis to Clinton to Kerry to Obama—understands the process by which the American political system works.

Cheney best expressed his insightful understanding of contemporary American democracy in March 2008, when ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz asked him to comment on the fact that “two-thirds of Americans say [the Iraq War is] not worth fighting.”

Cheney’s inspired response should go down in the annals of political history as pithily embodying American democracy in the early 20th century.

What was Cheney’s answer to Raddatz’s inquiry?

It was, simply: “So?” When Raddatz countered that Cheney apparently didn’t “care what the American people think,” he correctly declared that a political leader “cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.” Instead, the former vice president indicated, American leaders must have a goal that they attempt to reach, regardless of the vagaries of public opinion.

Implied in Cheney’s statement is an accurate understanding of how American democracy functions.

Ours is an imperial presidency defined by a strong executive branch, not a prime ministership characterized by legislative meandering. For reasons that I cannot know, President Obama has not imbibed this truism of American executive power.

As Fareed Zakaria recently pointed out on his CNN program “GPS,” Obama has not acted as a president should. Instead, Obama has elevated the legislative branch—the branch supposedly representative of the people, but in actuality a branch morally and politically corrupted by the power of special interests—to an equal branch of govern-

ment; something that it has not been for decades.

In doing so, he has demonstrated how to stymie political progress.

Most importantly for progressives, Obama’s lack of ability—or perhaps unwillingness—to act as an imperial president has done little but confound his most important domestic ambitions. Instead, he remains beholden to the legislative process, and thus indebted to the special interests (financial, corporate, union, etc.) that are its engine.

For these reasons, there has been no massive infrastructure investment, either in “green energy” programs, rail and air transportation, etc., designed to improve the lives of the president’s constituency— the American people—whether they know it or not.

As commentators such as Kurt Andersen repeatedly point out, the American public has disconnected and unrealistic desires. If Obama intends to pass his agenda, he must heed Cheney’s advice, remove himself from congressional negotiation, listen to but not rely upon the public, and act like a president.

The specific critique of the Obama administration as being weakened by the President’s reliance on and respect for Congress leads a careful observer to a more general critique of American democracy.

As public choice economists have pointed out since at least the late 1940s—see Duncan Black’s 1948 essay “On the Rationale of Group Decision-making”— tendencies within American democracy make it likely that the legislative branch of the federal government will become closely tied to special interests. Although many, including myself, might disagree with extreme responses to these problems—such as the complete privatization of government functions—it is difficult for an observer to deny the insight of the public choice school. What, as Lenin once said, is to be done?

To be honest, I have no idea. Any possible solution to this problem I can think of entails serious drawbacks. Eliminating special interests and lobbyist groups seems like an impossibility, given their current hold on Washington politics. “People’s revolutions,” meanwhile, are unlikely to occur and, if history teaches us anything, generally lead to destructive outcomes (with the Velvet Revolutions of 1989 to 1991 being historical outliers). Thus, I cannot end this column by reaching a conclusion. I can only state that, for the younger generation, I believe that this dialectic—between American democracy and special interests—will be a defining issue of our time. As such, we must confront it directly, engaging with it both intellectually and politically.

Daniel Bessner is a third-year graduate student in European history. His column runs every other Wednesday.

IM Sapiens

I

f you’re on a quest to locate the fast-beating animal heart of Duke University, you’ll probably go to certain hotspots: some of our more well-known frat sections or front-row mid court at Cameron. You’ll no doubt find all different kinds of adrenaline and a lot of passionate yelling, whether directed at an optically-challenged referee or a cutesy remix of a song you might just have heard a few times before.

Humble suggestion, however: check out intramural connor southard sports. dead poet If you’ve played IM— whether “recreational,” “competitive” or “frat league” doesn’t much seem to matter—you’ll know where I’m coming from.

First, the sheer intensity.

There’s the self-righteous yelling at teammates, opponents, refs. It looks ridiculous until you start doing it yourself, at which point the reality of being a sober, voting-age individual becomes warped beyond recognition.

Don’t think a rail-thin biochem major will throw an elbow at some doughty English major for no reason other than he’s looking to start something? Think again. The “no slide-tackling” rule in IM soccer is just part of the gentleman’s contract inherent in any game played among mature adults, so no one would consider breaking it… right? Has an IM volleyball ever been spiked into the naively uplifted face of a tiny freshman girl? Not by me, certainly.

You could write a dissertation about how seriously people—especially, erm, young guys—are capable of taking sporting events in which very little is actually at stake. After all, most IM sports played at Duke have a varsity or at least club equivalent right here on campus, meaning that IM competition is the most casual of alternatives to a more formal kind of competition. So what gives?

In the words of longtime NFL coach Herm Edwards, “You play to win the game.” Pretty sure he was angry and all bent out of shape about losing to the frickin’ Browns when he said that, but he’s never taken it back.

Whatever the stakes, you like to win more than your calm, “mature,” newspaper-reading self currently wants you to believe. It’s a visceral pleasure, after all. Aren’t we all predators around here, with our binocular vision and our keen sense of internship-smelling? I saw my first ever opossum right here on campus, a strange and happy moment.

The next moment, some dude in a visor hurled a half-full can of Bud Light at it, sending the little guy scurrying.

Fighting back tears of dismay, I chose to justify this as an act of reactionary primal aggression. I forgave, because we are all hunters at heart. Go in meat-fed peace, be-visored brother.

But we digress. IM sports are about more than instinctive reflexes. Most competitors I’ve encountered seem to have little trouble further postponing long-procrastinated problem sets, showing up to the gym with 15 hundred calories of Panda Express fresh on the belly, picking up a basketball or a volleyball for the first time in maybe a week or maybe since 10th grade gym and straight-up rolling. If we all had the same “let’s do this” attitude come exam week, lecture halls would quiver from the pre-game bouncing and chestbumping. Those endearing, already sweated-upon singlets they give us are only half of the story. In order for any old bloke to do Henry V’s bidding and “imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,” there has to be some motivating factor.

So what is at the heart of it all? Maybe pride, since it’s no laughing matter to be able to tell those in rival SLGs about your defining victory over the best that their noble, storied block of dorm rooms had to offer.

More likely, though, is that IM competitors are victims of the contemporary media complex. Too many rousing sports movies feature actors such as Matt Damon and Adam Sandler being portrayed as several inches taller than they actually are. There has been too much lionizing of athlete “heroes” since the days of Mordecai “Three Fingered” Brown. Too many of those silly Madden games! Sports are dangerously ubiquitous. Competing in sports appears to be outrageously fun. You, too, can do that Kobe Bryant stareat-the-fist celebration thing! But first, get into the game like the base animal that you are.

Who are we kidding? As a columnist and scholar, I know it to be true: It’s inconceivable that anyone could do anything on this campus just because it’s fun.

Connor Southard is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every Wednesday.

12 | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010

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