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
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 96
www.dukechronicle.com
Duke’s ‘Hijabis’ defy stereotypes N.C. jobless
rate rises to 11.2 percent
Muslim women not defined by headscarf by Ryan Brown THE CHRONICLE
Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa
Duke plans to hold career fair in April by Jessica Chang THE CHRONICLE
michael naclerio/The Chronicle
Lena Sharma
Call it a hijab. A veil. A headscarf. A convenient cover for a bad hair day. Sophomore Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa doesn’t care what name you use for the piece of cloth on her head, as long as you don’t think you understand her because of it. “People might realize there’s diversity among Muslims, but then as soon as a girl puts on a hijab, they automatically have a certain sense of her,” she said. Not that she cares. For Kofar-Naisa and her fellow “hijabis”—as they call themselves—a few stares in the library or an awkward question on the C-1 are simply the price of admission into a religious practice that forms a central part of their connection to their faith. There are approximately 25 Blue Devil women, including 10 undergraduates, who don the traditional Muslim headscarf, according to estimates provided by Muslim Life at Duke. In a community dominated by people of other faiths, the hijab becomes a sort of golden arches for Islam, a telltale sign that someone is a practicing Muslim. In terms of religious significance, Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli said the hijab is not a central tenet of Islam. But he added that it forms a part of one of the religion’s most essential practices, modesty, which he calls “a part of the See hijab on page 8
Don’t expect pre-recession unemployment numbers to return to North Carolina any time soon. But compared to the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which increased to 11.2 percent in December from 10.8 news percent the month before, Durham County analysis has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state due to the area’s business diversity, said Larry Parker, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. According to the N.C. ESC statistics, Durham County’s unadjusted unemployment rate for December was 7.9 percent, an increase from 6.1 percent the year before, but unchanged from November’s rate. “Right now, even in the areas that have weathered the storm, like Durham See unemployment on page 7
After tough year, Chronicle looks to fundraising by Toni Wei
THE CHRONICLE
SOURCE: DSPC
Graphic by hon lung chu/The Chronicle
Duke’s independent daily newspaper may soon accept more than just letters to the editor. The Board of Directors of the Duke Student Publishing Company, which publishes The Chronicle, voted at its meeting Jan. 30 to pursue a long-term fundraising effort. “Last year was a tough year for us after the market went down—you know, advertising did drop and we had to do some things in response, we had to cut expenses,” said DSPC Board co-Chair Karen Blumenthal, Trinity ’81. “We feel it’s our job to develop new sources of revenue so we don’t get lost and left behind.” The Chronicle’s revenue declined from $1.4 million to $1.2 million from the 2008 fiscal year to the 2009 fiscal year, due mainly to falling advertising income. Two Chronicle staff members were laid off during the summer of 2009 and two accepted University early retirement packages funded by The Chronicle, Blumenthal said. She said no more layoffs are currently planned. The decision to begin fundraising efforts was made on the recommendation through a report presented to the Board by Capital Development Strategies, a consulting firm for nonprofits. The report—which was funded by a grant from the Jean
ONTHERECORD
“With SACH, we can now open doors between the Jewish and Muslim communities.”
—Sophomore Lena Sharma on the Save A Child’s Heart project. See story page 3
T. and Heyward G. Pelham Foundation—was requested by the Board in late spring to explore the viability of alumni fundraising. “Our research shows that Chronicle alumni do have an interest to support the newspaper and that The Chronicle is making a wise decision to consider diversifying its funding sources,” said Pam Larmee, a senior associate at Capital Development Strategies. The research for the report involved surveying a wide range of student newspapers with different levels of fundraising revenue, Larmee said. She added that newspapers were most successful in using fundraising as an additional revenue source when they dedicate staff to raising money. DSPC General Manager Jonathan Angier said that this is the first time The Chronicle has solicited donations, and a committee has been formed to review the report and determine the logistics and timing of any future fundraising endeavors. Blumenthal, a member of the committee, said she expects the first steps to be taken in the next school year, although she does not know yet what those steps will be. According to the Capital Development Strategies report, The Chronicle should attempt to bring in approximately
Money Makers? Duke graduate authors new book on the financial world as the U.S. economy recovers from the downturn, PAGE 3
See chronicle on page 6
Experience the key for ambitious Blue Devils, Page 9
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worldandnation
TODAY:
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WEDNESDAY:
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Clinton warns Iran moves toward “miltary dictatorship”
White House revamps Oxytocin offers new hope communications strategy WASHINGTON, D. C. — A nasal spray containing a hormone that makes women more maternal and men less shy apparently can help those with autism make eye contact and interact better with others, according to a provocative study released Monday. The study involving 13 adults with autism found that when they inhaled the hormone oxytocin they scored significantly better on a test that involved recognizing faces and performed much better in a game that involved tossing a ball with other people. Although more research is needed to confirm and explore the findings, the results are the latest in a growing body of evidence indicating that the hormone could lead to ways to help people with the often devastating brain disorder function better.
“
Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself. — Thomas Jefferson
”
WASHINGTON, D. C. — White House officials are retooling the administration’s communications strategy to produce faster responses to political adversaries, a more disciplined focus on President Barack Obama’s call for “change” in Washington and an increasingly selective use of the president’s time. The messaging adjustments are the result of an end-of-the-year analysis in which White House advisers said the president’s communications team had not taken the initiative often enough and had allowed drawn-out debates in Congress, and relentless criticism by Republicans, to drown out his message.
RAWDAT KHURAYIM, Saudi Arabia — Iran is increasingly acquiring the attributes of a “military dictatorship,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asserted repeatedly Monday, pointing to how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has grabbed ever-larger chunks of the country’s economic, military and political life. Clinton’s statements, made first in Qatar, then to reporters traveling with her, and again after meeting with Saudi King Abdullah at his desert winter retreat here, were clearly a calculated effort to stir the waters in the administration’s stalled effort to win support for new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Clinton appeared to be trying both to sound the alarm within Iran about the Guard’s increased influence—perhaps hoping to drive a wedge between the Guard and the rest of the political elite—
and to sow doubts about Iran in nations that are wary of additional sanctions, such as China and Brazil. Iran insists that it has no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons, but in recent months—as political turmoil in the Islamic republic has mounted—the leadership has shunned offers of engagement by the United States and refused to discuss its nuclear program with major powers. U.S. officials have said they plan to target the sanctions on the Guard, which is heavily involved in Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs, because such tactics would damage the nation’s power structure while in theory not affecting many ordinary Iranians. Clinton suggested that the sanctions being contemplated are also designed to thwart the growth of the Guard’s role in Iran’s internal political dynamics.
“It was clear that too often we didn’t have the ball—Congress had the ball in terms of driving the message,” communications director Dan Pfeiffer said.
TODAY IN HISTORY 1887: First newspaper convention was held
juan forero/The washington post
Textile workers in Haiti work in a factory after last month’s earthquake. The country is trying to recover quickly by focusing on creating tens of thousands of jobs for its nearly 10 million people. The textile industry, in particular, is beginning to increase its work force, thanks to U.S. legislation approved in 2008 that gives Haitian garments duty-free access to the United States.
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Muslim, Jewish groups ally for cause Duke grad
pens book on business
by Carmen Augustine THE CHRONICLE
Betty’s mother thought her five-yearold daughter would sooner be dead in her arms than in a hospital in Holon, Israel, undergoing a delicate openheart operation performed by two pediatric cardiologists—one Muslim and one Jewish. The young girl was brought to Israel through Save A Child’s Heart, an international humanitarian project that gives free service to any child up to age 18 suffering from a severe heart condition regardless of ethnicity. SACH’s International Photography Exhibition is now on display at Duke, jointly housed at the Center for Muslim Life and The Freeman Center for Jewish Life through March 5. Sophomore Kevin Lieberman, who volunteered at SACH in Israel on a DukeEngage trip last summer, brought the SACH photo exhibit to Duke with the help of Lena Sharma, a sophomore and a member of the Muslim Student Association. Jewish Life at Duke, Muslim Life at Duke, the Muslim Student Association and Rubenstein-Silvers Hillel Student Board co-sponsored a reception for the event Monday night. Lieberman and Sharma agreed that SACH does very positive work that should be recognized in the Duke community. “By raising awareness abroad, we can make sure we can save as many children as possible,” Lieberman said, explaining his and Sharma’s motivation behind bringing the exhibit to campus. The exhibit is a collection of photos of patients that have been treated
by Ashley Holmstrom THE CHRONICLE
than the children they save. “With SACH, we can now open doors between the Jewish and Muslim communities,” Sharma said. Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli said SACH serves as a unifying force between the Muslim and Jewish communities. Tension between the two communities is not a problem at Duke as much as it is on other college campuses, he said. “[The Muslim and Jewish communities]
Alan Schwartz, David Rubenstein and Stephen Pagliuca are just some of the financial titans with Duke ties whose insights appear in a new book by recent Duke graduate David Snider. “Money Makers—Inside the New World of Business and Finance,” set to hit stands today, is co-authored by Snider, Trinity ’07, and Chris Howard, president of HampdenSydney College, a private men’s college in Virginia. The book is intended as a guide for people interested in finance-related fields, as well as those with broader interests, such as law students who might want to understand the business models of their prospective future clients, said Snider, who now works at Bain Capital. The book includes many interviews with business leaders, in addition to other background information and history. “I wanted a book [to create] a lay-of-theland for finance from the perspective of people leading those fields,” said Snider. “I wanted to pull together insights from interesting people.” In the foreword, Robert Steel, Trinity ’73, and former president and chief executive officer of Wachovia Corporation, points to the fact that in light of recent hardships, it is fair to ask hard questions about what
See SACH on page 6
See book on page 5
melissa yeo/The Chronicle
The Save A Child’s Heart International Photography Exhibition, currently on display at the Center for Muslim Life and The Freeman Center for Jewish Life, seeks to raise awareness about the medical needs in Israel. through SACH taken by seven volunteer photographers. Some photographs included the mothers of patients, who often travel with their children to Israel when they receive care, sometimes lasting for two months. Other times, the mothers are not available and other family members accompany children to Israel. “It is very easy to forget the mothers, and I’m very happy they were included in the photos,” Lieberman said. SACH positively affects more people
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Grad school Eight to be selected as ‘diversity diners’ dean to serve second term Duke university student dining advisory council
by Sanette Tanaka THE CHRONICLE
Jo Rae Wright was reappointed as dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education Monday. Provost Peter Lange appointed Wright to her second five-year term on the completion of her fourth-year review, citing her “innovative leadership.” “Dean Wright has been a superb leader,” Lange said in a University statement released Monday. “She has reformed Graduate School finances, sought to assure a stronger financial base into the future, brought new esJo Rae Wright sential services to graduate students and earned the respect of faculty throughout the university as she has pressed to improve and innovate in graduate education even in these tighter economic times.” Wright, a professor in the department of cell biology, has been a faculty member since 1993 and a dean and vice provost since 2006. Wright is actively involved in research, and her lab is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Her research focuses on the process in which lung immune cells facilitate normal breathing. —from staff reports
Beginning March 2, the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee will pick eight students to dine together bimonthly and discuss controversial topics like Greek life, alcohol, religion and sex. The tentatively named “diversity dinners” were inspired by Across the Table, a Chicago-based nonprofit program that creates an open forum for different people to share their thoughts. From the pool of applications, DUSDAC will choose a group of students from wideranging backgrounds and interests.
“We decided to stay away from boxes that ask about specifics because everyone is diverse beyond something like their race,” said senior Michael Kramarz, a committee member who is spearheading the initiative. Instead, the application will consist of an open box that asks a question, such as “What’s unique about you?” he said. The dinner will take place in a private room in the Law School Refectory and will be catered by Refectory owner Laura Hall. DUSDAC will seek funding from various sources, including Duke Student Government and the administration, to cover
the costs of the dinners.
In other business: The Central Campus restaurant’s interior is still under construction, which may delay its official March 1 opening. Inclement weather contributed to the eatery’s setback. Sarah McGowan, marketing manager for Bon Appétit, sought DUSDAC input for the 2010 Student Voice Survey, an online questionnaire critiquing the quality of the food and service of Bon Appétit eateries. “We analyze the survey and see what changes we can make to make everyone happy,” McGowan said.
margie truwit/The Chronicle
At DUSDAC’s meeting Monday night, senior Michael Kramarz (left) and other members decided that the group will select eight students as “diversity diners” beginning March 2. Karmarz spearheaded the initiative, which will bring together the diversity diners to discuss diversity issues such as Greek life, alcohol, religion and sex.
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book from page 3 went wrong with the U.S. financial system. “There is no question that recent events have shaken everyone’s confidence in many parts of our system,” wrote Steel, former chair of the Duke Board of Trustees. “It is very fair to ask hard questions about what went wrong.” The book has chapters on investment banking, venture capital and entrepreneurship, private equity and leveraged buyouts and hedge funds. Additionally, it details management consulting and the management of Fortune 500 companies. Each chapter contains descriptions of a field and its history, term definitions, interviews with top executives and advice for candidates. “It gives people a pretty good bluepoint for [understanding] the industries constantly in the news,” he said, adding that its important to get a perspective on the skill sets needed to succeed in different financial industries. Students too often get excited about popular financial fields of the moment, not necessarily areas where they might succeed, Snider said. As a sophomore at Duke, Snider searched for a book with information to better understand the business world to find a summer internship. After a fruitless search, Snider, a public policy studies major, became interested in writing his own book. He said he thought value could be added for fellow college students if there was a comprehensive book detailing the field. The idea translated into a research project during the Spring of his senior year. Snider said he was lucky that Joel Fleishman, professor of law and public policy, connected him with many prominent business leaders. Additionally, Snider called Howard, who has been a mentor for Snider since he was in high school. Howard, who is a Rhodes Scholar and holds a masters of business
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administration with distinction from Harvard Business School, immediately saw the need for the book as well, said Snider. He offered to jump on-board the project as a co-author, Snider said, adding that he was invaluable in making connections, acting as a sounding board and helping with marketing. The Duke connections in the book are numerous. Interviewees include alumni such as Stephen Pagliuca, Trinity ’77, managing director of Bain Capital and coowner of the Boston Celtics, Peter Nicholas, Trinity ’64 and chair and cofounder of Boston Scientific, Rick Wagoner, Trinity ’75, former chief executive officer of General Motors and vice chair of the Board of Trustees, and Alan Schwartz, Trinity ’72, executive chair of Guggenheim Partners and former chief executive officer of Bear Stearns. Snider said his Duke connections—like the one with Fleishman—helped him greatly in his research. Chance encounters benefitted him as well—he met David Rubenstein, Trinity ’70, member of the Board of Trustees, cofounder of the Carlyle Group and namesake of Rubenstein Hall, at a Duke Student Government luncheon with the Board. “Duke connections, parents of my friends and [people I met through] Duke activities helped me gain a critical mass of Duke people, at least at the outset,” Snider said, adding that he did a lot of continuing research. “I worked hard to make sure it was more broad-based.” Snider said that although he wrote the book to help other people understand the financial system, he learned a lot himself in the process. “It was a valuable tool in my search,” he said. “My interest in getting into private equity was shaped by the interviews and perspectives I got in the research for the book.”
Law school creates new endowed chair with $1.25M gift Duke Law has created a new endowed chair in constitutional law and government through a gift from Duke Law Board of Visitors Chair David Ichel and his wife, Jan. The Ichels’ $1.25 million gift will be matched by the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment. “Our interest in this particular gift was sparked by [Law School] Dean [David] Levi, who made the point that if Duke alumni and friends can fund a number of new professorships, we can help bring the Duke Law School to an even greater level of excellence,” Ichel said in a Duke news release. “We decided on constitutional law and government because they are the foundations of our law and organized society, and I really enjoyed studying those subjects as a student.” The new professor will teach courses in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences as well as in the Law School, which David Ichel said was appealing to him as an alumnus of both schools. Levi said the gift will add depth to the school’s faculty and programs and bring the Law School closer to its strategic goal of adding 10 new faculty positions in coming years. The gift also builds on the Strategic Faculty Initiative that was announced Jan. 9 in which the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment pledged more than $40 million to help create more than 30 faculty positions. The Duke Endowment is a charitable foundation established by James B. Duke. “In his indenture, James B. Duke specifically directed support for the school, and that legacy continues today,” Russell Robinson, chair of the Endowment’s board, said in a statement Monday. With the Ichels, we’re excited about creating new opportunities for students and legal scholars.” The Ichels previously funded a scholarship and a seminar room, and helped fund the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett professorship. —from staff reports
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chronicle from page 1 $75,000 in donations in 2010. Chronicle Advertising/Marketing Director Chrissy Beck said fundraising revenues will not be a significant part of the budget for several years. “As best as we can tell now, advertising will always be the core of The Chronicle’s support,” said DSPC co-Chair David Ingram, Trinity ’03. “We don’t see that changing, we don’t see The Chronicle becoming alumni-supported.” The Chronicle has a reserve fund worth more than $1 million, Blumenthal said.
She added that although the company has had to dip into that fund in the past year, the fund remains in a healthy state. “We have pretty deep reserves here, it’s not like we’re scraping day to day to pay for something,” Angier said. “But we took a real hit just like every other fund, and we’re trying to make that up just like everyone else is.” Because the reserve fund is managed with Duke’s endowments, it, too, has suffered significant losses over the past two years. Although the newspaper has had to cut costs wherever possible for the past year, Blumenthal said the primary goal has been
to preserve the product itself, as well as the student experience. Angier said additional revenue from fundraising will help to support The Chronicle’s news-gathering and educational missions. “For a 501(c)(3) [non-profit corporation], who not only wants to do the best they can to put news out, but to also give students the best education they can... it only makes sense that we not try to rely strictly on the proceeds of a newspaper,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to be a 501(c) (3) because it makes it legitimate for us to look to broaden our revenue stream, because education is our business.”
While a fundraising campaign would help financially, Blumenthal said the additional benefit of reconnecting with the newspaper’s alumni is equally important. Ingram said he would like to see Chronicle alumni return to campus to interact not only with current students but with the rest of the Duke community as well. The need for additional revenue streams is also due in part to the changing nature of journalism, several Board members said. “As digital information and media have continued to increase, a lot of what’s going on now is we’re recognizing a time when just publishing a newspaper isn’t really going to do the job,” Angier said.
SACH from page 3 will continue to partner in doing God’s work on this campus,” Antepli said. He added that this was neither the first nor the last time the two groups would collaborate. The exhibit’s reception included activities in both the Freeman Center and the Center for Muslim Life. “It’s a great way to get into each others’ homes,” Lieberman said. Sharma agreed that the exhibit was beneficial to the communities’ relationship. “[The exhibit serves] to show there’s not all the tension there seems to be between the Jewish and Muslim communities,” she said. SACH was established in 1995 and has treated more than 2,100 children from around the world since that time, according to its Web site. SACH has also sent medical teams on 14 teaching missions, where they teach doctors in partner institutions life-saving techniques for pediatric cardiac surgery. The surgeons associated with SACH do not work for profit, so the cost of saving a child is kept at a relatively low $10,000. This covers the cost of travel to Israel and other expenses during treatment. It is funded entirely by private donors.
melissa yeo/The Chronicle
Sophomores Kevin Lieberman (center) and Lena Sharma (second from right) lead an initiative to bring the Save A Child’s Heart International Photography Exhibition to Duke. Lieberman volunteered at SACH in Israel last summer and hopes the exhibition will raise awareness for the humanitarian project.
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unemployment from page 1 and Orange counties, we’re still seeing job loss in the area,” Parker said. Since the recession began, the Triangle has lost about 3 percent of its jobs, compared to the national decline of about 7 percent, said Michael Walden, W. M. Neal Reynolds distinguished professor of economics at North Carolina State University. “We have an economy in the Triangle that is based on high skill levels,” Walden said. “We have the greatest number of Ph.D.s per capita of any other metropolitan area with more than half a million.... Typically, people with more education tend to suffer less during recessions.” Job sectors with the highest unemployment rates include construction and manufacturing, which lost 3,700 jobs in 2009, while education and health services has seen one of the biggest gains in employment over the year, with an increase of 1,000 jobs, said Pam Davenport, ESC labor market information officer. Durham area employers anticipate hiring at a moderate pace during the first quarter of 2010, according to a news release on the results of the Manpower, Inc. Employment Outlook Survey. Twelve percent of the 28,000 U.S. employers surveyed said they plan to hire more employees, 11 percent expect to reduce their payrolls and 74 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels, according to the December 2009 release. “In 2008, the job loss kind of exploded and was really happening in a lot of job sectors, and now it’s kind of just slowed down, but we’re still seeing it a little bit,” Parker said. Walden predicts that this year there will be some modest improvement, with professional jobs seeing the biggest decline in unemployment. Professional workers tend to contribute more to the economy, making their jobs more valuable. He added that he expects job growth in all sectors to begin returning within two or three months, but that it will be very slow. “We went into the recession with an unemployment rate of about 4.5 percent,” Walden said. “I think it will be years, possibly as long as five years, before we see unemployment get that low again.” The city of Durham is working closely with businesses in the community to encourage them to utilize recruiting and placement services like the Durham JobLink, Kevin Dick, executive director of the Durham Workforce Development Board, wrote in an e-mail. Despite Durham’s efforts to ease job woes, cities’ resources are limited, Walden said. “Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that an individual city can do,” he said. “I think the most cost-effective thing cities or counties can do is to look at their sets of regulations regarding new businesses and try to streamline them, do everything they can to make it easier for businesses to start or expand.” The Career Center has also been working with new employers in the area to diversify the kinds of opportunities available for students, said William WrightSwadel, Fannie Mitchell executive director of career services. “I think North Carolina, over the years, is in the top five areas for Duke students to go, so it’s not a small number, but it is also often something that students come to late in their search,” Wright-Swadel said. “There’s certainly no indication at this point that the number of students staying in North Carolina will go down.” He added that many students initially look to areas outside of the state for job opportunities but end up finding jobs in the Raleigh-Durham area, and some students get jobs in the area for one or two years before going to graduate school. Compared to previous years when large employers hired several people at once, now smaller employers are hiring fewer students at a time. Wright-Swadel said the Career Center is running a new “just-in-time” career fair in April for students still looking for jobs and for employers, particularly local ones, who could not anticipate their employment needs in time for on-campus recruiting programs. He noted that Duke has followed the national pattern of an increase in the number of students going to graduate school after graduation. Last year, about 30 percent of seniors went to graduate school, while in a good economy, the number would typically be near 27 percent. He does not think the number will increase this year compared to last year. “[Students] know the competition is steeper than it was a couple of years ago,” Wright-Swadel said. “Looking for a first job always produces anxiety, but in a difficult market, students are even more anxious.”
SOURCE: Employment security commission of North Carolina
Graphic by hon lung chu/The Chronicle
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hijab from page 1 Muslim soul,” for both men and women. But when you’re 21 years old, just trying to scrape together those T-Reqs and scrounge tickets to Duke basketball games, sporting an extremely visible symbol of your faith can exert an incredible amount of pressure, said junior Nabila Haque, co-president of the Muslim Student Association. “Everyone is very accepting, but I might be the only Muslim that someone knows,” she said. “So then everything I do becomes an impression of how Muslims are, not just how Nabila is, and that’s kind of scary.” This is all new for Haque, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, where headscarves were like Ugg boots or economics majors at Duke—so ubiquitous they went essentially unnoticed. That all changed when her family moved to Canada before her third year of high school. In a country of uncovered heads for the first time, Haque and her hijab sud-
denly became the center of attention, she said. One day as she stepped onto the subway, she was stopped by a fellow commuter. “He told me, ‘You’re free in this country, you don’t have to wear that here,’” she remembered. “And I thought, ‘Yeah, I am free, so that means that I can wear it if I want to.’” On the other hand, for Kofar-Naisa, being the lone “hijabi” in a crowd has been a lifelong phenomenon, from her childhood in Tallahassee, Florida to the Crowell hallway she shares with her fellow Baldwin Scholars on West Campus. And she is certainly the only one on the Duke equestrian team who tucks a headscarf into her riding hat before saddling her horse. The hijab is hardly the only unique thing about KofarNaisa, but it is an element of her life that has profoundly shaped how she interacts with the world. “When I first started wearing it in middle school, everyone around me was trying to be like everyone else,” she said. “Because of the hijab I couldn’t even pretend, so it set me apart and let me not worry about a lot of the things
that were bothering my friends.” This is a far cry from the image of a subjugated or backwards woman that a headscarf conjures for many Westerners, Antepli said. “People keep asking about this ‘oppressed Muslim woman,’ but I have yet to meet one,” he said. “They are usually very good at putting you in your place.” Haque said the idea that the hijab is just a scarf you throw on to “make you Muslim” is one of the biggest misconceptions others have of her scarf. “It has to be a whole attitude,” she said. “When you think about what Islam is really about, the hijab is so peripheral in terms of a headscarf, but it’s so important in terms of values like modesty and privacy.”
“He told me, ‘You’re free in this country, you don’t have to wear that here.’ And I thought, ‘Yeah, I am free, so that means that I can wear it if I want to.’” — Junior Nabila Haque, Muslim Student Association co-president In addition to the hijab, Haque also regularly wears a jilbab—a loose-fitting, shoulder-to-toe garment favored in the Arab world—over her other clothes. It adds to her modest appearance she said, and also unexpectedly feeds straight into the college lifestyle. “It’s really great if you’re in your pajamas and have to hurry off to class,” she said. Concerns of convenience aside, Duke’s hijab-wearers say the scarf gives them an instant connection to other Islamic women who wear it, and a powerful sense of comfort. The first day sophomore Lena Sharma met Kofar-Naisa in the awkward space that is a freshman dorm Resident Assistant meeting, she said she already knew they had something in common. “I was just thinking, ‘Oh yes, thank you, there’s another hijabi here,’” she said. “It was just an instant connection.” But even among their Muslim friends, these women are the minority, and Antepli said the reasons not to wear the hijab are just as varied as the choice to do it. “I haven’t started wearing it yet because I’m waiting for my life to be pure enough Islamically to where I’m ready to make that decision and not go back on it,” said junior Sobia Shariff, the other co-president of MSA. One concern for Muslim women in post-9/11 America is if they will be treated differently—if not on campus, then when they leave it—for covering their heads, Antepli said. Sharma, who grew up in Palestine, vividly remembers the painful experience of flying home from Duke for winter break her freshman year. “Everyone stared, everyone asked questions—not to get to know me but because they thought they already did,” she said. But for now, the women said they are glad to have the safe space of Duke’s campus to wear their hijab. Sophomore Youmna Sherif said her scarf-wearing days in Durham have only reaffirmed her commitment to the practice. “It allows people to judge me by my mind and not my body, and because of it I’m very forward with putting out my thoughts and ideas,” she said. “I just don’t worry about what other people think.”
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The Chronicle
TUESDAY
February 16, 2010
Men’s Basketball Around the ACC
Duke kicked off its spring practice schedule over the weekend with two new QBs under center and former WR Johnny Williams at a new position—on defense
www.dukechroniclesports.com
Men’s Lacrosse
Parity reigns in Senior-laden squad makes rare down year run at 1st national title by Jason Palmatary THE CHRONICLE
With ACC play more than halfway in the books, it is a good chance to take a step back and look at that the way things have unfolded from a more removed perspective. While certain developments—such as North Carolina struggling near the bottom of the conference—will catch the casual observer’s eye, a bigger development is the level of parity that has taken hold of the league. Early in February last year, there were four ACC teams— North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson—all jockeying for position within the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. However, no other conference team appeared in the rankings, not even in the “Others Receiving Votes” category. Comparatively speaking, a drastic transformation has taken place this year. In the rankings that came out at the beginning of this week, just two teams made appearances in the Top 25. Duke, the conference frontrunner, moved up a spot to No. 6. And Wake Forest, a team that has surged as of late and moved back into second place in the league, checks in at No. 23. Many within the conference look at the standings and recognize a great deal of parity. That view does hold more than a nugget of truth as evidenced by cellardwellar N.C. State, which is 2-9 in
the ACC, upsetting 9-2 Duke, and fellow lightweight Miami beating then-No. 20 Georgia Tech. “I do believe there is not as much of a gap between one and 12 as there has been in the past,” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton told FanHouse.com. “People have identified the ACC because of the success Marlyand, North Carolina, Duke and even Wake Forest has had. Programs like Florida State, Clemson and now Virginia and Virginia Tech, Boston College, Miami, we’re able to attract better players.” The changing landscape within the conference can be attributed to the early departure of so many talented players to the NBA Draft. Many ACC teams have struggled to replace first-round talent; for example, North Carolina was especially dominant last year when future pros Tyler Hansborough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington returned for another season before heading to the NBA, but has not been able to reload this year. The even distribution of talent in the conference leads to the impression that the ACC is as competitive as ever, though clearly there are many different methods by which the success of a conference can be measured. Interestingly, the Sagarin computer ratings rank the ACC as the nation’s top conference, just ahead of the Big 12 and Big East, a mega-league See acc on page 11
margie truwit/Chronicle file photo
Fifth-year senior Ned Crotty may be the best player in the country, and his playmaking ability makes the Blue Devils’ offense go. by Josh Hammer THE CHRONICLE
Entering the 2010 season as the consensus No. 2 preseason team, Duke is still seeking an identity. The program’s meteoric rise in the past decade has been more pronounced than that of any other Division I program, yet the Blue Devils are still searching for their first national championship. Duke has come painfully close at times,
including one-goal losses to Johns Hopkins in the 2005 and 2007 national championship games and a one-goal national semifinal loss to the same Blue Jays in 2008. As it stands, Duke remains the only program reliably ranked among the top five teams without a national championship to its name. Despite the team’s rise and its current standing as one of the nation’s elite teams—alongside
such historically great programs as Johns Hopkins and Syracuse— none of the Blue Devils seem content with past results. “We’ve had the Final Four appearances and no one is satisfied with that,” said junior attackman Zach Howell, who had a breakthrough season last year with 29 goals and 48 points. “We’re about See seniors on page 10
Adios, Amigo Dear Greivis Vasquez, I hate to see you go. I know this might be a startling admission from the mouth of a Duke student, but I’ll miss your annual visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium. You scored a quiet 17 points Saturday as Maryland lost to Duke for the sixth straight time and third straight in Durham. Although you’ve always put up good performances against Will the Blue Devils, your game has rarely matched your mouth during your four years with the Terps. After all, it’s not hard to understand why Duke fans have classified you as a persona non grata. From your first game (and only win at Duke) as a freshman in 2007, you did everything in your
Flaherty
maya robinson/The Chronicle
The Cameron Crazies hate him, but Terrapin guard Greivis Vasquez is good for the Duke-Maryland “rivalry”.
power to make a lasting impression and get under the skin of the Cameron Crazies. After finishing just one rebound shy of a triple-double in that game, you told the Washington Post that despite Duke fans’ taunts about your native Venezuela, “I love when the crowd is on me…. I’ve got three more years, and it’s going to be fun. They might be worried about me now.” But in those next three years, your luck against Duke in Durham has proven slim. Ratcheting up the rhetoric last season, you infamously claimed that Cameron Indoor Stadium was “your house” because you so thoroughly loved playing there. But the result—an 85-44 Blue Devil beatdown that was the Terrapins’ worst-ever performance against Duke— was nothing to write home about. Duke fans aren’t the only ones who See flaherty on page 11
10 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 the chronicle
seniors from page 9 winning national championships. Our goal is to bring the school its first national championship in men’s lacrosse, and that’s been our goal the past few years.” Last year, Duke recovered nicely from an uncharacteristic 3-3 start—“growing pains,” according to attackman Ned Crotty—to win its third straight ACC Tournament championship and make a return visit to the Final Four in Foxborough, Mass. The season ended abruptly when eventual national champion Syracuse decisively won 17-7 in the national semifinals, ending the Blue Devils’ most recent title hopes. Duke has already won its opener this year, a 12-11 overtime over No. 19 Bucknell, but the memory of that defeat to the Orange is still fresh in the Blue Devils’ minds. “Having that bad of a loss is definitely a humbling experience,” said Crotty, a returning Tewaaraton Trophy finalist. “It’s something you think about all summer—something you don’t forget. We definitely have a chip on our shoulder coming into this season.” Duke figures to be led once again by its outstanding forward line, as Howell, Crotty and senior Max Quinzani form one of the most dangerous attackman threesomes in Division I lacrosse. Quinzani has accumulated an astounding 107 goals over the past two seasons, and Crotty led the country last year with 78 points. In total, Duke returns seven starters from last year’s team and leads the nation with seven players on the three preseason All-American teams. Crotty and defensemen Parker McKee and Mike Manley lead the bunch, as all three were voted first-team preseason All-Americans. The Blue Devils feature 16 fourth- or fifthyear seniors, and each one has been battletested by multiple trips to the Final Four. “Having the big-game experience of
Chronicle file photo
Senior Parker McKee, a preseason All-American, anchors a solid and experienced Duke defense, but the goalkeeping position behind him is less defined than in years past. playing in semifinals and championship games is huge,” Crotty said. “I think the best thing we have going for us right now is our experience. We have 16 guys where this year is their last opportunity to win a championship. I think that motivation is our most useful tool going into the season.” The main source of concern for Duke in 2010 involves the situation between the pipes. With Rob Schroeder gone, head coach John Danowski faces his first season at Duke without a proven, reliable goalie. Junior
Mike Rock and freshman Dan Wigrizer look to be the two most likely replacements—and Wigrizer played the full 60 minutes against the Bison last weekend—but neither has any previous playing experience for the Blue Devils. Seniors Devon Sherwood and Max Wygod look to factor into the mix as well, making the Duke goalie situation unclear. “Some guy’s got to grab the spot,” Danowski said. “It’s going to be a dogfight, and perhaps we’ll alternate guys. We’ll do whatever we need to be successful.”
Goalkeeping aside, Duke is a veteran team with outstanding depth and senior leadership. Co-captained by Crotty, Quinzani, McKee and face-off specialist Sam Payton, the 2010 Blue Devils seem poised to build upon their past Final Four letdowns and hone in on the program’s elusive first title. Only seven schools have won a men’s lacrosse championship since the first NCAA Tournament was held in 1971, and Duke once again stands a good chance of becoming the eighth member of the exclusive club.
Citizens (dis)United
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Join the panel for a lively discussion of the U.S. Duke University Professors Supreme Court’s recent Guy-Uriel Charles decision in Citizens United v. Michael Munger Federal Election and Neil Siegel Commission. Initially, the and question before the Court was whether federal UNC Professor campaign finance laws Gene Nichol restricting corporations and labor unions from using their general treasury funds to pay for “electioneering communications” applied to a film critical of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which the filmmakers intended to show in theaters and on-demand to cable subscribers. Following oral argument in March of 2009, the Court took the unusual step of ordering reargument on the more fundamental question of the facial validity of these restrictions and whether it should overrule two of its most important precedents in this area, Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce and parts of McConnell v. FEC. On January 21, 2010, the Court, dividing 5-4, held that the restrictions were unconstitutional and overruled Austin and parts of McConnell.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 | 11
flaherty from page 9
acc from page 9
dislike you. You drew the ire of fans at N.C. State during your junior year after sinking a meaningless 3-pointer with one second left to draw the lead to double digits. In your next visit there, the Wolfpack fans prodded you about your immigration status and crudely asked you where your green card was. Students at Florida State, who may hold the title as the vilest fans in the ACC, topped the State supporters by unleashing a “Deport Vasquez” sign during your visit to Tallahassee Feb. 4. But you’ve had run-ins even with your own fans. Down early in the first half at home against Georgia Tech last January, you responded to the boos of your own student section by placing a finger to your lips and shouting an audible F-bomb as you told them to zip it. It’s safe to say that you’re probably the most hated player in the ACC since J.J. Redick was setting conference scoring records in the face of jeers attacking everything from his unconventional game to his penchant for writing poetry. But despite all of that, I’ll miss you, Greivis Vasquez, because your bombast, coupled with your above-average ability on the court, added some spice to a Duke-Maryland series that—while not a “rivalry”—still carries hotly contested bragging rights in the ACC. Remember that due to the conference’s unbalanced scheduling, Duke is only guaranteed home-and-home series with two league teams. Naturally, one is North Carolina, but the other team is your Maryland Terrapins. It might have seemed like ages ago, but Maryland is the only ACC team other than Duke and North Carolina to win a national title within the last decade. High-profile matchups between Duke and Maryland produced a score of Instant Classics—perhaps none more memorable for Duke fans than the “Miracle Minute” comeback against the Terps in 2001—and led ESPN’s Jay Bilas to describe the Marlyand-Duke series as “one of the most venomous battles—both on the court and in the stands —in sports.” As Maryland’s overall talent level has declined over the past five years or so, there might be an expectation that this “rivalry” has waned, but your trash-talking has helped provide meaning to games that otherwise may have become just another conference matchup. Because for as much as Duke fans argue that the Terrapins are “not our rivals”, there’s no doubt that Duke fans have relished seeing Maryland lose over the past four years— in large part to see you silenced. You’ve matured, too, and after Saturday’s 77-56 loss you didn’t try to cop out for a sluggish performance by making any comments about the Cameron Crazies or playing Duke. You simply said that your team couldn’t make excuses before adding that there would be one more shot to take down the Blue Devils when they travel up to College Park March 3. Duke fans don’t have to ever like you—and they probably won’t in any case—but they should pay some small level of respect to what you’ve done to liven up the matchups between Duke and Maryland in recent years. And if the trend of the past three years holds up, it’s hard not to look forward to a third straight season sweep of the Terrapins in a couple of weeks. After all, some things never change.
with four teams currently in the top 10. Other methods of comparing conferences help to provide a fuller understanding. In the Big Ten/ACC Challenge that was completed earlier this year, the Big Ten went 6-5 against its ACC opponents, the first time the Big Ten—often viewed as an inferior conference— beat the ACC in the competition. And while Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com currently predicts that seven ACC teams will get NCAA tournament berths, tied for most of any conference, most experts would be shocked if more than one of those teams reached the Elite 8, while several other conferences could end up with a pair of Final Four teams. However, that is what will make the rest of the season worth watching, as fans will always be able to promote the merits of their conference in anticipation of March Madness. Even then, sometimes the Tournament offers inconclusive answers and the incessant arguments roll over into the offseason.
lawson kurtz/Chronicle file photo
Wake Forest guard Ishmael Smith has helped propel the Demon Deacons, one of only two ACC teams in the national rankings, into the AP Top 25.
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Greivis Vasquez’s visits to Cameron Indoor Stadium have been anything but pleasant for him since Maryland’s win in Durham in 2007.
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14 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 the chronicle commentaries
“
Our struggle to engage Duke is well known for its Chapel Sam Wells and Emily commitment to “knowledge in Klein, senior associate dean the service of society.” From the in the Nicholas School, to ar2006 strategic plan “Making a ticulate a mission and strucDifference,” President Richard ture for the Duke Center for Brodhead’s many addresses Civic Engagement. and the University’s publicIn today’s editorial, we will ity material, it highlight the editorial is clear that this important coninstitution values cerns correctly engagement with society and identified by the Klein-Wells the real world problems of our Committee’s “Engaging Exday and age. cellence” report, and tomorBut despite the large num- row, we will look to the future bers of students involved, the and possible solutions. lofty rhetoric and the milFirst, civic engagement on lions of dollars invested be- this campus has been poorly hind it, the University’s com- defined. For all its talk of mitment to civic engagement “knowledge in the service of as a pillar of its core mission society,” the “Making a Diflacks concrete vision and co- ference” strategic plan does herence. not explicitly state the goals Last Fall, Vice Provost of civic engagement for facand Dean of Undergradu- ulty, students and community ate Education Steve Nowicki partners. This issue was simicommissioned Dean of the larly unaddressed by the “Big
onlinecomment
We should be positive about the way this is being done— gradually and deliberately. The scalpel is much preferred to the hacksaw here. —“ThePepper” commenting on the editorial “Brodhead’s incomplete address .” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
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Idea” task force that hastily created and launched DukeEngage. If the University desires to promote high quality civic engagement, it must define what that means. The KleinWells report provides a useful explanation of civic engagement, describing it as an “activity that integrates academic learning, personal development and community benefit.” This definition is useful and should serve as the backbone for future civic engagement efforts. Second, there is no coherent infrastructure for the development and assessment of civic engagement programming at Duke. While the DCCE was originally conceived as being a hub for civic engagement activity, it has become virtually synonymous with Duke En-
gage since their simultaneous launch in 2007. Although DukeEngage has proven to be effective, it is far from the only civic engagement program on this campus, many of which have been in existence for over a decade. These other initiatives— housed by the Hart Leadership Program and the Office of Service Learning, to name a couple— have long thrived autonomously without centralized control, but greater coordination from the DCCE would only enhance their quality and coherence. Third, civic engagement has not been integrated into the University’s core educational and research mission. For students, engagement experiences often lack intellectual context and exist outside of the curriculum.
For faculty, there is no incentive to pursue real world engagement and community-based research. Tenure and promotion processes are based solely upon academic research, so time spent on civic engagement activities is not rewarded. Civic engagement need not involve a majority of the faculty, but without their involvement in strong numbers, it will never be fully embedded within the life of the University. The Klein-Wells report raises serious issues that deserve serious discussion. High quality, coherent civic engagement at Duke is within reach, but changes will be necessary to achieve this worthy and important goal. Chelsea Goldstein recused herself from this editorial because she was involved in drafting a submission to the Klein-Wells committee.
Editor’s Note: Chelsea Goldstein and John Harpham, members of The Chronicle’s independent editorial board, recused themselves from the board Jan. 12 to apply for the position of Young Trustee. After being elected Young Trustee, Harpham resigned from the board effective Feb. 10. Goldstein’s recusal period has ended and she has rejoined the editorial board.
Cupidity
G
olly gee, do I love Valentine’s Day! Day are much like attempting to navigate through Have you ever noticed how virgin and an asteroid field—Han Solo might be able to do it, Valentine start with the same letter? What a but C-3PO’s odds sure as heck aren’t in his favor. delightful little coincidence of language. Suppose Some guys find themselves in slightly less comyou’re trying to lose your v-card on mitted relationships approaching V-Day (not to be confused with Dmid-February, meaning they have Day or V-J Day); should you send an to figure out what’s appropriate. Ale-card? Eh, wordplay isn’t quite the low me to give you some insight on same as foreplay, except maybe for how this works: those English perverts. “Am I expected to do someThis holiday has got to be the thing? Should I get flowers? No, second-most commercially dethat’d probably be too much. What jeremy walch ranged in the Western world. Easabout edible underwear?” anger turned ter’s first. How exactly we ended up This fellow’s chances of survival sideways getting chocolate and marshmallow aren’t too great either. The outbunnies out of a religious holiday is come is inevitably dichotomous— a bit of a mystery to me. either he drives the girl away or he makes her Good old Valentine isn’t far behind, though. swoon. In the latter case, she will turn out to be For those of you who neither know nor are capa- six-ways-from-Sunday crazy. Trust me. ble of using Wikipedia, the dude was martyred— What about the dude trying to woo a girl on Valapparently for attempting to convert the emperor. entine’s Day? Seems like an opportunity for him, Wow, that’s romantic. Nicholas Sparks could make but he doesn’t realize he’s just hosing himself in a book about it. I bet girls would still cry. the long-term. You see, if he does manage to get the More importantly, Valentine’s Day is also the girl’s attention, what he’ll ultimately have succeeded absolute bane of male existence. The menstrual in doing is setting impossible standards to follow. cycle doesn’t count since women aren’t exactly Girls haven’t caught on to the fact that most fans either (so I’m told, anyway). There’s really no guys aren’t especially romantic unless they’re trywin for the guys here. It’s a fantastic hassle, and ing to obtain HappyTimes (can I trademark that?), the absolute best thing that can happen is you and thus he will be expected to be that romantic don’t manage to get yourself in trouble. all the time. Oh, and he has to outdo himself every There aren’t really many safe positions for us anniversary. Pace yourself! heterosexual males to be in this time of year— Never fear, my brave male compatriots, for I not that I’m being deliberately hetero-centric, it’s have a solution! We all know Valentine’s Day isn’t just that our “normal” relationships have a special going to go away, at least not any time soon. We screwed-up component (be jealous). know that those annoying expectations will always One possible scenario is the guy dating several be there. What we need to do is bring some balgirls around this time of year. He has to get them ance to the equation. all the appropriate crap, demonstrate that he put Therefore, I propose a new holiday for men. It careful thought into each of their gifts and write could even be called Men’s Day. We could do any or say the correct romantic things. That’s a whole number of obnoxiously typical male things—I’m lot of thinking for just one guy, you know. You open to suggestions—without getting stern disapmight as well expect a Neanderthal to calculate proval from the fairer sex. In fact, they would even the entropy of a black hole. have to reward our behavior in some way (I don’t In the unlikely event that he plays his cards per- need any help with this one). fectly, the guy’s probably still only going to get to see I’m scheduling this holiday for Feb. 30. I’ve one girl in sexy lingerie. Poor sap. Life is rough. chosen that date because I’m pretty sure it’s the The guy in a committed monogamous relation- only one which women will be open to. Mark your ship is just freaking screwed. There are precious calendars! few ways he can satisfy his girlfriend. (That’s what she said?) I’m not convinced any of them actually Jeremy Walch is a Pratt junior. His column runs evexist. His efforts to make it through Valentine’s ery other Tuesday.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 | 15
commentaries
Other things that pay for themselves
W
hen I first read about the K4 dormitory mentalism front; in fact, Duke has a reputation as project, I thought my mind must have a leader and innovator in the field. Kilgo Quadranbeen playing tricks on me in the heat. gle’s renovations made it the first LEED-certified Building a brand new dorm? I thought. That’s a fun- dormitory in the country. Round two of the Few ny thing to do during a construction restorations included energy savers freeze. that didn’t require any thought or But buried within a Feb. 3 Chroneffort from students: timed lights in icle article, there’s a telling quote the closets and motion-sensing lights from Joe Gonzalez: “In essence, in the hallways. Furthermore, the these beds pay for themselves.” Home Depot Smart Home speaks for Apparently the moratorium itself, and the Nicholas School of the doesn’t apply because the projEnvironment is regarded as among ect brings in new revenue from bradford colbert the best environmental schools in 150 more upperclassmen living the country. the other side on West, which will cover conAnd yet, Craven, Crowell and struction costs. And presumably, most of the East Campus dorms after they’ve covered construction costs, they’ll are still waiting their turn for renovations. We’ve continue to make money for Residence Life and seen low-flow shower heads installed during the Housing Services. So what’s the real motivation drought and hand sanitizer dispensers installed behind K4? Is it to improve the residential experi- during the swine flu pandemic, but without a crience on West Campus? To experiment with new sis these dorms haven’t seen environmentally conhousing models ahead of the construction of New scious changes. Campus? Or is this just another case of University There is room for inexpensive improvement in decision-makers chasing dollar signs to Kunshan every building. In my last two rooms on campus and back? These questions filled my head as I left (the current room in Craven and a room in the the sauna. just-renovated Few), several of the window panes When I say “sauna,” I’m referring to my room were loose. They would rattle as the winter winds in Craven. I love Craven Quadrangle for many blew in, and the drafts made the heating system reasons (not the least of which is that my favorite work a lot harder to keep the room at the set temEnglish soccer team, Fulham, play their matches in perature. More careful caulking of the windows, a stadium called Craven Cottage), but the dorm’s thereby keeping the heat and air conditioning in aging facilities are not one of its selling points. the room, is just one example of a quick fix that For example, my room has two temperature can save energy and money. settings—hot and cold. Leave the radiator on too Taking care of the buildings we have may not long and the room becomes an oven; leave the generate new revenue, but as the saying goes, a radiator off and the room becomes an icebox. I’ve penny saved is a penny earned (unless you inbeen told that the secret to achieving a compro- vested all your pennies in mortgage-backed semise, the elusive “warm” setting that didn’t exist curities or Madoff investments). Achieving LEED 20 years ago, is to open the window directly above certification is an expensive endeavor, but green the radiator while it remains on. Now I may not be renovations without the fancy label are very posthe greenest person on the planet—I’m guilty of sible, and the savings from small changes can the occasional long shower or light switch left on add up in the long run. No matter what you think in an empty room—but I just can’t bring myself to about the environment, there’s no denying that pump energy out the window like that. energy costs money, and using less energy means I’m not sure how old the radiator is, but the spending less money. And the $1,000 to $1,500 valve was made in Indianapolis, Indiana by Hoff- premium the University charges for rooms with man Specialty Co. According to the company’s air conditioning doesn’t hurt the bottom line, Web site, production of Hoffman Specialty parts either. moved to Chicago in 1988, so at the very least the So if RLHS is willing to lift the construction valve is 21 years old. Some of the radiators across freeze for K4, maybe they ought to put renovathe quad have likely been replaced and repaired tions back on the table. They might just pay for over the years, but the whole quad could use an themselves. update for energy efficiency and for the comfort of students. Bradford Colbert is a Trinity senior. His column runs Duke does not traditionally lag on the environ- every other Tuesday.
lettertotheeditor Replace inefficient employees I am a patient person, but honestly, Duke, I feel like I waste an hour every day because of the inefficient workers here. That’s seven hours every week. That’s more than a day every month. How do I waste this time? I spend it waiting. First of all, if buses are scheduled to arrive every three to six minutes in the morning, then make it happen. I count on that to get to my classes on time. Too often I stand at the bus stop for about 15 minutes with no buses in sight. Then, three C-1 buses come at the same time. Everyone gets on the first one, and the other two go back to West Campus merrily with three people each. They are wasting fuel and students’ time. Before breakfast, I go to the Marketplace to get an omelet, which I understand takes a while to make. However, I clearly tell the cook my preferences and repeat it again. I return later to find out that she made the opposite of what I asked.
The worst part is that she glares at me as if it is my fault. The sandwich/salad line at Marketplace lunch sometimes is so long that it goes out of the entrance. I went to a boarding school where all the girls had to serve in the dining hall, and it seems that 14-year-olds with no experience can make a sandwich more quickly than some Marketplace employees. Putting more people at that station would also help. I am not generalizing here. There are nice, hardworking employees. Once, an employee helped me carry my plate to the table because my hands were full. The cleaning staff at my dorm is wonderful. But there are also rude, inefficient workers. If these inefficient employees can stay, administrators are sending out the message that all workers can be indolent without penalty. Kelsey Wang Trinity ’13
February sucks
T
he past few weeks have been lovely. Really, they have. An overnight snowstorm (well, by Durham standards), ice-covered stairs to the LSRC, torrents of rainy wind (windy rain?) and—for the few of us lucky enough to live in Kilgo or Keohane quadrangles—a morning without the oftenoverlooked luxuries of heat or hot water. February is the cruelest month, breeding sinus infections out of cruddy weather, mixing midterms and election snafus, stirring dull minds with shining li winter sludge. all too human If you’ve been feeling particularly down-trodden this calendar year, if your lecture classes have proven particularly soporific, if you just can’t muster the joie de vivre that came so naturally a long time ago, in an epoch far, far away (called Fall semester), look no farther than the blast of cold air that hit your already-wind-chapped face as you struggled to push your way out of the Social Sciences building. Or maybe look no farther than the last time you bit your lower lip and stood shivering at the West Campus bus stop as an instantaneous deluge achieved really flattering things with your hair. Remember resolving to yourself that you would never again be caught outside without an umbrella? Yeah, that was a lie. Truth is, perhaps we’re all a little under the weather. Maybe freezing temperatures have robbed us of more than just a few extra nights spent in K-ville. Maybe they’ve carried off an essential energy in us, drained us of our get-up-and-go and left us lethargically hitting snooze and drooling all over our econ textbooks. If this is the case, I’m not surprised—and you shouldn’t be either. According to an article recently published in The New York Times, research again and again shows that our mental states are much more in tune with our physical conditions than even Zen masters thought possible. For instance, a study at Yale University reveals that our perception of a stranger’s personality is drastically affected by the temperature of the cup of coffee we happen to be holding in our hands. If it’s iced coffee, he’s more likely to leave us cold— we might give him a frosty reception or maybe even the cold shoulder. On the other hand, if we’re cupping a mug of steaming coffee, we’ll probably really warm up to him, and things might heat up later on. Other experiments demonstrate the literal weight of important subject matter, the forward momentum of the future and the tangible griminess of a moral transgression. That is, we think books on significant topics are heavier than books of lesser impact, we actually lean forward when thinking about our future plans and we are more likely to want a cleaning cloth after we’ve talked about a mistake we’ve made. It’s surprising and yet not at the same time. For years, we’ve been taught the utility of figurative language in writing classes. We learned to mix literal thinking with metaphorical flair, to make associations between abstract and tangible concepts. To me, though, all this seemed like an academic or rhetorical exercise, not one hard-wired into our instinctive perceptions of the world. Who knew the (now long-defunct) analogies section of the SAT was supposed to come so naturally? In some ways, literal metaphors (or embodied cognition, the field under which the aforementioned experiments fall) make common sense. As recent TED Talks speaker James Geary said, metaphorical thinking is “essential to how we understand ourselves and others—how we communicate, learn, discover and invent.” We rely on associations for information-processing and innovation, for pattern recognition and the formation of expectations. People with perceptual synesthesia experience a mixing of their senses so that letters have colors and sounds have shapes. As cognitive synesthetes, we all use disparate sources to understand the context in which we find ourselves. Our bodies are no minor resource in our quest for comprehension—the boundary between mental and physical, figurative and literal, abstract and tangible is much more tenuous than it appears. It’s no wonder, then, that crappy weather leaves us crappyfeeling. External cues greatly affect our internal moods. There’s even a term for it: seasonal affective disorder (but we don’t need medical diagnoses to tell us something we already know). So what do we do now that we know the cruel, cruel ways of February? Do we give up, trudge through more muddy puddles on Main West Quad, accept the sting of winter as a psychological danger we must endure? No. We take advantage of this newfound wisdom and apply it in a proactive manner, in a way that our educational forefathers would applaud for its practicality and resourcefulness: Fellow Duke community members, I’ll be seeing you in Cancun. Shining Li is Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every Tuesday.
16 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 the chronicle