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
Monday, March 22, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 115
www.dukechronicle.com
Brodhead 53 CAL DUKE 68 Full steam ahead to Sweet 16 recaps Duke on finances
by Scott Rich THE CHRONICLE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a contest typified by physical defense and poor shooting, it was ironically two dunks that provided the bookends to Duke’s Sunday night victory over California in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With just over eight minutes to go in the first half, Miles Plumlee came off a screen set for Nolan Smith and found himself with an open lane to the basket. When Smith’s alley-oop pass was slightly long, Plumlee gracefully adjusted, grabbing the ball behind his head and slamming it home in one fluid motion. That dunk spurred a 13-3 Blue Devil run before which No. 1 seed Duke (31-5) was only up three on a scrappy California team thanks to some poor shooting. But after that moment, the Blue Devils ran away from the eighth-seeded Golden Bears (24-11) thanks to virtuoso performances by both Smith and Brian Zoubek, whose own rather enthusiastic dunk (again off a Smith assist) with just less than four minutes to go in the second half gave Duke a 19-point lead. That play punctuated the Blue Devils’ 68-53 victory over California and Duke’s second straight trip to the Sweet 16. “Getting the dunk felt great,” Zoubek said. “I knew that was a big point in the game where we just created a little separation there.” See california on page 10
President announces renewed wage freeze by Emmeline Zhao THE CHRONICLE
One year after President Richard Brodhead’s “Message to the Duke Community” announced a smaller Duke, a new memo from the president paints a picture of the University’s finances that is relatively less grim. In an e-mail to faculty and staff Friday morning, Brodhead presented a recap of the administration’s efforts to cut the University’s deficit by $100 million over three years. The message, titled “Financial Update,” also revealed that benefits-eligible employees making $80,000 or less annually will receive a one-time Richard Brodhead payment of $1,000 for fiscal year 2010—which runs from July 2010 to June 2011. The pay freeze that was implemented last fiscal year is still in effect for all employees. This marks an increase in the number of employees receiving the
melissa yeo/The Chronicle
With fellow stars Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler misfiring from the outside, junior Nolan Smith took charge of Duke’s offense when the Blue Devils needed points. He had 20 in a comfortable win over California.
See finance on page 5
Health reform clears Lefevre would catalyze dialogue historic House vote with admins, build collaboration DSG Presidential candidate // MIKE LEFEVRE
By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery The Washington Post
by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
michael naclerio/The Chronicle
If elected, DSG presidential candidate Mike Lefevre, a junior, would focus on facilitating dialogue with administrators.
Junior Mike Lefevre doesn’t look at the Duke Student Government presidential position as a stepping stone or an opportunity to pad his résumé. It’s a chance, he explained, to represent the student voice. “Put this on paper: I’m not interested in running for Young Trustee, I’m not going to do it,” Lefevre said. “This is it for me. I was a senator, I was vice president [for campus services], I’m chief of staff, and this is as far as I go... to become president and work for kids.”
In his second vie for the presidency, Lefevre stresses the importance of “getting everyone to the table”—both helping groups work with other organizations and facilitating conversations with the administration. Under Lefevre, DSG members wouldn’t go to the meetings of other groups to pitch their ideas, but instead to listen, the candidate said. Samuel Veraldi, director of finance for campus services, witnessed Lefevre’s influence as a DSG representative when
ONTHERECORD
“It’s our No. 1 priority right now.” —Fred Knipper, director of DUPD’s Fire Safety Division, on fixing fire alarm malfunctions on East and West Campus. See story page 3
See lefevre on page 16
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation’s health-care system late Sunday night, winning final approval of legislation that expands coverage to 32 million people and attempts to contain spiraling costs. No Republican voted for the measure, which now awaits the signature of President Barack Obama. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who muscled the bill across the finish line after weeks of arduous negotiations, entered the House chamber Sunday night to a standing ovation from Democrats. “After more than a year of debate and after hearing the calls
How’s your bracket? The Chronicle’s Scott Rich looks into Duke’s path to the Final Four after Weekend One, PAGE 10
of millions of Americans, we have come to an historic moment,” she said before the House approved a bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve. “Today we have the opportunity to complete the great unfinished business of our society and pass health insurance reform for all Americans as a right, not a privilege.” The year-long debate has consumed virtually all of Obama’s time in office, potentially endangering his reelection and Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. It has inflamed the partisanship that the president pledged to tame when he campaigned for the White House and has limited Congress’s ability to pass any other major See health care on page 16
Blue Devils host LSU in Round of 32 Monday, Page 8