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
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 118
www.dukechronicle.com
Masthead loss impairs Technician
NCSU’s student daily faces uncertain outlook by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
If North Carolina State University’s student newspaper, The Technician, can’t find a way to deal with recent staffing troubles, it may cease to be the campus’ watchdog. A lack of student involvement as well as internal disputes at the daily newspaper, which was founded in 1920, have put the publication’s future in jeopardy. The Technician is currently without both an editor-in-chief and a managing editor and has been unable to find an editor for the upcoming academic year. “After losing its editor earlier this semester in a policy dispute, the institution has been essentially leaderless,” a March 10 Technician editorial said. “Today’s paper was only in the stand because of what the staff would describe as a printing miracle.” Bradley Wilson, coordinator for student media advising and The Technician’s moderator, accounted for part of the lack of student participation by calling this year a rebuilding year. The struggles have forced the members of the newspaper to See technician on page 6
larsa al-omaishi/The Chronicle
The three Duke Student Government presidential candidates—juniors Will Passo (left), Gregory Morrison (center) and Mike Lefevre (right)—face off in the preelection debate in the Great Hall Wednesday night. The candidates outlined their individual platforms and took questions from the 50 students in attendance.
Rivals state their cases in debate by Sonia Havele THE CHRONICLE
Students were given some food for thought Wednesday night when the three candidates for Duke Student Government president faced off in a pre-election debate in the Great Hall. DSG Chief of Staff Mike Lefevre, DSG Executive Vice President Gregory Morisson and DSG Vice President for Durham and Regional Affairs Will Passo, all juniors, shared their views and platforms
with a crowd of about 50 students. In addition, nearly 70 viewers tuned in to The Chronicle’s online live-streaming of the debate. The event, hosted by The Chronicle and DSG, was moderated by senior Michael Blake, chair of The Chronicle’s editorial board. The debate began with opening statements from the candidates, followed by group questions, individual questions and finally closing statements. The candidates agreed on general
Skloot connects race, bioethics by Stephen Farver THE CHRONICLE
Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. During the course of her treatment, a tissue sample was taken from her cancerous tumor without her consent. In the 60 years after her death, her cells—unbeknownst to Lacks or her family—have been used to assist the development of the polio vaccine as well as drugs for other diseases. On Wednesday evening, science writer Rebecca Skloot spoke to a packed audience of mostly adults and professionals in the Fleishman Commons in the Sanford School of Public Policy about her most recent New York Times best-seller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Skloot told of how Lacks—a poor black tobacco farmer living in the Jim Crow South—unwittingly contributed the first immortal cells to scientific research. Immortal cells are those that can be frozen and replicated indefinitely and shared among the scientific community for research. Named HeLa cells after Henrietta Lacks, the novel tissue samples quickly became highly commercialized. “There’s no way of knowing exactly how many of Henrietta’s cells are alive today,” Skloots said, reading from her book. “One scientist estimates that if you could pile all the HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—the equivatyler seuc/The Chronicle lent of at least 100 Empire State Buildings.” Speaking at the Sanford School of Public Policy Wednesday, Although these genes have created a multimillion dollar industry science writer Rebecca Skloot discusses the contribution of the first immortalized cell line, HeLa, to modern medicine. See skloot on page 5
ONTHERECORD
“Alcohol is a type of social lubricant.... This is the most efficient use of resources to bring the most enjoyment.”
—SOFC Chair David Hu on DSG’s Bartender and Alcohol Subsidy Fund. See story page 3
concerns such as continuing to improve student influence on administrative decisions, but each candidate had a distinct platform and specific goals. Morrison, who emphasized his 5-year plan for DSG, stressed the importance of having a leader concerned with the future of the University. He noted that in achieving long-term change, the quality of representation that students have matters deeply. See debate on page 4
DSG EVP CANDIDATEs
Three vie for EVP position by Shaoli Chaudhuri THE CHRONICLE
The three candidates competing to be Duke Student Government executive vice president all agree on one issue—student relations with DSG need improvement. Sophomores Price Davidson, Jane Moore and Pete Schork hope to implement policies to make operations more transparent and facilitate student partnership. All three candidates have served on DSG’s athletics and campus services committee for the past two years. Schork is currently vice president for athletics and campus services. The winner of the election will be responsible for presiding over DSG’s weekly Senate meetings and directing all legislation. Davidson, who is also DSG’s president pro-tempore, is committed to improving relations with students by soliciting their input. He also hopes to unify the Senate in
Women’s Tennis: Victory! Blue Devils upset No. 2 Northwestern for second straight season, PAGE 7
See Evp on page 5
The famed play Closer gets a Duke rendition, RECESS 3