September 1, 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, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 5

www.dukechronicle.com

Hays officially undertakes two-year Sec. Gates term as dean of the Divinity School to speak in

Reynolds

by Carter Suryadevara THE CHRONICLE

After welcoming freshmen to Duke at last week’s convocation ceremony, President Richard Brodhead ushered in someone with a little more Duke experience Tuesday.

Richard Hays—who has been at Duke since leaving the faculty of Yale University in 1991—will serve as the interim dean of the Divinity School, and was welcomed to his position Tuesday.

“We’re extremely lucky to have Richard Hays—he’s a famous scholar and a powerful preacher,” Brodhead said. “He’s a person of great judgment and generosity and I think he’ll be a fantastic leader for the Divinity School.”

Hays, who is the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at the Divinity School, officially began his duties as dean July 1 and will serve a two-year term as the school continues to search for a permanent replacement for former dean Gregory Jones. Jones is now serving as vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs.

After formally accepting the post, Hays delivered a well-received speech to a crowded congregation. With several first-year Divinity School students on hand, Hays encouraged determination and preparation as students begin their studies. Several faculty members

by Matthew Chase THE CHRONICLE

road to Jerusalem or embark on serious Christian study, they must be prepared to pay a price.

Dean Hays is an internationally respected theologian, well known for his

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will speak at Reynolds Theater Sept. 29.

Gates, the only secretary of defense to be asked to remain in office by an incoming president, will deliver the Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Family International Lecture.

“We are delighted to welcome Secretary Gates to Duke,” President Richard Brodhead said in a Tuesday Duke news Robert Gates release. “His leadership in government and higher education is a model of service to society.”

The speech will be hosted by the American Grand Strategy Program, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, the Office of Global Strategy and Programs and Duke’s “A World Together” initiative.

Last year, Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and a contributing editor for Time, spoke at the speech.

Peter Feaver, director of the AGS Program and former advisor on the National Security Council, said in an interview

See hays on page 4

See gates on page 4

caroline rodriguez/The Chronicle

Robert Hays was formally installed as interim Dean of the Divinity School at a ceremony in the Duke Chapel Tuesday. Hays urged students to practice determination and sacrifice in his speech. and students were on hand to witness the ceremony, which took place in the Duke Chapel.

During an address in the ceremony, Hays delivered a message of sacrifice.

He told those in attendance that whether they are going to follow Jesus on the

Student Health Strong start for Connector ridership determines rates for STI testing

by Samantha Brooks THE CHRONICLE

Several months after announcing it will no longer cover the cost of sexually transmitted infection testing for students, Student Health has reached a consensus on test prices.

Students can expect to start paying approximately $10 to $30 dollars out of pocket for each STI test, regardless of their insurance plans, said Executive Director of Student Health Dr. Bill Purdy. Student Health will also charge an unspecified amount for blood chemistry and $17 for pap smears, he said. Student Health was able to keep costs fairly low due to the high volume of tests anticipated and the fact that no insurance has to be filed, Purdy noted.

Negotiations between Student Health and LabCorp, an organization that provides medical laboratory tests and

Duke students, employees and faculty members have joined Durham residents in taking advantage of the new, brightly-colored buses that connect the University to the Bull City.

On Aug. 16, the Bull City Connector hit the road and began its route from Duke’s West Campus to downtown Durham. Phail Wynn, vice president for Durham and regional affairs, said the bus has been popular with local Durham residents and employees thus far, though the daily number of riders has not yet reached the targeted goal for the year. Students do not yet represent a significant portion of the ridership.

“So far everything has been positive. There are about 1,200 riders per day, and I’m not even sure that all the students are aware of it yet,” he said. “We were hoping to have a daily ridership of 2,000 by the end of the year, and right now we’re about 60 percent there.”

Wynn said he will meet with Durham City Manager Tom Bonfield after the bus has run for 90 days to discuss potential changes to its schedule and stop locations. Depending on ridership patterns and passenger feedback,

See testing on page 5

See bcc on page 4

by Carrie Wasterlain THE CHRONICLE

In season opener, Duke tops Campbell, Page 7

Research makes a case against summer breaks, Page 3

courtney douglas/The Chronicle

Though the Bull City Connector is becoming popular with Duke employees and city residents, students have been slower to utilize it.

>> ON THE WEB <<

Duke University Union Duke Student Broadcasting, a committee of DUU, launches its new website. SEE STORY AT DUKECHRONICLE.COM

2 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 the chronicle

worldandnation onschedule...

Civil & Environ. Eng. Seminar Teer 115, 12-1p.m.

Prof. Xi Frank Xu of the Stevens Institute of Technology in NJ presents “Multiscale Modeling and Uncertainty Quantification of Materials.”

on the

QuitSmart Stop Smoking Durham Reg. Hospital, 6-7:30p.m.

Duke’s Live for Life program presents the first part in a fourpart series to help you break free from cigarettes.

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THURSDAY:

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Trivial Wings at the Devil’s Bistro Devil’s Bistro, 8-10p.m.

The Devil’s Bistro and Phi Kappa Phi host a trivia night. Food and drink specials will be offered, including $.50 wings.

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“‘Someone was talking to me today saying I’m sure it makes you nervous to play that kind of opponent to start,’ Cutcliffe said in reference to Elon. ‘And I said I’m nervous about all of them. I think it’s great for us to play a quality team that knows how to win because we need to measure ourselves....Every time we play is a golden opportunity to grow our program.’”

— From The Chronicle’s Sports Blog sports.chronicleblogs.com

william wan/The washington post

Coach Charlie Lacono supervises young Chinese baseball players at the Major League Baseball facility in Wuxi, China. The players are hand-picked by officials, who are seeking to tap into a market traditionally dominated by basketball.

“

TODAY:

I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones.

— John Peel

”

TODAY IN HISTORY

1986: Paul McCartney releases “Press to Play” album.

NY voters oppose mosque Eight Mexicans killed in near World Trade Center site a resort bar in Cancun NEW YORK — While most New York voters agree Muslims have the right to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site, a similar majority opposes it out of concern for families victimized by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a statewide Quinnipiac University poll said.

Voters agreed 54 to 40 percent that the Constitution protects Muslims’ right to build a mosque. They also said they oppose its construction 53 to 39 percent “because of the sensitivities of 9/11 relatives.” Also, 71 percent want backers to “voluntarily build the mosque somewhere else,” the survey said.

“The heated, sometimes angry, debate over the proposal to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero has New York State voters twisted in knots, with some of them taking contradictory positions,”said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Conn.

MEXICO CITY — Eight Mexicans died in an attack early Tuesday morning at a bar in Cancun, the resort city known for its whitesand beaches, spring-break festivities and as the site for this year’s global climatechange summit. The attack occurred at a bar called Castillo del Mar, about 3.1 miles from the city’s main hotel zone, and all the victims were Mexican, said Felix Canul, a spokesperson at the Quintana Roo state Attorney General’s office.

Mexico’s push to draw tourists, among the country’s biggest source of dollar inflows, is getting harder as violence connected to drug trafficking persists. Cancun and Acapulco hotels saw a smaller-thannormal influx of college-age revelers in March, tour operators there said.

Violence is intensifying as the government steps up its battle against drug traffickers and organized crime in the United States.

Correction

In the Aug. 31 story “GHI to host ‘Pandemic 2011’ Forum” The Chronicle incorrectly reported that the Nicholas School of the Environment hosted the 2010 Winter Forum “Making the Green Economy Work.” This was not the case—the forum was hosted by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. The Chronicle regrets the error.

A m b A s s A d o r s . d Av i s P h i l l i P s FA m i ly i n t e r n At i o n A l l e c t u r e s h i P Presents u.s. secretAry oF deFense

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Robert M. Gates

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U.S. ARMY

Tickets are free. Tickets for Duke students, staff, and faculty will be available for in-person pick-up only at the Box Office window on September 3, limit 1 per person.

The general public will have access to remaining tickets on September 8.

For additional information, contact Jennifer.boyle@duke.edu.

Tory Burch

8/31/10 2:29 PM

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 | 3

Triangle unemployment remains relatively low

by Ciaran O’Connor THE CHRONICLE

Although North Carolina’s economy continues to struggle, workers in the Triangle are experiencing unemployment rates significantly below the statewide average.

According to figures released by the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, 9.8 percent of the state’s workforce was unemployed in July. Conversely, in the Triangle— which is anchored by Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh—only 7.5 percent of those actively looking for work cannot find it.

Other regions of the state have not been as fortunate. Several counties are saddled with unemployment rates greater than 13 percent, and in some rural areas, 15 out of every 100 workers are without a job.

“We have had some job growth since the beginning of the year,” said Larry Parker, a spokesman for the ESC. “It’s just not at the pace we need.”

Parker said that although some sectors of the job market have experienced growth, others have declined— especially in the textile and furniture industries. Counties dependent upon only one industry have been particularly hard-hit. “[Smaller counties] rely usually on one big plant of some sort and that’s where most of the county works,” he said.

“If something like that goes away, it’s very

devastating to the county and difficult to rebound from.”

But areas like the Triangle, which attract a wide range of industries, have consistently had lower unemployment numbers.

“I think it’s a function of what drives our economy,” said Durham Mayor Bill Bell. “We benefit from strong government, education and health care industries—it’s the diversity of jobs and the types of jobs that offer stability.”

Parker added that the Triangle also benefits from medical technology and software businesses that attract “support industries,” which create additional job opportunities.

Although the number of North Carolinians out of work remains elevated, a number of politicians have credited President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus with keeping a lid on unemployment, which some economists speculated in 2009 could spiral out of control. “[It has] been helpful,” Bell said of the more than $100 million in stimulus money that Durham County has received.

Still, some economists question a stimulus in which dollars are conditionally allocated. Michelle Connolly, associate professor of the practice of economics, said she was wary of such constrained federal spending.

“When it’s specifically targeted, I think it’s kind of wasteful.”

caroline rodriguez/The Chronicle

Harris Cooper, professor of psychology and neuroscience, has conducted research that shows that long summers spent away from academic stimulation can stunt educational development.

Inactive summers harmful to education, study finds

by Alex Zempolich THE CHRONICLE

With classes back in session, many students may be wistfully reflecting on their long summer breaks.

The summer is often a time of reflection and renewal. However, for youth who cannot afford the luxuries of a stimulating, structured summer break, the time away from the classroom can be detrimental to educational development.

The summer inactivity is not only boring, but research conducted by Harris Cooper, professor of psychology and neuroscience, concluded that the extremely long, dull days are highly inefficient for learning.

Cooper’s research shows that after three months of lost learning, past material must be retaught at the start of each new year to make up for the hiatus. More alarmingly, this reteaching can compound to years of schooling lost by the time the children reach high school.

Cooper’s education analysis gained attention last year when President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan suggested reorganizing the vacation schedule to make the United States more efficient and globally competitive.

See vacation on page 5

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4 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 the chronicle

ePrint update proceeds smoothly for students

by Rohan Taneja THE CHRONICLE

Students trying to access their ePrint accounts this Fall may find they are unable to print using last year’s software, due to the installation of a new Universitywide printing system this summer.

In late July, the Office of Information Technology upgraded the entire ePrint system to make it more compatible with various student computers. The new ePrint software is now compatible with Windows Vista and 7 system users, as well as newer 64-bit computers.

Other new features include automatic software updates, improved printer status communication to system users, faster printing, integration of different printing stations at Duke and improved support for different paper sizes, color matching and two-siding printing, according to OIT’s website.

OIT’s Senior Communications Strategist Steve O’Donnell said OIT made sure to inform students about the ePrint upgrade.

“We posted an eFlyer, sent messages to all faculty and staff registered as ePrint users, and notified staff in the libraries, Student Affairs, Undergraduate Education, the Bursar’s Office, the Financial Aid Office, etc.,” O’Donnell wrote in an e-mail Monday. “[We] posted a message where ePrint software would be downloaded from the OIT site, posted a message on the main ePrint page, post-

ed (and tweeted) a service update, and posted (and tweeted) a planned maintenance period.”

O’Donnell added that he did not see any immediate problems caused by the new system, including outages.

“Regarding ePrint itself, I don’t see any evidence in the IT Alerts history to indicate that there was an outage,” he wrote.

“I’ve received reports of typical issues with individual machines only. Right now, I’m seeing some machines that need supplies, but that’s also to be expected; our print demand in the first days of school are always high as students print out course materials.”

Sophomore Kendall Murphy used the OIT desk in the Link Tuesday to help her install the new software.

“They were extremely helpful,” she said. “I was afraid the process would be complicated, but it ended up being simple and straightforward.”

Other students on campus opted to download the new software themselves from OIT’s website.

“OIT’s directions were great and easy to follow, and I didn’t have any major disruptions,” said sophomore Ann Mallick.

Freshman Anish Raman said the process was simple, even though he never had to install ePrint before.

“I didn’t experience any problems at all and the installation process went smoothly for me,” he said.

Photos used by permission of Roz Savage

The Duke Marine Lab and the environMenTaL Law SocieTy Present

Roz Savage Environmental Campaigner and Solo Ocean Rower

adventures, dreams and sustainability

6 pm tuesday, sept. 7 Love Auditorium in the Levine Science Research Center Duke University Campus 5:15 pm reception in the Hall of Science Overflow seating with webcast in LSRC A158 Marine Lab showing in the Repass Ocean Conservation Lecture Hall Go to

nicholas.duke.edu/rozsavage for info and webcast

SPenD a SeMeSTer aT The Duke Marine Lab in beauforT, nc. iT wiLL change your Life.

Find out more at dukemarinelab.net

Roz Savage is a British ocean rower, an active environmental campaigner (“We can all make a difference!”), and a former management consultant who realized in her mid-30s that there might be more to life than a steady income and a house in the suburbs.

She has rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and in 2010 became the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.

BCC from page 1

hays from page 1

the bus may depart from Foulton St. instead of Trent Dr. Wynn said such a change would make the route more convenient for employees.

Director of Community Engagement Sam Miglarese said he was excited by the potential influence the Connector could have on students and their relationship with Durham. “[This] is another great example of moving the needle to build better DukeDurham relations, one rider at a time,” Miglarese wrote in an e-mail. “Seeing the BCC go up and down Main Street is such a visible example of bringing Duke to Durham and Durham to Duke.”

Miglarese added that he hopes the bus will allow student groups, such as Greek organizations, to make better use of the community service opportunities in the area. “[The bus] is especially positive for students who want to work in service,” he said. “You have to know that one of the biggest challenges that Duke faces is fulfilling the desire for students to serve.

If Duke is going to build a culture of service, it has to provide the infrastructure to do that.”

For the residents of Old West Durham neighborhoods, the bus is the result of a project they have been encouraging for years. According to John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham neighborhoods, the residents were among the first to endorse the idea of the Connector.

“Old West Durham was one of the first neighborhoods to promote and come up with a connector based on the old East/ West streetcar line,” he said. “We spoke at Preservation Durham luncheons and talked to reporters about the importance of an East/West connector between the largest employer in Durham and downtown and beyond.”

Aaron Lubeck, an instructor at the Nicholas School of the Environment, said the bus is particularly convenient because of the location of the bus stops in relation to his house.

“I was a total skeptic at first, but I’m pretty happy with [the Connector],” he said. “Depending on the weather, I would probably have had to bike, but this seems to be the best option—of course, it helps living two blocks away from the bus stop!”

published work of a book covering biblical ethics, “The Moral Vision of the New Testament.”

Chris Brady, director of the Office of Student Life and Formation, said after the ceremony that he was thrilled to welcome Hays as the new dean.

“We’re very excited about the new dean,” Brady said. “We expect that he is going to set a grand vision for the school moving forward. He is an esteemed scholar nationally and internationally and I think as all things, we lament from the ending of a previous dean whom we esteemed and admired and loved, but we welcome in Dean Hays, who is one of ours and we know that he has some big things in store for the school,” Brady said.

First-year Divinity student Jeff Nelson embraced Hays’ humor and was impressed by his words.

“This is my first year, and based on the orientation, I’m looking very forward to Hays’ term, as I’m sure he will define what it truly means to be a Divinity School,” Nelson said.

The convocation and installation of the new dean concluded with a concert and reception at the Divinity School later in the day.

gates from page 1 that Gates is “the perfect speaker for a grand strategy program.” Feaver added that he does not yet know the topic of Gates’ speech, but “he doesn’t lack important issues.”

“He is one of, not just the most celebrated defense strategists of all time, but probably one of the most celebrated cabinet secretaries and advisers to a president, respected across the aisle and praised for serving in a very difficult position in a critical time,” Feaver said.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets for students, faculty and staff will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis starting Sept. 3. The general public can purchase tickets starting Sept. 8.

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 | 5

vacation from page 3 “We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day,” Obama said in March.

Cooper’s meta-study, a statistical compilation of preceding studies on the issue, found that “year-round” schooling, in which children had three weeks of vacation for every nine weeks of schooling, had a “small positive effect” for all students, but a “larger effect for students of poorer backgrounds.”

“What kids forget most is those subjects in which repetition plays an im-

portant role, like language classes and mathematics,” Cooper said. He added that students do not lose basic concepts, “but when a child doesn’t speak English at home, it’s hard for them to keep up on reading during the long summer vacation.... These losses are even worse for students of low income backgrounds who usually aren’t as stimulated as students who can enjoy museum trips and summer camps.”

Some international students at Duke are not accustomed to the long American summers. Freshman Ernesto Traulsen said he had a European summer vacation of eight weeks in his native Switzerland.

“I would forget subjects like Math, but once I did it again it came back very quickly,” Traulsen said.

The history of the American threemonth-long vacation is a story of geographical dissimilarities.

“One hundred years ago, students in cities wouldn’t have been surprised to be in school for 10-11 months,” Cooper said, “but with the Great Migration of the 1930s, the school calendar had to be standardized, thus bringing a compromise between rural and urban America.”

But with only 2 percent of Americans involved in agriculture and ranching today, an agrarian school calendar makes little sense, especially in today’s high-tech, tertiary markets.

testing from page 1

rahiel alemu/The Chronicle

Months after deciding that it would no longer provide free testing for STIs, Student Health has announced its rates after negotiations with LabCorp.

services, have been taking place for several months. LabCorp will replace the Duke University Medical Center lab that previously interpreted test results at a deep discount but changed its contract in June, citing the financial crisis as its reason for raising fees.

“The arrangement that we had with the hospital related to various lab tests was reevaluated, and we are no longer in the position to cover [STI] tests,” said Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek. She stressed, however, that Student Health still covers a number of tests for students.

Student Health performs about 3,500 STI tests per year, Wasiolek wrote in an e-mail. She noted that the results are “less than one percent positive.”

The cost of an STI test can be charged to a student’s bursar account like any other Student Health charge. For students concerned with confidentiality, Purdy emphasized that the bill will not indicate that any test was administered, only noting that the charge was from Student Health.

“Some kids really want this to be strictly confidential [and] now there’s a way that can be done,” he said.

Cooper, who supports the nine weeks on-three weeks off schedule, said a largescale move to the system will come slowly.

“The main roadblocks to change are tradition—people don’t want to change—and economics. America’s summer camps and other seasonal businesses don’t want to give up their hold on the three months they do business in,” Cooper said. “Even if they had camps during the year, most locations are only suited to hosting kids and vacation goers during the summer.... The economy will play a big role in deciding when we change the school schedule, but the change is going to come from the bottom-up, starting at the local levels.”

Purdy added that he does not think the new cost of testing will influence a student’s decision to get tested, noting that STI testing is not something most students get done frequently.

Others, like senior Jessica Macfarlane, co-director of the Know Your Status campaign, disagree. Macfarlane predicts that the new STI testing policy will keep some students from getting tested, describing the new testing policy as “an unfortunate change.” She said she hopes that Student Health will continue to refer students who come in for HIV testing to Know Your Status, which offers free weekly HIV testing in the Bryan Center.

As for other STI tests, students who are willing to venture off campus have the option of visiting the Durham County Health Department, which has agreed to continue providing free STI testing.

Despite student concerns, Wasiolek said she is confident that the pricing changes are not severe enough to negatively influence students’ willingness to get tested. “[T]here is a feeling that the costs of these tests will not impose a financial burden on students such that they’ll choose not to get the tests,” she said. “Our hope is that students will see how important those tests are and get what they need.”

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The Chronicle

WEDNESDAY September 1, 2010

At David Cutcliffe’s weekly press conference Tuesday, the coach expressed nerves about Saturday’s Elon game.

He was in the mood to throw out a couple of jokes, though

www.dukechroniclesports.com

It’s time to pay college athletes

volleyball

Camels hit dry spell

by Patricia Lee THE CHRONICLE

It was the Blue Devils’ first match of the year at Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night, and everyone on the team got a chance to enjoy the victory.

Duke decisively beat Campbell, 3-0 (259, 25-14, 25-23), with consistent offensive and defensive play, as well as solid contributions from previously seldom-used bench players. The Blue CAMP 0 Devils (2-1) were led by senior middle hitDUKE 3 ter Becci Burling, who notched four aces against the Fighting Camels (0-4) along with 15 kills.

“I think it was a great match, and Campbell has a lot of great players on its team, and they’re obviously very scrappy. So they brought a lot of rallies to us, which was a lot of fun, especially for a home game,” Burling said. “I think we did well considering it was our first match playing at home, and it really got out all of our preseason jitters, and I think what we can take from tonight is to better prepare for each and every set, no matter who we’re playing, no matter our lineup.”

Finishing the first set with consistent

by Scott Rich THE CHRONICLE

Rich

caroline rodriguez/The Chronicle

See volleyball on page 8

After a dominating first set, Duke faltered a bit in the second and third before holding on to beat Campbell.

season preview: women’s golf

Young Duke has eye on prize

by Danny Vinik THE CHRONICLE

ian soileau/Chronicle file photo

Lindy Duncan, Duke’s top performer last year with four top-five finishes, will lead the Blue Devils this fall.

The main purpose of the NCAA is to make money. It exists to make its schools as much revenue as possible. This explains everything from its reluctance to develop a college football playoff system—even though such a change is so desirable that no less than two branches of government have weighed in on it—to the organization’s silence while conferences Scott threatened to realign and destroy some of college sports’ most storied rivalries.

Our most storied rival currently finds itself butting heads with the NCAA over the same issue: money. Only, in this case, the issue isn’t the amount of money, but where it’s going.

And as surprising as it is, I empathize with the Tar Heels.

While I don’t condone the alleged actions of agent-tampering in the North Carolina football program, the system the NCAA has constructed is the true impetus behind these actions. Because for all the money college football generates— which includes astronomical figures like the $125 million per year it receives from ESPN for BCS broadcasting rights—not nearly enough goes back to the players themselves.

In an attempt to maintain the amateur status of its sports, the NCAA goes to extreme lengths to make sure student-athletes don’t get a penny more

Duke looks to improve upon a successful, but not entirely fulfilling, 2010 season that saw it win two tournaments, finish third in the ACC championship and climb as high as No. 3 in the national rankings.

But a subpar final weekend left the Blue Devils short of their fourth national championship. An eighth place finish left head coach Dan Brooks disappointed, although at this point in the season, he’s not focused on the team’s results just yet.

“It’s very process-involved,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of talent. We’re a team that expects to win, but my expectations have to do with process, not outcomes.”

This year’s team is even younger than in past years with three sophomores and two freshmen. Brooks, however, emphasized that age is not an issue.

“You don’t play against bigger or faster people when you get to college,” Brooks said. “You’re still playing the golf course. You play the golf course as a junior and you play the golf course in college. In that respect, they all know how to do it. They’ve played in big ju-

nior tournaments.”

While Duke is composed almost entirely of underclassmen, it is not lacking in senior leadership. Brooks said Kim Donovan has shown growth as the head of the team.

“Kim has really grown since she’s been on this team,” Brooks said. “So far she’s done an excellent job of leading and I don’t expect that to change at all. It started last year and it’s continued on into this year.”

Along with Donovan, sophomore Lindy Duncan will play an important part for the Blue Devils. Duncan was Duke’s top player last year, finishing in the top five four times and the top 20 ten times.

While Brooks has faith in Donovan and Duncan, he must deal with the loss of key contributor Alison Whitaker. Whitaker was a top performer for Brooks’s squad last year, competing in all 12 tournaments and finishing the year with the second lowest scoring average on the team.

“Alison was a verbal leader,” Brooks said. “She was a positive force [on the team].”

Despite the loss of his leader, Brooks is See w. golf on page 8

See rich on page 8

inside higher ed

New NCAA president Mark Emmert should begin paying college football players, Scott Rich writes.

8 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 the chronicle

volleyball from page 7 attacking and blocking, as well as a veteran line-up that included five returning starters and freshman libero Ali McCurdy, the team changed things up in the second set with more rotations that gave reserve players time on the court.

With the reserves, Duke bumbled its way to a closer game. After making 10 errors in the third set, Campbell gained momentum and forced long points between the two teams, tying the score nine times, even at 20-20, and pulling ahead a few times, as well.

The Blue Devils were able to come through, however, 24-21, before finally winning the concluding set 25-23.

“I had some of the players go out there and move positions, so maybe changing things up didn’t give them a chance to get into the rhythm of things, but they did really well with what we were trying to accomplish,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “I feel like our team had an opportunity to grow tonight because we’re trying to get ex-

rich from page 7 than tuition, room and board and a minimal stipend from their institution. It doesn’t matter that many college athletes come from disadvantaged backgrounds and can’t afford to live on such a meager income, or that others have no desire to complete their education and view collegiate athletics as a springboard to an inevitable windfall at the professional level. No, the NCAA ensures that athletes who are responsible for contracts like the one recently struck between the NCAA and the World Wide Leader aren’t justifiably compensated.

Think of it this way: North Carolina’s football program pulled in $24,163,760 in revenue last year. Out-of-state tuition is estimated at $22,880 a player. If the Tar Heels have 85 scholarship players on their roster (the maximum allowed by the NCAA), only around $2 million goes directly to the players in the form of tuition.

With these numbers taken into account, it starts to make more sense that underappreciated and undercompensated players might contemplate taking money from agents.

Are these actions by both players and agents illegal and unethical? Yes. But the point is they could’ve

perience for a lot of players, so I thought it was awesome for our team to be in a match and have us all out there working together.”

McCurdy made a strong showing Tuesday, adding 12 digs to the 29 she made over the weekend in the Coors Rocky Mountain Challenge. She also held a .923 serving percentage in the game against Campbell.

“I was excited going into it because I didn’t know how it would feel heading into a game at home, but it felt great,” said McCurdy, who played in Cameron for the first time Tuesday. “I know that if we play hard, if we play our game, I’m confident that we’ll do well. I think everybody stepped up when we needed them to step up.”

Duke heads to Murfreesboro, Tenn. Friday for the Middle Tennessee State Tournament, where the team will face Middle Tennessee State, which was chosen to top the 2010 Sun Belt Conference in a preseason coaches’ poll; Auburn—picked to finish second in SEC West by the league’s head coaches; and Georgia Southern, which returns two preseason All-Southern Conference players. largely been avoided with a rather simple policy change that is more ethically palatable than these back alley dealings.

Nearly every other country in the world organizes prep sports in a way antithetical to that of the NCAA. While Americans force a college education down the throats of prospective athletes in order to get noticed by pro scouts, soccer (excuse me, futbol) players in Europe instead make their way up a complex system of prep and semi-pro leagues, many starting when they are still teenagers. These players know their futures lie in athletics and make the choice to abandon their educations for their dreams—something we college students might question, but a reasonable decision nonetheless. What’s more, these players get paid a legitimate, living wage as they make their way up through the ranks, eliminating the necessity of any under-the-table nastiness.

There is the risk that these athletes might get injured and not have an education to fall back on. But as inadvisable as not getting an education is, it is an individual’s decision. He has the right to make it, without having an ineffective governing body forcing them to choose only one path.

Such an organization is more common on this side of the pond than you might think. Our neighbors to the

w. golf from page 7 excited that this year’s team is full of diligent players who are willing to put in the time and effort in to improve their game.

“This core of people that I have on the team right now are workers,” Brooks said. “That’s the edge we have this year. We’ve got a lot of talent, but we’re [also] a really hard working group.”

Duke plays four tournaments in the fall, but the team it has now may be completely different from the one which competes in 2011’s national championship the following May. Brooks will count on his young squad to mature and develop into an elite team capable of competing for a national title.

“I always have an eye on the end of the season,” Brooks said. “It’s not a lot of hoping and praying that we play great at the end. It’s a lot of honing skills and, if we’re doing our job, we’re going to be the best team we can be at the end of the season.” north have a very similar system by which prospective hockey players develop (stars like Sidney Crosby never stepped foot on a college campus). Even in the States, it is acceptable for baseball phenoms to go right from high school to the minor leagues.

So why do we refuse to adapt a similar situation for our most beloved sport, football? Money.

There’s no reason to completely scrap college football and adopt a semi-pro system. (Truth be told, thinking of Michigan Stadium empty on a Saturday afternoon makes me tear up a bit). But the NCAA can take a hint from these other systems by giving players their piece of the pie.

Award players a reasonable stipend—one that must be uniform across schools, or at least conferences, to minimize recruiting imbalance—and allow them to go pro whenever they desire, and the problem of agent tampering would diminish overnight. Players who feel they are ready for the pros (accurately or not) could bypass the college system completely if they desire, while others who still need to develop their skills or want an education could mature in a collegiate setting while supporting themselves and their families.

Plus, college athletics’ governing body would take the first step to eliminating its sullied image.

It could be an NCAA first: A logical, win-win decision.

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BOT should review Methodist ties Among the official aims of state due to the school’s ties Duke University “are to assert to the Presbyterian Church. a faith in the eternal union of This ruling has serious impliknowledge and religion set cations for security at Duke, forth in the teachings and char- not only in policing student acter of Jesus Christ, the Son of behavior, but also in protectGod.” This pasing campus. As sage is found in such, we called editorial the first section upon the Uniof the bylaws that continue to versity and its lawyers to begovern the University today. gin planning for the possibilThese prominent Meth- ity of a similar suit. Today, we odist ties can still affect us urge the Board of Trustees to today. In fact, they may be broadly examine the matter apt grounds for divesting the of Duke’s longstanding conDuke University Police De- nection to the United Methpartment of its arrest power. odist Church.

In yesterday’s editorial, we Because the school was outlined a recent North Car- originally founded by a group olina Court of Appeals ruling of Methodists and Quakers, it that effectively stripped Da- is no surprise that the Chrisvidson College’s police force tian religion plays a prominent of its authority to make ar- role in the University’s history. rests. The case ruled that Da- Duke’s motto is “Eruditio et vidson’s police force violated Religio”—“Knowledge and separation of church and Religion”. And the historical

“

onlinecomment

Beautifully written and very insightful.

”

—“sembree” commenting on the column “Once upon a time.”

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F

Methodist tradition at Duke is by no means a trivial one.

The Duke Endowment, the University’s largest independent donor, pledges a portion of its funds to support rural Methodist churches in North Carolina, the Divinity School is Methodist and the Christian tradition is present in nearly every aspect of the University.

It is important to respect this historical tradition, but the University has changed greatly from the time of its founding.

Today, Duke is hardly a Methodist school in the conventional sense. The Chapel offers a nondenominational worship space. Duke offers a diverse atmosphere and a wealth of different creeds are practiced on campus without impunity.

We believe most students are unaffected by the Methodist influence. Yet, the recent Da-

vidson ruling reveals how religious affiliation can still have a tangible impact.

Therefore, the Board of Trustees should review all of Duke’s formal ties to the Methodist Church and conduct a fundamental re-examination of Duke’s connection to Christianity in relation to its status as a leading research university in the 21st century.

One place for it to start is the current process for selecting Trustees. The Board’s bylaws dictate that 12 members must be elected by the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, 12 by the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church and 12 by the graduates of Duke University. This process results in formally channeling 24 of the 36 elected Trustees through the

United Methodist Church—a clear majority.

The Board may want to consider amending the by-laws to diminish the formal influence of the Methodist Church on the Trustee selection process. Or, it may need to draft a revised version of Duke’s aims for the bylaws. In any case, the Board should re-evaluate its formal governing documents to align more closely with the University’s present reality without fully repudiating religion’s historical significance at Duke.

There is no doubt that the Davidson case could have serious legal consequences for Duke’s security policy. In light of this, reviewing Duke’s formal ties to the Methodist should be a top priority for the Board of Trustees when it convenes during the first weekend in October.

First day of school

or 20 years, I had a ritual. Every year, the school, remarked of the last night before her first night before the first day of school, I couldn’t day at her new job, “Tomorrow is the first time in sleep.

20 years I’ll end the summer by putting on a suit As I lay in bed the night before instead of a backpack.” the first day of my fourth year of Next year, that’ll be me. Except medical school, watching the minto be totally accurate, I haven’t acutes until I had to report to the tually had a summer vacation in hospital tick away, I thought about three years, and next year I’ll be all of those first days. wearing the same thing to my first I thought about the walk down day of work that I wore to the first the hall to my parents’ room, Fooday of school this year—a white tie pajamas soft on the carpeted coat. Also, I’ll probably bring my alex fanaroff floor, to complain that I couldn’t backpack. farewell tour fall asleep and to ask if I could just Still, it won’t be the same. It won’t watch television with them (Note: be school. For 24 going on 25 years, This happened every year until I turned nine. I’ve been responsible only to myself, and only for After that I was too big for Footie pajamas.). I my continued growth and education. I laid awake thought about sitting in my bedroom, looking out at night wondering if, in the year ahead, I’d live the window at the car full of things I had bought up to my own expectations. for my freshman year of college, reading the Duke And, really, that’s a great place to be. admissions brochure, wondering what I had gotMaybe I’m an idealist. Maybe I’m just a perpetten myself into. I thought about the night before ual student, and I like school more than is healthy. the first day of medical school, pacing around my Maybe this is some sort of quarter-life crisis and first apartment, wondering if studying to be a doc- I’m conveniently forgetting all of the things I distor was the right choice. liked about school and romanticizing the things I I thought about how, year after year, I had the liked because deep down I’m just scared of growsame questions: Would I be smart enough? Would ing up.

I make new friends? Is everything going to be difWhatever it is, I feel like giving advice. So sidle ferent for me? up to the old man’s rocking chair and listen up.

Except this night before the first day of school Whether you have one year, or four years, or was different, and I knew it. It was my last first day eight years, or 12 years left to be a student, reof school, unless I can somehow convince my par- member the bastion of all knowledge, Wikipedia, ents and/or self and/or future educational insti- says the word student comes from a Latin verb tution that one doctoral degree isn’t enough. meaning “to direct one’s zeal at.” As a student, Every year, the first day of school was the first your only responsibility is to summon up enough page of a new chapter. This year, it’s the first page zeal to direct it somewhere. of the last chapter of a long and fantastic volume So be zealous. And wherever the year takes you, called “School.” don’t forget how lucky you are to be a student.

I’m turning 25. My parents were my age when I was born. One of my buddies from college just Alex Fanaroff is a fourth-year medical student. His got married. My girlfriend, who just graduated law column runs every Wednesday.

Interested in writing for The Chronicle?

Email recruitment chairs Jessica Lichter (jessica.lichter@duke.edu) or Dan Ahrens (daniel.ahrens@duke.edu) for more information.

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commentaries

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 | 11

Into the wild

T

his week, summer ends.

Duke students sit in their first classes of the semester, print out their syllabi, have coffee at noon and begin the scholarly routines they will follow into December. In Limpopo Province, South Africa, however, winter—not summer— has come to an end.

I arrived here one week ago to start my semester abroad, and the switch to rachna reddy the southern hemisphere’s field notes calendar is one of many upheavals to my previous life routine. Until December, I will study the ecology of South African biomes while living in the wilderness.

Last Tuesday, my classmates and I were driven north from Johannesburg to Nylsvley Nature Reserve. A river that runs north floods this flat land and when the Dutchdescended Trekboers first came upon it in 1838 they called the stream the Nyl, for they thought it must flow upward to the very top of Africa. They believed they had reached the

southern mouth of the actual Nile River.

At Nylsvley in winter, the grasses are yellow and the clay ground is red. Gray thorns the length of my ring finger defend bushes that line the edges of trails. The reserve, like much of the continental United States, lacks large predators, but is home to many hoofed herbivores and birds whose “woo-woo” whirring and twitters wake me up too early if my jet lag does not.

I have come to admire one animal in particular. It is the impala: a butterscotch, antelope-like creature with curved black horns that rob from it all the timidity a Carolina doe possesses. It is hunted by Africa’s deftest predators: cheetahs, leopards, Cape hunting dogs and, of course, the lion.

When impala bolt it is in an arc. Their flight is not skittish—they leap in a dance, each kick making a splash in the grassy expanse. When we stopped to watch them one evening from a Land Rover, they turned their faces to look directly at us, the black and white coloring around the eyes of the male striking as warrior paint.

As I faced the impala, I believed for a moment that I had entered a world of raw and ancient emotion. That here I had returned myself to the natural cycle of which human beings had once been a part. That in Africa, the

wild existed. This fleeting epiphany was not original. I have grown up hearing romanticized tales of the wild in Africa, remnants of generations past and present. The belief that on a Savannah one can enter the world of an earlier age, an epoch of man and beast, of hunter and the hunted, life as it was at the dawn of man.

The reality, though, is that when I looked down from the airplane on its descent into Jo-burg I saw a city with few differences from any I had been to before. When we drove to Nylsvley, it was on a highway beside contemporary cars—the only differences the coloring of destination signs and the flipped positions of driver and passenger. And when we went far into the park on a nighttime game drive, I mistook the glimmering lights of civilization for the eyes of an animal in the bush.

No, that archaic wild does not exist at all, not even in Africa, the birthplace of man. But, this semester, I will learn a bit about preserving the wild areas of the world that still do remain.

Rachna Reddy is a Trinity junior. She is studying ecology in South Africa for the semester. Her column runs every other Wednesday.

On our own It’s high tide for service-learning.

Those who were seemingly strapped for time under the academic hold of their previous classes now have an opportunity to diversify their lives a bit. Starting this Fall, eight new service-learning courses spread across a range of disciplines are joining the already large market of potential curriculum options.

As claimed by Duke’s Program in Education, these courses will attempt to integrate meaningful commu- brandon maffei nity service with instruction giving back and reflection “to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.” And it seems everyone benefits; not only do these opportunities enliven the undergraduate curriculum, but the community also receives assistance and potentially significant academic feedback.

This new progression fits well within our university’s mission statement “to provide a superior liberal education to undergraduate students, attending not only to their intellectual growth but also to their development as adults committed to high ethical standards and full participation as leaders in their communities.” Further on in the mission’s sea of semicolons, it mentions ideals of helping “those who suffer” and promoting a “sense of the obligations and rewards of citizenship.” Far from solely publicizing the scholastic endeavors of the institution, Duke seeks to further us as moral citizens, a civically minded lot ready to contribute profoundly to the world.

Yet, how much can Duke foster a civic mindset? And can this goal potentially distract from more academically rigorous pursuits?

According to Stanley Fish in his 2008 polemic “Save the World on Your Own Time,” such civic aspirations only devalue the quality of a student’s education. The introduction of his book provides a scathingly hilarious depiction of universities who in their attempts to provide students with an education become too politically and morally motivated. Supposedly, most universities purpose to “cure every ill the world has ever known” including poverty, war, racism, gender bias and even the “hegemony of Wal-Mart.” Yale’s mission statement, although encouraging in its initial phrase, only falls victim to its own pseudo intellectual virtues. Its statement starts with assuring to seek students of “all backgrounds” and “educate them through mental discipline,” but loses it promise on the further proposition of the development of students’ “moral, civic and creative abilities.” I’m sure he would have a fun time with our mission statement as well.

Grounded in his rather debilitating critique of the current state of universities, he narrowly defines the purpose of an educational institution. A teacher should “introduce students to bodies of knowledge and traditions of inquiry” and “equip them with the analytical skills that will enable them to move within those traditions.” An academy’s integrity and dignity rests on this definable goal, going

beyond which would only sacrifice such.

Fortunately for Duke and most universities, his opinion is a minority view, and there are quite a number of objections to his argument. Mark Gearan, president of Hobart and William Smith colleges, contends that Fish’s view contradicts the rich tradition of civic responsibility of American higher education. He even cites an American Council on Education endorsed statement* (“President’s Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education”*) supported by 900 executive officers of colleges and universities that notes, “higher education has an unprecedented opportunity to influence the democratic knowledge, disposition and habits of the hearts” of graduates.

However, the polarization of this argument makes for rather extreme positions. As much as Fish confines the purpose of the university, so can the university grandiosely purport. His depiction of teachers who have no larger external value but to further their field of academia is too constrained. On the other hand, the institution can take on unrealistic expectations. Having a university proclaim to orient students towards a democratic way of life and

realize our duties as citizens is admirable, but most likely unattainable.

This is not to suggest that the university should not be a beacon for a civic society. Given the high level of institutional resources, I appreciate the ambition of our university to expand students’ horizons beyond just academic know-how. But the university should not necessarily take too much upon itself to develop the civic abilities of its students.

Realizing our duties as citizens is to a greater extent a first-hand ideal; it is truly appreciated through our own personal initiative, our own solicitation. I am grateful to have a university that, per its mission statement, promotes “a sense of the obligations and rewards of citizenship”* or a service-learning course that brings students up-close and personal with societal issues and disparities, but it ultimately comes down to the individual and how he or she navigates his or her role in society.

At the end of the day, service learning remains an organic process: Duke can let in the tide of service learning, but it is up to us to

12 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 the chronicle

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