September 16, 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

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Photography contest honors late Mahato

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 16

www.dukechronicle.com

duke student gov’t

Now hiring?

Senate votes to put DCR on probation

by Chinmayi Sharma THE CHRONICLE

An exhibit of scientific images and photographs of everyday items honored graduate student Abhijit Mahato’s unique combination of interests in the arts and engineering in a memorial contest Wednesday.

More than two years after engineering graduate student Mahato’s death, the “Envisioning the Invisible” image contest sponsored by the Pratt School of Engineering commemorated his life. In addition to awards for the best submitted photos, a number of speakers recognized Mahato, including Tod Laursen, former chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, who was also Mahato’s academic advisor.

In addition to remembering Mahato, who was shot and killed Jan. 18, 2008 at the Anderson Apartments near West Campus, Laursen encouraged other students to imitate his passion for interdisciplinary pursuits. Laursen described Mahato as “having a love for life with interests in varied extracurricular activities such as basketball, art, chess and intellectual debate.”

The event was marked by shared sorrow over his death, as many in the audience had known him personally.

Attended by about 100 students, faculty, researchers and artists, the event marked the end to a photo contest in which the submissions fell into two categories: “making the ordinary extraordinary” and “sharing the science and knowledge of objects through vision and imaging.” Jie Ren, a graduate student in physics, won the first-place award and a $1,000 cash prize for her work titled “Sand Strength.” Ren said she has been taking scientific pictures for years.

“It is part of my work,” she said. “I took it for my experiment, which has been going on for more than a year now.”

The 26 submissions by students were inspired by science in reality.

The keynote speaker was Felice Frankel, a researcher at both Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who, like Mahato did, successfully pursues her interests in science and photography.

“It’s about education,” she said, adding that she tries to use photography to portray science as an interesting subject.

Frankel shared a presentation that included a number of photos—such as complex architecture, obscure chemical reactions and mundane objects such as scotch tape—to get the audience interested in science.

See mahato on page 5

Justice Alito speaks at the School of Law, Page 3

by Matthew Chase THE CHRONICLE

Addison Corriher/The Chronicle

Students dress to impress to learn more about potential careers and meet with representatives from companies in several industries at the Fall Career Fair in the Bryan Center Wednesday.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the Duke Student Government Senate moved to place the Duke College Republicans on “disciplinary probation.”

The Senate’s resolution “neither confirms nor denies accusations of misconduct,” but allows the DSG Vice President for Student Affairs and the Student Affairs Senate Committee to more closely monitor DCR. The Student Organization Finance Committee now also has the power to review annual student group funding if a group is found guilty of misconduct.

But interim DCR Chair Stewart Day, a senior, said DSG’s ruling is in line with actions DCR is already taking.

“We have already submitted for DSG and SOFC oversight in the future,” Day said during the meeting. “I don’t want to say that as an admission of guilt. It’s something that I think would be beneficial in the long run.”

The provisions giving DSG more control over the club come from a statute passed earlier in the meeting establishing See dsg on page 4

Low turnout jeopardizes Refectory brunch

by Matt Barnett THE CHRONICLE

Lemon ricotta pancakes and egg strata may not be enough to save Saturday brunch at the Law School Refectory.

The Refectory Cafe, which operates at two locations—the School of Law and the Divinity School, describes itself as a “green cafe,” offering fresh, healthy and homemade food options to students on campus. High operating costs and low student-traffic at the Law School, however, have jeopardized the once-popular Saturday brunch.

In response to student complaints about limited weekend brunch choices, last Spring the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee and Duke Student Government asked the owner of the Refectory, Laura Hall, to open one of her locations for Saturday brunch. In the last two months of the 2010 Spring semester, Hall opened the Law School Refectory for Saturday brunch and received an overwhelming response.

This Fall, however, the brunch, which operates Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., has not been as successful.

“In the first two weeks we got 150 to 175 people,” Hall said. “When we operate on a given day, we need about 400 people to come through so we can keep a competitive price for such high-quality food.”

Of those who attend, Hall estimates that roughly 25 percent are undergraduates. She noted the wages and benefits of employees in addition to the cost of local food are the reasons Saturday brunch See refectory on page 6

Stronger Than Yesterday Durham parents start a website to provide a resource for choosing a school, PAGE 4

Tracy Huang/The Chronicle

Although the Law School Refectory’s Saturday brunch opened last semester to high demand, poor attendance this Fall may force the eatery to discontinue it.

ONTHERECORD

“For a website that has such widespread usage, how could it go down with such a whimper? ”

­—Senior Jeremy Steinman in “Death of a frat.” See column page 11.

2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle

worldandnation onschedule...

Annual Volunteer Fair Bryan Center, 12-3p.m.

The 33rd fair connects Duke students with area non-profits, providing a gateway for participants to explore service opportunities.

on the

Jazz Matters Mary Lou Center, 7-8p.m.

Enjoy a conversation with pianist Cyrus Chestnut and bassist John Brown as they reflect on contemporary jazz.

9364

FRIDAY:

9363

Artist Talk: Xaviera Simmons Nasher Museum, 7-8p.m.

New York-based artist Xaviera Simmons will talk about her work. A concert by Superchunk will follow at 8:30 p.m.

web

“The Season Four premiere of Gossip Girl was simply and unquestionably orgasmic.

Last season, Blair and Chuck were together, then apart, then together, then finally apart. Dan and Vanessa split long enough for Dan to knock up Georgina and for Vanessa to go to Haiti for a CNN internship (I dare you to name a more unbelievable place for Vanessa to be). Oh, and Dan realized he still loves Serena. Shock. Minus the shock.”

— From The Playground playground.chronicleblogs.com

nick fischer/bloomberg news

Pakistani locals deal with the aftermath of the flooding disaster in Hunza Valley, Pakistan, as they travel by boat and occasionally, by cow. According to documents released by the Pakistani government, millions of acres were flooded, destroying the homes and livelihoods of 17.2 million people and killing more than 1,700.

“

TODAY:

Philosophy is nothing but common sense in a dress suit.

— Author unknown

”

TODAY IN HISTORY

1981: 1st broadcast of “Miami Vice” on NBC-TV .

US orders oil companies to Obama admin. urges peace plug inactive wells in Gulf plan support in Sudan WASHINGTON — The Interior Department said Wednesday that oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico need to do more to permanently plug nearly 3,000 inactive wells and dismantle about 650 production platforms that are no longer in use.

The new initiative is aimed at cleaning up what the industry calls “idle iron”— inactive wells and platforms that litter the Gulf, pose hazards to shipping and run some of the greatest risks of leaks and accidents during storms. Although the Interior Department has regulations requiring that old wells be permanently plugged with subsea safety seals and old platforms dismantled, the regulations are rarely enforced, industry sources said.

Federal regulations require idle structures to be decommissioned—a process that involves scrapping iron and steel platforms and pipelines.

off the

The Obama administration, worried that an upcoming referendum in Sudan could lead to renewed bloodshed, has begun an urgent diplomatic effort to rescue the American-backed peace plan there.

President Barack Obama will meet with two of Sudan’s leaders next week at the United Nations, in the first such contact of his presidency. The Sept. 24 session comes less than four months before a referendum on independence for southern Sudan.

U.S. officials are pressing the country’s Islamist government to step up preparations for the vote. Those preparations have been running well behind schedule, and many fear that a botched election could lead to a resumption of the 21-year conflict.

Sudanese advocacy groups, which have assailed Obama for a lack of action on a key theme from his presidential campaign, welcomed the news.

wire...

6 Iraqis killed in joint raid

Fed. agencies cut millions in IT contracts

Help Build a Community of Honor Peace Corp & Duke The job market is global.

You should be too.

Life is calling.

How far will you go?

800.424.8580 www. peacecorps.gov Contact Marques Anderson at 919-345-3737 or manderson3@ peacecorps.gov for more information.

Peace Corps is growing and has thousands of new volunteer jobs available for 2011!

Apply now for programs departing next year.

Find out how you can gain personal and professional experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

the chronicle

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 | 3

Justice Alito shares stories from extensive legal career

by Samantha Brooks THE CHRONICLE

A crowd of over 325 law students rose yesterday, at the dean’s command, to welcome Samuel Alito, associate justice of the Supreme Court, to the School of Law. Alito spoke as a guest in a series hosted by the law school called “Lives in the Law,” which is designed to educate students on the lifestyles and career choices of successful legal figures. In what developed into a brief verbal biography, the judge shared anecdotes about his childhood and different career stages during a conversational discussion between himself and David Levi, dean of the School of Law. Alito is the fourth Supreme Court justice to visit the School of Law since Levi

Caliente

joined the administration in 2007. The justice will be teaching a weeklong seminar titled “Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretations” at the Law School for the second time in two years. Melinda Vaughn, executive director of communications for the Law School, said the aim behind the seminar and the event was to give students more of an insight into the principles of the legal profession.

“For students, [Lives in the Law] is an opportunity to think about what its like to be in the legal profession at the highest level,” she said. “The aim is to engage students in the field of law and [to think] about [its] ideals.”

See alito on page 5

Tracy Huang/The Chronicle

les todd/duke photography

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito spoke with Dean David Levi at the School of Law Wednesday.

Students gathered on the Bryan Center Plaza Wednesday to celebrate the beginning of Hispanic Hertiage Month with food, drinks and music.

4 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle

New website provides info on DPS schools

by Raasti Said THE CHRONICLE

Those who have lost faith in the Durham Public Schools system now have a forum to learn and clear misunderstandings.

StrongDurhamSchools.com, established by Durham resident and parent Elizabeth Tolman, strives to be a resource for parents trying to decide which Bull City schools to enroll their children in. The site is run by the Durham Allies for Responsive Education, a group of parents seeking to inform the community about educational issues in the city.

Launched earlier this month, the website offers more than 170 personal stories about DPS written by parents. They seek to promote the schools as laudable institutes of education and provide information for parents well before the DPS Choice Fair and private school application deadlines.

Tolman said the driving force behind the website grew out of her frustration with the lack of information available to her when she was enrolling her daughter in kindergarten. Tolman, who has two children at Forest View Elementary, said there were “a lot of rumors but nothing concrete.” The website is intended to be a forum for discussion and a place to share personal stories so that parents can obtain authentic and credible information supplementing DPS sites.

“I hope the website will foster school spirit within the public schools,” she said. “We live in a community that is replete with talent and I would like for us to use it.”

Tolman said she hopes parents can overcome the fears that their children will not be challenged in the DPS system or could be affected by other students with behavioral issues, she said.

See schools on page 5

Deena Stryker Photographs of Cuba, 1963-1964

dsg from page 1 a probation system for student groups guilty of “misconduct.”

But after the resolution was brought to the table, many senators raised questions over the statute’s constitutionality. Because the “reported acts of misconduct” that the statute references happened before the law was put in place, the law is technically “ex post facto.”

“The Judiciary is directed to strike down any ex post facto laws,” said DSG Judiciary Chief Justice Matt Straus, a junior. “It seems very probable that this is a law that we

rahiel alemu/The Chronicle

DSG Chief Justice Matt Straus answers questions on the constitutionality of various policies at the DSG meeting Wednesday. At the meeting, the Senate voted to place DCR on disciplinary probation.

Who is Jesus?

What is Christianity?

What is Catholicism?

exhibition opening

• artist talk

• panel discussion

• gallery tour

Thursday 9/16, 4-7pm

would strike down.”

The Judiciary will only review DSG’s resolution if it is challenged, Straus added. If the Judiciary receives such a challenge, it would likely hear the case within the next three weeks, Straus said.

Senior Ben Bergmann, an athletics and campus services senator, was one of two representatives who submitted the resolution. He said the resolution was still worth passing—even if it is shut down in the near future.

“We could pass this and it could be struck down in a week, but it’s a statement,” Bergmann said. “We are not monitoring them because they are guilty, but because there are accusations.”

Although the Senate ruled to place the club on probation, the club is no longer defunded. At last week’s meeting, the group was stripped of its annual funding.

But DSG President Mike Lefevre, a senior, vetoed the bill and another Senate resolution that took a step toward de-chartering the DCR over the weekend. In last night’s meeting the Senate considered overturning Lefevre’s veto but failed to meet the required two-thirds vote necessary.

Many senators who were against overturning the veto spoke out because of DCR actions that have taken place since last week’s Senate meeting.

Lefevre received letters of resignation from DCR Chair Carter Boyle and Vice Chair Travis Rapp, both seniors. Day will serve as interim chair until the club holds an election to select a new one.

In his veto, Lefevre stipulated that no current members of the DCR executive board would be able to run for the position—but Lefevre later clarified that the election is now open to everyone.

The Senate also came back to a resolution it passed at the beginning of the month that called for a student group constitutional review committee. The Senate voted to require that impeachment trials be open and publicized and that the SOFC chair be notified if an impeachment trial occurs.

“Such legislation is necessary because, as has been seen in the past with the April 2010 impeachment of the chair of the Duke College Republicans, these procedures... can be misused and abused,” the resolution reads.

The Duke Catholic Center will soon begin a set of sessions during which people learn and talk about the teachings and practice of the Catholic Church. Are you interested in the Catholic Faith? If you have been coming to Mass but are not Catholic or your are interested in coming into the Church we invite you to learn what Catholics believe in an open and welcoming environment. The sessions are opportunities for you to ask those perplexing and difficult questions you may have about the Church. Email or call Catherine Preston if you have any questions or would like further information.

Catherine.preston@duke.edu (919) 257-1799 Sessions are always held on Thursdays from 7:15 to 8:30pm at the Falcone-Arena House (across the street from East Campus, on the corner of Trinity Ave. and Buchanan Blvd.)

The first session is September 16. Feel free to come any day.

Retreats

Activities

Awakening Retreats

Sacraments Mission Trips Prayer Groups Tuesday Night Dinners

November 5 - 7 March 25 - 27

Biddle Rare Book Room Perkins Library

Co-sponsored by the Archive of Documentary Arts in the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library; African and African American Studies; the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute; the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture; and the Office of Global Strategy and Programs

catholic.duke.edu

(919) 684-8959

037 Duke Chapel Basement (office) & 402 N. Buchanan Blvd.

the chronicle

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 | 5

Alito from page 3

schools from page 4

Levi began the conversation by alluding to Alito’s youth in New Jersey. Alito said that although his childhood experiences contributed to how he interprets the law, being part of a group of judges with different backgrounds was a more productive way to understand it. The two joked about Alito’s devotion to the Phillies before delving into the initial stages of Alito’s career.

“We’re all products, to some degree, of our backgrounds,” Alito said. “But it’s good when people who have different... personal backgrounds [and] different legal careers are able to exchange their ideas on a multilevel accord. I think that when that happens the product of the court can be greater than the sum of the parts, and that we can learn a lot from each other.”

Alito went on to describe the different positions he held during the early stages of his career, specifically referring to his time working at the solicitor general’s office in Washington, D.C. It was there that Alito first argued in front of the Supreme Court.

“I still remember when I argued my first case in the Supreme Court—it was probably the most insignificant case the court had heard at any time during the 21st century,” he explained. “I was extremely nervous about this. I was very grateful that Justice O’Connor asked the first question, it was a very gentle question and I knew the answer, that’s what sort of got me rolling.”

Alito began his career working as an assistant U.S. attorney in the district of New Jersey before transferring to the solicitor general’s office. He then spent time working at the Office of Legal Counsel before returning to New Jersey as the U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey.

As a Supreme Court justice, Alito said when he “can get a word in edgewise,” he focuses on the weakest points of the cases being presented.

“I try to think about questions that I would like to have answered. I often try to think about the weak points in the arguments for each attorney and try to ask about those if one of my colleagues doesn’t do that first,” the justice explained.

In regards to asking the questions he said, “You have to be a little bit rude. It’s a very strange format.”

At the end of the discussion, Alito answered questions from students regarding his career. One of the main concerns students had was finding a balance between personal life and work.

“It’s something you should all think about,” he answered. “You’re expected to work very long hours, and if you let it, that can crowd out the rest of your time.”

Evan Chase, a first-year law student, said he was glad the subject matter revolved around Alito’s lifestyle as opposed to the procedural aspects of his profession.

“He’s reached the pinnacle of his profession. As law students, we’re all interested in hearing about his life with the law,” Chase said.

Ann Rebeck, a member of DARE, said the website is a great place for authentic information. The stories are reality-based, as opposed to information on the DPS website provided by administrators.

Lindsay Vail, the mother of two children at Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet School, also assisted in putting together the site. Vail said she believes that test scores should not be used to judge a school and that parents should use the website, visit schools and talk to other parents when it comes to choosing the right school for their children.

Vail added that she strongly supports Tolman’s goal and thinks it is essential that public schools be promoted if America is to be “the land of equal opportunity.”

Although this is the site’s first month, Tolman said she intends to put up flyers in parks to attract online traffic and hopes the site will become “a point of pride for Durham as a whole.”

mahato from page 1 She said she cares about maintaining the “integrity of science” and dispelling any misconception that the processes used to create the photos are inaccessible to the average viewer.

“If we tell people how we do it, then they will be interested in it,” Frankel said.

melissa yeo/The Chronicle

Felice Frankel, a researcher at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the keynote speaker at “Envisioning the Invisible,” a photo contest celebrating Abhijit Mahato’s diverse interests.

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6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle

refectory from page 1 may close if business remains slow.

“Using local farmers means we use many suppliers, adding cost to our operation,” Hall said. “And we use more labor because we are prepping the food in our kitchens.”

DSG Executive Vice President Pete Schork, a junior who was vice president for athletics and campus services last year during the pilot of the Saturday brunch, helped publicize the change last Spring.

“There was a void in quality food offerings for Saturdays,” Schork said. “I just helped publicize it a little bit last year— helped develop the concept.”

DSG has made no such publicity efforts this year, Hall said, and she may be poised to shut down Saturday brunch within a few weeks if traffic does not pick up.

In addition to the lack of publicity this year, DUSDAC co-Chair Alex Klein, a senior

and former online editor for The Chronicle, attributes the low student attendance to the distance of the Refectory from students’ dorms and weekend events like Tailgate.

“If people were more aware of what the Law School Refectory made available for purchase on Saturday mornings—from its sure-to-convert-the-New-Englanders cheese grits to its hangover-curing sweet potato fries—there is no question it would become the go-to Saturday brunch,” Klein wrote in an e-mail. Popular menu choices include Belgian waffles, baked oatmeal and deli sandwiches.

Klein added that while he personally enjoys the Refectory, it is not DUSDAC’s role to promote individual on-campus eateries.

Sophomore Mohamed Ismail, who attended brunch at the Refectory for the first time Saturday, described the walk to the Law School as well worth the distance.

“You get tired of the places on West. Here, they have a pretty good range,” he said.

The Color Purple

Faith Robertson/The Chronicle

Purple hosts a picnic on the Bryan Center Plaza Wednesday. Members of the group invited students to bring their lunches and talk about the club’s activities.

33rd Annual Volunteer Fair Reach out and get involved with YOUR Community.

Thursday, September 16 12:00– 3:00 p.m.

Schaefer Mall, Bryan Center

F tt ://

(919) 684 4377 >

b

Recess

volume 13 issue 4 september 16, 2010

WE’RE ON A HORSE.

Sounds of the South

Megafaun part of Duke Performances’ new Hayti show

PAGE 3

nate glencer/The chronicle

gibson

cyberpunk originator to speak in Reynolds

page 3

simmons

artist gives talk on her art and role in The Record

page 5

centerfest

festival features both local and national artists

page 7

Page 2

recess

theSANDBOX. A disembodied squid tentacle turns the knob on an old AM radio. A song comes on.

“Somehow I got spinal meningitis/Injecting all that hairspray in my spine/It’s a super cheap way to party/If you aim to kill some brain cells and some time.”

The squid throws in a dip, loads his shotgun, buckles his seat belt and puts the car into gear. The car begins to bump down a road. But wait: It’s on blocks, and being pushed up and down by another squid.

This the typical beginning of Squidbillies (the song does change occasionally), a show that breaks every rule of taste and decency that television still holds and just might be one of the best satires of Southern culture today. It’s sort of like what “King of the Hill” would be if Hank Hill were a liquor store thief, barely literate and a squid.

I say that Squidbillies is great satire not because it accurately holds a candle

September 16, 2010

editor’s note. to the problems of the South today. It doesn’t. Problems in the South, I really, really hope, do not stem from people like Earlie Cuyler, the show’s alcoholic main character who solves all his problems with a shotgun and Ren & Stimpylevel violence.

No, it’s great satire because of its little details that illustrate Southern life: The hats that Earlie Cuyler wears, for example, say things like “Emergency? Dial .357!!!!” or “I support the Flat Tax because I’m FLAT BROKE” (which I swear I once saw at a truck stop in South Carolina); the Christian-singles dance that plays a rap song with the chorus, “Monogamy, yeah, I got to be pious”; the secondary characters that blow up on IMDB boards with subjects like “My uncle could be in this show.”

But really, I don’t care about the deeper intelligence of the show. I just watch for the fart jokes.

—Andy Moore

[recesseditors] Sanette’s legal!

Kevin Lincoln.......................................................................something I’ll never be Lisa Du..................................................................just wants to be a legal American Jessie Tang............................................................................................illegal’s better Andrew O’Rourke...............................................................................Sati’s tonight?

Sanette Tanaka.........................................................................only made it to 8/21 Nate Glencer.....................................................................................legal, like a boss Christina Pena............................................................................squidbilly approved Lindsey Rupp...............................................................................................is the law

I’m fascinated by Justin Bieber.

Or the idea of Justin Bieber. The cultural import of a Justin Bieber. Because I don’t actually like his music, though “Baby” has its moments—none of which are owed to Ludacris.

If you’re interested in my full thoughts on Bieber’s album, actually, you can look up the review I did last year. It’s not one of my best reviews, admittedly:a friend pointed out that I wasn’t really being fair to Bieber, indicting him for pretending to be in love when he’s really just a little kid.

Probably true, but his hyperbolic declarations of his many “one true love”s still pissed me off.

I’m more interested in why Justin Bieber exists like he does—this weird-looking Canadian pop jackrabbit who gets spoofed

by Aziz Ansari and ends up on a remix with Kanye West and Raekwon.

Did I mention there’s a remix of a Bieber track featuring Kanye West and Raekwon?

Because there is, and it’s fantastic. It’s a reworking of his “Runaway Love,” skewed WuTang, buoyed by an up-and-down hum that weaves through the instrumental. Raekwon and Kanye both attack with some ferocity, which makes it all the better when Bieber floats in to deliver his “I’m just trying to be cool, cool, cool.” Getting on a track with Raekwon and Kanye is a good start there, Justin.

Bieber occupies this strange cross-section of the pop-music universe; he’s the rare child music icon who provides some degree of interest for his older, more self-serious peers. Most of these juvenile types exist in a vacuum, operating in an entirely different cultural language, but Bieber’s stardom happens to coincide with a general merging of hip-hop with the broader musical land-

scape.

What you’ve got is Justin Vernon—mastermind of Bon Iver and a soon-to-be aspect of Duke Performances programming, part of the Megafaun-Fight the Big Bull Sounds of the South project—showing up on the track “Monster” with Kanye, Rick Ross, Jay-Z and Nick Minaj. You’ve got Dan Auerbach of fried-blues garage-rockers the Black Keys singing the hook on “Oil Money,” shored by verses from Freddie Gibbs, Bun B, Chip tha Ripper and Chuck Inglish.

All of a sudden, there are three justreleased singles featuring white singers— albeit very different from each other: Auerbach’s a rocker, Vernon’s a folkie, Bieber a popster—making noise at the same time.

Is it a coincidence that two of these involve Kanye? No. But it’s still interesting.

What this means is that, even if Bieber isn’t necessarily being taken seriously by his peers, he’s at least having his existence acknowledged, taken advantage of—and everyone knows it’s always good to be noticed. Where he’ll go from here is the most intriguing part of the whole story. He is, after all, Usher’s protege, and there’s one very particular archetype for a route that Bieber could take: Justin Timberlake. That’s probably the ceiling for Bieber’s career.

It’ll be interesting to see whether his stardom can be sustained, and for how long, and whether it’ll stay anywhere near the level that’s preserved in the great recent New York Magazine feature that chronicles his latest performance on the Today show. NY Mag mentions a bubble, and his fans closing in: it’ll be all the Bieber machine can do to keep that bubble from imploding.

—Kevin Lincoln

October 22 – November 7

2009 Festival entries: Dandelion, (Anjie Yu); Andy Warhol, (Stanislas Colodiet); Underwater (David Henry)

Bringing the Duke Arts, Media and Entertainment Community Together

Free Framing Sept. 17

TO MO Workshop RR OW

Prepare your work for display with techniques learned in this hands-on clinic. Topics covered include mat selection and cutting, proper materials and finishing techniques, and overall design. Sept. 17, 3–6p; Sept 24, 1–4p, Bryan Center, West Campus, Meeting Rooms A & B. Registration required: 919.684.0540 or danette.clark@duke.edu. (Free frames and materials will be reserved for work selected for the Festival exhibit. Largest size 30”x 24”.)

electronic submission begins:

September 10

For more information visit arts.duke.edu or call 919.684.0540

VISUAL

o

MUSIC

o

DANCE

o

THEATER

o

FILM

o

CREATIVE WRITING

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts, Duke Alumni Association, Duke Career Center, Duke University Union Visual Arts Committee.

recess

September 16, 2010

Page 3

Duke Performances reimagines Sounds of the South at Hayti

by Andrew Hibbard THE CHRONICLE

Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax’s 1961 release of southern field recordings, Sounds of the South, is an eight-disc extravaganza of delta blues, gospel and southern folk music entrenched in a rich cultural history.

And almost 50 years after its initial release on Atlantic Records, the project has found a new life in the hands of Durham band Megafaun and Richmond jazz collective Fight the Big Bull’s Matt White. With the vocal assistance of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and musician Sharon Van Etten, this supergroup of sorts is reinterpreting Lomax’s recordings, filtered through the present day.

The proper genesis of Sounds of the South dates back almost a year, but truthfully, the project has been percolating for even longer. Most obviously, Vernon and the men of Megafaun have a storied history as friends and bandmates in the North Carolinabased (and defunct) DeYarmond Edison.

But after meeting on tour, Megafaun and Fight the Big Bull have also long been seeking an excuse to work together.

That excuse came in October 2009, after Megafaun’s Brad Cook saw Duke Performances’ commissioned piece—The Hallelujah Train with Brian Blade and Daniel Lanois— at the Hayti Heritage Center, a deconsecrated African Methodist Episcopal church in downtown Durham. Cook immediately felt the desire to do a similar collaborative project on southern music in the same space.

“If we could talk someone into letting us do this, we had to,” Cook said.

After speaking with Director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald and getting the green light for the piece—which will be recorded and released as an album in 2011—the fantasy became real.

But, if not odd, the reality of the project is certainly disparate. How does Fight the Big Bull, a contemporary, brassy jazz big-band, fit in with so-called indie folk trio Megafaun and two disarmingly beautiful vocalists, Justin Vernon and Sharon Van Etten? Moreover, how do they come together under the concept of recreating

Gothic brings Gibson to Duke

by Christina Malliris THE CHRONICLE

special to The Chronicle

Megafaun, alongside jazz collective Fight the Big Bull and with support from musicians Justin Vernon and Sharon Van Etten, will reimagine Alan Lomax’s Sounds of the South for a live album, to be released in 2011. southern field recordings?

For White, the answer is simple.

“In the public point of view, we’re on opposite sides of the spectrum, but we’re informed by a lot of the same things,” he said.

Indeed, what inspires all of these musicians is an incredible awareness of and engagement with historical tradition. What separates them in all of their different form and genre-bending impulses is the trajectory the history takes them on.

“They’re totally willing to experiment.

Lots of things sound right to their ears,” Greenwald said. “They’ve listened to an enormous amount of stuff…. There seems to be a totally sincere interest in all sorts of

different sounds and all sorts of different ways of thinking about music.”

To be sure, the character of the Sounds of the South performances will be avantsomething. But what fuels this impulse is the sense of tradition.

Both Cook and White agree that the project is not interested in objective reproduction but rather interpretation.

“The more exciting approach [to folk music] is in the whole tradition of interpretation,” Cook said. “That’s always what folk music has been about. There’s an ownership that comes with music.... We’re doing our best job with how that tradition comes See megafaun on page 8

Cyberpunk’s founding prophet is coming to Duke.

The Gothic Bookshop will host awardwinning author William Gibson next Tuesday as part of the tour to promote his new book, Zero History.

Gibson is a prolific force in the world of science fiction, winning William Gibson the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards with novels such as Neuromancer, Virtual Light and the New York Times best-seller Pattern Recognition.

“To get an idea of Gibson’s importance to the genre, consider this,” Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, editor and publisher of local speculative fiction magazine Bull Spec, wrote in an e-mail. “He coined the term ‘cyberspace.’ He is the ‘noir prophet’ of the cyberpunk literary movement and has managed to do something which very few writers do—transition from writing in the edges of genre fiction to writing mainstream best-sellers, all while keeping and honing his distinct voice.”

Zero History is Gibson’s third book set in the present, finishing a trilogy that began with Pattern Recognition in 2003 and continued with Spook Country in 2007. Gibson has consistently worked in trilogies throughout his career, and the Bigend trilogy, which includes Zero History, is his third.

The novel represents a departure from his traditional genre—generally grounded in science fiction and futuristic See gibson on page 8

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“Majesty Shredding is an album so good it almost defies description.”

— Village Voice

In Concert: Superchunk

Artist Talk: Xaviera Simmons Thursday, September 16, at 7 PM

Thursday, September 16, at 8:30 PM

Venerable Triangle rock band Superchunk will release their first new album in nine years with a concert at the Nasher Museum, the only North Carolina venue in the national tour in support of their new album, “Majesty Shredding.” The performance complements the exhibition The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, on view through February 6, 2011.

Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan wrote an essay for The Record catalogue and co-wrote with Harrison Haynes a song for a 12-inch record project by Xaviera Simmons for the exhibition.

BBQ and Vinyl Listening Party, Sunday, Septmember 19, 1-4PM. Xaviera Simmons will play her 12-inch record commissioned for The Record. North Carolina BBQ and beer available for purchase.

Simmons’ residency is made possible by a Visiting Artist Grant from the Council for the Arts, Office of the Provost, Duke University.

The Superchunk concert is sponsored by the Duke-Semans Fine Arts Foundation with additional support from McKinney and Duke Performances.

Page 4

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September 16, 2010

>>

Superchunk play Nas

special to The Chronicle

The Triangle has no shortage of indierock bands, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a group that’s had more of an effect on the local and national music scene than Chapel Hill mainstays Superchunk. Majesty Shredding is the band’s first album in nine years, and to celebrate its release, they’ll be playing a concert at the Nasher Museum of Art. Recess’ Andrew Kindman spoke to frontman—and Merge co-founder—Mac McCaughan about his band, his label and being a part of The Record.

First of all, I love Majesty Shredding, and I love its distinctive sound. How would you describe the difference between this and the rest of the Superchunk catalog?

I guess in some ways it’s definitely different from the last record and maybe has more similarities with the earlier records, but I definitely think it’s its own thing. I guess I would say it has a lot of the energy of the earlier records with maybe a slightly bigger sound. I don’t mean bigger in the sense of string sections and things like that. It has to do more with [recording] with Scott Solter at Overdub Lane where John Plymale is the assistant engineer. We’ve worked with John on some other things: Indoor Living, The Laughter G u n s EP. I wanted to

make sure the songs have a lot of energy. Frankly, we’ve been playing a few shows a year for the last few years, and we always have fun doing that. But at a certain point we want some new songs to play. One of the considerations when working on this record was, “let’s make a record that will be fun to play live and that people are going to want to see us play live.”

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, who sings on Majesty Shredding’s opening track, is one of the latest additions to the Merge roster, alongside the Love Language. Two local bands—is that an accident?

As long as Merge has been around, we’ve looked locally as well as other places. When the label started, pretty much all of the records we were putting out were by local artists. And that’s not a new thing. It feels good to have a strong local presence on the label.

How would you say the local music scene has changed since Merge began?

For me, it’s kind of hard to analyze when you live here and you see people all the time and it’s happening all around you. Before we had Merge, there was a great scene here, and I think it’s maybe more diverse than it ever has been. There are maybe more venues than ever in the Triangle to go out and hear live music at. I think that really helps encourage people to go out and start bands.

Where do you think the scene is headed?

I’m not sure. I think one reason that Merge still exists is that we don’t ever try to predict the future.

You have some work associated with The Record, the new exhibit at the Nasher. How did you come to be involved in that?

I’ve been interested in contemporary art for a long time. Through Chloe

recess

September 16, 2010

Page 5

sher for release show a small club 10 feet from the Minutemen or someone like that. And once we found out about that, it was a whole different world.

On the subject of vinyl, Superchunk is re-releasing No Pocky for Kitty and On the Mouth on CD and LP. How’s that going?

The re-releases just came out. They did a great job remastering the record, and it’s exciting to hear them sounding good and to know that they are available, really. We didn’t do any bonus tracks or anything; we just wanted the records to stand on their own and sound as good as they could sound.

As part of the upcoming tour, Superchunk will perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the band’s first televised performance in 15 years. Are you excited about that, and do you think it will attract more mainstream attention?

I’m excited about that. It’s a cool show. I mean, they have the Roots for a house band, which is awesome. It shows that they care about the musical aspect of what they’re doing. It’s not just an afterthought stuck on at the end of the show. But, how mainstream is the Fallon show? I don’t really know. I don’t look at the ratings or anything. But I think there are probably people who are watching late-night TV who don’t know what Superchunk is and they might see us and still not care what Superchunk is. But maybe some of them will be into it.

Superchunk performs at the Nasher Museum of Art tonight at 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the release of their new album, Majesty Shredding. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for Nasher Museum members and $5 for Duke students with I.D. Tickets are available through the Duke University Box Office at www.tickets.duke.edu.

>> MUSIC REVIEW

[Seymore] and Harrison [Haynes, drummer of Les Savy Fav], who had Branch Gallery in Durham, I got to know Teka Selman, who was part of Branch as well, and her husband Trevor [Schoonmaker], who’s one of the curators at the Nasher. I remember talking to Trevor pretty early on about this show, The Record. He’s a music fan, obviously, and we talked pretty early on about ways that Merge, as a North Carolina label, could be involved in [the exhibit].

Xaviera had this idea to make an album of music paired with photographs that she took all over North Carolina. Once it became clear that there was going to be a vinyl component to that, [Merge] got involved. Because that’s one thing we do know how to do—make records.

We were really excited to be able to collaborate with Xaviera, who is a great artist, and the Nasher, which is a great institution for Durham. We don’t get to do that sort of thing very often. Harrison and I did a song for the album, and then I wrote an essay that’s in the catalog for the show. So it’s exciting for me just to be involved in a show like that.

In your essay for the catalog, you discuss the early days of producing vinyl for you and your friends as an empowering activity. What drew you to that?

Even before we could produce it, it was exciting just knowing that it was around. Until I was 12 years old, I thought of a concert as something that I certainly wanted to go to, but it was most likely a Van Halen concert or something like that. That’s exciting in its own way, but once we started listening to college radio and finding out about punk rock and the hardcore scene around here, it’s much more powerful because it’s people your own age doing it and you can just become much more intimately involved with the music. Even if you’re just going to shows, you’re standing in

superchunk

majesty shredding merge

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Superchunk has been a fixture in the indie-rock scene for almost two decades. The release of Majesty Shredding ends their longest hiatus yet, nearly a full half of their existence.

Any worries that they were sitting idle for those nine years are thankfully unfounded. Their latest LP is a collection of highly polished, infectious music from a band at the height of their songwriting abilities, not one that is creatively exhausted.

Nearly every track is a testament to Superchunk’s ability to string together hook after hook, whether it be through the searing guitars or anthemic choruses—or sometimes multiple layers of each at once. Majesty Shredding is a throwback to the golden days of punk rock: an exercise in organized chaos with countless ideas, instruments and riffs running furiously through each song. Yet Superchunk effortlessly blazes through their music with a swagger that permeates the entire record, showing their experience and confidence.

The resulting effect is a series of frenetic tracks that leaves the listener with little time to take a breath. This unending energy and momentum ends up being both their strongest point and biggest flaw, as songs sometimes blend together without making lasting impressions. In fact, the most powerful and memorable tracks are stacked near the beginning, especially opener “Digging For Something” and the catchy “Crossed Wires.”

But even if Majesty Shredding seems to race through at breakneck speeds, it still proves one major point: Superchunk is hardly ready to call it quits.

—Jeff Shi

Simmons speaks on Record

>>

by Ashley Taylor THE CHRONICLE

Collaborating with other artists for the first time, Xaviera Simmons blended both visual and musical art forms in her latest project.

Simmons’ “Thundersnow Road, North Carolina,” part of the Nasher Museum of Art’s newest exhibit, The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, combines landscape photography and music. The project was commissioned by the museum nearly two years ago.

To gain inspiration for the complex installation, the Brooklyn artist explored the varying topography of North Carolina during a 10-day road trip across the state.

Though much different from her roots in New York, Simmons said North Carolina soon became a second home as she delved deeper into her project.

“The state is so diverse, not only culturally but physically,” Simmons said. “I feel close to this place in a way that I never had before. I love the landscape and the mental space the area allows.”

Trevor Schoonmaker, curator of con-

special to The Chronicle

temporary art at the Nasher, said working with Simmons was a unique and incredible experience.

“She’d been doing amazing installations with her interest in music, DJ culture and records as a sort of archive of African-American history,” Schoonmaker said. “Then we mixed in her photography experience with installation work.”

Along with the series of photographs displayed in the exhibit, visitors can listen to a record of 10 accompanying songs, each complementing a single picture or pair of images. Simmons said her Brooklyn connections helped her find talented musical artists to collaborate with her.

“I’m really fortunate to live in a community where there is so much music,” she said. “A lot of the musicians on the record are my friends and people I spend a lot of time with.”

The record features tracks by well-known artists like My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan and TV On the Radio members Kyp Malone, Tunde Adebimpe and Jaleel Bunton. Along with the quality of the photographs themselves,

the prominent musical names attract attention to the exhibit as well.

Durham-based record label Merge Records produced the music for the project.

“It was such a fun surprise at the Nasher to commission a work with [Simmons] and an important indie label,” Schoonmaker said. “You want to be able to commission projects that are not just great projects, but pivotal. All of this coming together under the same umbrella is really rare.”

Creating “Thundersnow Road” and working with other artists was a “life-changing” experience, Simmons said.

“It’s really nice to constantly engage with other people and to collaborate,” she said.

“It shifts the way an artist works.”

Xaviera Simmons will talk about her artistic practice today at 7 p.m. at the Nasher. The release concert for Superchunk’s Majesty Shredding will take place at 8:30 p.m. following the talk. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for museum members and $5 for Duke students through the Duke University Box Office.

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September 16, 2010

the virginity hit

dir. huck botko & andrew gurland columbia pictures

eeEEE

“Strangers don’t kill strangers; strangers give each other blow jobs.” Or at least, that’s Matt’s (Matt Bennett) mantra as he convinces himself to go meet a random stranger for sex.

The Virginity Hit stars four best friends who made a pact to lose their virginity before high school ends. It’s senior year, and only Matt remains a virgin. When his girlfriend of two years, Nicole (Nicole Weaver), cheats on him, Matt and his friends take on porn stars, alligators and an army enlistment to get Matt laid.

Produced by Will Ferrell, The Virginity Hit wastes no time before diving into the gags. The one-camera home-video style creates a familiar intimacy with the main characters, even if cinematographer Luke Geissbuhler relies too much on shakes and quick cutaways to cover

up an uninspired plot. Of a cast of feature-film newcomers, fat sidekick Zack’s (Zack Pearlman) running commentary is the clear gem and most memorable performance.

There are too many tangentially serious issues to call The Virginity Hit a true comedy, and here is where it ultimately falls short. For example, when a sex prospect demands that Matt own a $1,795 Ralph Lauren Black Label suit before she will consent to the deed, he discovers that his college fund was emptied out by his estranged drug-addict father. The story straddles comedy and drama, landing in an in-between zone that keeps it from satisfying audiences.

Although The Virginity Hit is worth a latenight rental for more than a few laugh-outloud moments—and the audience’s “first-time” discussion that is sure to follow—there are too many uncomfortable over-steps to make it a comedy classic.

—Dani Potter

duke performances

IN DURHAM, AT DUKE, A NATION MADE NEW. 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1

S E A S O N

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SOUNDS OF THE SOUTH

MEGAFAUN

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brandon flowers flamingo island def jam music group

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“Welcome to fabulous/Las Vegas/Give us your dreamers, your harlots and your sins/Las Vegas/Didn’t nobody tell you the house will always win?”

The city that never sleeps becomes the city of “Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts” in Brandon Flowers’ first solo album, Flamingo. The Killers’ frontman presents an evocative snapshot of his hometown during his year-long break from the band, highlighting his evolving scope as a musician.

The album’s first single, “Crossfire,” showcases the haunting vocals and catchy guitar riffs characteristic of every great Killers album. In fact, from the first listen, it sounds a little too Killers-esque. Despite this resemblance, the lyrics in this song, as well as many others on Flamingo, personalize the recordings and allow the debut to stand its ground as a unique pop-rock contribution.

The record is slower and more thoughtful than the flashy, eyeliner-ridden Brandon Flowers that we’re used to. Songs like “On the Floor,” “Was It Something I Said?” and “Hard Enough” have a touch of country and gospel, with “Hard Enough” speaking of “getting older” and “rolling with the changes.” Slower rhythms and calculated back-up vocals take precedence in many tracks, allowing for great lines to stand out, such as these from “On The Floor”: “When the lights go down in the city/Something is roaring/I find myself waiting to believe/On the floor.”

This poignant effort, a tribute to Flowers’ recently-deceased mother, utilizes stark repetition to underscore the loneliness of the singer as reflected in Sin City.

Flamingo offers an album obviously rooted in the Killers’ signature sound, but it features a standout flare that allows Flowers to be welcome as a solo artist.

—Gracie Lynne

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September 16, 2010

Page 7

CenterFest features 124 artists in downtown Durham

by Caitlin Moyles THE CHRONICLE

The 37th annual CenterFest Arts Festival gives students and residents an opportunity to view art, eat, shop, hear live music and support local causes—not to mention escape the back-to-school grind for a few hours to explore the Durham art scene.

As the longest-running street arts celebration in North Carolina, the festival features a variety of artists and nonprofit organizations, as well as live performances that range from dance groups like Flamenco Carolina to bands such as Skeedaddle—a Durham-based, Americana string band.

The “Creative Kids Zone” also offers face painting, drum making and other crafts for CenterFest’s youngest visitors.

CenterFest is a combination of six basic “ingredients”: visual arts, performances, food, nonprofits, the childrens’ areas and hopefully sunshine, said Margaret DeMott, director of artist services for the Durham Arts Council, which sponsors the weekend each year.

“It’s our largest community event, so it’s our chance to reach as many people as possible,” she said.

This year, CenterFest will feature 124 artists from 11 different states. DeMott added that she expects as many as 25,000 people to attend.

CenterFest is one of the ways DAC strives to stimulate interaction between artists and the larger Durham community. Juried by a panel of three fine arts judges, the festival offers a “Best of Show” prize of $1,000 as well as first,

second and third place prizes.

“I enjoy [participating in CenterFest] because you meet so many new people,” said Durham-based artist Ashley Brodie, who has showcased her handmade jewelry at the festival for the past three years. “It’s also a good way to sell my jewelry and bring awareness [of my business] to people who come to the event.”

In addition to showcasing the visual arts, 26 performance groups will appear on three different stages. The Midway Stage features a variety of local dance groups, including the Inis Cairde School of Irish Dance, the Bouncing Bulldogs Rope Skipping Team and the Little River Cloggers.

The Fox 50, Mix 101.5, WRAL.com North Stage and The Herald-Sun South Stage will host a variety of bands and orchestras that play everything from folk to Americana to Latin music.

The CenterFest has evolved from an artist showcase into an interactive community event. 34 local non-profit, government and civic groups will participate in the Community Showcase section of Centerfest. The City of Durham Department of Water Management, for example, plans to offer tips for conserving water and will exchange visitors’ old showerheads for water-efficient models free of charge.

CenterFest takes place Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sept. 19 from noon to 6 p.m. on Foster Street in historic downtown Durham. There is a suggested donation of $4 per person.

special to The Chronicle

The CenterFest Arts Festival, an annual event in downtown Durham, will feature 124 artists from 11 states. In addition, there will be 26 different performance groups appearing over three stages, including dance outfits and bands of various genres.

of montreal false priest polyvinyl

eeeeE

There are no two ways about it: You either love or hate Of Montreal. False Priest should be no exception.

For those who wish the Athens, Ga. natives would someday reach musical normalcy, the band’s latest release is not for you. But if you’re looking to hear Of Montreal take a hyper, funkadelic twist on their older works, this record delivers.

In False Priest, the band draws upon their witty lyrics and unexpected tone-shifts of past compilations, this time with the new addition of ’80s-era synth intros (“Godly Intersex” and “Around the Way”) and a hint of ’70s funk (“Hydra Fancies” and “Girl Named Hello”) that would make Parliament-Funkadelic proud. The addition of producer Jon Brion (who’s worked with Kanye West, Spoon and Sean Lennon, among others) allows lead singer Kevin Barnes to take a break from the role of both musician and producer and concentrate solely on the creative aspects of the music.

This does not go unnoticed, as the album is weirder, richer and more hyper than the likes of Skeletal Lamping.

False Priest features Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae, both of whose voices mix well with Barnes’ crazed vocals.

The eclectic quality of this album is its only downfall. At times, False Priest feels disconnected, with Barnes switching randomly from singing to belting to talking, which makes an otherwise succinct album feel a bit over-thetop.

The band’s latest effort is satisfyingly bizarre, taking the cake and providing the sugar high that Of Montreal has tried to achieve for years. ­­­—Riley Glusker

WED 09/15 - GRAND OPENING PARTY September 24 Chick Corea Trio 28 Dynamic Korea: Dance and Song

Dynamic Korea Sept 28

October 1 8 11 13–14

Ozomatli Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Hugh Masekela Mariinsky Orchestra

November 5 Omara Portuondo 8 Kremerata Baltica with Gidon Kremer, violin/leader 10–11 Sutra – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Sadler’s Wells London 17 Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Sollee

CAITLIN CARY & MATT DOUGLAS

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w/The Mercators, short films by Bo Webb FREE SHOW 9pm

TUE 09/21 - THE MONTI 7:30pm $7

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THU 09/23 - KEVIN DUNN w/Special Guest $6/$8 8pm

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Music Venue Event Space

recess

Page 8

megafaun from page 3

gibson from page 3

through our filter.”

Beyond the interest and the localities of the bands is something essential about modern music that comes straight from the South.

“When you’re really looking at the bigger picture of the rock-and-roll world we live in—Weezer, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles—it’s all coming from southern folk music, ultimately,” White said.

If the music seems to depart too much from its origin, there’s always the building to remind audience members of the history. The Hayti Heritage Center played a big role in Cook and Megafaun’s pursuit of this project.

“We’ve played rooms similarly acoustically designed, but you could just feel a particular energy,” Cook said of Hayti after their first rehearsal there. “It feels like it’s the kind of room where it won’t let you fail.”

And though the interweaving relationships of history, tradition and contemporary musical practice frame the academic project, what makes it all come together is the social aspect. Megafaun may be the tie that binds these individuals, but they will converge and create something new in the name of Sounds of the South. And from that, something else— new collaborations or something more— might emerge.

But for now, there’s Sounds of the South and, if the Hayti works its magic, no chance of failure.

themes—and examines the hectic world of 21st-century consumerism, focusing on the ideas of brand names, marketing and post-Sept. 11 paranoia.

Gibson is well known in the literary world at Duke, as professors have written about him and taught his works in their classes, said Bill Verner, bookseller at the Gothic Bookshop. Although the bookstore has previously sponsored author signings on campus, Verner said he has never actively sought out an author.

When he heard about Gibson’s tour, however, Verner immediately wanted to bring him to campus.

“We thought that this was an event that really belongs at Duke,” he said. “It was a gift we could give to the campus.”

Verner added that he is also excited about the content of Zero History, which draws from both thriller and realist genres.

“He’s always had his finger on the pulse of what was about to happen to us,” he said. “For him to turn to contemporary time... it’s thrilling.”

Following Durham, Gibson will continue his book tour in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and London.

“It’s a real testament to the Triangle, Durham and Duke that [Gibson] is bringing his latest book here,” Montgomery-Blinn said.

Megafaun and Fight the Big Bull’s Sounds of the South, with Justin Vernon and Sharon Van Etten, will be taking place at the Hayti Heritage Center Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $26 general admission, and $5 for Duke and North Carolina Central University students. Tickets are available at the Duke University Box Office or online at www. tickets.duke.edu.

William Gibson will speak and give a reading Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center. Admission is free to the general public. Gibson will sign copies of Zero History purchased at the Gothic Bookstore, which will be offered at 20 percent off the cover price.

September 16, 2010

Panda Bear lights up Hopscotch

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Panda Bear headlined Friday night of last weekend’s Hopscotch Music Festival. Performing in Raleigh City Plaza, Panda Bear’s show was followed by concerts in nine clubs throughout Raleigh.

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THURSDAY

September 16, 2010

Bear Bryant’s favorite poem, carried in David Cutcliffe’s wallet and mentioned in Laura Keeley’s story Monday, is now on the blog

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Football Scouting the opponent

Blue Devils Dominant defense, Mark mount Preview Ingram await Duke comeback

by Nicholas Schwartz THE CHRONICLE

For the second year running, the Blue Devils made up a ton of ground on the final day of the NCAA Fall Preview— but this year the deficit to start the day was simply too much to overcome. No. 8 Duke shot the best round of the day Wednesday with an 8-under 280 to climb to fourth, but ultimately fell short of winner Alabama at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.

Sophomore Lindy Duncan, behind her second-day 66 and a routine 71 on Wednesday, finished in a tie for fifth overall at 5-under. LSU senior Megan McChrystal snatched the individual title from the hands of Vanderbilt’s Marina Alex after a sublime back nine in which she birdied five of the final six holes to win with a score of 10-under.

Despite falling short, Duke’s performance Wednesday may have been a sign of things to come.

“We really took care of business,” head coach Dan Brooks said. “I’m not sure we did anything different— we just stayed patient, played hard, and the putts started dropping.”

Wednesday proved to be moving day, as many teams went low in the final round, none more so than the Blue Devils. Excluding Courtney Ellenbogen, who shot a 77, every Blue Devil shot under par over the final 18 holes, led by senior Kim Donovan and freshman Aleja Cangrejo, who carded matching 69s. Freshman Laetitia Beck followed up her even-par second day with a 1-under 71 Wednesday.

Duncan, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, took a bit of time to shake off the rust on day one with a mediocre 2-over 74, but came out firing Tuesday, playing See w. golf on page 8

doug benc/getty images

Alabama’s defense has only given up six points in its two games this year. Duke still plans on keeping its same offensive attack.

by Matt Levenberg THE CHRONICLE

Perhaps the greatest challenge of the David Cutcliffe era will take place Saturday when the defending national champions, No. 1 Alabama, storm into Wallace Wade at 3:30 p.m.

Cutcliffe minced no words when analyzing how good the Crimson Tide are.

“In my opinion, they are the most talented team in the country,” he said. “They are a completely balanced football team offensively, defensively and on special teams.

They put pressure on you to execute in all three areas.”

The Blue Devils’ offense has been extremely effective so far during the young season, averaging over 44 points per game, but points will probably be more scarce this week. Alabama has allowed only six points thus far this year, and only gave up three against then-No. 18 Penn

State last week. Despite the Crimson Tide’s stinginess, Cutcliffe will count on his team’s effectiveness to work again this week, and will not change the offensive attack to combat Alabama.

“Their front seven is big, they’re a tough team,” redshirt-senior tight end Brandon King said. “We need to step up and establish ourselves. They’re good, they’re big and we need to be aggressive. We stress that we are not going to change our game plan for them.”

One of the leaders of Alabama’s physical front seven is defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. Dareus exploded onto the national scene last year, winning MVP of the BCS National Championship Game. Dareus had 6.5 sacks last season, but has missed the first two games this year due to a suspension for illegal contact with an agent.

See scouting on page 8

Football notebook

Cutcliffe feels Duke can win

by Vignesh Nathan THE CHRONICLE

Chronicle file photo

Sophomore Lindy Duncan was Duke’s low-scorer at the NCAA Fall Preview. Duncan carded a 66 Tuesday and a 71 Wednesday to finish T-5.

Not many people expect Duke to win.

After all, Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country. They boast a Heisman-winning running back and a backup running back very nearly as good. They possess some of the best athletes in the nation who are coached by one of the best coaches in the nation, Nick Saban. They have bragging rights to thirteen national championship trophies.

Duke, on the other hand, has a different story. The Blue Devils cannot brag about any national championships in football. And throughout its entire history, the Duke football program merely has three bowl victories compared to Alabama’s 32. Duke saw three winless seasons in the past decade, a statistic that most Crimson Tide fans will never expect themselves, nor their children, nor their grandchildren, to ever see from their be-

loved team.

Needless to say, most people consider the Blue Devils as the underdogs against the Crimson Tide. Online betting services predict Alabama will beat Duke by 24 points.

Online opinion pieces and predictions range from “Duke also scored 48, but that won’t happen against ’Bama.” to “’Bama will surely dominate the Blue Devils. Durham becomes sweet home Alabama.”

And while on paper, this game might seem over before it ever began, it would be smart to take a moment of reflection before counting Duke out of the contest. Duke may not have the national attention-grabbing future NFL players that Alabama does, but its players Tuesday repeatedly said they are determined to take their team to the next level. They added that they relish the chance to test themselves and their improvement against some of the nation’s finest.

See midweek on page 8

8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle

scouting from page 7 Also returning this week is reigning Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. Ingram, who scored 20 touchdowns while accounting for 1,992 all-purpose yards last year, injured his left knee during preseason workouts and will have not played a regular season down until Saturday.

Although Ingram’s season debut is much anticipated, running back Trent Richardson has competently filled Ingram’s shoes to this point. The Blue Devils are aware of this talented duo.

“We better tackle extremely well,” Cutcliffe said. “I haven’t seen backs break as many tackles as they do.”

Richardson is a physical runner who may win a Heisman trophy of his own some day. After scoring eight touchdowns as a true freshman, Richardson has run for 210 yards in two games as the starter this year.

Cutcliffe knows that both running backs are threats to go the distance each time they touch the ball.

“Trent is a lot like Mark,” he said.

“They both have lower body strength, are fast, have great vision, and are always gaining yards. [Richardson] is faster than people think, and he has shown against San Jose State that he can take it to the house.”

Under center, the Crimson Tide boast Greg McElroy, a two-year starter who has not lost a game since middle school. McElroy also has not thrown an interception since November 7, 2009, against LSU. He benefits from his favorite target, talented wide receiver Julio Jones. “[Jones] is a very impressive, aggressive wide-out,” junior safety Matt Daniels said.

“He looks for contact and runs great routes.

He’s great with yards after the catch. Once he receives the ball, we are really emphasizing gang-tackling.”

Jones, a home run threat, is one of the best wide receivers Duke will face all season. He showed off his explosiveness in last season’s matchup with LSU. Down two points in the fourth quarter, McElroy connected with Jones on a screen pass at the Alabama 27-yard line. Jones got to the sideline and was off to the races for a 73-yard touchdown—nearly all of it yards after the catch. If Duke’s secondary misses a tackle, it could easily be six points on the board for Alabama.

The Blue Devils face this week a team unlike any it has played since Cutcliffe came to Durham. They cannot afford any mistakes against the defending champs— but what if they don’t make many mistakes?

Cutcliffe has an answer.

“If we play really, really well, we’re capable of winning this game,” Cutcliffe said.

dianna liu/Chronicle file photo

Charlie Hatcher and the rest of the defensive line will have their hands full with Heisman winner Mark Ingram.

w. golf from page 7

midweek from page 7

the 6,271-yard Jack Nicklaus design to the tune of a 6-under 66, her best collegiate round.

“I practiced really hard [after Monday’s round] to figure a few things out. It was really important,” Duncan said. “Everything was on and I was really confident in all parts of my game.”

The sophomore put on a clinic in the second round, hitting 16 greens in regulation. She birdied three of the four par-5s as a part of her bogeyfree day. Wednesday, Duncan started off well with another birdie on the 511-yard par-5 5th, but managed only one birdie the rest of the day, on the par-4 12th, before giving a shot back at the 15th.

After a shaky first round, Brooks emphasized the importance of avoiding bogeys and double-bogeys, especially given the relatively easy course conditions. The Blue Devils improved remarkably by day three, and played only 11 holes over par as a team. Much of the final-round surge can be attributed to the stellar play of the two freshmen, Beck and Cangrejo, in their collegiate debuts.

Beck recovered to shoot scores of 72 and 71—after a birdieless first round left her at 6-over—carding only two bogeys on the final day. Cangrejo was a model of consistency in her first two rounds, with scores of 74 on Monday and Tuesday. After a bogey on the first hole Wednesday, the freshman reeled off three birdies over the next six holes, and finished with a 69.

“I don’t look at freshmen with high expectations or with low expectations... they can be anything and everything,” Brooks said. “But I couldn’t be prouder of what these two did, it was tremendous.”

With the biggest tournament of the fall now complete, Duke will look to carry the momentum it generated to the Mason Rudolph Championship in just under two weeks. For Brooks, the Blue Devils’ brilliant play Wednesday was just a flash of what he’s expecting for every round.

“We’ve got more in us,” Brooks said.

“Hopefully we’ll go into the next tournament with a lot of confidence and do a little better.”

“Everybody wants a chance to play the best team in the nation, or the Heisman trophy winner,” junior safety Matt Daniels said. “It’s a great opportunity for our team to understand where we’re at physically, emotionally and mentally.”

Daniels’s sentiment reflects the overall attitude surrounding the team that Duke has the potential to be great. Over the past two weekends, the Blue Devils showed signs of excellence, albeit not consistently. Quarterback Sean Renfree continues to prove himself as one of the ACC’s top up-and-comers, throwing for 350 and 358 yards, respectively, in Duke’s first two contests this season.

Sophomore wide receiver Conner Vernon has sparked the offense by racking up 18 receptions for 310 yards.

But at the same time, the Blue Devils have balanced out their solid performance with late-game problems. Against Elon, their defense stalled in the third quarter, allowing the Phoenix to attempt a late-game comeback. Against Wake Forest, Duke seemed unable to match its 35-point first-half performance in the third and fourth quarters. In both games, the Blue Devil defense allowed more yards than defensive coordinator Marion Hobby would like.

To beat Alabama, Duke simply cannot afford to make the mistakes it has made over the past two games. An Alabama offense will not forgive turnovers.

But if the Blue Devils consistently play with the skill and high level of performance that they have shown at times, then maybe they can come out on top.

It happened to James Madison University against Virginia Tech, and it just may happen again this weekend in Durham. Head coach David Cutcliffe said Tuesday that he feels Duke can beat Alabama.

“I believe that with all my heart,” Cutcliffe said. “This year’s team, more than the last two, is capable of playing great, and at times we have. [But], it’ll take four quarters of that type of football to beat Alabama.”

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10 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle commentaries

Greek convocation still has potential This Tuesday evening, ner in which this inaugural Duke students in fraternities meeting was carried out left and sororities brought a new much to be desired. First, tradition to campus—a greek the convocation seemed to student convocation. be an idea put forth by the Hosted in the Duke Cha- administration, with stupel, the event dents simply was created along for the editorial with the intenride. In order tion of uniting students in for a ceremony like this one greek organizations at the to resonate with its attendoutset of a new academic ees, they must take owneryear. Members from the In- ship of it. The impetus for terfraternity Council, Inter- a greek student convocation Greek Council, National should have derived from Pan-Hellenic Council and greek students themselves, Panhellenic Association were not Zoila Airall, assistant in attendance for the cere- vice president for student afmony, which was primarily fo- fairs for campus life. cused on recognizing greek Second, this gathering of students for their academic students assumed a characsuccess in the previous year. ter more like that of a pep Although the notion of a rally than a convocation. greek student convocation Convocations should serve is a laudable one, the man- as meetings in which indi-

“

Best of luck to Thad in the NFL. I enjoyed watching him lead Duke for 4 years.

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Finally, the gathering focused on the wrong aspects of greek life. Although the strong academic performance of fraternity and sorority members is commendable, this success is not at the core of what unites greek students. Fraternities and sororities find a unique commonality in their commitment to values such as leadership, community and philanthropy.

These values are at the heart of what makes greek life so valuable. A greek convocation should center itself around these broad values, rather than scholarship—a goal toward which presumably all Duke students strive.

Greek student convocation is an excellent idea.

When executed properly, it can provide fraternities and sororities from IFC, IGC, NPHC and Panhel an opportunity to connect with one another at the outset of each year. These groups traditionally have few tangible links to one another. A convocation is a viable means of uniting all students on campus involved in greek life, and it is an opportunity to dispel the negative misconceptions and stereotypes that often hamper the greek community.

If fraternities and sororities want to continue this new tradition, students should take more initiative to ensure that Greek Convocation showcases the full spectrum of positive elements Duke’s greek community has to offer.

Park51: A debate not worth having

onlinecomment

—“Trinity81” commenting on the story “Don’t forget about Thad.”

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viduals unite behind a shared mission and look forward to acting out that mission. For example, the undergraduate convocation during Orientation Week is a forum where new Duke students come together to initiate their common undergraduate academic experience. The purpose of this annual ceremony is to help students begin to envision what their goals for the next four years look like.

Greek student convocation, by contrast, offered its attendees a lax atmosphere and a retrospective program. Students received free sunglasses and watched an a cappella performance. As the ceremony progressed, those present looked only at their past successes instead of laying out a framework for the upcoming year.

F

ull freedom of expression and debate is the there would dishonor the dead. only acceptable status quo—perhaps nothThose pundits are wrong. There is no room ing is more essential to democracy and indi- for debate here. Tolerance is the only order of the vidual liberty. If real debate ever becomes impos- day, because it is what’s right. Let’s have a Muslim sible or illegal in this country, bet community center at Park51. against anything happening here We can never dishonor the without the use of assault rifles. We dead by doing what we can to live need debate to be available to us. freely, peacefully and tolerantly.

But some debates are not worth Living tolerantly does in fact inhaving. clude being OK with Muslims You by now know that the building a community center. badly miscalled “Ground Zero The sight of Americans cruelly Mosque” is neither a mosque nor connor southard jeering at the faith and works of at Ground Zero. I was going to other peaceful Americans dishondead poet include a quick recap of the facts ors all citizens, living and dead, of about the Park51 site here, but a great country. they are available from any real news source and Many of the millions of Americans who oppose I don’t want to waste your time. And even if all the Park51 project are good-hearted, well-meanof the bad blood were about an actual mosque, ing people. I don’t dismiss their opinions out of I wouldn’t waste my own time justifying the con- disregard for anyone’s beliefs or sensitivities or struction of a simple house of worship. This experiences or intelligence. This column is meant country’s Bill of Rights has since 1791 guaran- as a reminder to everyone that there is no justice teed the freedom to practice any religion—no in being half-OK with the freedoms of your fellow exceptions and no equivocation. human beings.

I visited Park51 on September 12, this past President Obama was wrong to make his faSunday. The steel barricades—erected a day mously evasive comment, “I was not commentearlier to keep protesters and counter protest- ing and I will not comment on the wisdom of ers apart on what was a rancorous anniversa- making the decision to put a mosque there.” In ry—still hadn’t come down, so I could look at doing so, he made a pitiful concession to smallthe site itself only from a distance. As has been mindedness. reported, it’s an old storefront. The most sigIf we make a spectacle of acceptance in certain nificant thing about it is that it has been given zip codes or on certain blocks but abide by prejusignificance. dice elsewhere, then our claim to real tolerance For the few moments I stood there, the hid- risks becoming just as much a phantom as the eously intolerant words of New Republic edi- invented notion that Park51 is somehow dangertor Martin Peretz—“I wonder whether I need ous or insulting. Our resolve to remain broadly honor these people [i.e., Muslims] and pretend tolerant should be absolute, and it should not be that they are worthy of the privileges of the First shaken in the face of controversy. Roger Cohen’s Amendment which I have in my gut the sense conclusion, in The New York Times, that Park51 that they will abuse”—were playing somewhere “upholds a great American principle, but it’s not in my subconscious. Remembering the gross ab- a sensible idea,” is a cop-out that borders on sheer surdity of Newt Gingrich comparing the back- cowardice. ers of Park51 to Nazis made a rainy day a little As students, we’re supposed to learn how to gloomier. hold debates and weigh perspectives and evidence.

Park51 is an innocuous pile of New York con- An admirable skill to acquire, but some things are crete, located in a part of Lower Manhattan that simple matters of principle. Debate your princihas experienced tragedy but which remains tri- ples in the abstract all you like, but stand by them umphantly alive—taxis splashing the curbs, shop when the moment calls for it—no exceptions and windows lit, passersby chatting with the cops no equivocation. manning the quiet barricades. Somehow, famous people have been getting air time for acting as Connor Southard is a Trinity junior. His column though the idea of building a community center runs every Thursday.

the chronicle

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 | 11

commentaries

lettertotheeditor Chronicle coverage of Greek event unfair The Panhellenic Executive Board would like to express its dissatisfaction with the article “Greek community unites for convocation,” which we feel inappropriately represented the greek community as a whole. An event that was meant to be a unifying and positive step forward for inter-council relations was cast in a negative light, emphasizing parties and Tailgate as opposed to the academic and philanthropic achievements of all four councils. Furthermore, we were disheartened by the fact that National Pan-Hellenic Council and InterGreek Council were all but forgotten, though the

men and women of these organizations do so much for the Duke and Durham communities. Lastly, it seems that certain facts were taken out of context in order to portray the event in a flippant manner, as opposed to the meaningful occasion it was meant to be. We would hope that the next time The Chronicle covers a greek event it does so in a more impartial tone that does not belittle the achievements of the greek community.

Bogna Brzezinska President, Panhellenic Association Trinity ’11

Under my umbrell(uh?)

A

mongst the balloons, bouncy castles, food tive recommendations. This sense of camaraderie trucks and WXDU DJs at the Duke Partner- and snuggliness could likely result in interpersonal ship for Service’s block party Sept. 10 were dilemmas all too common to Duke. In the future, a the service organizations that have given our Uni- group that prefers to work out of a dorm room or versity a reputation for community enprof’s office or apartment may be at gagement, innovative endeavors and a disadvantage. How does DSG or the passionate activism. The newcomer on Student Organization Finance Comthe block is Duke Partnership for Sermittee hold the Umbrella accountvice. In only its second year on camable if, as Agostino argues, “all of us pus, the organization is finalizing its do service and so we know the probapplication for funding and recruiting lems that service groups face”? a diverse staff of students dedicated to The issue of whether dPS should streamlining the concept of “service.” endorse a candidate in DSG presisamantha It is also building a house on Central dential races is also a point of conlachman Campus with space for group use. A lot tention. Agostino’s rationale for of things that dPS has done and plans my favourite things their endorsement last year of curon doing are cool (and I will talk about rent DSG President Mike Lefevre is those in a moment). However, I also that “we focused our endorsement want to talk about the inherent dangers in creating on the impact that leader would have on service, an all-encompassing umbrella. These potentially so we weren’t looking at the leaders as a whole.” far-reaching issues result from the umbrella’s un- Instead, they represented the service community due influence on access to resources. by “asking who’s going to promote the things that dPS’s greatest strength lies in its ability to reduce we’re working on campus.” redundancies in member organizations. Duke has tons What concerns me is that, as a brand new organizaof resources, and if we’re not effectively harnessing tion, dPS was endorsing with a mandate that hadn’t those resources we’re not serving the community in been established by elections and with only a year’s which we live. So if there are 10 groups that specialize worth of experience representing service groups. As a in tutoring in Durham schools, dPS can make a recom- facilitator of service, dPS should stay away from becommendation to consolidate. dPS President Becky Agos- ing politicized. Think about Duke University Union tino explained this role as, “working with students who arguing that it should have the right to endorse based have ideas and helping to connect them with existing on who would best understand entertainment needs groups.” Indeed, she noted that “a lot of schools just (SNARKY COMMENT HERE). have too many college students running around, and In blast e-mails, dPS is advertising “Scholar Affiliso this makes life easier for our partners... it’s healthier ate” positions. These positions entail potentially infiif we consolidate.” nite degrees of liaising. In an Inception-esque fashMoving on from this Great Leap Forward, I think ion, to get back to the service happening on the first that people have different conceptions of service... and level one has to liaise to the scholars groups who liaise I hope this works with the dPS model. amongst themselves, liaising back to dPS, which then Advocacy is great when you want to procure more can liaise between scholars groups. All of this “liaisfunding for like-minded groups. So dPS is good, in ing” will amount to simply e-mailing back and forth. the eyes of the powers-that-be, because it possesses And the “Outreach Staff,” which will “interface with the relationships necessary to make recommenda- student-led social action groups,” fills the apparent tions (using a numbers system) for funding. Hooray demand for a middle-man between the people who for funding service groups! Maybe I’m just prone do service and the people on Exec who ultimately adto conspiracy, but dPS’s future success depends on vocate for groups and their funding. member organizations utilizing its resources and In light of dPS’s rapid expansion, we need to achieving tangible results. take steps to preserve organic, independently purAlthough Agostino emphasized that dPS will pro- sued action—and the learning experiences that vide what groups need and has the burden of publi- stem from that action. Momentum is fantastic, but cizing what it can do, I see a conflict of interest. dPS at what cost? staff members can best familiarize themselves with service groups that utilize the new house on Central.

Samantha Lachman is a Trinity sophomore. Her column Therefore, the staff will be more likely to make posi- runs every other Thursday.

Agree? Disagree?

Write a guest column or letter to the editor to chronicleletters@duke.edu.

Death of a frat

A

s the West campus social scene comes back alive, everyone is quickly realizing the same thing I did— fratmusic.com was shut down in May. For those who never encountered this website, it was pretty much a cornucopia of music at the click of a mouse to which you could dance, grind, bounce or study. There are two fates for pop culture staples—be either overused or become archaic over the years (Kazaa jokes, George W. Bush impressions, Ralph Nader’s ears) or live forever (Bill Clinton jokes, Brodjeremy steinman head’s rhetoric and “Hey Scottie Pippen, why the long einsteinman face?”). Fratmusic.com will probably be falling into the former category for the general public, though I wonder where fratmusic will still reside in our memories of college five years from now.

It was definitely big for me, especially having a room between Craven and Wannamaker and being able to sit in my room and hear a fratmusic playlist without having to open my computer. It was one of those things that everyone hated, but secretly we enjoyed because there’s nothing more than the adrenaline rush of, pardon my eloquence, booty-shaking music and 75 people dancing in a space designed for 15. It is improbable a dance floor will start with only two people, but it is downright impossible to dance when there is no music. Fratmusic.com was an instant party that was utilized well, as evidenced by its peak of 100,000 page hits per day.

Of course, fratmusic was not without problems, as you would inevitably hear an iTunes Top 10 song every time a new person came to the party and subsequently needed to hear his or her favorite song, most recently, “I Like It” (“OMG he knows EXACTLY what I’m feeling! I like things, too!”). We may complain about how each playlist full of new songs is unique, yet imminently the same beat, but deep down, we like it (come on and give me some more... songs). Perhaps Enrique and the dog wrote their song about how fratmusic changed their lives (and gave Pitbull an audience). Perhaps it was a Chris Brown-esque advertisement project in the form of song. The most likely scenario is a post-modernistic/ neoclassical hybrid of “it” being a metaphor for college life and how everyone enjoys this “it” entity (according to art history majors).

However, despite its many faults, I do have multiple problems with it shutting down. Where am I going to listen to all of my underground music by mashup artists like “Norwegian Recycling”? For a website that has such widespread usage, how could it go down with such a whimper?

The phrase “fratmusic.com shut down” (without quotes) when searched on Google returns 198 results (as of yesterday). How can we, as a society, just let a huge part of our lives fall apart like this? In the past year we’ve quickly let go of gems such as Tiger Woods jokes, UNC basketball and using the phrase, “I’m taking my talents to South Beach,” a bathroom-related double entendre. We have to do something to keep it alive.

For now, we’ll have to go back to our building genius playlists from the ’90s. We’ll have to bring back fantastic bands such as Third Eye Blind, Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers. We won’t enjoy the lack of dancing, but we’ll be singing and screaming like never before in college. We might dislike the fact that the Backstreet Boys have completely sold out, but isn’t it awesome to hear people belting out the lyrics after not hearing them for multiple years? Hopefully this retro trend will continue until a new fratmusic.com appears in our lives, at which point we can continue doing what we did in the first place.

Unfortunately for my old soul, another one has popped up. Collegeplaylists.com, which has a nearly identical page layout and music player, has reared its beautiful preset music selections at frat parties, thus giving frat music back to frats. Now we can all continue shouting it out, screaming it out and letting me hear you go.

Jeremy Steinman is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Thursday.

12 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 the chronicle

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