The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 38
www.dukechronicle.com
Business leader speaks on social action Lawyer: Irons will fight rape allegations by Maggie Spini THE CHRONICLE
The scope of “social action” is widening, according to Jonathan Tisch, who discussed the need for engagement and corporate responsibility Tuesday afternoon. Tisch—chief executive officer of Loews Hotels, owner of the New York Giants and an author—is a national leader in philanthropy, social action and business and community partnerships. He spoke with Duke Partnership for Service President Becky Agostino, a senior, and an audience of about 100 students and faculty members in Griffith Film Theater. “Service is exemplified by everything Mr. Tisch does... by direct focus on engagement,” Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. “This is a person for whom ‘service’ is truly the right word.” Tisch became involved in issues pertaining to social action after noticing that many of America’s corporate business practices have recently not been viewed favorably. Tisch said this bad reputation was what inspired him to write his first book, the bestselling “The Power of We: Succeeding Through Partnerships,” which was published in 2004. After Agostino asked Tisch questions, members of the audience were invited to ask Tisch about social entrepreneurship and his third and most recent book, “Citizen You: Doing Your Part to Change the World.” Tisch said “Citizen You,” which came out in May, was reflective of the “important moment See tisch on page 8
by Joanna Lichter THE CHRONICLE
ted knudsen/The Chronicle
Jonathan Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels and owner of the New York Giants, delivered a speech promoting civic engagement and social entrepreneurship Tuesday in Griffith Film Theater.
Eric Irons, a former Trinity sophomore, claims he is innocent of rape charges and plans to face the allegations in district court Nov. 9, his attorney said. Irons was arrested on charges of seconddegree rape and first-degree kidnapping of a female student by the Duke University Police Department Sept. 8. “Eric Irons is an innocent man,” said Bill Thomas, Irons’ lawyer. “We have located witnesses and have evidence that the allegations made against him are entirely false. I have every confidence that, once all of the facts are known, that Eric Irons will be completely exonerated of any wrongdoing whatsoever.” Irons, a 19-year-old from Hong Kong, was charged and released Sept. 8 on a $75,000 bond, according to court records. He withdrew from the University Sept. 9 following his arrest. Mitchell Garrell, an assistant district attorney who is handling the case, did not respond to several e-mails and phone calls. Candy Clark, an administrative assistant at the district attorney’s office, See irons on page 8
Israeli scholar tells father’s story of passport, identity by Sony Rao
THE CHRONICLE
audrey adu-appiah/The Chronicle
Anton Shammas, professor of Modern Middle Eastern Literature at the University of Michigan, spoke Tuesday on the value of passports.
Now often thought of as simply documents permitting travel, passports were once rare and vital components of a person’s national identity. Anton Shammas, professor of modern Middle Eastern studies and comparative literature at the University of Michigan, delivered a speech titled “Palestine Mapped Out: A Passport Story” Tuesday night. He discussed the significance of his father’s Palestinian passport in forming his sense of identity and freedom to an audience of about 40 people. Shammas, who was born in Israel in 1950, was educated at the University of Jerusalem before he became a noted journalist and essayist. This was his second time speaking at the University, said Lauren Braun, program coordinator for the Duke Islamic Studies. “Shammas is communicating his father’s story,” Braun said. “I think the talk is important in light of the current state of Israeli-Palestinian affairs.” He was introduced by Shai Ginsburg, assistant professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The two first met when Ginsburg was studying at the University of Michigan. “Shammas was one of the most important Israeli intellectuals of the 80s,” Ginsburg said. “He was a leading figure in an emerging circle of Israeli scholars and artists.”
ONTHERECORD
“These 10 years have forced city dwellers of the Western world to adapt to living in a state of continuous vulnerability.”
—Senior Lauren Moxley in “A constant state of threat.” See column page 14
Shammas began the talk by showing a photograph of a wooden box that belonged to his mother and contained several important family heirlooms, including his father’s passport. Much of the presentation was dedicated to his father’s British passport, which was issued in 1932 in Palestine—16 years before the Palestinian diaspora. He focused on the signatures of the Palestinian high commissioner, Sir Arthur Wauchope, and his father on the passport. “Wauchope left a high-brow mark on my humble family history by leaving a mark on my father’s passport... an insignia of imperial power,” Shammas said. “The passport was a sort of pact between my father and Sir Arthur.” Shammas recounted how his father, Hanna, was born in 1908 during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. Hanna Shammas, a shoemaker and barber, attended a one-teacher school before graduating from the 4th grade. Under the British Mandate for Palestine, which went into effect in 1923, the British government was given administrative power over Palestine in an attempt to designate a Jewish homeland in the Middle East without violating the rights of non-Jews. After the law was passed, Palestine ceased to be an independent state and Israeli citizens became classified by their ethnicity as either Arabs See shammas on page 7
DPAC receives high ranking, Page 3
DUU allocates $25,000 to LDOC fund, Page 4