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
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 47
www.dukechronicle.com
Spicer describes ‘insightful’ journalism Uni cancels
Spring MMS workshop
by Alex Zempolich THE CHRONICLE
Washington, D.C. correspondent Nick Spicer knows first-hand that Al-Jazeera is a news network for the “global everyman” that values on-the-ground reporting undiluted by cultural biases. Speaking Monday evening at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Spicer, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera English, discussed the ways in which Al-Jazeera, the most watched news channel on Youtube, has attempted make news more objective and less “cookie-cutter.” Spicer has been reporting internationally for 15 years previously for organizations including National Public Radio, The Economist and CBC Television. He said although many Western news media rely on domestically born journalists who may harbor implicit cultural biases to report in foreign countries, AlJazeera is committed to providing unfiltered news. “The aim is to have indigenous reporting and no imperial or post-imperial center, a kind of transcendental signifier, that explains everything on the planet,” Spicer said. “We want the people who are living in these places to tell their own stories.” This approach is the “million-dollar gamble” that Al-Jazeera has undertaken since its inception in 1996 as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite television channel headquartered in Doha, See spicer on page 6
by Nicole Kyle THE CHRONICLE
larsa al-omaishi/The Chronicle
Nick Spicer, Al-Jazeera’s Washington, D.C. correspondent, said the news organization—which is based in Doha, Qatar—looks to make news less “cookie-cutter” and free of cultural biases.
Students looking forward to Markets and Management Studies’ entrepreneurship program will have to wait. MMS Program Coordinator Bonnie Stevenson said the program has been canceled for the Spring semester. As a result, the highly anticipated course titled “The Start-Up Clinic”—which Elizabeth Spiers, Trinity ’99 and founding editor of Gawker.com, was supposed to teach—will not be offered. Spiers said she found out the program was cancelled in an e-mail Oct. 27 from Gary Hull, a lecturing fellow in sociology who was going to serve as the program’s director. Hull could not be reached for comment Monday. “I thought everything was fine,” she said in an interview with The Chronicle. “But then no one told me anything, and I wasn’t consulted—or communicated with, for that matter—at all during the process.” Spiers initially expressed her dissatisfaction on her Tumblr account Oct. 29. “I now have the unique distinction of having been fired from a job before even starting it,” Spiers wrote. See spiers on page 5
Burr expected to surpass ManoftheHouse Marshall in Senate election by Anna Koelsch THE CHRONICLE
The North Carolina Senate race between North Carolina Secretary of State Democrat Elaine Marshall and incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr is expected to yield a Republican victory. Public Policy Polling’s final poll for the North Carolina Senate election shows Burr leading Marshall 52 to 40 percent. Burr is garnering a Richard Burr larger bipartisan support with 22 percent of the Democratic vote, while Marshall attracted only 6 percent of the Republican vote. Republicans are predicted to have an advantage in this year’s election season.
Duke given a B+ in sustainability report card, Page 3
Gallup’s final poll anticipates a 15 percent lead for Republicans among likely voters. After a party is in power for two years, midterms usually favor the opposition party, said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “It’s a Republican moment right now in the election cycle,” Guillory said. “[But] Senator Burr has benefited from both his own hard work in preparing for the campaign and Elaine Marshall executing the campaign.” Senator Burr’s predicted advantage has been partially attributed to his ability to raise more money than Marshall.
This election day decides the congressional seat for North Carolina’s fourth district, in which Republican B.J. Lawson challenges Democratic incumbent David Price. Price and Lawson spar over the proper role of the federal government in areas including education, economic and health care policy. The New York Times political blog, FiveThirtyEight, forecasts Price winning 58.5 percent of the district, with a 98.5 percent chance of a win. Price’s website touts his legislative record. It says he “supported tough new rules for Wall Street to protect consumers form abuse” and “supported targeted investments in the infrastructure and research that fuels our region’s economy,” among other initiatives. The site notes that Price, a professor of political science and public policy studies at Duke, also has prioritized education by establishing legislation including a tax break on education loans and expansion of the Federal Pell Grant scholarship program. He “supports com-
mon-sense changes in the No Child Left Behind law to improve teacher quality and student performance,” according to his campaign’s website. The Lawson for Congress site states Lawson’s political goal is “to reduce the size and scope of a government that has grown too big.” He opposes the health care bill, saying those who passed it “sacrificed the doctor/patient relationship on a funeral pyre of lobbyist cash from insurance companies and special interests.” Lawson, Engineering ’96 and Medicine ’00, also criticizes Price for supporting the Trouble Assets Relief Program, the auto industry bailout and the Cash-for-Clunkers program. He opposes the Department of Education and instead favors local education. The Duke Student Government, in collaboration with Parking and Transportation Services, will run a shuttle to bring students from the West Campus bus stop to the polls. The shuttle will leave the bus stop every half hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
See senate on page 6
ONTHERECORD
“I see people tarnishing the badge. [Hill] is not in control of the department.”
—Durham Cty. sheriff candidate Ron Taylor on Sheriff Worth Hill. See story page 4
Duke Football takes measures to ensure safety on lifts, Page 7