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, MARCH 2, 2011
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 108
www.dukechronicle.com
‘Bull’s Eye’ credited for 10-year crime low DPS admin
reflects on his first year
by Chinmayi Sharma THE CHRONICLE
When it comes to crime-fighting, Durham seems to have hit the bull’s eye. Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez announced Feb. 21 that the city’s crime rate has reached a 10-year all time low and attributed much of the 31 percent drop to “Operation Bull’s Eye,” a sustained effort to concentrate police resources in a two-square-mile portion of northeast Durham identified as an epicenter of crime. The operation, which began in August 2007, has reduced violent gun crime in the area—the initiative’s primary focus— by 57 percent and drug-related calls to 911 by 38 percent, according to the Durham Police Department’s annual report for 2010.
by Tong Xiang THE CHRONICLE
improved an employee’s rights to challenge wage discrimination. The act amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of race and sex. Ledbetter’s search for justice was not an easy one, and she spoke to an audience of about 40 professors and students in Perkins Library yesterday about her endeavors to improve workers’ rights. Her talk celebrated the beginning of Women’s History Month, and was sponsored by the Duke Office for Institutional Equity, Baldwin Scholars and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture. It was followed by a question and answer session moderated by Nancy Zisk, professor at the Charleston School of Law. In her speech, Ledbetter encouraged students who will be entering the workforce soon to take an interest in employee rights. Although Ledbetter’s efforts have strengthened workers’ rights, issues concerning pay inequality still exist today. Now, white women still make 77 cents for every dollar that their male counterparts make, and the discrepancy is even larger for minorities, she noted. Ledbetter had served as a supervisor in four divisions at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Gadsden, Ala., when she received an anonymous note stating that her male counterparts were making $500 more per month than her. “I felt devastated and humiliated when I got that note,” she said. “I got shortchanged not only in my overtime and my pay twice a month, but I get shortchanged today and I will for the rest of my life.” When Ledbetter brought her case before the U.S. District Court of Northern Alabama, the court ruled in her favor and ordered that Goodyear reimburse Ledbetter $3 million—but this
Reflecting on the first year of his tenure, Durham Public Schools Superintendent Eric Becoats said he plans to focus on improving low-performing schools, developing and retaining good teachers, recruiting strong administrators and expanding community partnerships. Becoats—who wore a pinstripe suit, paisley tie and French cuffs—spoke yesterday in the Duke Chapel about his background as a “non-traditional educator.” After graduating with degrees in finance, Becoats began a career in banking. But after working with high school students in a weekend tutoring program, he decided to pursue an administrative position with Baltimore City Public Schools. “I really didn’t want to... continue in banking [because] basically what I was doing was increasing individuals’ debt,” he said. “My heart and soul was making sure that students had what they really needed.” When asked by Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells about the effect of race on education policy in Durham, Becoats skirted the question to speak about general diversity. “I do think that this a prime place to show that diversity can work and that it does work and that it can work in a school system,” he said. “I am an advocate for diversity—you can look at it in terms of gender, socioeconomic status or race.” Both leaders emphasized the need for more community partners to support a school district affected by socioeconomic problems. “You are over the threshold of society’s unresolved issues which all come through your door,” Wells said to Becoats. “And yet you haven’t got a lot of colleagues in addressing those issues.” In response, Becoats identified key partners in the community—the DPS Board of Education, the city government and the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce— with whom he hopes to forge deeper partnerships. “This is a rich community... and people want to help,” Becoats said. “At the end of the day, I want kids to really be able to say to me that I’ve received a quality education and that they can do whatever they desire after school.” This year’s Dean’s Dialogues series aims to examine the Duke-Durham relationship. In the previous two lectures, Wells emphasized the need for Duke students to invest themselves in their community—a theme
See ledbetter on page 5
See becoats on page 5
See bull’s eye on page 12
ted knudsen/chronicle graphic
Ledbetter discusses wage discrimination by Kinnari Bhojani THE CHRONICLE
When Lilly Ledbetter realized her employer of 19 years paid her significantly less than her male counterparts, she was determined to make things fair for herself and other women—and she did. Ledbetter took her case for workers’ rights all the way to the Supreme Court, and later Congress. In January 2009, she became the namesake of the first legislative act President Barack Obama signed into law—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which
tracy huang/The Chronicle
Lilly Ledbetter speaks in Perkins Library Tuesday on employee rights. She noted that women today make 77 cents less on the dollar than their male counterparts
ONTHERECORD
“She was a devoted friend, an intelligent engineer and a true connoisseur with regards to living life to the fullest.”
—Pratt graduate Mollie Oudenhoven on friend Lindsay Rawot See story page 3
Top college basketball teams remain predictable, study says, Page 3
Turkey, Israel gaining political influence, Page 5