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, APRIL 14, 2011
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 134
www.dukechronicle.com
DukeEngage Potti hires online reputation manager Firm seeks to remove unfavorable articles from top Google results reflects diverse student body potti investigation
by Lauren Carroll THE CHRONICLE
by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
Go ahead and Google Anil Potti. No longer do the majority of top search results for the former Duke cancer researcher detail allegations that he falsified his resume and produced faulty research that has been retracted from renowned medical journals and led to the termination of three clinical trials. Instead, more than a dozen websites and social media accounts created in the months following Dr. Potti’s November resignation contain solely positive information about his research and medical experience. “During his time at Duke, he had a special interest in taking care of patients with lung cancer and contributed to the development of several programs in cancer,” reads a section of AnilPotti.com, which does not discuss the
terminated trials that a top Duke official has since said should never have been conducted. In recent months, Potti hired Online Reputation Manager, a company that helps clients push down unfavorable content in search engine results. The effort has crowded out coverage of the scandal and retraction notices on medical journals’ websites. Still, for Potti, the results so far appear to be mixed. Searches for his name bring up articles about his missteps published by The New York Times and The Chronicle, though many of the newly created positive sites rank high as well. Online databases show that between Jan. 14 and Jan. 17, at least five sites were registered that combine See potti on page 6
chronicle graphic by courtney douglas
Students from many segments of the Duke community now volunteer through DukeEngage. Statistics provided by the service program show that the demographics of DukeEngage participants generally reflect the race and socioeconomic status of the undergraduate student body. The program consciously considers and values diversity, said Eric Mlyn, director of DukeEngage. The participants who will volunteer in the United States and abroad this summer nearly identically mirror the program’s applicant pool. A total of 8 percent of the students are black, 37 percent Asian, 6 percent Hispanic, 42 percent white and 7 percent selected other or did not specify their race. These rates also reflect the student body at large, which in 2010 was 10 percent black, 26 percent Asian, 7 percent Hispanic, 50 percent white and 7 percent other or not specified. Mlyn said socioeconomic diversity is also a priority for the program, adding that DukeEngage administrators do not want costs to discourage people from applying. Students on need-based financial aid make up 43 percent of all DukeEngage participants this year, which is equal to their representation in the total student body. “I think we’re doing very well,” Mlyn See dukeengage on page 4
Mangum likely faces murder ‘Beer Trucks’ scratched charge after boyfriend’s death from graduation week from Staff Reports THE CHRONICLE
Reginald Daye, the man Crystal Mangum allegedly stabbed April 3, has died. Mangum, the Durham woman who falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury after the incident and Crystal Mangum has been in jail since her arrest. Durham Police Department Chief Jose Lopez told The Herald Sun Wednesday
that the charge against Mangum will likely be upgraded to murder. When police responded April 3 they found that the 46-year-old man had been stabbed in the torso with a kitchen knife. Daye and Mangum had allegedly been arguing about rent money. Mangum was previously arrested in February 2010 following an altercation with a different boyfriend, WRAL reported. Mangum was accused of assaulting the man in front of her children and setting his clothes on fire. She was eventually convicted of injury to personal property, child abuse and resisting a public officer. The arson charge was dismissed because a jury could not reach a verdict.
ONTHERECORD
“Not only do the United States and China have the two largest economies in the world, they also have the most dynamic.”
—Soph. Paul Horak in “Entrepreneurship and Growth.” See column page 11
by Caroline Fairchild THE CHRONICLE
For more than 20 years, “Beer Trucks” has been a fixture of Duke’s commencement week activities, but the Class of 2011 will have to make alternate plans for the night before graduation exercises. Beer Trucks is a traditional event during the weekend of commencement, for which seniors congregate in the Blue Zone to drink free beer and socialize one last time before graduation. Kim Hanauer, director of young alumni and student programs for the Duke Alumni Association, wrote in an email that the DAA was forced to cancel the event this year due to additional budget constraints faced by the association. Beer Trucks, which cost approximately $65,000, was terminated by the
Great Hall promotes eating green, Page 3
DAA in consultation with all University departments involved with Commencement. “While we understand that for many... Beer Trucks was certainly a lot of fun, it was an expensive event and one that we thought was not as pivotal to the success of our overall programs as say Homecoming, Reunions or career/networking programs for students,” Hanauer said. Currently, there is no event planned for Saturday evening in place of Beer Trucks. Hanauer added that the DAA hopes other commencement week events, such as the KickOff Cocktail Party Wednesday and the Back to East event Thursday, will serve as supplementary opportunities for members of the Class of See beer trucks on page 5
Football player composes music for Duke symphony, Page 7