November 2, 2020

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The independent news organization at Duke University

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020

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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 14

DKU STUDENTS ‘ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES’ IN U.S.

By Rachel Enggasser Staff Reporter

Some Duke Kunshan University students have found themselves in a strange place this fall: here at Duke.

In a July 7 email to DKU undergraduates, DKU Dean of Students Raphael Moffett and DKU Dean of Undergraduate Studies Marica France announced that Kunshan students “who are both able to get to Duke’s campus by the start of the fall semester” and “whose visa status will allow them to take credit-bearing courses in the US” could study at Duke this fall.

In the end, Duke welcomed 30 DKU students to its Durham campus for the fall and one to the Marine Lab, according to an information document sent to DKU students.

Sophomore Charlie Colasurdo wrote in a Sept. 18 essay in The Chronicle that this came as a “huge sigh of relief.” For the students now living in Durham, the ability to live on any college campus at all was preferable to staying home.

First-year Erica Ham commented on the changes, saying “It’s kind of been weird because you have this expectation of,

Amy Westerhoff | Contributing Photographer (DKU)

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

‘Okay I’m going to China in the fall,’ and you end up at a totally different university in America.”

For junior Catherine Brenner, studying at the Duke Marine Lab, the decision to stay in North Carolina was not spontaneous.

Brenner had been planning to spend her junior fall semester at the Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C., since hearing about it in her first year. DKU students are encouraged to spend at least one summer term and one fall term at Duke during their undergraduate experience. The classes offered at the Marine Lab would be a crucial addition to her existing environmental science curriculum.

“It was pretty smooth as far as ending up here,” Brenner said.

“I was very fortunate in that regard. This was Plan A for me.

Now that I’m here I just love it.”

The only thing that’s changed is Brenner’s new plan to remain for the spring semester rather than returning to China.

Photos: Duke Kunshan University (left), the Duke Marine Lab (center), Duke students on the Bryan Center plaza at the beginning of the fall semester (right).

“The opportunities that I’ve had here, the way research is supported out here and the friends I’ve met that are also staying next semester are really what’s keeping me,” she said.

Brenner said that she has also enjoyed spending more time outdoors, especially spotting dolphins during long runs on the beach.

Similarly, Ham has continued her passion for music by joining the Duke Marching Band.

Ham had initially come to terms with the fact that it would most likely be a year before she could play clarinet with others.

That changed when she learned about Duke’s invite for DKU students to continue their education in Durham.

“When I found out I would be able to go to Duke, I was like, ‘oh my gosh. Maybe I can play clarinet with some people,’” Ham said.

Junior Samantha Tsang, who ultimately decided to take classes from home, has also been able to find the simple joys in her decision.

“I’ll say that the main thing that I really like about online learning See DKU on Page 2

Rebecca Schneid | Sports Photography Editor

First-years make plans for extra-long break engineering firm in her town. Though she says that she expects to be a “glorified secretary” due to not having much engineering knowledge yet, Player is excited to “learn the ropes” of civil

By Ayra Charania Staff Reporter

Charles York | News Photography Editor Students build a snowman in front of the Chapel in 2018. This year, an extended winter break will last from Nov. 24 to Jan. 20.

VOTE

IN

In past years, first-year Nicole Bolton—who is vegetarian— couldn’t eat much of the food that appeared on her family’s Thanksgiving dinner table. This year, she is excited to start her winter break with one of the few vegetarian foods her family cooks: sweet potato casserole.

“We don’t make ours with marshmallows. We make it with crushed up cornflakes on top, which is the best way to do it in my opinion,” Bolton explained.

Bolton is one of many students who is excited to finally have a chance to return home and spend time with family as winter break approaches. Spanning from Nov. 24 to Jan. 20, this year’s winter break is over twice as long as previous years’. Bolton plans to occupy this abundance of time by resuming her job at Harris Teeter.

“Considering most people don’t wear a mask, I do not like my job that much,” Bolton said. “But I like talking to people that do wear masks.”

Fellow first-year Ruth Player also plans to work during her winter break. Player is currently applying for a job at an

NORTH CAROLINA

See BREAK on Page 2

INSIDE 2020 election preview See who’s on the ballot, read professors’ predictions and hear what students are thinking as Election Day approaches.

INSIDE SECTION

Spring arts courses There is a vast array of arts courses offered next semester.

Here are some of the most interesting.

PAGE 5

Making gratitude a habit Make sure to say “thank ya,” the dean of Duke Chapel writes in a column.

PAGE 11

LEARN HOWAT---------

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The Chronicle

Blue Devils get involved in monumental election Grad student runs for local office

By Rosa Golchin Contributing Reporter

Anjali Boyd, a first-year doctoral student at the Nicholas School of the Environment, is running for Durham Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor on a platform of education, environmental justice and economic development.

A Durham native, Boyd is making her bid for supervisor after serving as an associate supervisor for the Soil and Water Conservation District. Her campaign team—composed entirely of other Durham natives—embodies her connection to the city she hopes to serve, and she has received endorsements from Durham Mayor Steve Schewel, the Sierra Club and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, among others.

Boyd completed her early education in Durham and gained a degree in marine science from Eckerd College in Florida. She is studying at the Nicholas School as a Dean’s Graduate Fellow.

“From a Durham perspective, there is a big emphasis on giving back and helping each other,” Boyd said. She emphasized that her connection to her hometown prepares her to take on the district supervisor role, as it gives her a unique perspective on what life and the community is like. “That comes into play a lot when you think about the fact that this position has a large advocacy role at the state and national level,” she said.

Boyd is acquainted with environmental health issues in Durham and emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of addressing such issues.

She has spent her career at the intersection of conservation, health and environmental justice, and, some of her policies include developing innovative ways to sell produce during the pandemics, such as utilizing mobile farmer’s markets. This both addresses food insecurity in Durham and supports economic well-being of farmers in a time when demand for their

DKU FROM PAGE 1 is the flexibility and the ability to structure my day outside of classes however I want,” Tsang said.

“Now I have more time to maybe get a workout in or cook more often. Cooking is one of my hobbies, so I really like that it’s giving me that opportunity. That’s been a plus.”

For those who chose to come to North Carolina, transitioning has brought challenges.

DKU students living in Durham have schedules consisting of both DKU and Duke classes. Based on time zone differences, DKU is 12 hours ahead of Duke.

This has led to wonky schedules— including late night and early morning lectures—with some classes carrying over into the weekend.

Ham’s schedule consists of Chinese at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, chemistry at 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and a lab at 7 a.m. on Friday.

On top of juggling time differences, DKU classes run quarterly rather than Duke’s semester system. This has forced students with mixed schedules to adapt to new DKU class schedules while staying the course in others.

As a DKU first-year living in Durham, Ham has found her place in Duke’s Class of 2024 while also meeting her DKU peers both virtually and in-person. Despite the divide, Ham has been able to keep in touch with friends from both schools.

She first met her DKU peers last spring

NC organizer left ‘dream job’ at Duke to get involved

By Chris Kuo Features Managing Editor

Courtesy of Anjali Boyd Anjali Boyd, a first-year doctoral student at the Nicholas School, is running for Durham Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.

products has decreased, she said.

“Currently, about one-third of small farmers are projected to go bankrupt by the end of the year because of the pandemic,” Boyd explained. She proposed increasing investment in e-commerce platforms to help farmers supplement their income and expanding high-speed internet to rural areas. She added that many small companies in the Triangle area have expressed interest in working with the district supervisor to accomplish these tasks.

As a scientist running to serve in a policy role, Boyd is aware of the lag in incorporating new scientific research in policy-making.

“The one thing about science—it’s very powerful and it’s very strong, but it moves very, very slow, especially compared to things like policy and other sectors of our economy,” she said. “By the time we have a scientific breakthrough, it can take years for it to get to the See STUDENT on Page 3

through Zoom. Not only because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus, she said, but also because the students come from all across the globe.

On campus, Colasurdo said that most of the DKU first-years and sophomores are spread across Craven Quad and have continued to foster community among themselves while also meeting new people.

These efforts have helped to meld the first-year class into the DKU and Durham communities simultaneously.

“I’ve actually been doing pretty well in terms of feeling like I’m included. It’s also what you make of it in this situation—I could totally be stressed and worry about everything or I could just try to make the most of it,” Ham said.

Even in challenging times, these DKU students have kept a positive attitude in their transition to life in Durham.

“We’re all equally prepared, it’s just how willing we are to roll with the punches,” Brenner said.

BREAK FROM PAGE 1 engineering and observe what the engineers do on a daily basis.

“It’s what I would like to do, and I know someone who works there... so I think it’ll be a good match,” Player said.

In contrast, first-year Daisja Honorable plans to do anything but work during her winter break.

In early June, as protests proliferated across the country over the killing of George Floyd

by Minneapolis police officers, B. J. Rudell noticed that many of the protesters were white.

“That really hit me, as a privileged white guy, thinking, finally the country is changing.

And what am I doing?” he said.

Married and the father of three young children, he didn’t feel safe physically joining the protests.

“But I needed to do something,” he said.

“And I didn’t want to be a coward.”

He emailed the North Carolina Democratic Party and told them he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to elect Democrats. Then, in July, he quit his job as associate director of Duke’s Polis: Center for Politics and became a field organizer for North Carolina Democrats. Volunteering for a couple hours a week wouldn’t be enough.

He wanted to go all in.

“This decision might seem rash. My Duke job was my dream job since Day 1,” he wrote in a July LinkedIn post announcing his resignation. “But leaving the sidelines has never felt more right or more necessary.

After working with hundreds of students seeking to discover their political truths, I’m now focusing on mine—as it should be, given the stakes.”

Bob Clement and then later helped with former Democratic Senator Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign. (Among his many non-political pursuits, he has written about fantasy football for SportsIllustrated. com and has spent years performing and directing improv comedy.)

In the days when he first became involved in politics, compromise was still possible, he said. He recalls that during his time on Capitol Hill, he worked with some of the most conservative senators and representatives to provide funding for historically Black colleges and universities.

The Republican Party used to be a party with conviction and ideals, rooted in notions of limited government, Rudell said.

Now, it has become a party oriented solely around Trump.

See ORGANIZER on Page 3

Believing and following through

“I’ve never really been a fighter when it comes to politics,” Rudell told me on a call in mid-September. “I’ve been wearing armor around my partisanship for most of my life.”

After graduating from Davidson College in 1995, Rudell worked as legislative assistant for former Democratic U.S. Representative

Courtesy of B.J. Rudell B.J. Rudell left his “dream job” to become a Democratic field organizer in North Carolina.

Hoping to recover from a concussion in a and non-greasy foods. stress-free environment, Honorable says she can’t “Arby’s chicken tenders, chicken tikka wait to rest at home and misses being able to sleep masala and tandoori chicken are my favorites all day. Honorable also expressed her excitement for Thanksgiving, 10 out of 10,” she said. at seeing her two pitbulls again and eating “Better than Tandoor.”

Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s home.

She also cannot wait to see her fluffy gray Honorable isn’t the only first-year planning cat named Bean. Hassan has owned Bean to take the break easy, as first-year Graham Curtis since March and misses her greatly. also plans to relax and engage in his family’s usual “I love her more than I love anything Thanksgiving traditions to start off the break. He including my friends,” Hassan said. “She is very says his family always kind and genuinely enjoys starts Thanksgiving by affection unlike Peaches First-year Ruth Player watching the Macy’s and Mama Bean who only is excited to “learn the Thanksgiving Day want what you can provide Parade and the National ropes” of civil engineering, them which is food and Dog Show. when they feel while her classmate Daisja attention “We always go like it.”

Honorable plans to do for the American Hassan says she also Staffordshire terrier feels glad to finally get anything but work. just because our dog is a break from classes, a pitbull and that’s the projects, investment closest thing you can get,” Curtis said. club, and “econ bros.” However, she insists Curtis and his family alternate between that she will miss her economics professors having dinner at their home or a family friend’s despite desiring a break from the subject. home. They end the day watching the Charlie “I will miss Jason Brent. I got his name Brown Thanksgiving holiday special. tattooed temporarily onto my calf,” Hassan For Christmas, Curtis says they do not said. “I simp for all of the bald genius have any set traditions like they do for economics professors. [Connel] Fullenkamp, Thanksgiving. However, he is excited to be can I sign your big, bald head?” able to spend time with his sister during Despite missing her economics professors, Christmas and spend the holiday in an Hassan believes it is necessary to have a Airbnb in Asheville, N.C. long break to fully relax after a stressful, Although first-year Zahra Hassan also does condensed semester. not have any holiday traditions, she is happy “I could not fully take in Jason Brent’s to start her first day of break with homegenius during the semester,” she said. cooked South Asian food for Thanksgiving. “Therefore, the break is welcomed to truly Hassan particularly misses eating vegetables reflect on all I’ve learned.”

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ORGANIZER FROM PAGE 2 “It would be frightening to me, as a Democrat, if people were so wrapped up in a Democratic candidate that they were willing to sell their morality just for power, just for influence,” he said.

During Trump’s presidency, the “armor” around Rudell’s partisanship began to corrode.

Rudell described a Sept. 6 Facebook post in which he challenged his conservative friends to “Name the line [Trump] must cross for [them] not to support him.” If he called his supporters “losers” and “suckers”? If he lost the election and refused to leave?

“No one came forward,” he said. “I have a lot of conservative friends. And very candidly, I’m angry with them. I think they’re cowards right now.”

Rudell came to Duke in September 2016. His work with POLIS has focused on increasing civic engagement, particularly among students. For the 2018 midterm elections, he created Duke Votes, a program to increase student voting. He also hosted a podcast, “The Political Student,” that tells the stories of politically active Duke students.

“I think that he really believes in younger generations, and I think that’s what made him such a great fit for his role at Duke, which is working with college students,” said senior Amelia Steinbach, who said Rudell helped her find an internship on Capitol Hill. She noted that most field organizers are young and straight out of college—not married with three kids.

“I think he just has a lot of faith in our ability to make change,” she said. “He wants to be alongside our generation while we’re doing that.”

Junior Katherine Gan said Rudell’s encouragement was pivotal in her decision

to take a yearlong leave of absence after her sophomore year to do electoral organizing for Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders. She wasn’t surprised when she heard of Rudell’s decision.

“He is someone who doesn’t just say things. He wants to follow through. If he feels very deeply about something, he wants to be directly involved,” Gan said.

‘A chance to be uncomfortable’

Every Friday night, Rudell meets virtually with more than a dozen volunteers. One recent discussion was about police brutality and protesting, he said. T he group was a demographic hodgepodge—people of differing ages, races, genders and ideologies, including some Republicans.

Rudell enjoys “just hearing them listen to each other and talk about what all this means to them based on their experience,” he said. “I like the fact that there are spaces now virtually where people know they’re not alone.”

These are the moments Rudell cherishes.

There are others, too, like when he had the chance to speak at an event with Jill Biden and told the audience: “This is not an age for bystanders. It’s an age for activists.”

Still, the job has also taken an emotional toll, he said.

“Simultaneously knowing that there’s so much pain out there, so much injustice, and that what I’m doing is just trying to scratch the surface. I’m just trying to help in a very tiny way… It feels futile and necessary all at the same time,” he said.

For the moment, he’s glad to be uncomfortable. All his life, as a “straight white guy,” he has benefitted from great privilege, he said. Now, he’s trying something new.

“I will never know what it’s like to be uncomfortable my entire life,” he said.

“This is a chance to be uncomfortable for a few months.”

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 | 3

ON DUKECHRONICLE.COM Duk suspends 1 additional campus organization, imposes sanctions on 75 more students for COVID-19 violations

BY MONA TONG | 10/30/2020 The Office of Student Conduct or Housing and Residence Life has imposed sanctions— which go on students’ conduct records—on 179 students since Aug. 7, and Duke has suspended 5 campus groups.

Duke Twitter account’s meme criticized for racial insensitivity

BY MADELEINE BERGER | 10/28/2020 An @DukeU tweet was criticized for its racially insensitive content and sparked heated dialogue regarding the University’s history.

Take The Chronicle’s first-year survey for chance to win $100 If you’re a first-year student, spend 10-15 minutes filling out our survey and be entered to win a $100 prize (your choice of Venmo transfer or Amazon gift card): chron.it/2024survey

STUDENT FROM PAGE 2 public and become public knowledge.”

Despite this, Boyd believes her connection to the scientific community can help bring the district to the cutting edge of scientific research—which she said gives her a unique advantage in the race.

“My uniqueness comes from my ability to combine my experiences growing up here in Durham with the education and the science expertise which I have accumulated over the years,” she said.

Boyd highlighted the importance of bringing women of color into the role of Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor. She pointed to the fact that out of more than 450 soil and water supervisors in the state, only three are Black women. Correcting this imbalance is part of what inspired her to run, she said.

“It is important to acknowledge the fact that this field is not diverse,” she said.

“I think having more representation from Black women, women of color and women in general is really important.”

Nyla Bennett, a longtime friend of Boyd’s from high school, told The Chronicle that voters should know that Boyd “sees what’s happening and wants to make a difference one step at a time,” and that “she always puts her best foot forward.”

Bennett also applauded Boyd’s ability to uplift those around her, inspiring others with her motivation.

“Everything that she does is with good intent,” she said.

Boyd said voters should vote for her “not just for the science and the fact that I’m a Durham native and know the community well, but because I represent a very underserved population in this field and I think it is important to elevate the voices of more women of color,” she said.

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the chronicle

november 2, 2020

recess recess

registration season

Recess highlights some of the most fascinating spring arts course offerings, page 5

reconnecting with bright black Local candle artisans collaborate with big names, page 6

pursuit of happiness

Staff writer Eva Hong reflects on happiness during COVID, page 5

The Chronicle

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recess what would make you happy?

Sarah Derris ................ community

Stephen Atkinson ........ healthcare

Sydny Long .................living wage

Skyler Graham ...... free education

Kerry Rork ...................mutual aid

Jonathan Pertile ...housing access

Tessa Delgo ..................... stability

Derek Chen ...........transformation

on the cover: “cows on the homestead”

by Sarah Derris

staff note

My sophomore year, I had an existential crisis. Instead of going to CAPS, I chose to pester my poor friends with the soulsearching, philosophically cliché but perpetual question of humanity: “What is the purpose of your life?” Turned out they happened to be my friends for a reason, as almost all of them seriously considered this daunting question and gave me their most solemn answers: “I want to start a family, have kids and be able to support them comfortably.”

“I want to start my own company and continue to push the boundaries of human innovation.”

“I want to be a useful person to society.

Make an impact in the lives of those around me and even beyond.”

campus arts

What was to me the most unremarkable answer at the time, but what was in fact the most remarkable according to my memory, was this: “I just want to be happy.”

I was shocked by this response, outraged even. Given the platform and opportunities we have available at our hand, how could one only think about one’s own happiness? It seemed very selfish and unambitious. I felt that I would sacrifice my happiness any day for many other things — family, glory, fame, a better world and — though it had been extremely difficult to admit this to myself, let alone here in my staff note that is to be released to the world — perhaps for money, too.

It’s nothing I haven’t done before. I certainly sacrificed my happiness in the last two years of my high school to ensure that I was the best

in everything I did, so that my parents would be prouder than any other parent in the room at my graduation, and I could bathe in the culminating satisfaction of achievement that gave a much better high than mundane, everyday happiness. Or so I thought.

I was still doing it at Duke often, sacrificing my happiness to get those A’s in my double major and certificate, that internship at the most prestigious organization or this research position with the most renowned professor. I even sacrificed sleep, which I found is a determining factor for my happiness, to try to get into particular social groups, where hanging out with people felt more like homework than a pastime.

But it would all be worth it, right? After all, it is the preaching of Thomas Jefferson when he wrote those historical lines into the Constitution, the moral lesson of the classic American-Dream movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” and the value system that my Asian parents so ingrained in me ever since my youth — hard work shall always prevail. And I was this tenet’s most fervent believer.

Until I realized that hard work doesn’t always prevail, perhaps beaten by harder work sometimes. Until the effect of delayed gratification started to wear off, and I only felt relief when I got back those A’s and internship offers instead of triumph. Until COVID hit, and “the future” seemed more contrived of an idea than ever.

Facing the many forms of grief in the beginning of quarantine life, I reverted to my default coping mechanisms and overcompensated for my losses by overworking myself, so that I could fake-feel some sense of control over life that is but an embryo and direction in a world that is but chaos. Of course, it didn’t quite work.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 | 5

I started to think more and more often about my philosophical quest in sophomore year and the answer about happiness. When was the last time I was genuinely happy? Most recently, it had been my dad’s birthday where we decided to ransack the ready-made section at a local grocery store during its last-halfhour of operation. Before that, it was when my study-abroad cohort visited a secluded farm in Normandy where the duck confit was sublime and the horses probably needed to be brushed. In both cases, there was no honor, no applause, no shadow of the future weighing on my consciousness. Just a pure, peaceful gratitude for being alive.

Gradually, I’ve come to notice that, though not as intensively, this joy can also be experienced in the small things of life. I felt it when I was forced to take up cooking and baking, just like everybody else, and was able to present surprisingly delicious dishes to my family. I felt it when I had to use hiking as an excuse to get some fresh air and be reminded that there was still a world existing out of my house, and was delighted to discover the beauty of wildflowers and yellowed grass. I also felt it when I finally had time on Friday night to read the many books that had stayed on my list for two years, not having to worry about missing out on some fun-sounding parties that only turned out to be mistakes.

Charlie Sheen once said, “Life all comes down to a few moments.” I used to agree with this quote, but now I think it is too simplistic of a conclusion. If asked again, would I still choose to sacrifice my small joys for some larger-than-life promises? I don’t know. But hey, maybe it really takes an apocalypse for us to figure out how to live this life.

—Eva Hong, staff writer

recess

The Recess guide to Spring arts course registration

By Tess Redman Contributing Writer

One of the most nerve-wracking things about this semester so far is the fact that my bookbag is almost 50 classes full, and I might not get into a single one of them. Despite having the last registration window, I bookbagged for the spring semester with reckless abandon. I couldn’t help scouring the course catalog, A to Z, and picking out every class that seems remotely interesting — especiall the vast array of arts offerings. Below are some of our favorite offerings across the arts and humanities for the upcoming semester.

ARTHIST 225: Gothic Cathedrals If there’s one thing that stands out about Duke, it’s the outstanding Gothic architecture — specifically the gorgeous Duke Chapel. In this course, students will become acquainted with famous gothic buildings of medieval Europe and learn about their artistic, religious, technological and social significance. This course has two sections, both online, taught by Edward Triplett, instructor of art, art history & visual studies.

AAAS 228S/ENGLISH 379S/LIT382S: Fictions that Mark the Moment This course studies historical, speculative, postcolonial, experimental, scientific and magical realistic fiction and the ethical frameworks within different novels from important moments in history, as the title of the course suggests. This course is also taught online by Wahneema Lubiano, associate professor of African and African American studies.

DANCE 208S/DOCST 313S/ECON 247S/I&E 310S/MUSIC 310S/PUBPOL 318S/ THEATRST 310: Introduction to Non-Profit Cultural Institutions A truly interdisciplinary course, “Introduction to Non-Profit Cultural Institutions” educates students on the role of non-profit cultural

institutions in the U.S. arts community through regular instruction; in-class, student-led interviews with institutional leaders; cultural experiences, which invite students to explore local cultural venues and participate in arts events; and a servicelearning project: working with the Durham Audio Described Art (DADA) project. Experts from Arts Access, a North Carolina organization dedicated to making the arts accessible to those with disabilities, assist students with describing local, public art for the benefit of the visually impaired.

This semester’s service learning project is deeply personal to instructor Daniel Ellison.

“The DADA project is one that, with the assistance of the nonprofit Arts Access, Inc., I helped to develop. My mother has been blind for the past 12 years, and so the project is inspired, in large part, by wanting to be able to share the arts with my mom.”

Ellison is a Durham attorney who practices arts law. He engages with the local arts community by representing non-profit arts organizations, including helping them achieve tax-exempt status (a topic discussed in the course); serving on councils, committees, and boards, of various arts organizations in the city and beyond; and working directly with artists themselves. He is passionate about arts accessibility — hence the DADA project. In addition to Introduction to Non-Profit Cultural Institutions, he teaches a class called Legal Issues for the Performing Arts (unfortunately, that class will not be offered in the upcoming semester).

Introduction to Non-profit Cultural Institutions is a hybrid course, so on-campus and remote students can participate.

WRITING Courses For freshmen who have not yet completed their Writing 101 requirement, there are plenty of arts-related Writing classes available in the spring. For example, in WRITING 101-43: Beyond Machos and Virgins - Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Film, students

Photo by Jim Liu | The Chronicle With spring registration now open, students often find the countless course decisions overwhelming.

examine cinema from Latin America, paying special attention to representations of Latinx sexual and gender culture. The three main assignments are a film review geared towards the general public, a more analytical, research-based review, and a final product, the culmination of research on a topic of interest regarding gender and sexuality in the Latin American community.

Another possibility is WRITING 10133: Writing about Music. This course is just what it sounds like, and in addition to writing about music, students read criticisms of it. Writing assignments include reflections on musical compositions from an array of genres, a personal essay, and a research paper. At the end of the semester, select student work will be compiled into a zine.

Half-credit courses Want to make the most of that 4.5 credit limit? Plenty of arts classes are only halfcredit courses. For those of you on-campus

who are eager for more in-person classes, consider taking a dance course. Elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels of modern, ballet, African, jazz, and interdisciplinary dance are all being offered this spring. Additionally, Kundalini Yoga (DANCE 151) will be offered.

You can also find a plethora of half-credit music courses on individual instruments or ensembles. One such course is the Duke University Chorale (MUSIC 213-3).

“Singing in the Chorale this fall has filled a deep need that many of our singers find even more meaningful in the midst of the current health crisis,” said director Rodney Wynkoop. Any veteran or wannabe singers (on or off campus) can sign up for an audition and finish the second half of the year as a Chorale member.

Obviously there are way too many amazing arts courses to showcase them all here. Make sure to check out the countless classes in documentary studies, art history, theater studies, dance, music, and more before registration!

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The Chronicle

local arts

Match made in heaven: Bright Black Candles collabs with big names

By Ben Smith Staff Writer

Throughout the year, local businesses across the United States have been posed with many COVID-related challenges, and that has certainly been the case in Durham for local candle crafters Bright Black Candles. The Chronicle previously profiled both Bright Black Candles and Bougie Luminaries in Feb. this year. Both Durham-based businesses are Blackowned, local candle making outfits focused on educating about and drawing awareness to their cultures. However, as the pandemic swept through the United States and the Black Lives Matter movement became even more prevalent, Bright Black Candles was faced with new challenges, was endorsed by Beyoncé and has collaborated with the likes of Jordan Peele and Michelle Obama.

Black Bright Candles, co-owned and founded by Tiffany Griffin and her husband Daniel Heron, has the mission to “tell stories of Black greatness through the artistic medium of scent.” Sales in early 2020 were already off to a good start, but their business model was greatly transformed throughout the year.

“Scent art inherently requires one to be present to fully experience it,” Griffin said in an email. “The lack of physical interaction in the midst of this pandemic has been tough and has required me to be incredibly vivid in my scent descriptions to convey what we’re trying to communicate through our various scent designs. Taking scent art virtual has been tough, but we’ve risen to the challenge.”

Bright Black had to move business almost entirely online, but another bombshell event would affect them later in the year.

In the wake of the police killing of George

Floyd and prominent protests for racial justice, people across the country looked to support small, Black-owned businesses. Bright Black Candles had so many orders that they had to streamline their offerings at the time to meet demand. Then, on Juneteenth, Beyonce curated a list of Black-owned businesses on her website and included Bright Black.

“That day was like every other day this summer — grinding away in our basement, trying to make candles and juggle family life,” Griffin said in an email regarding the day she heard about Beyonce’s endorsement. “We’ve had to make some major pivots, halting online sales, implementing longer shipping windows, delaying wholesale deliveries until we shipped all online sales and saying ‘no’ to opportunities because of our constrained capacity. More recently, we’ve leased a commercial space that we hope to move into soon and procured equipment that should help with production moving forward.”

In a July interview with WUNC, Griffin said that while she and Dariel were “incredibly grateful that, out of all the businesses to support, so many people chose [them],” they were also mindful of their emerging responsibility. That responsibility and new demand did not stop with Beyoncé’s endorsement. As the summer progressed, Bright Black was approached by other high profile individuals for collaborations. Jordan Peele and HBO approached them with a partnership on his new show. Michelle Obama reached out in a “get out the vote” effort in collaboration with When We All Vote.

“These were both collaborations of a lifetime, and let’s just say that when Michelle Obama asks you to collaborate, you collaborate,” Griffin said in an email. “Prioritization, particularly in such a new business and in a completely bootstrapped

Courtesy of Bright Black Candles

Black Bright Candles is co-owned and founded by Tiffany Griffin and her husband Daniel Heron. business… is incredibly tough. [The quality of our work] is always of the utmost importance.”

The opportunities and challenges presented to Bright Black this year have also made it more difficult for them to work on several of the projects they initially intended to this year. Earlier this year, Griffin told The Chronicle that they looked to partner with local museums and businesses to educate the general public on the art of scentmaking. They have partnered with the Durham Co-op and local soap-making company Fillaree, as well as designing many custom scents for local partners, but they’re still hoping to work with museums in the future.

“The Durham arts scene is incredibly dynamic, powerful, supportive, bold and community-

recess

Duke Opera Theater

Saturday, November 7 8 pm EST ONLINE: https://sites.duke.edu/bestofbiddle/ Virtual performance of Italian opera arias, opera choruses, and symphonic overtures featuring Duke Opera Theater, directed by David Heid, with special guests the Duke Symphony Orchestra (Harry Davidson, music director) and Duke Chorale (Rodney Wynkoop, director).

To make the event more fun, take part in a special take-and-bake meal option prepared for Duke Opera Theater fans by Durham’s award winning Alley 26 restaurant.

Must pre-order! Contact David Heid (dheid@duke.edu) for menu and ordering details.

minded,” Griffin said in an email.

Bright Black has been regularly supporting that community by donating to local funds such as the Northstar Artist Relief Fund, and they ask that others do the same. The goal of economic and racial equality is paramount to Griffin, and she asks Duke students to consume mindfully in Durham.

“If [our values] include supporting real people with real families, real dreams and real bills, then that most likely means consuming locally and/or with small businesses,” Griffin said in an email.

The Bright Black website reopens for all sales Nov. 1, and the craft of beautiful scents will shine all the brighter following their exciting and challenging opportunities.

The Chronicle

dukechronicle.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 | 7

sportswrap

the chronicle

november 2, 2020

DAY OF THE DEVIL FOOTBALL: SPOOKS PAST CHARLOTTE CROSS COUNTRY: COUNTRY: SHINES AT ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS

COURTESY OF THE ACC

sports

8 | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020

dukechronicle.com

The Chronicle

FOOTBALL

Duke’s crazy win embraces Halloween spirit

By Spencer Levy Associate Sports Editor

When the sun sets on Halloween evenings, nothing seems to go as it should. The last time the Blue Devils hit the field on the final day of October, eight laterals and an array of missed calls resulted in the infamous 2015 last-second loss to Miami.

This Halloween, 274 yards and 19 six scores on the ground led the Blue CLT to a commanding 53-19 victory DUKE 53 Devils against Charlotte. But typical of the holiday, it was the unusual numbers and events that tell another story of how Duke turned in its second win of the year.

“It ended up being a very unique game,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “With a short field, we only had the ball for 17-and-a-half minutes. And you score 53 points—it’s almost impossible to do.”

On just the second play of the game, quarterback Chase Brice handed the ball off to senior running back Deon Jackson, who ran it 65 yards into the end zone for a touchdown just 25 seconds into the game. In most contests, a scoring drive that lasts less than a minute would be an anomaly. But on Halloween, nothing is out of the realm of possibility.

On Duke’s third possession of the game, the Blue Devils needed only four plays and 57 seconds for Mataeo Durant to finish off the drive with a three-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Then, early in the second quarter, Duke scored again.

On the second play of the drive, Durant ran 60 yards up the middle to set the team up in the red zone. Two plays later, the junior darted 10 yards into the end zone to give the Blue Devils a 24-0 advantage. This drive took all of 47 seconds.

Time of possession is one measure used to determine how well a team is playing, but that was not the case this time out.

Duke held possession of the ball for less than half that of Charlotte, 17:33 compared to 42:27.

That wasn’t the only abnormal part of Saturday’s contest, though.

After barely missing a blocked punt on Charlotte’s first boot, the Blue Devils made contact on the second, with freshman safety Isaiah Fisher-Smith tipping the ball and setting up Duke with great field position at the 49er 31-yard-line.

But Fisher-Smith wasn’t done.

Early in the third quarter, Fisher-Smith helped out his offense once again, blocking his second punt of the game.

This one downed the ball at the five-yard-line, with Jackson promptly running it into the end zone to put Duke ahead 31-7.

Cutcliffe noted after the game that he and special teams coach Kirk Benedict did envision the potential for another blocked punt after Duke did just that last time out at N.C. State, but few could have expected multiple blocked kicks from the same player, a freshman at that.

“Kirk and I sit down on Mondays on our normal day off and we go through all of that,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re always going to look at fake opportunities, block opportunities— anything to try to gain a winning edge.”

Even after all that, the oddities of Saturday’s game were far from over.

Late in the third quarter, the 49ers put together a 15-play, 83-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. Down by 18 points, Charlotte decided to go for two and set up a screen pass to an offensive lineman. The backward pass was fumbled and the Blue Devils recovered, taking it all the way to the other end zone for a two-point score to widen their lead to 39-19.

Charlotte then caught Duke off guard with an onside kick up the middle that the kicking team recovered. However, the 49ers were flagged for blocking inside the 10-yard designated area, calling for another kickoff. This time, Charlotte floated the ball in the air past the 10-yard area and recovered again, but yet another penalty flag hit the grass and an instant replay showed that the Blue Devil receiver called for a fair catch. As a result, Duke gained possession on top of a 49er penalty.

Then, on the final kickoff of the evening following Duke’s sixth and final rushing touchdown, the Blue Devils were called for a five-yard equipment penalty as a result of

sports

running out two players both wearing the number 46: senior Aaron Wright and redshirt freshman Mason Russell.

All in all, Duke notching a win against Charlotte was not unusual, but almost every part of the win was. The seemingly impossible became probable, and the unknown became reality. At the end of the day, in its first Halloween game in five seasons and in a year unlike any other, maybe it all should’ve been expected.

Courtesy of the ACC

Freshman Isaiah Fisher-Smith blocked two punts Saturday, only one aspect of a very unusual contest.

CROSS COUNTRY

Blue Devils impress at ACC Championships

By Evan Kolin Sports Editor

After legendary men’s head coach Norm Ogilvie retired this past summer, it was a new era for now-men’s and women’s head coach Rhonda Riley and the Duke cross country program.

It’s safe to say that new era is off to a strong start.

The women’s and men’s teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in Friday’s ACC Championships in Cary, N.C., both programs’ best finishes since 2012. Three runners earned All-ACC honors by finishing in the top 21 of their respective races, with senior Michaela Reinhart and sophomore Samantha Schadler finishing fourth and 10th overall, respectively, on the women’s side and senior CJ Ambrosio finishing 16th overall for the men.

The N.C. State women dominated en route to their fifth straight conference crown, while Notre Dame took home its second men’s title in three years. Both winners were selected as

Courtesy of Reagan Lunn/Duke Athletics

Sophomore Samantha Schadler placed in 10th for the women.

the preseason favorites back in September.

North Carolina finished fifth in the women’s race and seventh in the men’s race.

Last season, Duke placed ninth on the women’s side and seventh on the men’s side, with no runners bringing in All-ACC honors. So what allowed the Blue Devils to make such a big jump this year?

“As a combined program, there’s just been a lot more positive energy,” Schadler said. “And I know a lot of people have noticed similar things. I just think that coming to practice every day with people who want to be there, and people who are excited to put in the work, but also excited to support their teammates in the process, just has helped us all and our individual performances.

“And so I think just having the team behind me, and knowing that I’m racing for something bigger than myself, was kind of the biggest thing that helped me make that jump.”

Schadler, who competed in only one meet during her freshman season due to injury, placed within the top three of the team in each of the Blue Devil women’s two regular-season races this year. But the Arizona native saved her best for the biggest meet of them all.

While she placed just 39th overall at the three-kilometer mark and 20th at the 4.7-kilometer mark of the sixth-kilometer race, Schadler continued to move up right until the finish line, including passing “about 10 people” in the final 600 meters. Her performance Friday is undoubtedly a great sign for the future of the program.

“For her to come out and have a great season for us and to place second [on the team] and top 10 in the ACC was incredible,” Riley said. “Her confidence has grown each week, each workout, each race. And we’re just getting started with her and excited to have her the next three years.”

Reinhart—who finished 22nd, 20th and 16th at the ACC Championships her previous three seasons—also credited her improvement to the team culture, specifically being more “relaxed” before races.

“We’ve done a much better job about realizing that it’s a race, and an important race, but also just a race,” Reinhart said. “And that racing is a gift.”

Following Reinhart and Schadler on the women’s side

was senior Amanda Beach in 26th place and junior Sara Platek in 27th. Beach’s performance marked her best finish in the ACC Championships since placing 17th her freshman season, while Platek greatly improved upon her 47th-place finish from last year.

Freshman Charlotte Tomkinson rounded out the scoring for the women with a 49th-place finish, an astounding feat for someone who wasn’t recruited as a pure distance runner. “[Tomkinson] is an 800-meter specialist, so she has had an incredible season that has surprised a lot of people and herself,” Riley said. “We’ve had a lot of fun just seeing her develop and, again, know that the next four years with her are going to be outstanding.”

Sophomore Clara Savchik and senior Helen Williams finished off the women’s team’s top seven in 56th and 75th place, respectively, in the 134-person race.

For the men, Ambrosio once again got out fast and did his best to stick with the top of the pack. The Ohio native placed as high as third overall at the 3.8-kilometer mark of the eightkilometer race, and while he couldn’t quite finish that high, his strategy to start out strong undoubtedly helped him improve upon his 26th and 43rd-place finishes in his previous two ACC Championship races.

“CJ had a lot of confidence based off his last race,” Riley said.

“Getting out that hard is one of his strengths.”

Sophomore Zach Kinne, junior Chris Theodore, senior Josh Romine, freshmen Austin Gabay and Jared Kreis, and sophomore Sam Rivera rounded out the men’s top seven in 22nd, 25th, 33rd, 40th, 46th and 56th-place, respectively, in the 135-person race.

Theodore and Romine’s finishes were both personal bests in the ACC Championships, but it was the performance of the team’s youth that really shone Friday. “[Gabay] being a freshman and being in our top five for the second meet in a row is huge,” Riley said. “We have some young freshmen and sophomores that are going to be the future of this program.”

And in the end, that’s probably the biggest bright spot from a day full of them for this Duke cross country program.

“We still know that there’s more left with us,” Riley said. “The great thing about racing is that we know we can improve.”

The Chronicle

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 | 9

FEATURE

FROM MIDFIELD TO AIRFIELD

Women’s soccer’s Sydney Simmons’ journey to become a licensed pilot lot of special memories together. And now I’m excited that I’ll be able to share that passion with Associate Sports Editor my friends and my future family, just like I was able to grow up with it myself.”

If you’ve tuned into any Duke women’s soccer Sydney’s parents Kent and Kristin Simmons broadcast this year, you may have already heard actually met in a flight degree program, instilling that junior midfielder Sydney Simmons is now a the love of flying in their three daughters, Sydney, licensed pilot. But the story of how that came about Chelseigh and Carleigh. While Kristin stayed includes some strange twists. home with the kids, Kent experienced the booms Simmons came to Durham in 2018 as the No. 68 and busts of an industry whose workforce was recruit in the country and ended her freshman year destabilized by a mass firing in 1981. as a full-time starter and member of the All-ACC The Simmons family owned a Cessna-152, a freshman team. But she tore her Achilles on the first two-seater plane, for recreational use. As the girls day of practice the next year, and just as her rehab grew up, Kent and Kristin introduced them to process was ending, COVID-19 struck, sending her their passion when time would allow. It was the home with none of the support that was supposed foundation laid within that Cessna-152 that would to help her re-acclimate to the sport. lead Chelseigh into engineering, bring Carleigh Though the lockdown complicated into naval engineering and foster a lifelong love for Simmons’ recovery, it allowed her to focus on flying in Sydney. her family’s pastime: flying. Both her parents It wasn’t always clear that this was the direction are licensed pilots, and the additional free time Sydney Simmons would be able to go in. The demands this spring and summer allowed Simmons to of high school years and an increasingly competitive get a private license herself. soccer career meant less time in the air, and what little “I’ve always watched [my parents] share that time there was at home between semesters was never passion together,” Simmons said. “And both of enough for her to get her license. my older sisters have also soloed, but they weren’t But then came quarantine, and Sydney was able to complete their license, and so it’s something looking at the most time she’d ever have at home. that all five people in my family are able to share. “[Chelseigh’s family] lives in Austin,” Kent I think it’s a way that we’ve been able to make a Simmons said. “[So] they were quarantined in Austin, and we were quarantined here [in Van Alstyne, Texas]. Daughter two, Carleigh, they told her she needed to work from home, and she immediately said, ‘Can I work from mom and dad’s home?’ And they said sure. So she came home really the same time Sydney did…and was here for, I feel like it was about two months, but I don’t remember.

So I was teaching the two of them together and they were studying together.”

Unlike her sisters, Sydney has no plans to get into engineering. She’s always wanted to go into the medical field, and is planning on going to dental school after she gets her undergraduate degree.

For her, flying is more about cruising and relaxation. Kent, always restless, was big on outdoor activities with the girls when they were growing up.

TheSimmons New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation Courtesy of the family Sydney to hike, but what she finds in the 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, still N.Y.likes 10018 Sydney pictured with her dad flight. Call: 1-800-972-3550 Forin Information

By Em Adler

sports

For Release Monday, April 6, 2020

Crossword ACROSS 1 Airer of “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes” 4 Inscribe, as on a trophy 8 Bottom half of a 45 13 Clue for the clueless 15 Actress Loughlin of “Full House” 16 10:1, e.g.

17 Website with a “Buy It Now” option 18 Not give ___ (not care) 19 “A Doll’s House” playwright Henrik 20 Butane-filled item for smokers 23 “___ the land of the free …”

24 Clumsy 27 Exercises that work the glutes, quads and abs 32 Russian refusal 34 “Krazy ___”

ANSWER R A G A

B A B E S

A R O D P A R E N T

D E S S E R T M E N U

I T T G E E

F U N K A G E R B O Y A S T E P

35 “At Wit’s End” humorist Bombeck

53 “Forget about it!” … or a clue to the starts of 20-, 27- and 36 With 44-Across, 47-Across N.B.A. player 59 Airport bummer once married to a Kardashian 62 Indication that it’s time to take out 37 “Who am ___ the trash judge?”

63 Old Russian ruler 38 Kind of rock 64 Final Greek letter for which New 65 Singer of “Let It Hampshire is Go” in Disney’s known “Frozen” 41 Con’s opposite 66 Bingo-like casino game 42 “The Godfather” crowd 67 Runway walker 44 See 36-Across 68 Applied Clairol to, perhaps 45 Communication 69 Crunchy, as means for the carrots deaf, for short 46 Stiffly formal

DOWN 1 At the home of: Fr. 2 Benjamin Netanyahu’s 50 Tilted, as printed nickname letters 3 “Get real, for heaven’s sake!”

52 To the ___ degree 4 Airline that doesn’t schedule TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE flights on Shabbat 5 Actress Spelling S H J A M E S O N of “Beverly Hills 90210” H A C A R O L I N A A G O N E N I N T H 6 Handhold for a rock climber G A S L E A K S 7 Genre for Cardi B G R O L L S I C U S and Nicki Minaj Y C E L W O R S T 8 Lawyer’s G I G E C O N O M Y document P R E E M I E T I L 9 Teenage witch of H O T D O G T O N E TV I Y E N K A N T 10 “___ Superman!”

L P G A T O U R E Y A R E N A I S M 11 Casino cube A N G E O L I V I A 12 Long, long time R D E E T A M E R S 14 Kind of personality a P E S E S P R I T go-getter has 47 Star of Broadway’s “Fiddler on the Roof”

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The really nice guy at JB’s: �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� leahgirld Sazon:�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������cartib Staff Reports: �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� mattyg

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Crossword ACROSS

30 Flips out

69

49 Keep on the shelves 51 True-blue 36 Greg ___, first 54 How thumbs are American winner twiddled of the Tour de 55 Middle of the face France 56 May or June 39 Wedding vow gown wearer 40 Male turkey 57 Mom’s mom 43 “Somehow it all 58 Get taller gets done” 59 ___ Pérignon 47 Clearasil target, in slang 60 Rock music subgenre 48 Went “Hello … ello … llo … lo …” 61 Was in first place 33 One living under a bridge, in fairy tales

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

58 DuVernay who directed “A Wrinkle in Time”

33 Alternative to a phone call

6 Environmentalist’s 34 Big pig subj.

35 On bended ___ 10 Low-ranking G.I.: 36 Multitude Abbr.

37 Morning star?

13 Rouse 40 Veer off course, 15 Volcanic flow as a ship 16 Televise 41 Focus on the 17 Shooting star? road, e.g.?

19 “It’s no ___!”

43 Dunderheads 20 Scratchy voice

44 Demean

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46 Grossly distorted imitation

22 Involuntary response

48 On pot 50 Grammy-winning Stefani

26 Bit of landscaping greenery

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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C H E Z S K I M P

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Edited by Will Shortz

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PUZZLE BY ANDREA CARLA MICHAELS

21 Brand of taco shells and salsas 22 Profs’ aides 25 Someone who might say “There, there” 26 Funeral vehicle 27 Pinch pennies 28 Resident of Doha 29 ___ Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings” 30 Actress Thurman 31 Bruce Wayne’s home, for one

Who we wrote in on the ballot: Coach K: ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������kolinoscopy

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than in the air.”

The way she talks about flying, Sydney is sure to be an active pilot for years. And as she continues to solo, she’ll always be reminded of the people that introduced her to that lifelong passion: her family.

“Being apart from them for two years now made that time [at home during quarantine] much sweeter,” Sydney said, “just because it’s been so long since I’ve been with them and [that] we’ve been together as a family.”

The Chronicle

1 Many lab procedures

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air is simply incomparable.

“A lot of people go up in an airline, but you’re so high that you don’t really see the details that you can catch when you’re only at 3,500 feet above the ground,” Sydney said. “So you kind of see the wheat fields swaying in the air, you’re noticing which way the wind is blowing just by looking at the ripples in the pond. Noticing how spectacular the world is from a different view, that’s probably one of the coolest parts. And then a sunset never looks better

No. 0302

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Courtesy of the Simmons family

Sydney standing with her FAA examiner and holding her new private pilot certificate.

H E A R S E

T R O L L

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5 Nickname for the 12-Down in Chicago’s Field Museum

PUZZLE BY LYNN LEMPEL

6 Fraternal order with an animal emblem

26 Takes a nice long bath

7 Record-setting Ripken

28 Affair of the heart

8 “Psst!”

29 Pole star?

9 Onions have lots of them

30 Disney dog

10 Giant star?

11 Woodworker’s clamp 12 See 5-Down 14 Propose as an explanation 18 Works in a gallery

23 Blue state?

25 Actress Kunis

27 Suggest

31 Needle mischievously

38 Move too slowly, as a watch 39 Label as PG, say 42 Like the U.S. president’s office

51 Alma mater for many a Supreme Court justice 52 Heinous 53 French-founded fragrance firm

45 Celebratory blaze

55 Wiesel with a Nobel

47 Rubs out

56 Water-resistant furniture wood 57 Cinder-covered

32 Put in stitches

48 Win overwhelmingly

34 Little devils

50 Rev, as an engine 61 Pocketbook

60 Combine

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

10 | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020

opinion dukechronicle.com

The Chronicle

What’s the big deal with WAP?

O

n August 7th, 2020, Cardi B and But wait. Let’s pause.

Megan Thee Stallion graced our Before I get into this in-depth discussion ears with the now infamous song about the WAP controversy, I want to “WAP. While I personally thought it was a remind everyone reading this that vaginas do banger, not everyone was on board with it. indeed get “wet.” Some notable critics (read:

PASH LET’S TALK ABOUT ‘IT’ And that’s honestly okay—people are entitled to their opinions and musical preferences.

But nevertheless, I think the conservative outrage about WAP highlights some important issues regarding mainstream representations and commodification of women’s sexuality, particularly that of Black women.

“

Ben Shapiro) have called out the song for “describing a serious gynecological condition” that is “not biologically normal” and “requires the care of a doctor.”

Now, if your body is simply doing something that it should be doing (i.e., selflubricating, self-cleaning), I don’t think many

hot take of the week

—Mihir Bellamkonda, Opinion Editor, on November 1, 2020

Direct submissions to:

The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns.

The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.

Est. 1905

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about sex aren’t being supported and given the recognition and attention they deserve.

At the end of the day, Cardi B is telling us what we’ve all known: sex sells.

Sex and sex appeal are notoriously “easy” ways to make it to the top of the music industry, with Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion being prime examples of talented Black women who have capitalized on their sexuality to secure their coin. But it’s not just Black women who capitalize on their sex appeal—other women of color and white women do it too. The notable difference, however, is that Black women are expected to perform their sexuality in specific and racialized ways that perpetuate long-standing and harmful stereotypes about Black women.

The success of Black women in the entertainment industry is often contingent upon their ability to perform hypersexuality, that is, an exaggerated form of sexuality that is ultimately performative and unrealistic. The history of the hypersexualization and sexual exploitation of Black women (and men) is a long and complicated one.

One of the most pervasive stereotypes about Black women is that of the “Jezebel” which envisions Black women as sexually promiscuous and insatiable by nature.

During slavery, this perception of Black women was used to rationalize often times unconsentual (or at the very least dubiously consentual) sexual relations between Black women and white men. The “Jezebel” stereotype continues to haunt Black women today, and nowhere is it clearer to see than in the entertainment industry.

If you were to look at The Hot 100 Chart (as of October 17, 2020), you would find some interesting patterns. The most obvious is that the chart is dominated by male performers, with a fifth of songs with women as the main artist(s). Another observation is that there are only eight Black women on the chart (including features and duos) accounting for seven songs. If you were to look at the lyrics and music videos for each of their charttoppers, you’ll see that most of the lyrics are sexually explicit or suggestive, and almost all of the music videos feature Black women in suggestive or overtly sexual poses or dances.

Meanwhile, for the non-Black women on the chart, only a small percentage of songs and music videos are sexual.

It is not a coincidence that the vast majority of songs by Black female artists are sexual in nature, while the songs of non-Black women are more varied in their content and style. While it may be easy to point a finger at Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, and criticize them for their artistic choices, their music reflects the complicated relationship between entertainment and Black women. It’s great that Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B can release a song like “WAP” and have it be so successful, but it’s also bittersweet in that it highlights how Black female artists, especially rappers, often need to perform hypersexuality to make it big in the industry. At the end of the day, it’s about what’s profitable, and Cardi and Megan are just giving us what we want because sex sells.

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“No jokes till after the election. No humor.”

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physicians would consider that a serious problem. In fact, numerous gynecologists and medical experts have come out to defend “WAP,” including Dr. Daniel Grossman, a leading expert in women’s reproductive health, who stated on Twitter that, “it’s normal—even important—for women to have a WAP.” So what exactly causes WAP and why is it important?

WAP is the result of vaginal discharge, which is a mix of fluid produced by glands in the vagina and cervix, dead cells and bacteria. This fluid plays an important role in maintaining the physiological well being of one’s reproductive system by expelling dead cells and potentially harmful bacteria, and thus keeping the vagina clean and healthy; and reducing friction during vaginal sex to ensure a safe and pleasurable experience.

For people with vaginas, you may notice that your discharge may vary throughout the month in terms of amount, color, texture and even odor. These changes generally coincide with your menstrual cycle, but can also be triggered by ovulation, breastfeeding, sexual arousal and pregnancy. Vaginal discharge shouldn’t be concerning unless you notice a significant deviation from your normal. Some things to look out for would be changes in texture (especially one that resembles cottagecheese), changes in color (like brown, green, or yellow) and changes in odor (fishy, bad or coppery). If you notice anything unusual about your discharge, it’s best to hit up Student Health and go get it checked out because there are many possible causes of abnormal discharge.

With that brief sex ed lesson out of the way, let’s get back to the WAP controversy.

One of the central critiques about “WAP” is that the song is degrading and disempowering to women due to its sexually explicit lyrics and overt sexualization of women’s bodies. To counter this specific critique, some people have argued that WAP is an empowerment anthem, which I think it can be. However, songs like “WAP” shouldn’t have to be labeled as empowering to justify their existence—sometimes a song can just exist because it’s fun. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion probably didn’t release this song with the intention of it being an feminist anthem. Truthfully, it seems like they released “WAP” because they thought it would be a fun relief from all the doom and gloom of the pandemic, which is a perfectly valid reason.

It is okay for you to like raunchy songs like “WAP” simply because you think they’re fun and catchy. Not all the work of women in the music industry has to be empowering—and if a single song like this can “set the entire female gender back 100 years” then we, honestly, haven’t made enough progress.

In fact when it comes to the ways in which Black women have to navigate the music and entertainment industries, it’s clear that we haven’t made as much progress as we’ve hoped. In a 2019 video response to criticism about the explicit nature of her songs, Cardi explained why she keeps rapping about her punani, stating that “it seems like that’s what people want to hear.”

She also importantly called out her fans and critics about their lack of support for female rappers who “don’t be talking about their p*ssy and don’t be talking about, you know, getting down and dirty.” Though she made those comments almost a year before “WAP” was released, her words still ring true—Black female rappers who don’t talk

PASH is a student-run organization providing resources for sexual health and relationship-building. Their column, “let’s talk about ‘it,’” runs on alternate Mondays. This column was written by Michelle Katemauswa, a Trinity senior and the President of PASH.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020 | 11

Why are they still texting me?

t’s 3 AM and you are trying to fall asleep in the lonely darkness of your apartment. All of a sudden, your phone buzzes. As you reach to unlock the screen, you briefly hesitate. Does this guy really think that he can just slide in and expect you to help him out? The frequency and odd timing of these messages have grown exhausting, but he can be very persuasive.

collection tools to optimize their outreach efforts.

Whenever you tag a political campaign in a social media post, fill out a form (like the White House’s complaint forms), or even bring your phone to a political rally, campaign data analytics teams are collecting and sorting your personal data. These analytics teams have become standard following the wild success of

Jessica Edelson & Niharika Vattikonda ON TECH You consider leaving the message unread and unanswered. But there’s also a piece of you that is curious about today’s pick up line. Perhaps it will be like last week’s “If you were looking for a sign, this is it.” Or maybe, this time he’ll be more direct: “Are you ready for a victory?”

Acquiescing to your curiosity, you tap the message.

“Hi! This is Jake from North Carolina Young Adult Votes. We can’t do this without you. Can we count on you to remind 3 friends to vote by Nov. 3?”

You sigh. It’s just another late-night voter text.

We’re less than a week away from what will likely be the most consequential election for our generation. In between incomprehensible debates and milkshake stops, campaign teams are hard at work in their efforts to secure a victory. And while it feels like there is little that can unite us in our current moment, there is one thing we may all agree on: we’re over the incessant text messages and calls from political campaigns.

Like clockwork, these texts just keep rolling in. Even if you’ve already voted. Even if you can’t vote. Even if you’ve never been to the candidate’s website or given a dime to support them. Maybe you’ve never even heard of the candidate.

The voter mobilization effort is no longer resigned to in-person meet-and-greets, especially in an age when it’s irresponsible to host maximally-packed stadiums and auditoriums due to social distancing guidelines.

In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, campaigns have turned to data

M

y father is 88 years old now and a retired pastor, so I have heard him say many, many prayers during my lifetime, but there’s really only one that stands out.

the Narwhal data project of President Obama’s 2012 election campaign. This project “link[ed] once completely separate repositories of information so that every fact gathered about a voter [was] available to every arm of the campaign.” Yet, not all of the data sorted within a campaign’s repository is simply “gathered” from sources like public voter registration databases or the handwritten notes of field organizers. Rather, campaigns actively purchase a “wide range of additional information from consumer data vendors,” otherwise known as “data brokers.”

Data brokers are the shadowy middlemen of the Internet, collecting, aggregating, and eventually selling your data. They dominate a multi-billion dollar industry whose entire value proposition is finding information in the depths of the internet that you may not even know exists. It is highly likely that the email address you haven’t touched since high school, your address from public property records, or your location data from any one of the apps you interact with each day is out there, available for sale.

As our digital world stands right now, there’s not much we can do to stop this cycle of selling and reselling our data. The reality is, right now, our data isn’t even treated as our property. To really make a change, we’ll need comprehensive federal privacy legislation that guarantees critical rights, including the right to have our data deleted and corrected, to give individuals greater autonomy over their data. You may be thinking, what’s the big deal? In the context of our election year, the sale of our personal data to political campaigns, at most, just results

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give you a chance to see what data is collected about you–they might even give you a chance to have your data removed. But when there are dozens of shadowy brokers harvesting, collecting, and repackaging your data for sale, our power as individuals is effectively neutralized by corporate interests that depend on these “analytics” products.

Data brokers can’t be dealt with by giving everyone a stack of paperwork to fill out, sign, and submit for every single company– we need the federal government to create comprehensive privacy legislation that prevents our data from being misused like this in the first place.

We need to fundamentally retool our impressions of how data is collected, moving from an opt-out model to a model in which you have to opt-in, or affirmatively consent, to having your data shared across platforms and intermediaries. We need to establish critical digital rights: your right to request that your information be corrected or completely wiped off a company’s servers.

Regardless of how data brokers repackage and resell data, it’s still your data.

Honestly, we can’t expect that the customers of data brokers are going to voluntarily stop using treasure troves of information. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are likely to cede the massive advantage of having detailed voter information on hand to run fundraising campaigns and mobilization efforts from the click of a button.

That’s why we need the federal government to step in to provide the privacy protections that neither data brokers nor their customers will.

Until then, those texts will continue to roll in, and even after you’ve blocked one number or angrily texted “STOP” in the hopes of opting out from one texting campaign, others will continue popping up in their place. So next time, when you get a text you’re ready to delete, stop for a moment. Consider how they got your phone number and who else may have it.

Jessica Edelson and Niharika Vattikonda are Trinity juniors. Their column, “on tech,” runs on alternate Thursdays. Want us to break down a technology topic you’re interested in? Email us at jre29@duke.edu and nv54@duke.edu.

The value of gratitude to say that in our current circumstances it is as fitting as ever to say “thank you.” That’s because it is a sign that we truly understand our place as human beings in this mysterious and marvelous world, remembering that none of us

Luke A. Powery DEAN OF DUKE CHAPEL One day, my father arrived home from work around dinner time and went upstairs to wash his hands in the bathroom. He eventually came downstairs and sat at the dinner table. I was ready for a longish prayer in his preacherly voice because his blessings at meals were often more like miniature sermons. Dad closed his eyes. Opened his mouth. And we were ready for him to recite the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, some hymn lyrics, some scripture verses, some church history lessons, and the latest news, all in one prayer.

Instead, when he prayed, all that he said was, “Thank ya!”

Those words may be the farthest thing from your mind right now. We are approaching an intense election. We are living through a global pandemic.

We’ve been reminded of the racial tensions in this country. Who wants to think about or express gratitude? Thank you? That may seem like a waste of breath and time in the wake of social unrest and injustice. But I want

in an annoying string of texts from random numbers, continuing to urge us to vote long after we’ve (hopefully!) already turned in our absentee ballots. However, redundant text messages are hardly the most dangerous consequences of how data brokers operate with our personal information.

The commoditization of some of the most personal and private details of our lives has serious security implications. Your childhood address or AOL moniker could provide hackers with answers to your bank account’s security questions. Your phone number or address could be easily acquired by a stalker.

Location data from your phone over time can be used to identify your daily routine—where you grab your morning coffee, your favorite late-night takeout spot, and even which part of Blue Zone you prefer to park your car.

And we’ve talked about this before.

Protecting our fundamental right to privacy isn’t about you in particular—the single data point that you prefer Vondy to Bella Union coffee doesn’t really give malicious actors much information.

But when data brokers are able to aggregate and analyze millions, if not billions and trillions, of individual data points, they’re able to weaponize individual data points to create dangerous surveillance tools.

Certain data brokers have even become suppliers for federal law enforcement, allowing immigration enforcement agencies such as Customs and Border Protection to gain access to location data from everyday apps on your phone, data that they’d usually need a warrant for. The data broker industry that supplies candidates with your contact information has also created a workaround for law enforcement to bypass the Fourth Amendment with a purchase order.

The scariest costumes we see on Halloween can’t even come close to how terrifying data brokers are.

In a world where these unregulated data brokers exist, almost everything about you is for sale. We, as individuals, become mere data points in a big profit game we never elected to play in and have no control over. And, when organizations, like campaigns, purchase data from brokers, they are quietly choosing to overlook a need for consumer protection.

Maybe, just maybe, a certain data broker will

are self-created but instead are in the long, long line of those who have come before us and have paved the way to today.

There are those who have leaned into giving thanks even during terrible times. In the ancient world, three colleagues—Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy—wrote a letter to a struggling church in Thessalonica that was experiencing persecution.

They, too, were enduring tough times and suffering. But at the beginning of the letter, and actually throughout, these three friends express gratitude to God for others. They don’t start with their concerns, though they surely have them.

They don’t begin with any complaints about their predicament or their worries about the future or anguish over civic injustice. They don’t even rant about the latest Facebook post on the upcoming election. Their very first words are full of thanksgiving. Gratitude is a priority for them in life. It is a top value in their leadership. They lead with thanksgiving.

In our present day, scientists are viewing

thanksgiving as critical to the well-being of individuals. Research is showing that there are benefits to expressing gratitude. It can lead to healthier, more satisfying lives, greater energy, and a more generous outward-focusing life of service. Some people keep gratitude journals to cultivate this spirit of thanksgiving. There’s even a website at that aims to nurture gratitude in the lives of others.

Gratitude or thanksgiving can actually help you become more whole though you don’t express it in order to get something from it. Gratitude is other-oriented. In his spiritual memoir, My God and I, Lewis Smedes teaches that a gift “always [comes] with a person attached” and is more precious because a person is attached to it. He writes, “I do not understand how people can be thankful for a gift if they have no person to thank for giving it to them. We teach our children to say thank-you to their grandmother for her birthday gift; why should we not teach them to say thank you to God for the gift of their birth? …. Why should we not teach them that every new dawn of every morning, every drop of rain, every budding tulip, every blade of grass, every lovely thought we think, every wonderful feeling we feel, every memory of pleasure past, every tingle of pleasure present, every touch of a loved one’s finger, every hug from a laughing child, every note of a Mozart concerto, every coming home to our own place and people, every new hope that sees beyond a hard present—all of them are gifts with a Person attached?”

On the other side of gratitude is a “you,” a person.

Thanksgiving opens up space in our hearts toward the hearts of others, even the holy Other.

This mode of thanksgiving is not purely a onetime event spoken over a meal or one day we celebrate in November. It is a way of being in the world through all circumstances.

The challenge is to lead our lives with gratitude even when life may be difficult—to wake up every morning when our feet hit the ground and let our first breath and first step in the new day be “thank you.” These two simple words receive the gift of life. Meister Johann Eckhart, a medieval mystic, sums it up well: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, that will be enough.”

My hope is that you would make gratitude a habit and be sure to say, “thank ya.” Make a phone call this week and tell someone how much you appreciate them and why. Write a note thanking someone for encouraging you or helping you work through a problem or teaching you something new or just for being your faithful friend. Give thanks even to the One attached to all the gifts you’ve received because gratitude is a holy attitude toward the gift of life.

Thank you for reading.

Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the Dean of Duke University Chapel. His column runs on alternate Mondays.alternate Thursdays.

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