DUKE’S 100TH YEAR, DUKE’S 100TH INCOMING CLASS
By Zoe Kolenovsky and Abby Spiller
August 22, 2024
News Editor and Editor-in-Chief
After officially transitioning from Trinity College to Duke University in December 1924, Duke’s inaugural firstyear class stepped foot on campus in the fall of 1925.
Now in 2024, another crop of first-years will make history as the University’s 100th incoming class.
“The Class of 2028 has arrived at a very special moment in Duke’s history,” President Vincent Price wrote in an Aug. 19 email to The Chronicle. “As we celebrate our Centennial year, the arrival of Duke’s 100th entering class of undergraduates — and the exciting ideas, ambitions and perspectives they bring with them — are in many ways symbolic of the incredible opportunities ahead for the entire University.”
When the Class of 1929 joined the Blue Devil community, The Chronicle commemorated their arrival in a piece titled “The New Freshman.”
“Especially does one have difficulty in discovering the typical freshman because of the heterogenuity [sic] of the members of this class,” the Sept. 23, 1925, article reads. “The trains bring these new men from climes that vary as greatly as sunny California and cold, bleak Alaska, from balsam-clad peaks of the Appalachians to the sandy beaches of Florida, from the rustic mountaineer homes of the Unakas to the palatial residences of Riverside Drive in New York; and in individual
differences the freshmen vary as greatly as in environmental circumstances.”
Though much has certainly changed in the intervening century, diversity remains a defining attribute of the Class of 2028.
The 1,711 members of this year’s class hail from across the globe. They also represent an effort by University administration to increase the socioeconomic diversity of Duke’s student body, which Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag expressed in a March email to The Chronicle where he noted the University’s ongoing goal of “attracting and admitting a higher percentage of students eligible for Pell grants.”
The Class of 2028 is the first to contend with the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to end race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
The incoming class also represents the most selective in University history, with record low acceptance rates for both the Early Decision and Regular Decision application rounds at 12.9% and 4.1%, respectively.
While a century has passed since Duke welcomed its first class, similarities remain between the first Blue Devils and the new first-years.
“Even though they may dress differently, have different accents, cherish different ideals and be unlike in physical appearances, each is a dealer in futurity … and each is a profound optimist,” the 1925 Chronicle article reads.
First-year Caroline McSwain, who hails from a small school in Skaneateles, New York, shared her excitement to be part of
See CLASS OF 2028 on Page 7
Duke community reacts to end of Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, rise of Kamala Harris
By Rae Rackley
July 31, 2024 Staff Reporter
Less than four months before Election Day, President Joe Biden announced July 21 he was ending his campaign as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the front-runner for the Democratic Party’s fight against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Harris confirmed her intention to run for president in a statement later Sunday afternoon, praising Biden for his “selfless and patriotic act” and thanking him for endorsing her candidacy.
“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she wrote. “… I will do every-
thing in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Biden’s decision to end his candidacy so close to a national convention is unprecedented in modern American politics. However, this dramatic shift has largely transformed the Democratic Party’s concerns about Biden’s mental acuity into unified support for Harris as their next presidential nominee.
Harris is the only Democratic candidate to publicly announce she is seeking the nomination after Biden ended his bid.
According to an Associated Press Survey, Harris had gained the support of enough Democratic National Convention delegates
to secure her spot as the party’s nominee by July 23.
She is expected to select a running mate within a week, and DNC delegates have announced plans to conduct a virtual vote to nominate Harris and her prospective vice president by Aug. 7.
Meanwhile, Harris opponent now faces the challenge of addressing a newer, younger, female candidate. The Trump campaign has already pivoted their strategy over the past week to challenge Harris political standing, namely by targeting her handling of immigration policy at the Southern border and attempting to discredit her identity as a Black woman.
Lilly Library begins renovations
By Michael Austin August 12, 2024 Managing Editor
Lilly Library is under renovation, a process that began in May and is slated for completion in 2026.
The estimated $64 million overhaul — dubbed “The Lilly Project” — is causing an 18- to 24-month closure of Lilly Library, with staff and library services relocating to the Bishop’s House located behind Bassett dorm. Although certain resources were temporarily unavailable during the summer relocation process, the Bishop’s House opened Aug. 1 and began offering essential library services.
Here’s what you should know about accessing library resources on East Campus this year.
Library resources
During the renovation, students can meet with Lilly librarians and staff in the Bishop’s House.
As the temporary home for many of Lilly’s services, the Bishop’s House also enables students to print and scan, return books, pick up holds and reserve materials for classes.
Until Aug. 26 — the first day of classes for the fall semester — Lilly at Bishop’s House will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Starting Aug. 26, the schedule will shift to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m Friday.
For visitors, the building has two 30-minute parking spaces available for use free of charge.
According to a Feb. 28 post on The Lilly Project’s website, “as much of Lilly’s collection as possible” will remain accessible during the renovation. Students are encouraged to find the locations of items of interest in the online catalog and to take advantage of the “90 million books and other materials” available from peer institutions through the Interlibrary Requests program.
The Lilly Library 3D printers — managed by the Innovation Co-Lab — will be relocated to
See LILLY LIBRARY on Page 8 See HARRIS on Page 7-8
Anabel Howery
Duke withdraws rezoning plan following community pushback
By Olivia Schramkowski June 25, 2024 Staff Reporter
Duke is withdrawing its proposal to rezone certain parcels of land near Central Campus following years of pushback from Durham residents in the surrounding area.
In April, the University submitted plans to rezone 10 parcels of land located near East Campus from residential to the “University and College with a Development Plan” (UC(D)) designation to “allow for future college and institutional uses.”
However, Duke officials recently announced to residents of the Burch Avenue neighborhood that they would no longer be moving forward with rezoning three of the 10 parcels, including the Laundry Building at 400 Gattis Street.
Located next to the Arts Annex, the Laundry Building has been abandoned ever since asbestos, a fibrous construction material now considered a serious health hazard, was discovered in a number of Central Campus buildings. Though the property is owned by Duke, the building sits in Durham’s Burch Avenue neighborhood.
Duke officials first reached out to residents Monday morning to inform them that they had an update on the rezoning proposal. They then scheduled a virtual meeting with several residents for Monday afternoon where administrators delivered the news verbally, according to Burch Avenue neighborhood resident Russell Lacy, who was present at the meeting.
“We notified city staff of this change and want to be sure you received an update from our team,” Adem Gusa, director of planning and design, wrote in a Tuesday morning follow-up message to residents. “We appreciate the conversations we have had with you over the years about the Old Laundry site and when we have a proposal for the site’s future, we look forward to discussing it with you.”
University administration shared a statement with The Chronicle later Tuesday afternoon confirming the rezoning proposal’s withdrawal.
“Due to the unusual way East Campus is zoned, encompassing all of the golf course, this rezoning request caused some confusion,” Gusa wrote, also restating the administration’s appreciation for community feedback and willingness to communicate with residents about future plans for the property.
The announcement to the residents came two days after The Chronicle’s initial request for comment from University administration regarding the neighborhood’s long-running concerns. Residents noted that they had not been in recent communication with representatives from Duke prior to the Monday meeting.
Central to Durham residents’ initial concerns over the rezoning proposal was their belief that Duke failed to ensure the neighborhood’s safety and preserve the “character and quiet enjoyment” of the community in its rezoning efforts.
“Unlike all the other parcels that are in the rezoning, [which] all have access from Duke
‘They’re always supported’: How Duke’s Experiential Orientation program welcomes incoming students to campus
BY SHRUTHI NARAYANAN |
08/15/2024
The 2024 ExO program offers 22 projects that aim to build a sense of community among the Class of 2028’s 1,761 incoming students when they step onto campus.
Duke announces 9 new Bass Connections project teams focused on geopolitical conflict in the Middle East
BY ZOE KOLENOVSKY |
08/08/2024
The priority application deadline for the new teams is 5 p.m. Aug. 14, after which applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis for any remaining positions.
property, this one has to come through our neighborhood,” said longtime resident Robert Cushman. “… I think it’s really not fair to get permission [from the city] to do this.”
Residents explained that their primary concern is increased traffic that may result from a redeveloped property. The neighborhood roads that lead to the building are narrow, making it difficult for more than one car to fit on the road at a time. Additionally, children often play near the roads.
Residents requested that these issues be addressed in the rezoning plans, but prior to Monday, they found the University’s response to be inadequate.
“We have asked time and time again that they make us some sort of common sense commitment that either they are going to really limit the number of traffic, or if they can’t limit the amount of traffic, that all vehicular access has to come from Campus Drive,” Lacy said.
Duke officials met with residents of the Burch Avenue neighborhood multiple times over the past three years as the rezoning proposal progressed. Though Jeannine Privat, president of the Burch Avenue Neighborhood Association Board, appreciated the University’s willingness to make concessions like creating a Community Advisory Board, she was dissatisfied with officials’ refusal to share concrete plans or make any promises in writing.
The Chronicle obtained an April 2 letter submitted to the Durham Planning Commission by the Burch Avenue Neighborhood Association Board, which noted that residents’ concerns are grounded in a historically tense relationship with the “uncompromising powerful entity” of Duke.
When the Laundry Building was still operating, residents complained of “laundry trucks that were loud, fast and
Duke summer courses see decade-long decline in enrollment
By Liane Ma June 20, 2024
Contributing Writer
For decades, Duke students have taken classes over the summer to get ahead on degree requirements and explore new subjects. In recent years, however, summer enrollment has declined.
Summer Session classes are offered in two six-week terms. All Duke and Duke Kunshan University undergraduates are eligible to enroll, in addition to visiting undergraduate students from other accredited universities. Term 2 courses are also open to qualified rising high school juniors and seniors.
Duke’s Summer Session is advertised as “ideal for focusing on challenging courses or taking courses that fill quickly during fall and spring semesters.” Despite these benefits, data since 2013 reveals a downward trend in Summer Session enrollment, with 2023 reporting the fewest participants in the past decade.
Term 1, which closely follows the end of the spring semester, consistently sees higher enrollment than Term 2, which begins midsummer. The terms also differ in their course offerings.
Term 1 of 2024 showed the lowest firstterm enrollment of the period, with 1,006 students compared to 1,508 students in Term 1 of 2013. Similarly, Term 2 of 2023 had 851 students, down from 1,111 in Term 2 of 2013.
Notably, Summer Session enrollment skyrocketed to 2,053 students in Term 1 of 2020, likely due to asynchronous classes held during the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2021, though, enrollment decreased again to 1,154.
One potential reason for the decline in enrollment is the increasing number of research and service programs offered by the University.
Plus Programs, which enable students to conduct paid research in teams of both undergraduate and graduate students, have recently expanded their offerings. In addition to the preexisting Data+, Climate+, CS+, Applied Ethics+, Story+ and Math+ options, the program added History+, I&E+ — innovation and entrepreneurship — and Arts+ this year.
DukeEngage provides an alternative pathway to stay involved with the University over the summer by connecting students with service opportunities across the globe, a mission it has upheld since the program’s inception in 2007.
Many students, such as sophomore Jenni Wang, enroll in Summer Session courses while participating in other on-campus programs. For Wang, her research constitutes the main motivation to remain on campus over the summer, while classes are a “supplement.”
For Wang, Summer Session also presented an opportunity to advance in her major.
SUMMER ENROLLMENT on Page 9
Liane Ma
By Zoe Kolenovsky
July 30, 2024 News Editor
Duke to offer Cherokee course series in fall 2024
Duke will offer a series of Cherokee language courses this fall, marking the first time an Indigenous language will be taught at the University.
Announced July 23, the course series begins in fall 2024 with Cherokee 1. The class will be taught online, but students will have the opportunity to meet with instructor Gil Jackson multiple times on campus and during a field trip to Cherokee, N.C.
Cherokee 2 will be offered in spring 2025, and intermediate courses will be added during the 2025-26 academic year. Students in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences will be able to satisfy their foreign language requirement with Cherokee.
The course is part of Duke’s new Native American Studies Initiative, which was created in July 2023 largely in response to student demands for greater institutional support for Indigenous studies.
In August 2021, the Native American/ Indigenous Student Alliance, then called the Native American Student Alliance, wrote an open letter to University administration asking for a number of administrative changes to better support Indigenous students. These demands included the establishment of a Native Studies program and Native American Center, the recruitment and retention of more Native American students, and the adoption of a land acknowledgement for the University.
Courtney Lewis, Crandall family associate professor of cultural anthropology and inaugu-
ral director of NASI, sees the new Initiative — and the Cherokee language course — as “a start” to addressing these student concerns.
“I kind of saw a need for a place that students, faculty, staff and community [members] could go to actually find out about all of the American Indian, Native American [and] Indigenous events that were already happening on campus,” Lewis said. “There was really no central place for this.”
Highlighting existing programs and events on Duke’s campus falls under NASI’s goal of increasing the visibility of Indigenous communities at the University. The Initiative also aims to support faculty and students engaging in Native American studies research, as well as to foster partnerships with other universities and Native nations.
The new Cherokee language course progression touches on all three objectives. Established
through the support of the Office of Global Affairs, the department of cultural anthropology and the interinstitutional Partnership for Less Commonly Taught Languages, Cherokee courses will be taught in collaboration with other universities to allow students from multiple schools access to the instruction.
Duke had previously been involved in a partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which offered Cherokee language courses through its department of Native American and Indigenous studies. However, the school recently ended its Cherokee language program, meaning Duke students lost access to the resource.
“One of the biggest issues we have today with Indigenous people worldwide is language retention,” Lewis said. “Because Cherokee language was no longer going to be taught at UNC, I think it was just a great intersection
of timing [to establish the Cherokee language program at Duke].”
Senior Josie van de Klashorst, former president and current vice president of NAISA, is excited for the Cherokee language course and NASI’s other efforts to enhance “education of Native culture at Duke.”
“I think that all of the work that students have done previously that I’ve seen during my time at Duke has really paid off in the Initiative being created,” she said. “… It has so much more momentum now … the actual actions and courses and tangible things are being developed, which I think is amazing.”
Van de Klashorst explained that while NAISA has historically played an activist role on campus, the establishment of the Initiative and the hiring of full-time faculty who are “able to push against the institution for the betterment of Native students” has allowed the group to focus on building community among Indigenous students at Duke.
“I think it’s a large step in the right direction,” van de Klashorst said.
According to the Duke Today announcement, the Cherokee course series will also recognize “the intertwined history of Duke University and American Indian education.”
North Carolina recognizes eight Indigenous tribes, but only the Eastern Band of the Cherokee has received full federal recognition. According to data from the 2020 Census, the state has the second-largest tribal population east of the Mississippi River, with over 130,000 Native American and Alaska Natives.
See CHEROKEE on Page 9
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Amare Swierc
CLASS OF 2028
FROM PAGE 1
an intellectually diverse community, as well as one filled with students passionate both inside and outside of the classroom.
McSwain comes from a long line of Blue Devils, including both her parents and some cousins. But joining the Duke community in its 100th year is particularly special for her and her family for another reason — her great-grandfather, Wyatt McSwain, was a part of Duke’s inaugural first-year class in 1924, marking a centennial of Duke history within her own family.
When speaking about the significance of this milestone, McSwain shared that her family “is super excited” and that “it’s a big deal in [their] house.”
First-year Jada Ennine comes to Duke from Powder Springs, Georgia. Like McSwain, she is “looking forward to the community aspect of Duke,” including meeting new students through her week with Project Wellness and student organizations she hopes to later join. She expressed gratitude for “all the help” provided by upperclassman orientation leaders during move-in, which made her experience a “smooth process.”
First-year Vassilios Ringas from Richmond, Virginia, shared his goal of pushing himself beyond his comfort zone and what he would “normally do” during his time at Duke. He said he chose to attend the University because of its balance between having strong academics and a socially engaged student body.
Helping Ringas move in was his father, Evangelos Ringas, Pratt ‘96, who recounted
his first-year move-in experience. He emphasized the diversity that he witnessed at Duke, “even in the early ‘90s.”
“As a freshman, when I moved in, [I realized] I had a person next to me from Germany and a person a couple doors down who came overseas from China,” he said. “… I learned a lot from different cultures and having late night dorm coversations.”
Duke has seen significant change throughout the past 100 years. Over the course of 10 presidential administrations, the University greatly increased its enrollment, admitted its first students of color and merged the men’s and women’s colleges. And through it all, Duke students’ pursuit of excellence persists and is continually refined with each new class.
“This is a moment of transformation for Duke, when we can see more clearly than ever before how we might lead in the century to come,” Price said of Duke’s Centennial. “It’s also a moment of extraordinary continuity, as the seeds of our current and future excellence that were planted and cultivated throughout our University’s first hundred years come into bloom.”
Andrew Bae and Halle Vazquez contributed reporting.
HARRIS
FROM PAGE 1
As the country adapts to this monumental development in the lead-up to November’s election, The Chronicle interviewed members of the Duke community to gauge reactions to Biden’s historic act.
“[Biden] made an impossibly hard decision, and I think it was the right decision,” said Asher Hildebrand, director of graduate studies and professor of the practice in the Sanford School of Policy.
Hildebrand spent 15 years working in government and politics, serving as chief of staff for Rep. David Price, D-N.C., and director of policy and research for then-President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in North Carolina.
Although Hildebrand believes Biden had not definitively lost all hope of winning the election when he dropped out, he acknowledged that the then-candidate’s path to victory was “narrowing and perhaps closing,” especially in light of recent polling showing Biden trailing Trump in every major swing state and even “at risk of falling behind in a series of states that should be solidly Democratic.”
Sophomore Ariona Miller agreed that Biden leaving the race was “the best move that he could have made for the country and for the party.”
Miller is an intern for Durham Democrats and a member of Students for Harris. She explained that despite Biden’s strong policy record from his first term, diminished “public perception” of his capabilities due to signs of his advancing age was tanking his ratings in the polls and dividing support in the Democratic Party.
Endorsing Harris as the next Democratic candidate has “reinvigorated the Democratic base [and] united the party, at least on the surface level” according to sophomore Zoe Farris.
“I think what people really want is change,” Farris said, adding that she thinks Harris represents that change to many. She
explained that Harris position as a nonincumbent “fresh face” may appeal to many voters, especially younger demographics who Farris believes will “flock to her.”
Hildebrand agreed, explaining that Harris background as a 59-year-old woman of color makes her attractive to new audiences of voters and “opens up potential other paths to victory that the Biden campaign didn’t see.”
Hildebrand also noted that the Trump campaign’s recent reliance on “fighting on the terrain of age and frailty” has been neutralized and even flipped to Democrats’ advantage now with Harris as the prospective new party leader.
The interviewees all agreed that Harris is the obvious choice to replace Biden, though they expressed differing opinions on her favorability as a candidate.
“I don’t know how much I trust Kamala Harris,” Farris said, questioning Harris authenticity and competency as a policy-maker. She cited her complicated history as a prosecutor and her role in the Southern border crisis as weak points for the candidate.
Hildebrand believes Harris is “fairly moderate” and has already demonstrated her ability to distinguish herself from the Biden presidency in certain policy issues. He referenced her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, where she was able to affirm support for Israel while demanding the country mitigate Palestinian suffering in Gaza.
Hildebrand also thinks it is unavoidable that Harris has been “saddled by” certain Biden administration policies early on in her campaign, but he asserted that she has an opportunity to “draw some distinctions with Biden on a number of issues” and make a name for herself.
dukestores.duke.edu/index.php/btftk/
All interviewees agreed that both candidates should focus on outlining their policy solutions rather than resorting to personal attacks.
“Let’s talk about policy,” Hildebrand said. “Let’s talk about the future, instead of talking about whether the president is too old to do the job.”
Hildebrand thinks Trump will continue to struggle with “trying to rise above petty politics,” something he recently endeavored to do to promote an image of national unity in the immediate aftermath of his July 13 assassination attempt. However, Trump has a history of making sexist and racist comments about Harris, a trend that has continued since she announced her candidacy.
Farris thinks Harris needs to outline policy solutions to issues surrounding the economy and immigration that appeal to moderate and independent voters.
Miller hopes Harris will take more progressive stances than Biden did in dealing with the Israel-Hamas war, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and other social issues.
“I think the biggest tests are going to have to be around those cultural issues,” Miller said.Although Hildebrand has noticed a newfound “sense of possibility” and “optimism” in the Democratic Party, he wants people to remember that “as of right now, Kamala Harris is still the underdog.”
“Everyone needs to understand the stakes of this moment,” Hildebrand said. “… I hope that Americans’ response to this is [that] those who are at risk of disengaging will reengage, will participate, vote, turnout, organize — do all of the things that we need them to do in campaigns and certainly not grow complacent.”
LILLY LIBRARY
Wilson dorm during the renovation. The Value Transfer Station, which enables students to load money into their DukeCard Flex account, will be relocated to the East Campus Union.
The Duke Music Library, located beside Baldwin Auditorium, will remain open and continue to offer “broader library services.”
The relocation
After Lilly’s closure on May 5, library staff began the process of relocating library resources to the historic Bishop’s House.
Once the residence of former Trinity College President John Kilgo from 1911 to 1915, the Bishop’s House has also served as a dormitory, an infirmary, the Duke University Press headquarters and most recently the administrative office space for Duke Continuing Studies until the COVID-19 pandemic.
Various features of the Bishop’s House, including its fireplaces and wrap-around porch, have remained since the building’s construction in 1911.
The move to the Bishop’s House entailed efforts to carefully relocate tens of thousands of books, as well as films, journals and other collection materials. The process began with moving Lilly’s artwork to university storage facilities during spring break. The collection is currently divided among offsite storage facilities and the Perkins and Bostock libraries, where materials will remain for the duration of the renovation.
The renovation
Lilly was originally built in 1927 as Duke’s first library. However, the facility has not seen
expansion or substantial renovation since it was first constructed.
The Lilly renovation was initially announced in 2018 and set to begin in 2020, but plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two separate $10 million grants from the Duke Endowment in 2021 and 2023 helped fund and relaunch the renovation.
The upgrades to Lilly seek to “dramatically increase the building’s footprint,” expanding its square footage by 75% and adding increased seating, study spaces and “technologyequipped project rooms.”
The expansion will include a new staffed writing studio, a testing center and a 75-seat assembly room. Improvements will be made to “behind the scenes” staff areas, Lilly’s reading rooms and the overall accessibility of the building.
The renovation will also address “urgent facility needs,” including upgrades to the building’s infrastructure, heating and cooling systems, environmental controls and waterproofing.
Additionally, a “cafe-like commons filled with natural light” will be added to the west side of the building, which seeks to connect Lilly with the “bustling residential ‘backyard’ of East Campus.”
The extensive expansion is resulting in the closure — and eventual removal — of six East Campus tennis courts. The six courts, which are currently located behind Lilly, will be replaced with “a landscaped quad, featuring grass and trees.” The University plans to build six new tennis courts and six new pickleball courts in a different East Campus location by 2025.
The University publishes renovation-related updates and announcements on the Lilly Project website.
REZONING
FROM PAGE 3
frequent.” Now, they fear that changing the property’s designation from residential to UC(D) would lead to similar inconveniences.
Neighborhood representatives explained in the letter that although they offered compromises such as rerouting non-emergency traffic and providing access to parking garages via Campus Drive, such “good faith” efforts were not matched by the University. Instead of seeking alternatives to problems of vehicular access, residents claim the University said there were “too many unknowns” to make a definitive commitment.
“Duke should not be able to use these ‘unknowns’ as a shield from meaningful engagement when Duke controls the unknowns,” the board members wrote.
“Furthermore, allowing Duke to rezone the property now will severely limit opportunity for community engagement when Duke finally does decide to develop the property.”
In a June 13 interview with The Chronicle, Privat conveyed her concern about the future of the neighborhood’s relationship with the University should the property be redeveloped. At the time, she was worried that rezoning the space without a formalized plan for its purpose would provide Duke with “a blank check for the future” without “any direction of what will go there, or when it’ll go there, or how it will get there.”
Before the withdrawal was announced, residents felt the University fell short of its commitment to act in the best interest of the community and take their grievances seriously.
“Given the opportunity to meaningfully engage with neighbors to turn an abandoned,
asbestos-contaminated building into something new and wonderful for Duke, the community and Durham, Duke has pursued a tight-lipped stance to rezone its property only on its own terms,” the board members wrote in the April letter.
Some residents now feel optimistic about the neighborhood’s future. Lacy expressed his appreciation to the University for listening to the community’s concerns and withdrawing the rezoning application.
“We look forward to engaging again with Duke when they have a specific proposal for the site,” he wrote in a Tuesday afternoon statement to The Chronicle. “It’s a great property, and we are confident that Duke can thoughtfully develop 400 Gattis Street in a way that will serve Duke, the Burch Avenue neighborhood and all of Durham.”
Per Lacy, Durham City Council had tentatively scheduled the next discussion of Duke’s rezoning proposal for its August 19 meeting, which will now likely evaluate plans for the remaining seven parcels.
SUMMER ENROLLMENT
FROM PAGE 5
“Because I want to graduate a semester early, I may have needed to take this class over the summer [anyway],” Wang said, explaining that the course is a prerequisite for others she plans to take in the upcoming fall and spring semesters.
During each Summer Session term, students are capped at a maximum enrollment of 2.5 credits, which can include no more than one laboratory science course. These limitations arise because classes are condensed into only
six weeks of material, with most courses holding lectures five days a week.
“It is nice that you only have to concentrate on one subject, but at the same time, there’s less time for you to digest the same amount of information that normal [students] are getting over the course of 15 weeks,” Wang said.
She noted that while some students prefer to take more difficult courses over the summer to “get [them] out of the way” while they have fewer extracurricular commitments than during the academic year, the short time frame to absorb material can be challenging.
Natural and quantitative sciences and social sciences have remained the most popular subjects for Summer Session courses over the past decade, a trend which is consistent with the overall gap between humanities and STEM enrollment at Duke.
Most subject areas show an overall decline in summer enrollment, with the exception of the sciences and engineering, which have remained stable.
Wang noted that she places greater importance on summer programs — in which learning is more “hands-on” — than classes. She pointed to similar feelings among her peers, many of whom are participating in Data+ projects.
“I feel like you get more out of doing real-life experience things than just being in a classroom and learning because it’s passive learning — you’re not actively thinking and doing things,” Wang said.
Still, Wang sees benefits to Summer Session. She pointed to small class sizes and increased time with professors as advantages of taking classes over the summer.
CHEROKEE
FROM PAGE 6
Trinity College — Duke’s predecessor institution — operated an “Industrial Indian Boarding School” from 1882 to 1887, enrolling 20 students from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee nation.
The school was designed to “westernize” the Indigenous students, forcing them to stop speaking their native language as part of the assimilation process. Its creation was reportedly financially motivated, as Trinity’s administration received $167 from the federal government for each Cherokee student it enrolled.
“To force Native people to stop speaking their language is so heartbreaking, but I think, in a sense, it is a moment of almost healing to be able to teach this language at Duke,” van de Klashorst said. “… I don’t know if I can properly put into words the meaning behind being able to speak Cherokee and teach the Cherokee language at what was a former boarding school.”
Trinity’s boarding school was named in a May 2022 report by the Department of the Interior investigating over 400 schools across the nation as part of its Federal Boarding School Initiative.
Lewis maintained that while the new course “won’t go into the boarding school very much” in its curriculum, it presents an opportunity to serve as “the beginning of a larger project on rectifying what [Trinity] benefited from with Eastern Band boarding school students.”
“It’s not just about the boarding school specifically really, but [rather] learning a broader history of the United States, learning how to
work with Indigenous people on a broader scale, learning the importance of Indigenous knowledge [and] what that can do to help not only our own personal education but things that the larger world struggles with — everything from climate change to political policy,” Lewis said.
In addition to the new Cherokee language course series, Lewis hopes to eventually expand the program to offer several Indigenous languages at Duke, likely through continued interinstitutional partnerships.
Lewis is also planning a number of additional programs through NASI in an effort to meet students’ expectations for support of Indigenous populations and Native studies at Duke. She is currently in the process of developing a Native American Studies minor, organizing events to celebrate “A Year of American Indian Pop Culture” and establishing a yearly “Distinguished American Indian Changemakers” speaker series. She also hopes to one day create a standalone research center for Native American studies at Duke.
In addition to building up NASI’s programming, Lewis aims to engage a wider audience in Indigenous studies at the University in the coming years — starting with the Cherokee language course.
“Some students are a little intimidated to take these kind of language classes, especially American Indian language classes,” she said. “It’s not just about ‘should I be taking the Cherokee language as a non-speaker,’ but ‘what ways can I help bolster a language that is in some ways endangered,’ and ‘what can I learn through this language that will give me access to world views … [and] language construction in ways that I have never had access to before.’”
staff note
To all our new first-years, welcome to Duke! And welcome back to everyone else! I’m looking forward to catching up with many of you, and getting to know countless others. And with a new school year comes new chances to engage with the arts and our wider culture by doing things like joining clubs, attending shows and listening to music on your phone. As someone whose time at Duke has been made better by my engagement with the arts on campus, I thought I’d write a staff note giving three reasons for why you, too, should engage with the arts.
Reason One: To Relax
As you’ve undoubtedly heard (or came to realize through experience), college classes are a lot more work than high school classes. Between that and all the social and extracurricular obligations that the average Duke student finds themself involved in, it can be hard to give yourself a break from the hustle and bustle of the school year. This is where the arts come in.
One of the many beauties of the arts is that you can engage with them in a variety of ways, allowing you to take whatever type of break you need at the moment. That could be anything from listening to a few songs if you’re in a pinch or binge-watching an entire show if you want more time to relax.
So, next time you’re tired of cramming for an exam or preparing for some sort of an interview, consider going to a show or checking out a local restaraunt.
Reason Two: To Meet New
People
One of my favorite things in life is talking to other people, be they total strangers or dear friends. Duke is full of interesting people from diverse backgrounds, and you can have all sorts of wonderful interactions in just one week. Unfortunately, the people you get to know are often limited to those you meet in classes, dorms, or through clubs that draw people with very specific interests. This means you can miss out of a lot of fun conversations and wonderful friendships.
recess
However, arts events on and off campus present a new way for you to meet a wide range of interesting people. I personally have had dozens of interesting conversations and made several close friends just by going to different plays on and off-campus.
If you’re looking to meet some new people, consider taking a look at the DukeArts website to see what events are coming up.
Reason Three: To Grow As A Person
I’m a believer in and advocate for personal growth and feel that engaging with the arts is integral to many aspects of this process. When it comes to learning, to borrow from Nobel Laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “art transfers” to those who engage with it “the whole weight of an unfamiliar, lifelong experience with all its burdens, its colours, its sap of life.” In addition to more serious benefits like this, the arts also give you a chance to engage with beauty, explore the world around you and do all sorts of other things that make you a better person.
So, try to engage with the arts this year, at least a little. I promise that you’ll be better off for it.
-
Zev van Zanten, Recess Editor
CONVENIENCE. IT’S WHAT WE’RE ALL ABOUT.
The Lobby Shop, located in The University Store, offers a variety of conveniences from crackers to candy bars, frozen foods and beverages to canned goods, natural snacks, and health and beauty aids.
The Lobby Shop is open evenings and weekends to satisfy after-hours shoppers.
Upper Level, Bryan Center | Phone: 919-684-2179
Academic Year Store Hours
Monday - Thursday: 8:30am - 10pm | Friday: 8:30am - 11pm Saturday: 9am - 11pm | Sunday: 11am - 10pm
By Adonis Borges August 2, 2024
The apotheosis of Charli xcx
Charli xcx has taken over the summer — and the rave scene — with her sixth studio album, “Brat,” released June 7, 2024. Culture has felt the early reverberations of its intoxicating, synthetic sound since the BOILER ROOM x CHARLI XCX: PARTYGIRL set, where her producer, A.G. Cook, and fabulous it-girl friend, Julia Fox, joined her for a preview of several songs. If you haven’t listened, please do — the set brought the club to my bedroom and jolted me out of my chair. I couldn’t contain my ecstasy.
The commercial and critical success of “Brat” largely stems from Charli’s deliverance of herself — the Brat persona she crafted and believes the album attracts — and many mistakes, lessons, and gradual evolutions over her 31 years. Signed at 15 to Asylum Records, Charli dealt with confusion as an individual and with her role in the music industry, oscillating between mega-pop star and partygirl identities. Her lack of knowledge about the intricacies of generating an album, paired with inexperience coordinating the talents of her team, produced lackluster results.
She matured and so did her expertise, allowing Charli to combine disparate elements of her life and personality with greater precision. She says that her lyrics are inspired by texts she sends her friends. The personal and unapologetic evidence of
inner turmoil has transformed into a blunt and brutalistic force. Charli’s vulnerabilities, no longer hidden, are paradoxically aggressive and powerful.
“Brat” may be chaotic and sweaty. It also encapsulates intelligence, elegant articulation, a harmony of self-abandon and composure. The Charli we see in interviews — admitting her hangover, apologizing for speaking too much — radiates a strength that is a simultaneous awareness of her weaknesses. Funny, because Charli’s anxious and garrulous responses to her interviewee’s questions offer lucid insights about the mindsets and events that fuel her creativity — and shape her vision of the artist she wants to be.
Last week, Kamala Harris’s campaign changed the aesthetic of its X account to match the cover art of “Brat” after Charli endorsed the new nominee. “Kamala is Brat,” she said.
Hopefully, Kamala is not Brat. The POTUS should not be prone to breakdowns nor want to do a little line, nor should she be a “365” partygirl. The fact that this publicity stunt sways young voters — assuming that the flood of memes on TikTok signifies Gen Z support for Harris — shows how naive their commitments are and how susceptible they are to silly, flimsy rhetoric. We should vote for our politicians for the right reasons, yes? Not because they are cool and trendy, but because they are qualified? Why is a
recess
British pop star influencing American elections? Charli said only two weeks ago that she is not a political artist.
I prefer my music separate from my politics. Hedonism, extremism and drugs — the productive and poisonous pressure cookers of the soul — have their time and place. An artist can exploit them fruitfully. A politician cannot. The lifestyles are mutually exclusive.
In “Club Classics,” Charli shouts: “Yeah, I want to dance to me.”
In “365,” “Now I want to hear my track / Are you bumping that?”
Arrogant? Perhaps. Though I’d assert that we all wish to hear ourselves, dance to ourselves and feel proud of our accomplishments. Most people lack the opportunity to relish their own beauty. Most are not sexy.
Sexiness is about more than our superficial skin. Sexiness is eroticism, richness and abundance.
Sexiness is self-sufficiency.
I wrote an article months ago about Justin Timberlake, who famously brought SexyBack in 2006. My secret metric for what constitutes a great artist lies in their music’s capacity to exude sexiness. A sexy song — a three or four-minute clue — imparts an attitude and a mode of being. It seduces us into feeling love and lust for ourselves at the same time. We recall that feeling later and aspire to it as an ideal version of ourselves. Rick James, Prince and Madonna could do this. Listen to “Give It To Me Baby,” “Kiss”
DUKE MUSIC
and “Human Nature.” And to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.” Timbaland and Aaliyah’s “Hot Like Fire.” Steve Lacy’s “N Side” and Billie Eilish’s “LUNCH.”
The question of how electronic music can access our primal selves better than other, more “natural” and instrumental genres remains a puzzle to me. But the rave — a habitat for darkness, sweat, and scintillation — for leering eyes and loose limbs — undoubtedly reunites us with our carnality. It’s been doing so since the 70s.
We owe Charli xcx a special thanks. She has reminded us that we can be sexy — again.
Auditions for Lessons & Ensembles
You don't have to be a Music Major/Minor to take lessons or join a performing ensemble:
Chamber Music Groups
Chinese Music Ensemble Duke Chorale
Djembe/West African drumming
[dnme] Duke New Music Ensemble
Jazz Ensemble
Opera Theater
Symphony Orchestra Wind Symphony
Lessons offered in:
Classical Piano, Jazz Piano, Organ, Harpsichord, Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Classical Guitar, Jazz Guitar, Harp, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone, Jazz Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Tuba, Percussion, Djembe, Voice
Learn about auditions and performance opportunities. Auditions start August 26 !
https://music.duke.edu/ensembles https://music.duke.edu/lessons
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
Football is life: a look back at the iconic Ted Lasso series
By Jun Tan
June 28, 2024
It’s been just over a year since the grand finale of “Ted Lasso” aired on Apple TV, yet many of the show’s iconic moments still resonate with me today. In a world where countless people struggle in the pursuit of happiness and success, I think it is wise to review this iconic feel-good series and explain how we can use its comedic wisdom in our daily lives.
This review is inspired by my summer roommate’s suggestion that we watch the pilot episode as a way to ease our mutual boredom. Since then, we have done an episode a day, and the role this show has had in our growing friendship is simply a testament to the immense impact it has on its audience.
To quote the character Dani Rojas, “Football is life.” To its viewers, however, “Ted Lasso” depicts a reflection of our own lives in ways we have never imagined possible.
The story of “Ted Lasso” starts with a seemingly absurd premise: an American college football coach hired to manage a professional European football team
Courtesy of Apple TV
in the English Premier League, despite knowing nothing about the sport. He must learn the proper ways of soccer –excuse me, football — while developing meaningful relationships with the new people in his life and leading his team to success. Throughout the series, Ted constantly encourages his team with his humorous charisma and unceasing optimism. In doing so, he gives us what are among the best pieces of life advice:
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
“Success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves, on and off the field.”
“Every day is a chance to be better than we were the day before.”
And my favorite: “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? Got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish, Sam.”
Ted’s overwhelming enthusiasm and infectious personality aren’t the only reasons that he’s one of the most likable characters in television history. More importantly, he genuinely cares so much about everyone else and the fact that, deep down, he too is only human. In Season Two particularly, we see the vulnerable side of Ted, including his struggles with mental health and occasional panic
attacks (including one in the middle of a big game). The showrunners’ portrayal of such an imperfect yet relatable protagonist emphasizes the fact that it is perfectly okay to feel down sometimes as we navigate life’s many challenges. Moreover, we should always embrace the support from our friends and families during these difficult times.
Just as important to the show’s greatness are the many wonderful character arcs throughout its run. Although Ted himself hasn’t changed very much by the end of the series, his impact on those around him is immense. In Season One, captain Roy Kent goes from struggling with the burden of leadership to giving up the armband and retiring for the good of the team. Colin, a player mostly used for comedic relief in the first two seasons, gets the screen time he deserved in Season Three as we see him face the challenge of embracing his own identity. Even Jamie Tartt, perhaps the most selfish and narcissistic player Ted has ever coached, finally finds his place as a team player through an amazing redemption story.
Apart from its overarching messages of overcoming obstacles and being kind to others, “Ted Lasso” also offers many other nuggets of conventional wisdom applicable to our daily lives. One episode explores club owner Rebecca gathering
up her courage to apologize to Ted, who immediately forgives her, demonstrating that we should always own our mistakes and seek reconciliation. In another episode focusing on Roy not giving enough space to Keeley in their relationship, I was gently reminded it was okay to take a break from texting someone I really liked. The list goes on, proving that “Ted Lasso” is very much more than just a feelgood show.
Indeed, the cinematography of “Ted Lasso’’ excellently complements its writing. This is especially apparent in its more emotional scenes, where the camera zooms in on the characters to capture their facial expressions to the fullest extent with some stunning visuals. Moreover, the show expertly recreates an entire football stadium and all the fans in the crowd, giving us an eerily accurate representation of the proper football game atmosphere.
Similarly, the music of “Ted Lasso’’, written by Marcus Mumford and Tim Howe, helps bring the show to life. The title and theme song have since become iconic and instantly recognizable – I even used it as my wake-up alarm for an entire semester. The soundtrack is generally playful, adding to ever-present humor throughout the show. Yet it occasionally delves into more emotional depths, allowing the audience to connect more deeply
with the characters’ inner lives. Finally, the show’s occasional use of well-known songs adds a layer of relatability and nostalgia: classic hits from artists like The Beatles and Kenny Rogers are strategically placed to evoke specific emotions and memories. One memorable example was the introduction of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during the Season One finale, underscoring the show’s themes of solidarity and perseverance despite the devastating setback Ted’s team just suffered.
Overall, “Ted Lasso” is a testament to the power of positivity, kindness and resilience. It reminds us that even in the face of adversity, maintaining an optimistic outlook and fostering genuine connections with others can lead to extraordinary outcomes. The series’ success lies in its ability to balance humor and heart, creating a narrative that is as uplifting as it is entertaining. With its remarkable cinematography and its emotional soundtrack, “Ted Lasso” goes far beyond being just a television show about football: it is a cultural phenomenon that has touched the hearts of many, leaving a lasting impact with its messages of hope and humanity.
We’re Saving You a Seat!
Thu, Sep 5 | Page Auditorium Roy Wood Jr. & Jordan Klepper
Join The Daily Show stars Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper as they bring their sharp humor to the stage. Enjoy Wood’s 'charismatic crankiness' (Entertainment Weekly) and Klepper’s wit as they mix political satire and career stories in a stand-up show that will leave you laughing and ready for the election season ahead.
Student tickets are always $10!
Launch into the new school year with a block party from Duke Arts and the Nasher Museum! Open to all undergrads, mingle with classmates while enjoying food, live music, workshops, and of course – art! Fri, Sep 6 | 4—8 PM Duke Arts Block Party
sports
Duke women’s soccer’s Robbie Church announces retirement following 2024 season
By Mackenzie Sheehy July 22, 2024 Associate Editor
After 23 seasons at the helm, Robbie Church is ready for his swan song as head coach of the Blue Devils.
The Duke women’s soccer head coach announced Monday night that 2024 will be his final year of coaching. He will retire from the sport after a combined 38 years of experience on both the men’s and women’s sides that saw him accumulate a 476-261-80 record with 21 NCAA tournament visits.
“I feel like the past 23 years I’ve been the luckiest person in the world,” Church told GoDuke. “I coach at a university I love. I get out of bed every day and I go work with unbelievable student-athletes, coaches and staff and they’re so fun to be around. It’s been a great career and ride. I’ve enjoyed it, but like everything it must come to an end and I feel personally for myself, it’s just time.”
Morgan
Chu | Photography Editor
Duke women’s soccer is entering its final season under head coach Robbie Church.
Since he took over the program in 2001, Church led Duke to 20 NCAA tournament bids along with three College Cup appearances in 2011, 2015 and 2017. He was also tabbed as the ACC Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2017 while earning National Coach of the Year honors in 2011. He boasts six MAC Hermann Trophy fi-
nalists, along with coaching the 2022 winner Michelle Cooper.
Church has coached 21 All-American finalists, 22 NWSL draft selections, 38 All-ACC honorees and 15 Academic All-America selections as well. He is the winningest coach in Blue Devil history with a 293-147-66
all-time record, leaving the program a national powerhouse.
“Heartfelt congratulations to Coach Church, Linda and their entire family on a truly remarkable coaching career,”
Duke Director of Athletics Nina King said. “Robbie’s extraordinary impact on countless student-athletes across fourplus decades in collegiate soccer cannot be overstated, and Duke University has been the beneficiary of his commitment, drive and passion for the past 23 years.”
Church will be replaced by associate head coach Kieran Hall, who serves as the team’s associate head coach and enters his sixth season as a part of Duke’s program. Before joining the women’s staff for the past three years, he was a member of the Blue Devils’ men’s staff for three years. Hall will be the third head coach in women’s program history.
“I am truly honored to be the next head coach of Duke women’s soccer,” Hall said.
See CHURCH on Page 21
Breaking down the House v. NCAA landmark settlement
By Ranjan Jindal May 27, 2024 Sports Editor
The college sports world was taken by storm May 22 as the NCAA and the power conferences — ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12 — voted to approve a settlement for three antitrust lawsuits, most notably House v. NCAA.
This is a monumental move that will change the college athletic atmosphere, as universities and conferences are allowed to directly pay players through revenue sharing for the first time in history. If the settlement is approved, the era of amateur athletics will be essentially over.
There are two important components of this settlement.
The first is the roughly $2.8 billion that all conferences and the NCAA will pay to current and former athletes, from back to 2016, for the next 10 years. These athletes claim they lost potential NIL (name, image and likeness) revenue.
The second is a framework where conferences and schools would directly pay student-athletes.
There are two different ways for college athletes to make money — NIL and revenue sharing.
This case deals with revenue sharing, which is money generated from conferences and university athletic department budgets. The settlement has been a work in progress for multiple years now, so we’re breaking down the legal claims involved in the case and what the result could be for Duke and the rest of the country.
The legal claims
This settlement resolves three separate antitrust cases — House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA — all from athletes claiming the NCAA violates antitrust law. Former Duke football captain DeWayne Carter is the namesake plaintiff in the latter case, joined by Stanford soccer player Nya
Harrison and TCU/Oregon basketball player Sedona Prince.
There have been myriad antitrust cases against the NCAA, and most claims are similar in nature. Here’s the gist.
In 2020, former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Prince sued the NCAA for barring NIL payments for athletes prior to 2021 — when the NCAA changed its rules to allow NIL.
is more than scholarships and education funding.
This landmark settlement will bring college sports into the 21st century.
The plaintiffs say the conferences work together with the NCAA to exploit student-athlete labor and effort without legal representation and also limit the compensation athletes can receive. In addition, they claim the NCAA’s restrictions on NIL and control of TV markets prevent athletes from profiting on their true market value, which
STEVE BERMAN
Attorney for college athletes
“This landmark settlement will bring college sports into the 21st century, with college athletes finally able to receive a fair share of the billions of dollars of revenue that they generate for their schools,” said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Here’s what the NCAA gets in return for settling. Athletes who opt into the future revenue sharing agreement won’t be able to sue the NCAA, which gives it some protection.
Now, let’s dig into the details of the two big parts of the settlement.
Back pay to former athletes
The first agreement is “back pay,” or payment for work done in the past. This
$ $ $ $
$2.8 billion payment, to be made over the course of 10 years, is geared to the current and former athletes as far back as 2016 that lost out on possible profits from the NIL landscape post-2021.
The NCAA would use its reserve fund to pay roughly 40% of the $2.8 billion. The other 60% comes from conferences, but in a unique method.
Out of this 60%, power-conference schools will take on 40%, and the rest is shouldered by non-power conference schools. For Duke, a power-conference school, the payment is about $1 or $2 million total for the next decade.
Interestingly, the conferences will pay players by taking a chunk out of their future revenue from the March Madness tournament. The NCAA pays conferences based on how many games its teams play in the tournament — roughly $2 million for every game — and conferences will use part of these future “NCAA tournament participation payments” to fund the athlete payments.
However, this structure could end up hurting small conferences, especially those that rely on this guaranteed $2 million payment for revenue. They would also be forced to pay a disproportionate amount of the settlement to mostly former Power 5 athletes. Roughly 80-90% of this $2.8 million will go to Power 5 men’s basketball and football players.
The reason the back pay goes to 2016 is due to the statute of limitations — the limit
on how far back certain legal claims can be addressed. For the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, there is a statute of “four years from the date of the most recent injury,” hence the 2016-17 season cut-off which was four years prior to the NCAA allowing name, image and likeness compensation.
Future revenue sharing structure
The second — and perhaps more important — thing this settlement does is create a future framework for schools and conferences to directly share their revenue with athletes.
The current proposal creates a spending cap of roughly no more than $22 million annually for each university starting in the 2025-26 season. This figure represents 22% of “average media rights, ticket sales and sponsorship revenue of each power-conference school.”
This figure could increase as revenues do, and each school could decide how much they want to use to pay student-athletes as long as it doesn’t exceed that cap.
The agreement makes TV deals that networks pay to conferences even more important, because schools can use conference TV revenue to pay athletes. So, more fruitful TV deals equals less money they have to cut from their other expenses.
It’s important to note that revenue sharing to athletes is all in addition to NIL deals — the sponsorships players negoti-
ate with booster collectives or companies to make appearances in commercials and at charity events.
NIL allows the big booster programs to maintain an advantage because with revenue sharing, every power-conference school is paying athletes the same roughly $22 million amount. However, those with big collectives can make up the difference by offering lucrative NIL deals.
Athletes in each incoming class would be able to “opt-in or opt-out” to the future revenue sharing agreements. Players could be getting more money as a result of other ongoing antitrust cases like Fontenot v. NCAA out of Colorado, so they might be incentivized to opt-out and retain the right to sue the NCAA.
What’s left to decide?
Well… a lot.
First of all, the settlement has to be approved and reviewed by Judge Claudia
Wilken of the U.S. District Court for Northern California, along with the plaintiff attorneys. The timeline for a final ruling is around late 2024 to early 2025, and revenue sharing would begin in the 2025-26 season.
There are still a lot of questions on how the future revenue stream will be distributed amongst players. Duke has 27 varsity sports, and evidently not all of them generate the same money for the athletic department, so how will that be taken into account?
The answer is that payment allocation will probably be left up to the school. College football is the big money maker because of its lucrative TV deals, and even at a school like Duke where basketball culture is prominent, the football team earns the highest revenues for the Blue Devil athletic department. Schools could have trouble funding lower-revenue sports, which are now more vulnerable.
The new revenue sharing system also has Title IX uncertainties. Title IX is a fed-
Chronicle File Photo Duke’s Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium
WELCOME TO DUKE! SHOOTERS
Duke football debuts vision for 2024 campaign at ACC Kickoff
By Caleb Dudley July 25, 2024
Associate Editor
It’s time for football again.
This week, the ACC held its annual Football Kickoff Media event, as all 17 conference teams gathered in Charlotte to discuss the upcoming season with the media. For Duke, first-year head coach Manny Diaz was joined by sophomore quarterback Grayson Loftis, redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy, graduate wide receiver Jordan Moore, redshirt senior safety Jaylen Stinson and redshirt junior offensive lineman Justin Pickett.
Coming off a tumultuous year that was highlighted by an upset of then-No. 9 Clemson in the opener and the sudden departure of head coach Mike Elko, there was a lot of buzz regarding the new era of Duke football.
Signal-caller battle
After star quarterback Riley Leonard transferred from the program, the Blue Devils now have a major decision to make: Who will be the starting quarterback for the 2024-25 season?
Loftis returns after a freshman campaign in which he began as the third-string gunslinger, but he ended up starting five games — including a Birmingham Bowl win over Troy — after injuries to Leonard and backup Henry Belin IV. Now, he aims to re-earn the position he finished the season with.
“Being in a room with guys like Henry and Riley, who had starts, who had snaps in big time games, I learned the value of asking questions. Being able to talk to veterans and guys that have done it before really [helped me] figure out how to do my process,” Loftis said.
On the other side of the battle is the Texas transfer Murphy, who was the biggest splash in the portal for Duke. After he redshirted his freshman season with the Longhorns, the Inglewood, Calif., native had to step up to the plate when star quarterback Quinn Ewers went down with an injury. Murphy went 2-0 in his starts, allowing Texas to stay afloat in the College Football Playoff race.
“It was definitely tough separating myself from the team during that time and just doing what was best for me: getting into the portal trying to find a new home. And luckily, I found Duke University and coach Manny,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t ask for a better place.”
Despite the undoubted stress that comes with such an important positional battle, the two quarterbacks are taking it in stride, as they have become fast friends and raved about one another.
“I think from the first moment we introduced ourselves in our meeting room, it was just all about us having a good chemistry. The ability to just joke around and crack jokes with the guy and really push yourself to be the best player and push another guy to be the best player in kind of an informal way,” Loftis said.
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“I couldn’t ask for Grayson to be any better of a person and a partner to work with,” Murphy said. “Him being here and having the experience and the knowledge of Duke as a program and knowing the people that’s been here, that’s come through here, that are here currently, he’s able to help me get a better feel for everything and everyone that’s around me.”
Diaz days
In two years, Elko turned Duke from a ACC bottom-feeder to a team that could go toe-to-toe with the conference’s best; the Blue Devils went 17-9 during his tenure with two bowl victories to boast. Now, Diaz is tasked with keeping that momentum.
“The first question I asked was ‘What can we do better?’ You know, a lot of good has been done here in the last 24 months, what can we do even better? What’s the one thing that if you could change it to make
us even better, what would be that thing?”
Diaz said.
After a short tenure as the head coach of Miami, Diaz went up to Penn State to take the defensive coordinator job, and what he accomplished there was nothing short of remarkable. The Nittany Lions were a dominant defensive unit under his tutelage, ranking near the top of every major defensive category and propelling their coach to Durham to take over his second ACC program.
While following up Elko may be a tough task, Diaz seems up to it, remarking about the excellent infrastructure that is already in place and the immense support from the administration and fans. He has also been successful in recruiting, bringing in a sizable transfer group highlighted by Murphy and building a 2025 recruiting class that is on track to be one of the best in school history.
Tiffany Chen | Staff Photographer Duke football huddles after its annual spring game.
CHURCH
FROM PAGE 16
“I want to thank Nina King and Dr. Chris Kennedy. I am humbled by this incredible opportunity and the belief you have entrusted in me. I would also like to thank Robbie Church. I am deeply grateful for your invaluable mentorship, guidance and friendship. Because of this, I feel extremely well-prepared for this opportunity. We are excited about building upon the DWS legacy of developing strong leaders and competing for championships.”
Church’s time in charge is not up just yet. He is still committed to seeing his team through the 2024 season, with high hopes for his final year as a collegiate coach.
“Although I am retiring at the end of the season, I am so excited about this year,” Church said. “My retirement will start after our final match of the 2024 season and I hope that isn’t until December. I am all in this year and I’m excited about this team. I think we have great potential and we can be one of the best teams in the country. We have very lofty goals and we’re going to start working next Tuesday on the field. We will work extremely hard and we will be all in and working towards our goals of winning championships.”
HOUSE V. NCAA
FROM PAGE 18
eral law that says “schools must provide male and female student-athletes with equal treatment and benefits.” According to The Athletic, school administrators believe the annual revenue-sharing total dollar amount will likely need to be equal between men’s and women’s teams, but individual athletes and teams do not have to make the same amount.
This settlement also eliminates scholarship limitations for all sports because decreasing restriction gives the NCAA antitrust protection; the new numbers create nearly 800 more scholarships across all sports. Finally, the settlement doesn’t address employment — including the pending Dartmouth union case.
If the terms are approved, current athletes would get compensated in three ways. The first is traditional scholarship resources including tuition, room and board and nutritional resources. Second is the roughly $20-22 million of school revenue shared with athletes. The final part is NIL payments, which, if paid by third-party companies and booster collectives, do not count as part of the 22%.
While the settlement creates more questions than answers, this is truly a significant time for the future relationship between the NCAA, power conferences and student-athletes.
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ACC KICKOFF
FROM PAGE 20
“People want to be at Duke. The parents of our student athletes want their sons to be at Duke. They want them to finish and graduate at Duke. I think that’s where we’re a little bit uniquely poised [compared to] some of these other schools,” Diaz said. “We can sell so much more than [football].”
One major challenge for Diaz in recreating the success of the past two years will be finding ways to replace a large number of contributors. The Blue Devils just said goodbye to one of the most impactful senior classes the program has ever seen, and lost even more players to the portal. However, Diaz seems unfazed and encouraged by the mental makeup of his group.
“You’re always trying to impress upon your team the virtues of hard work, sacrifice, discipline, can’t have a great team without that … That’s obviously true at Duke, but what you realize at Duke is you can’t even get in unless you were raised that way,” Diaz said.
Keeping the culture
One of the stories that developed throughout Elko’s tenure — especially in the time between his departure for Texas A&M and the hiring of Diaz — was the tight-knit nature of the locker room. That phenomenon doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
The Blue Devils lost a surprisingly low amount of impact players to the transfer
portal in the wake of the coaching change, with Diaz convincing starters like Stinson and running back Jaquez Moore to withdraw their names from the portal.
“With the coaching change, there’s a lot of doubt in the air. I tested the waters just to see what was out there, where my head was,” Stinson said. “But ultimately, just the brotherhood we have here, the culture we have here, I just wanted to run it back, do it one more time.”
Another major component in keeping the momentum going was the retention of strength coach David Feeley, who is among the best in the business and beloved by Blue Devil players. The 2023 ITL Strength Coach of the Year also worked with Diaz at Miami and his return had several players excited about the new era.
“That was absolutely one of the most important decisions, and to be honest, it was made before I was hired. David called me and asked me if I’d be interested in the job when it opened and I said, ‘Well that depends.’ He says, ‘Depends on what?’ I said, ‘Would you stay?’”
Duke also still has a number of excellent players on the roster to work with. Moore figures to be an All-ACC level performer at wide receiver, and Tre Freeman and Chandler Rivers highlight a defensive unit that wreaked havoc over the last two years. If Diaz can keep that momentum going, the Blue Devils should again be a tough out in conference play.
Russell Affum
Hannah Armstrong
Karla Fernanda ArreolaLucio
Cooper Branch
Leya Edwards-Headen
Elizabeth Escobar Gomez
Olyvia Fan
Neveya Flakes
Katrina Fortes
Becca Lee
Ghidaa Mohamed
Praise Oladiti
Aniela Osuhor
Melanie Perez-Romero
Ruth Ramirez Hernandez
Eva Reyes
Nailah Robinson
Chelsea Watson
Shantay Williamson
Critters:
Intro
Prof. Gabriel Rosenberg
with the cases in which we have found the death penalty to be proportionate we will not undertake to discuss or cite all of those cases each time we carry out that duty. The imposition of death for this murder i s proportionate when compared with our other cases. Therefore, we hold defendant’s sentence is neither disproportionate nor excessive considering the nature o f defendant and the crime he committed.83
Further, in such instances, the similarity of the language the court
uses to say it is “comparing” the case on review to those in which it has previously found death proportionate is so consistent across opinions as to appear rote.84 The lack of comparisons to any cases but those few in which the court has previously found death disproportionate, along with the rote language used in reference to other cases, leave a strong impression that the court is performing comparisons only to the select few cases in which it has previously found death disproportionate. The comparison of a case under review to only those few cases in which death has been found disproportionate is necessarily of limited value because it cannot answer the central question: whether the death sentence is proportionate when compared to jury sentences in which life and death verdicts were imposed. Regarding this question’s centrality to proportionality review, the North Carolina Supreme Court has explained: If, after making such comparison, we find that juries have consistently returned death sentences in factually similar cases, we will have a strong basis for concluding that the death sentence under review is not excessive or disproportionate. If juries have consistently returned life sentences in factually similar cases, however, we will have a strong basis for concluding that the death sentence in the case under review is disproportionate.85 The court’s focus on the small number of cases in which it has found death disproportionate on appellate review eliminates the court’s
sports
ability to determine what sentences “juries have consistently returned” in factually similar cases, destroying the review’s ability to serve its constitutionally mandated purpose. In Gregg, the U.S. Supreme Court emphasized comparative proportionality review’s special ability to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory sentences specifically by serving as a check on “the possibility that a person will be sentenced to die by the action of an aberrant jury.”86 By only comparing to the few cases in which it has previously found a death sentence disproportionate, the North Carolina Supreme Court does not compare to any jury sen - tences, making it impossible for comparative proportionality review to fulfill its constitutional mandate. Further, even when the court considers not only cases in which it found death sentences to be disproportionate but also those in which
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Brian Quinby