October 2, 2008

The Chronicle Policy may Profs discuss or* limit news on Trustees

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Media disappointed by lack of openness by

Shuchi Parikh THE CHRONICLE

Although the Board of Trustees has no legal obligation to open its meetings to the

press, members of several media outlets said a press blockage will limit transparency and coverage of the 36-member group.

Media will be barred from all parts of the Trustees meeting this weekend, and Chair Robert Steel, Trinity 73 and President ROTI analvck c rsaiysis |bU mdiaid Brodhead will not hold the press conference that traditionally capped the meeting.

“In the long run, [the limited access] makes it harder for [the Trustees] to communicaie to the public and raises unnecessary barriers to media trying to get fair information,” said Bob Ashley, editor of The (Durham) Herald-Sun. The change—to be applied to all future Trustee meetings—was made following an internal governancereview over the past year.

“It’s always a loss when you’ve been accustomed to having free flow of access

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LAWSON KURTZ ATM E

Five professors join President RichardBrodhead (far right) in a panel discussion of the current financial crisis Wednesday in a packed GriffithTheater.

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SEE MEDIA ON PAGE 5

CHRONICLE

Julia Love

THE CHRONICLE

The first-ever President’s Forum on Critical Issues, moderated by President Richard Brodhead, convened Wednesday afternoon to get to the bottom of Wall Street’s swift downward spiral, a phenomenon that has average Americans and brilliant economists alike scratching their heads.

Nearly 1,000 students, faculty and staff members filled Griffith Theater and the first level of Page Auditorium to hear professors Craig Burnside, James Cox, Cam'Har-

vey, David Rohde and Katherine Schipper present their views on the financial upheaval and pose questions of their own.

“Although I have been alive for more than a day or two, I don’t think there has ever been quite such a turbulent dme in my lifetime,” Brodhead said. “A university can’t step forward to solve the problems of this time, but this is a place ofeducation.”

Harvey, J. Paul Sticbt professor of international business, explained that although there are a number of reasons for the crisis, many bankers’ currenl woes can be attributed to greed and a misunderstanding of the fundamentals ofrisk management. Financiers urge their clients to structure their portfolios so they will survive a worst-case scenario, but many fail-

ing banks ignored their own advice.

Investment bankers typically bet more than even the most Steely gambler is willing to wager, said Burnside, a professor of economics. Although these bets enhance returns when markets perform well, they also amplify losses if markets sink. For example, a bank that bets double its net worth would be wiped out completely by a 50 percent drop in the market.

If the government is burdened with the financial outlays ofAmerican International Group, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, then the expense will be |1 trillion, or about 7 percent of the gross domestic product, Burnside added.

SEE CRISIS ON PAGE 4

Baldwins seek Rep. Price takes questions on East to empower by

William Hyung THE CHRONICLE

Dukefemales by

Christine Hall THE CHRONICLE

Effortless

perfection.

This term, thrown around often in campus culture discussions and debates, sprang out of the Women’s Initiative, a study commissioned by the University in 2003 that examined a myriad of genderspecific issues at Duke.

“That’s where we first heard about this phenomenon about women feeling like they have to be perfect SEE BALDWINS ON PAGE 6

Rep. David Price, who represents Durham, spoke at a town hail-style meetingWednesday in Richard White Lecture Hall.

Professor and Rep. David Price has been absent from campus for much of the past decade, on leave to serve the residents ofDurham and the fourth district in Washington instead of in the classroom.

But Duke Democrats welcomed him back Wednesday, along with approximately 70 students, for a town hall-style meeting in Richard White Lecture Hall.

“It feels great to come back to Duke.... It is always fun,” said Price, a professor of political science and public policy studies.

In the meeting, Price focused on the current economic crisis and the government’s bailout plan—passed last night by the Senate—but also addressed issues from foreign policy to personal anecdotes.

“It should not be called a ‘bailout,’” Price said, explaining the complexity of the American economic situation and the necessity of a multi-stepped solution.

SEE PRICE ON PAGE 4

THE CHRONICLE

2 I THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

A

Russia sees no potential conflict STRELNA, Russia Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that he sees no ideological grounds for a war with the United States—cold or hot—despite strained relations with Washington and the NATO alliance.

Russia's relations with the U.S. were already at a postCold War low when they were further damaged by Russia's war with U.S. ally Georgia in August. Russia has complained vehemently about what it says is a growing U.S. military presence near its borders.

But Medvedev said Wednesday that the Cold War was based on ideological differences between the Soviet Union and the NATO nations.

yfy Pirates, ship owners negotiating MOGADISHU, Somalia

An official at

Somalia's foreign ministry says negotiations are taking place between the Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with battle tanks and the ship's owners.

Mohamed Jama Ali, the ministry's acting permanent director, said Wednesday "there are talks between the owners of the ship and the pirates. But no other side is

involved in negotiations."

Today at Duke

...

Genomic Medicine Forum Fitzpatrick-CIEMAS224O, 9to Warn Kelly Marcom, a clinical oncologist and IGSP member will present an "Update on the Breast Cancer Genomic Trial."

KARALETI,Georgia European Union monitors in white shirts and bright blue berets began patrolling a buffer zone Wednesday outside the breakaway region ofSouth Ossetia that has been controlled

by Russian troops and separatists since an August war in Georgia.

The deployment paves the way for a promised Russian pullback of its remaining troops from areas they occupied outside South Ossetia and another separatist region in Georgia The North has rejected U.S. requests on verification and accused Washington of not living up to its end of the deal and removing North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.lt recently reversed the process of dismantling its nuclear facilities.

Georgians in villages beyond Russian checkpoints welcomed the Western observers, who are to monitor the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Some frightened residents of villages damaged by arson and looting they blame on South Ossetians said the EU came too late.

Engineer suspended for texting LOS ANGELES A Southern California transit official says a commuter train engineer has been suspended for sending a text message around the time of a deadly collision involving another train.

Metrolink board member Richard Katz said Wednesday that officials don't know whom the engineer was texting.

The engineer has not been identified.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the engineer of the Metrolink train that crashed after running through a red signal was texting while on duty.

Robert Sanchez was the engineer of that train. It collided with a freight train this month and killed him and 24 other people.

TODAY

S7OOB bailout passes Senate 74-25

EU monitoring begins in Georgia

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After one spectacular failWASHINGTON ure, the $7OO billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday,-winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened.

Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.

In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

Ex-teacher flees with student OMAHA, Neb. A former math teacher sentenced to federal prison for a sex crime with a minor said the age of the 13-year-old schoolboy she fled with to Mexico didn't matter to her.

"We didn't see age anymore.... In my mind he quit being a teenage b0y.... to me, he was a man," Kelsey Peterson said in a taped interview on ABC's "Good Morning America"aired Wednesday.

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Yes, madam, I am drunk.

But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.

—Winston Churchill

THE

CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008 I 3

AG Cooper uses lax case in campaign ad Naureen Khan CHRONICLE On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper stood in front of the national media and proclaimed the innocence of the three indicted members of the 2005-2006 men’s lacrosse team, bringing to an end a year of unexpected twists and turns in the now-infamous lacrosse case.

A new television advertisement released Tuesday by Cooper’s campaign for a third term prominently highlights his dismissal of the charges as a testament to the attorney general’s leadership abilities. Cooper, a Democrat, is running against Asheboro lawyer Bob Crumley, a Republican, in the Attorney General Roy Cooper released a campaign general election.

The 32-second spot features footage ad Tuesday using images from the lacrosse case. from the April press conference, in which Cooper said the lacrosse case was “the reattorney general approaches cases then sult of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure it would be credible. What he did in the to verify serious allegations.” lacrosse case has nothing to do with what “It [showed] real leadership when he his office usually does in cases of possible guided our state through a difficult time innocence,” Coleman said. “His office has in the justice system,” said Stephen Bryant, shown no interest whatsoever that an incampaign manager for cooper. The office nocent person may be in prison.... It’s inof the Attorney General took over the lafuriating that he would try to pass off what crosse investigation after former Durham he did in the lacrosse case as what his ofdistrict attorney Mike Nifong recused himfice usually does in cases of possible innoself from the case in January of 2007 afcence.” ter ethics allegations were leveled against The ad also credits Cooper with modernhim. ■ izing the state’s crime labs by hiring dozens But Professor ofLaw James Coleman, a of DNA experts.

“We use the same technology to establish frequent commentator on the case, said the ad is misleading.

“If this ad really represented how the SEE CAMPAIGN ON PAGE 5 by

THE

DUKE PERFORMANCES ESFAHfI CtflSlCfl -

Members of OSG discuss proposals to enhance communication between the body and students at its weeklymeeting Wednesday. The Senate will vote on the measures next week.

DUKE STUDENT GOV'T

DSG presents policies to increase student access by

Emmeline Zhao THE CHRONICLE

In an effort to improve communication with the student body, Duke Student Government proposed this week to publish more information about its activities on its Web site. The bylaw changes will be voted on at next Wednesday’s meeting.

Proposals include additions to the site such as senators’ attendance records, as well as the publication ofhouse rules that will be updated annually. The Senate also voted in favor of a resolution to publish senators’ voting records online.

“It should not be a mystery how we operate,” said Academic Affairs senator Gregory Morrison, a sophomore and Chronicle columnist. “These [resolutions] are designed

increase the ability of the student body to have direct oversight over DSG—it’s a large measure of accountability.”

According to the proposed bylaw changes, each senator’s attendance record will be updated on the DSG Web site within two days of the most recent meeting. Students will be able to access senators’ records by clicking on their names, and senators with excusedabsences will be differentiatedfrom those whose absences were unexcused.

Senators’ voting records would be published online, allowing students to keep track of how senators vote on significant pieces of legislation. With the publication of voting and attendance records, students can to

SEE DSG ON PAGE 5

4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

THE CHRONICLE

Contact info kept off site by glitch

CRISIS from page 1 “It’s not clear if this is going to weaken the dollar because we don’t know the exact fiscal costs yet,” he said.

“But this certainly isn’t going to make your European vacation cheaper any time soon.”

Hours before the Senate passed a bailout bill, Brodhead asked the panelists how they would counsel a legislator who called them as their “last best hope” from

by

Although many Duke students are not aware of it, their contact information is readily available online with a few

Capitol Hill.

Schipper, Thomas F. Keller professor of accounting, prescribed minimal political risk, simplified credit derivatives and strictly enforced regulations to remedy the

nation’s financial ills.

“That’s not a glamorous answer, but I’m an accountant so that’s OK,” she noted.

Senior Packy McCormick said the forum was perfect for students perplexed by the latest headlines.

“I think a lot of kids are reading the news and not fully grasping what’s going on,” he said. “[The professors] each took a separate angle, and when the different pieces came together they painted a great overall picture.”

PRICE from page

1

He added that the bailout plan was not a perfect solution, but a necessary first step to create a lasting reform.

Price voted for the bailout that was put before the House of Representatives Monday but ultimately rejected.

“He had a good and honest effort to deal with the issues,” said Duke Democrats President Ben Bergmann, a sophomore. “It emphasized the importance of a new presidency as the first step to end the mistakes of the Bush registration.”

Price added that the bailout plan should be focused to help the average American businesses, not the people who were “being reckless with other people’s money.”

Price provided detailed answers to a wide range of student questions, drawing on personal experiences and his connections to North Carolina and Duke.

“I was impressed by the level of specificity in his answers. They were very carefully thought out,” freshman Hareesh Ganesan said.

Lisa Du

THE CHRONICLE

clicks of a mouse.

Since the start of the school year, however, contact information for students in the Class of 2012 has been lacking—if searched online, many students’ name and e-mail are displayed, but not their the phone number.

Kathy Pfeiffer, assistant vice provost and director ofStudent Information Services and Systems,, said she was not aware of the glitch. She added, however, that the office will be analyzing the problem and working on a solution.

“The fact that the freshman phone numbers were not transferred was a systems bug that we’ll take care of immediately,” she said.

Contact information—which includes the phone number, e-mail address and mailbox number—for all Duke students is available through both the University Web site, duke.edu, and the Office of Information Technology’s Online Phonebook, unless a student requests that certain information remain private.

Students have always been given the right to have their directory information withheld, thanks to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, said Dean of Students Sue Wasiolesk.

She added, however, that the University is not required to make students aware of the service.

This past summer, due to a request from Kristin Pfeiffer, Trinity ’OB and a former athletics and campus services senator for Duke Student Government, a system was implemented so students could go online and opt-out of having their phone numbers and e-mail addresses listed in the directory.

Sophomore Mike Lefevre, DSG vice president for athletics and campus services, said the new procedure is less hassling than the old system, in which students had to either delete their phone numbers fromACES or contact the Registrar’s office to request their numbers be removed.

CHRISTINA CARLSON/THE CHRONICLE

The panelists involved in Wednesday's forum represented various academic fields including accounting, economicsand politics.

Freshman Alison Kibbe, East Campus Coordinator of the Duke Democrats, said Price was very easy to understand and related well to the students.

However, not all students were satisfied with how he answered attendants’ questions.

“He spoke well and he had some good ideas, but I felt that he was here mostly to campaign for Obama,” freshman Michelle Barreto said.

Ganesan said Price’s ideas about a bailout or bipartisanship were informative, but sometimes predictable.

“His answers were like what I would expect from any Democratic politician,” he said. “He focused on insuring that his messages got across.”

Price noted how much North Carolina and Duke had changed in the past two decades, referring to it as the “New South” where there was much progress in economics and health care.

Price concluded his speech with a nod to his experiences at Duke, speaking about the importance of liberal education in creatingprogressive thoughts and ideas.

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THE CHRONICLE

I

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008 5

MEDIA from page 1 to

information and then you

don’t,” said Linda Williams, a senior editor at The (Raleigh) News & Observer. “I would hope that something like the Trustees’ closing of their meeting doesn’t mean that people still

won’t make themselves available the press.”

Because Duke is a private institution, the Board is not considered to be a public body, and is therefore not required to comply with the North Carolina Open Meetings Law mandating that meetings of governing committees be open.

Despite being private, the University does receive a large amount of public funding. During the 2007 fiscal year, the government gave Duke $545.5 million in grants and contracts, according to 2006-2007 Financial Statements.

Editors of local papers—The N&O and The Herald-Sun—said that although the closed-door policy is disappointing, there is no legal basis by which they can appeal it. The Trustees’ bylaws also do not mandate any portion of theirregular gatherings be public.

Williams and Ashley said they have usually found the University fairly accessible to the media, but they will now have to look into other ways of getting information about the meetings—such as building stronger source relations with individual Trustees to maintain coverage.

Ashley noted that the press to

DSG from page 3

conference did not offer particularly profound access for media to the meetings, but it did at least allow for reporters to ask questions and gather information they deemed pertinent.

“We could pursue angles that we may think readers may be interested in, that the University would not have thought [to announce] or may have preferred to indulge,” Ashley said.

Chronicle Editor Chelsea Allison, ajunior, said press releases are “imperfect by nature of their polish” and “inadequate” for relaying information to readers.

make more informed decisions during election season, Morrison said.

“The idea is that from now on, we’ll be building public records—all serious [legislative bodies] like the House'and Senate do this,” he said.

In an e-mail sent to DSG members following the meeting, Executive Secretary Garni Parrish, a sophomore, notified senators of DSG office hours to be implemented from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, “in order to increase accessibility and communication with the student body.” The office hours are open to students and will be held in the DSG office.

During the meeting, the Senate also approved of the five organizations that received chartered or recognized statusfrom the Student Organization Finance Committee: Triathlon Club, Public Speaking Club, Duke Swing Dance Club, La Societe Francais—a group to promote French cultural awareness—and Net Impact, which looks to impact society through business and corporate responsibility.

Because DSG and SOFC have been put under the spotlight because of scrutinized budget allocations, SOFC Chair Sam Halls, a junior, said SOFC is still looking to reassess the number and importance of campus groups.

“We are in the process of working through the approval process—we want to streamline things and examine the necessity of groups and make sure that they will do or accomplish something,” he said.

“[Thisresolution] creates the impression of secrecy, and that just

breeds mistrust” Chelsea Allison,

junior and Chronicle editor “This new resolution removes the Board from scrutiny of any kind,” she added. “It creates the impression of secrecy, and that just breeds mistrust.”

According to bylaws, the Board ofTrustees meets at least four times each year and is comprised of alumni and students who serve as young trustees. It approves the University’s budget and discusses matters to advance the University’s longrange plan.

of negative publicity and media attention directed at the state’s justice system during the lacrosse case.

But Professor ofLaw Thomas Metzloff, another close follower of the case, said the dismissal of the charges was an appropriate method of highlighting Cooper’s leadership abilities given the circumstances.

“He did something that is hard for a prosecutor to do—admit that something went badly,” he said. “It took some commitment for him to speak strongly and it was very important in the context of that case.... I was proud as a North Carolina citizen that he did that.”

Shuchi Parikh contributed

strom

innocence as we do guilt, and North Carolina is a better state because of it,” Cooper says in the ad.

Byrant added that the number of DNA experts has increased from five to 42 during Cooper’s eight-year tenure as attorney general.

Coleman, who is an instructor in the School of Law’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic, said he has petitioned Cooper’s office on multiple occasions to investigate prisoner’s claims of wrongful conviction, but to no avail.

He added that Cooper’s actions in the lacrosse case were largely instigated by the mael-

reporting.

Lewis Stephen Co-Director, AIDS-Free World Burden of HIV on Women and Girls in Africa Stephen Lewis served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa from 2001-2006

6:30 pm, October 2, 2008 Fleishman Commons Sanford Institute of Public Policy Paid parking available in Science Drive Visitors Lot Reception to follow ■HDUKE

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www.globalhealth.duke.edu/seminars

THE CHRONICLE

6 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

BALDWINS from page 1 in every aspect of their lives,” said Donna Lisker, associdean for undergraduate education and co-director of the Baldwin Scholars program. “That’s an impossible standard. And when you fall short of it—because you will—it leads to diminished self confidence and an increase of competition among women.”

The administration then proposed the Baldwin Scholars Program to remedy such a culture and encourage women’s ate

leadership.

When the Women’s Initiative report was released, former President Nan Keohane, who chaired the committee, wrote that women on campus also face “lingering, subtle but nonetheless pervasive and debilitating stereotypes and prejudicial expectations about what they can

SPECIAL TO THE

CHRONICLE

The Baldwin Scholars program, started in 2004,has sought to empower female students and accepts 18 girls out ofabout 100applicants each year.

accomplish.”

These “suffocating” norms have shaped University culture for years, and made it impossible for women to flourish as human beings, Keohane had said.

At the birth of the Baldwin program in 2004, the 18 girls who were selected to be the first generation ofBaldwins took an assessment test that measured their level of self-confidence. Upon graduation, they took the same test and their results were compared to their earlier scores and the scores of two groups of Duke women who were not involved in the program but had also taken the same test, Lisker said. “[Scores for] women in the program all went up,” she said. “We know it’s working for them. The thing that was depressing is that [the girls outside the program] did not show the same increase as the Baldwins. They remained about where they started or even declined over the four years. Baldwin Scholars is working for the women in it, but Duke is still not doing enough to support women in general.”

The Baldwin program is currently under review by the President’s Office to evaluate the program’s success in the last four years. The review is headed by a committee that will make a recommendation to President Richard Brodhead on the direction that the program should take in the future.

Each year, more than 100 freshmen girls apply to the program, and only 18 are selected after an initial application process and several rounds of interviews, Lisker said.

The freshmen that are selected for the program then participate in a second-semester seminar course together and are each given a “big,” or a mentor, from the year above them. In their junior or senior year,the women also participate in a capstone course about women in leadership and have an internship set up through the Baldwin program.

Another feature of the program is that the girls live together on West Campus during their sophomore year.

Sophomore Morgan Sheppard, a Baldwin Scholar, said living with the girls gives them an opportunity to get to

“I personally have never found gender to be a factor in getting higher leadership positions on campus.”

Molly Bierman, senior and president of Campus Council know one another and, like the function of the mentoring program, facilitates additional support for the girls. [lt) provides a more holistic experience,”Lisker said about the two required academic courses and residential year.

Sheppard said although the program admits only a handful ofwomen, it is meant to be beneficial to the entire Duke community.

“There aren’t only 18 leaders in each class and they pick each woman for a different reason, but just because some people might not get in doesn’t mean she can’t be a leader,” she said. “Every woman has the potential in her to be a leader. This program is more about creating a small network of women that can then empower all the women on campus.”

■ Sophomore Allie Speidel, a Baldwin Scholar, said the program is the perfect size, even if confidence boost and leadership benefits are directed only to those girls in the program.

“They do a really good job of picking girls who don’t really know each other so they’re from different circles,” she said. “So even though not all the girls on campus are involved, they somehow, indirectly, know a Baldwin through that network.”

Even if the program isn’t reaching all women on campus, Campus Council President Molly Bierman, a senior, said women not involved in the Baldwin program still attain high leadership roles in prominent campus organizations such as Duke University Union, Duke Student Government and Campus Council.

“I personally have never found gender to be a factor in getting higher leadership positions on campus,” she added. “I know that there is a discussion about that, but I’ve never had that feeling of personal barriers.

Of course, I went to 14 years of an all-girls school, so there’s that girl power instilled in me through that, and I guess I have a little bit of a different perspective than other people.”

Lisker added that a major concern is that the advantages of the program are not reaching enough girls on campus.

“It is hard to figure out how to generalize the benefit, how to figure out how to spread that wealth,” she said.

“That’s the biggest challenge, hands down.” “

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October 2,2008

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vert & vogue

Five bands set to rock Joe College Day, round two

Critic Klosterman pleases in first fiction foray

Wanna flash some green?

Ecofriendly shopping

PAGES

PAGE 6

PAGE 7

Some chances only come around once in a lifetime.

For instance, when I was offered the opportunity to write about Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge for The Chronicle, I pounced on it. When else could I review the sequel to the highest-budgeted adult film of all time? Probably never. So, with the excuse of contributing to the “Tower of Campus Thought and Action,” I watched porn all week long. Volume up, door open. Research. Science. Journalism.

What can I say about this brilliant, groundbreaking film? For one, fans of the original will not be disappointed with the second installment. Our lustful Don Quixote, Captain Edward (Evan Stone, who once again rises to the occasion), returns for another swashbuckling quest with plenty of breaks for, well, “raiding booty.”

October 2, 2008

recess

PAGE 2 ■

zling quite quickly. Just as we become moderately interested in Edward’s pirate-hunting adventure, we are thrust into the middle of a choreographed amalgamation of genitalia.

Filmmakers, in need of a plot to tie together such magnificent sex scenes, settle on an oversimplified dichotomy of good versus evil, as Captain Edward battles the wickedly voluptious Xifeng. The result is a

hackneyed, confusing story, sure to lose both interest and erections.

But, from these failed attempts at a storyline, the directors of Stagnetti’s Revenge end up mocking our traditional ideas ofright and wrong. If the film taught me one thing, it’s this: no matter how moral we pretend to be, we are merely animals struggling from one sweaty, hedonistic escapade to the next. Is life really so meaningless? It just might be.

Nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche did not write the script for Stagnetti’s Revenge. However, he might as well have Nietzsche, in his aptlyM titled work Beyond Good md Evil, advocates throw,g out what we would call iditional” morality and ;tigating what’s right wrong for ourselves. , implies, among other igs, that those not yet inmated by modem

-

society may offer the clearest ethical principles.

Case in point, seven-year-old Latarian Milton (trust me; YouTube him).

Young Latarian may have uttered the most concise statement on morality ever. After stealing and wrecking his grandmother’s car (all while smoking cigarettes), Latarian explained to reporters, “it’s fun. Fun to do bad things.”

So simple. So to the point. Indeed, it is fun to do bad things.

The same lesson can be taken from Stagnetti’s Revenge. While Edward nev-' er questions the moral worth of his mission, he is at the same time always ready to knock boots (in more ways than one) whenever the opportunity presents itself. He knows that it’s fun to do bad things, £ut, more importantly, that doing bad things (e.g., premarital orgies) does not contradict his otherwise heroic intentions of cleaning the seas of clergy-killing pirates.

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—Sam Schlinkert

1

OCt 2

the walkmen w/ the little ones

Cat's Cradle New York City's The Walkmen perform songs off of their fifth studio album, the recently released You & Me. $74 9:30 p.m.

oct2-5 the best little whorehouse in texas 8:00 p.m, NCSUStewart Theater The true story ofthe Chicken Ranch, a Texas brothel house that remained open for more than a century, until public uprising forced the establishment to close its doors in 1973.574

OCt 6

girls walk and girls rule tour

7:30 p.m.

Local 506

Seven all-girl rock bands take over the local venue,featuring performances by Rewßee and Marisa Mini. Proceeds from the show will go towards theWillie Mae Rock Camp, a non-profit summer day camp thatfocuses on musical education for girls aged 8-18. $6

■ [recesseditors] ■■■■■ Our favorite interracial duos David Graham... ...Bill and Hillary Clinton Seal and Heidi Klum Wu„..

Baishi Neo and Morpheus Nancy Wang....,...* Woody and Soon-Yi Jessie Tang Me and my future wife Jordan Axt Andrew Hibbard..

John and Yoko N.E.R.D, Kevin Linc01n..........

Chromeo Glen Gutterson Michael and JanetJackson Chelsea Allison ,

.*.

mm QUARTET WITH PETER MARTIN, JOHN MOWN, ADONIS ROSE HAYDN, RAW, SR. DULY TAYLOR Sat, 10/4, 8 pm, Reynolds

DUKE PERFORMANCES BBAIH sfr -

THURSDAYS: 10/9, 10/30, 11/6

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FRIDAYS: 10/17, 11/7

October 2,2008

recess

PAGE 3

Choke: sex, strippers and scams CHOKE dir.

C.

Gregg

CLARK GREGG

FOX SEARCHLIGHT

Chuck Palahniuk belongs to a class of writers raised on film. His novels read at the same cadence of an easily-consumed blockbuster, rife with cleverness and gross-out humor. The transition to the screen should be seamless.

And, much like his last adapted work, Fight Club, the film version of Choke seems like an equally effortless translation. Writer and first-time director Clark Gregg took the helm for Choke and stuck closely to the novel

FLASH OF GENIUS dir. M. Abraham

plot-wise.

Focusing on sex-addict Victor Mancini (Sam Rock-

universal

����� Flash of Genius is the story of Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear), a man who fights for Ford Motor Company to recognize his invention of the intermittent windshield wiper. Yes, this movie really is as dull as it sounds.

In car-obsessed Detroit of the 1960’5, Kearns’ ingenuity leads him to design a windshield wiper that will be useful for all new vehicles. This father of a large family is driven by an ambition to achieve something more than professorship at a local university. Ford initially agrees to work with Kearns but soon backs out of the deal and claims they created the product on their own.

Kearns is leftstranded with bills to pay, an innumerable number of children to take care of and no credit for his invention. Driven by ethical and monetary concerns, the inventor pursues the case even as it takes a heavy toll on his family and life.

Although the movie claims to be a David-againstGoliath struggle, the characters are far from engaging. As Kearns is driven to insanity by the infringement on his patents, the audience is driven to extreme boredom.

Even with director Marc Abraham’s concerted efforts to spin an uplifting tale, at no time during the film does Kearns come off as a sympathetic hero. In fact, audiences will spend most of the movie rooting for his wife and children to move on from Kearns’ complete abandonment of them.

The attempts at creating a feel-good atmosphere seem forced, while the complete lack of tension puts the audience to sleep. Some true stories are better left untold.

—Caleb Seeley

well), the film screams of Palahniuk. Mancini is a historical interpreter at colonial Williamsburg where he and best friend Denny (Brad William Henke) anger the more dedicated workers with their irreverence and sexual deviance. On the side, Victor runs a scam pretending to choke on food at restaurants to get money to pay his mother Ida’s (Angelica Huston) nursing home bills.

Though Choke demonstrates Palahniuk’s usual nihilistic and vulgar humor, the film is a strange brand of romantic comedy. Denny, a chronic masturbator, falls in love with a stripper named Cherry Daiquiri, and Victor struggles to have a relationship with his mother’s doctor. All the while, Victor copes with his mother’s dementia, which provides the film some of its best scenes and acting between Rockwell and Huston who mix the profane and the touching with ease.

With multiple distinct tones emerging, Gregg tries to keep Choke streamlined, making it seem like the film is leading somewhere. But the vulgar nihilism and romance never amount to anything.

Choke, the film, is much like the book—clever and entertaining in a uniquely Palahniuk way, but ultimately unsatisfying.

—Andrew Hibbard

Clark Gregg is the son of a former Divinity School professor, but he hit the stage and screen instead of the books and has racked up a host of acting credits. Last week, Gregg's first directorial effort—an adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel Choke—came out and recess' Andrew Hibbard sat down in Boston to talk to Gregg about it.

How did you become interested in writing this film?

I was sent the book to adapt as a screenwriter and I sort of freaked out over it. It was sort of the funny, dirty joke I was waiting for. Even though I had been writing original stuff to make a first film out Of, I just wanted to see this one so bad. I loved Fight Club. I thought this was kind of an important satiric author.

Did you connect to it at all?

Sadly yes, I did. At first when I clicked with it, I thought it was just because it was so exotic and funny and sad and unusual. And then over the years it took to adapt it, I certainly hit a roadblock at a certain point because I basicallyjust transposed the book into a screenplay and it didn’t work. And then you have to start asking some questions. You’ve got to figure out what’s the core, which really boils down to, ‘What’s this guy’s story and why did I connect to it?’

I think this is about a guy who has recovered from damage by creating a false intimacy around himself that’s really just a saturation in dysfunctional sexuality but when he actually meets someone he actually likes, he is physically incapable of merging the two. And that sort offelt like something I absolutely connected to. I have a feeling it’s not going to be that exotic to a lot of people.

You and Chuck Palahniuk have both called this story a romantic comedy. Why? Luckily I didn’t know that at the time, and I got one phone call with him and I just said, “Okay, you SEE GREGG ON PAGE 6

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Oct. 8 DSO

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David Graham THE CHRONICLE

Sometimes it’s enough to play music just to play music—the thrill of the score, the notes swirling in the air, the electricity between audience and performer.

But at other times, there’s something more. That will be the case at Duke Symphony Orchestra’s concert Wednesday.

The group will dedicate the show—titled “Czech It Out”—to the memory of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and slain by terrorists while reporting in Pakistan in early 2002.

“I think it gives it a little more meaning,” said DSO Secretary Swathi Padmanabhan, a junior and violinist. “It’s not just about rehearsing music and going out and playing it. It’s something that’s bigger than everybody. It gives us more of a purpose and helps us remember why it is we do what we do.”

DSO is one of a host of bands and artists—also including big names like R.E.M. and Herbie Hancock —to participate in Daniel Pearl World Music Days, an annual “awareness-raiser” organized by the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

Its namesake, memorialized in the 2007 film A Mighty Heart, was a violinist himself, and the concerts seek to “remind... the world of the principles by which Danny lived, the universal power of music and our shared humanity,” according to their website.

DSO’s involvement began when Director Harry Davidson, a professor of

the practice of music, received an e-mail inviting the ensemble to participate. He liked the idea, but decided to let students decide.

“I had no idea if that was something that would be interesting to them,” he said. “I simply forwarded the e-mail to the newly elected officers of the orchestra and they basically took the bow and ran with it.”

Padmanabhan said members have not yet decided how to commemorate Pearl at the concert. There may be a written notice, she said, or else a member may speak briefly.

“We’re also collaborating with Amnesty International, and they’re going to have a display set up in the lobby talking about human rights issues and where Daniel Pearl fits into that,” she said. “We’re trying to reach out to a greater community.”

As for the concert, it will—as the title suggests—feature the works of Czechoslovakian composers. The show will be anchored by Dvorak's lyrical, folk music-rooted Eighth Symphony. Also on the program is the Symphony in D Majorby the lesser known Vorisek.

“I thought the composer and the piece remained pretty unknown, and the music certainly withstands being in the repertoire,” Davidson explained.

Rounding out the evening will be a performance of Slamitz’s Sinfonia Concertante in I) Major, featuring faculty members Hsiao-mei Ku and Jonathan Bagg as violin and viola soloists, respectively.

Czech It Out is at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 in Baldiuin Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.

IPOD NANO FOURTH GENERATION APPLE

����� Weighing in

at a slim 1.3 ounces and available in nine different colors, the fourth generation of Apple’s iPod nano ($149 for 8 GB and $199 for 16 GB) has secured its spot as the sleekest and prettiest of the bunch.

A return to form after the third generation’s wider frame, the current chromatic nano features the original long, vertical form but with a slightly curved design. The tapered body is complemented by a two-inch, curved-glass screen. Although the screen captures more reflections than that of previous generations, it doesn’t significantly detract from the images..

Aside from its aesthetically-pleasing exterior, the best thing about the newest iPod nano is that it allows’ listeners to enable the Genius feature. The function, which compiles a playlist of 25 similar songs based on a track of your choice, is easily activated by holding down the center button after seeding a song.

Better yet, you can save any resulting lists and transfer it onto your iTunes for future use. Genius, however, can only be activated if you have the latest version of iTunes and have enabled the feature, which automatically updates Apple with your music library information.

As part of the upgrade, the new

nano also features the same tilt-sensors that are incorporated into the iPhone and iPod touch.

Tilting the body of the nano will reorient album art and videos, giving viewers a wider screen. When applied to song playback, tilting activates “cover flow,” which allows listeners to toggle through all of the album art in a smooth domino-like format. But it is worth noting that when the tilt feature is used in video playback, the toggles stay put and are now 90 degrees off, which requires some getting used to.

The motion sensors also activate the shuffle feature. To protect against unwanted shuffling, it can only be triggered by a vigorous shake when not on hold. It may take a few tries before you’ve perfected a particular shake that works, but it’s definitely a fun feature overall.

Other notable additions to the old lineup include a synthesized voice that reads for the visually impaired, an option to change font size and the ability to link microphone devices through the headphone jack. So far, only the iPhone headsets are

compatible.

Although the new generation offers �

up the same sound quality and battery life (24 hours of music or four hours of video), new features and economic pricing make it a great buy for anyone looking to update. So don’t feel too bad about ditching your older, clumsier iPod nano for the younger, hotter version.

—Nancy Wang

October

2, 2008

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PAGES

Joe College Day to ride again Saturday by

their 2007 debut album, Fort Nightly, played a large role in their selection for the lineup.

Tina Siadak

THE CHRONICLE

As the last remnants of summer fade into the “The anticipation of their next album made chaos of midterms, Duke University Union’s them feel like a breakout ardst,” Chen said.

Joe College Day will offer students a chance to “There’s even a documentary being made about them now.” say goodbye to their laid-back days in style.

Beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. on Main West Headlining the festival, California’s Shwayze Quadrangle, the festival will feature a diverse will close out the day. The duo is comprised of lineup of five bands, in styles ranging from hiprapper Aaron Smith, known as Shwayze, and Whitestarr frontman Cisco Adler (perhaps hop to southern rock.

The day opens with the Sammies, a rock outfit better-known as Lauren Conrad and Mischa hailing from nearby Charlotte. The band will per- Barton’s ex),’who produced their self-titled form tracks from their second album, Sandwich, ,debut. The group’s website describes their released last week. music as “a melting-pot of laid-back melodies, Also hailing from the South, local rap enhip-hop rhythms and acoustic guitars.” They semble Kooley High will bring their lyrical stylwere recently featured in the MTV reality show ings to the stage. Starting as a group of friends Buzzin’, which chronicled their rise to fame. who met at North Carolina State University in “We originally didn’t think we would get 2006, Kooley High produces hip-hop tracks Shwayze,” Chen said. “He was projected to cost with a vintage feel. Their self-released EP, Sum$45,000, but we got him for $lO,OOO. He has a mer Sessions, matches the relaxed hangout atgreat-summer feel and kind of mixes the rock and hip-hop genres.” mosphere of Joe College Day. The lineup’s variety promises to provide a Traveling from Massachusetts’ North Shore, the Brew lends the festival some authentic jamcompelling eight hours of music. It might not be band cred. They describe their most recent LDOC, but Joe College Day should prove to be a effort, Back to the Woods, as an eclectic mix of nice escape from the horrors of midterms, both prog, jazz, world beat and funk. past and present.

“The Brew were top priority for booking,” said Joe College Day Director Karen Chen, a The lineup for events on Saturday is asfollows.

3 to 8 p. m. Food and Arts vendors open sophomore. “They are your classic jam band, 4 p. m. DUU T-shirt Tie Dye perfect for an outdoor music festival.”

As natural light decreases, star power will 6 p.m. Sweet 16Eating Contest The schedulefor performing artists is: only increase. Up-and-coming Brooklyn band White Rabbits pop out of their hat, fresh from 3:30 p.m. The Sammies, 4:45 p.m. Kooley High, touring with indie elder statesmen Spoon last 6:30 p.m. The Brew, 7:45 p.m. White Rabbits, 9:15 spring. The critical and commercial success of Schwayze

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

.

Rap duoShwayze headlines the secondyear of theresurrected JoeCollege Day festival this Saturday. Other acts includeWhite Rabbits, Kooley High, the Brew and and the Sammies.

ALBUM REVIEWS ROBIN THICKE SOMETHING ELSE INTERSCOPE

�����

'

-

parts Justin Timberlake and Usher make tracks for the club, Thicke heads straight to the bedroom. Try tracks “Magic” and “The Sweetest Love” for your seduction soundtrack.

Much of the album features Thicke guiding listeners through a soul music history lesson. Title track “Something Else” honors the easy-going grooves of disco, while the horn-infused “Hard On My Love” is straight out of Mayfield’s songbook, sounding eerily similar to “Pusher-

Robin Thicke’s new album, Something Else, hardly reinvents the R&B genre. Instead, the 31-year-old singer is intent on bringing music back to the good ol’ days of soul and funk, Taking notes from legends Marvin Gaye. and Gurtis man;” Mayfield, Thicke’s style seems more at home in the MoSomething Else ends with the only collaboration on town era than the synth-heavy, overproduced times of tothe album, as Thicke teams with Lil Wayne for “Tie My day (see Pain, T-). Thicke’s choice to recreate the sounds 'Hands.” While the two worked well together on “Shooter,” the standout track from 2006’s The Evolution ofRobin of yesterday is refreshing, but the music proves to be unThicke, their most recent effort seems more appropriate original.

After his 2007 single “Lost Without U” thrust him for Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter 111 (on which it also appears, into the national spotlight, Thicke was poised to asfor some reason). The track’s somber tone and serious sume the role of today’s lyrical Casanova. In Something theme seem out of place amid Thicke’s collection of dotElse, Thicke is still a ladies man, cooing sweet nothings ing love songs. with his blue-eyed soul. While his crooning counterAlthough Thicke’s-latest album echoes the musical stylings of previous decades rather than create its ow£, Something Else is definitely a breath of fresh air amidst the predictable R&B chart-toppers tiiat currently hog the airwaves.

—MadelinePerez

BEN FOLDS WAY TO NORMAL EPIC

Robin Thicke

“A piano’s all I got/and I know that ain’t a lot,” Ben Folds laments wryly in “The Frown Song,” the third song on Way to Normal, his first release in three years.

For longtime fans, his irony is clear—this witty piano man of the ’9os has produced a host of solid albums and attracted a sizable following, but Folds’ words are unintentionally telling on his third solo album. The album is enjoyable but hardly groundbreaking work, suggesting that the sarcasm-and-piano combo might really be all he’s got.

“Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)” leads off with a comic recounting of how Folds fell from a stage in Tokyo —or, as he puts it, how he “busted ass off the front of the stage” —and sat down to play piano while bleeding from the head.

The clever, self-effacing track hints at the irreverence and skill for which Folds became famous—but on the plodding “Frown Song” two tracks later and the flat, needlessly

Ben Folds

synth-heavy “Free Coffee,” Folds sounds like he’s phoning it in.

Scattered throughout are some thoroughly tolerable songs—“You Don’t Know Me,” Folds’ endearing duet with Regina Spektor only needs more Regina (don’t we all), and “Bitch Went Nuts” almost lives up to the promise ofits title. “Cologne,” a solid ballad and the album’s strongest track, is made even better by his mention of the lovesick astronaut who drove 18 hours wearing adult diapers to pursue her lover.

Overall, Way to Normalis a welcome return to form after 2005’s cloying Sounds of Silverman, but there’s nothing new here; for good or ill Folds seems unlikely to deviate from his tired-and-trueformula anytime soon.

—Leslie Griffith

October 2, 2008

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FICTION DOWNTOWN OWL CHUCK KLOSTERMAN

275 pp., Scribner. $24 Chuck Klosterman may have taken up fiction, but even his first novel he hasn’t stopped being a critic. in Klosterman’s essayist past looms large over Downtown Owl, which makes it all the more impressive that the work stands on its own merit. The story revolves around (and is traded between) three main characters, tied together solely by theirresidence in Owl, North Dakota, pop. 800.

Mitch Hrlicka is a high-school student, third-string quarterback and general malcontent while Julia Rabia is a teacher and maybe-alcoholic. Horace Jones, a 73-year-old who never fulfilled his destiny, rounds out the trio. All three are compelling individuals, believable and amusing, and Klosterman uses them as much to expound on the book’s theme —living in a town where everyone knows

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each other—as he does to advance the plot.

What plot there is, anyway. Mitch, Julia and Horace mainly just exist, but their daily lives are quirky, reflective and hilarious enough to keep the reader entertained. Klosterman’s decision to break the novel into three simultaneous stories is distracting, but it does succeed in building intimate relationships between the reader and each character. Similarly, as a result of his frequent tendency to use them as instruments of critique —alternatively disconcerting and advantageous due to his talent for breaking down culture—his prose spends as much time inside the characters’ heads as it does describing their actions. Klosterman strives to show that everyone does as much thinking as he does, and it provides for some neurotic, authentic and damn funny characters.

The writing itself is one of OwHs bigger surprises.

At times it is overenthusiastic, heavily laden with parenthetical and reaching metaphors, but for the most part the sentences are clean and punchy. Klosterman’s powers of description are adequate, and the fact that he’s able to interweave so much introspection while leaving the prose readable, is praiseworthy. The book flows smoothly, and unlike many first-time novelists, he rarely tries to overstep his abilities.

Owl is an insightful and fun debut, showing that even with the new medium, Klosterman is able to do what he does best.

—Kevin Lincoln

want to break up with me quick, but I feel like at its core, it’s kind oflike a punk romantic comedy.” [He said,] “Yes, exactly. Go write it and don’t be too faithful to the book.”

And then he hung up.

You don’t expect for a novelist to tell you to not be too faithful. I struggled for a while but I think what got me out of it is knowing that it’s not your standard romantic comedy and you accept that that’s the engine driving this unusual cart. Like a lotof important American writers, he’s got this reputation of this anarchist or nihilist bad boy and I think he is those things. But I also think, in my subjective read, he’s a much more generous artist and writer.

What was the process like of translating an episodic novel into a linear screenplay?

Everyone who reads a,book sees a different movie of it.

I felt there was a movie in this. By the time I realized some of the problems, I was too deep intojt. I had written a first draft that didn’t accomplish things and it was devastating. I thought, there are so many great things here, I know what the story is, I’m going to trim a few things, it’s going to work. Bam. And that was 2001.

Were you worried about living in the shadow of Fight Club?

My naivete apparently knew no bounds. It just never occurred to me, stupidly. I loved Fight Club and I thought people were just going to be grateful to get another thing from this guy. Fight Club became a deeper cult classic in the past seven or eight years and it wasn’t like that when I started.

Since then I’ve realized that, but I welcome it. I think Chuck’s fans are really smart and they get that this is a different kind of story. I think what’s unique and ballsy about this writer holds true in both movies.

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New boutique turns Brighdeaf Square green Vert & Vogue offers recycled, sustainable clothing, alternative to megamall shopping by

Margaret Baughman THE CHRONICLE

The thought of “green” fashion conjures images of hemp tunics and yoga sportswear—the frumpy, boring garb of the neohippie, more often seen in the commune than on the catwalk.

But Ryan and Nadira Hurley, the husband-and-wife team that co-owns the new Brightleaf Square boutique Vert 8c Vogue, are letting conscientious fashionistas breathe a sigh of relief by proving that fashion and the environment can coexist

peacefully.

Ryan Hurley has always had a passion for environmental advocacy and met Parisborn Nadira while she was working in the fashion industry. The two merged their interests of fashion and the environment and conceived Vert & Vogue.

Just a few years ago, ecofriendly fashion was unheard of, but the concept has now established itself in the boutiques of New York and Los Angeles. The Hurleys aim to offer Durham residents a fashionable alternative to the mall, where the mass production of clothing chains eats up fossil fuels, fills landfills and pollutes the environment.

So what exactly does it mean for clothing to be ecofriendly? Vert & Vogue’s stable of independent designer-suppliers works toward sustainability in several ways. Many use recycled materials that would have ended up in a landfill had they not been given a second chance.

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For example, designer Ashley Watts takes old leather jackets and fashions them into modern leather bags, ekologic converts forgotten cashmere from Barneys and Saks into new sweaters. Kim White makes quirky clutches out of the upholstery from vintage Camaros. Other materials featured are sustainable, such as bamboo cardigans by Laura Miller and denim made with organic cotton by Loomstate.

The chic modem decor of the boutique also keeps the ecoconscious theme with bamboo furniture, recycled steel and shoe shelves cut from the drawers from an old tobacco factory. Every item, from clothing to decoration, has a story to tell.

“It’s not only about the clothes—it’s about the mission,” Ryan Hurley said.

Because modern megamalls can be overwhelming, the Hurleys want customers “to experience shopping in a new way” by offering quality and not quantity, he said.

Although the look is reminiscent of an upscale European boutique, the atmosphere is anything but intimidating.

The store offers a range of prices from affordable to “ecoluxury,” with both men’s and women’s clothes and baby gifts. Most of the clothing runs slightly on the expensive side—dresses are as much as $436 but items like Alternative Earth’s $12.50 basic organic tees won’t make saving the environment feel like a fortune.

Either way, you’ll feel good while looking good.

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THURSDAY

"dironiclesports"

October 2,2008

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Duke welcomes Tar Heels in clash of top-1 Os High-octane offense has keyed Blue Devils by

by

attacked with two or three players. We’re [now] attacking with five players.”

The statistics confirm Duke’s success in creating opportunities. The Blue Devils have more than twice as many shot attempts as their opponents this season, and with opportunities come goals.

With Duke changing formations to push players higher, Quinn and Elisabeth Redmond—both forwards in the past

No. 9 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina have a lot in common.

The two teams have the same 9-1-1 record, they both lost to the same Notre Dame team and they both enter Thursday’s 8 p.m. matchup in Koskinen Stadium coming off decisive wins over ACC teams.

But despite these similarities, the two teams do have their differences. The Tar Heel offense has scored 26 goals in the past five No. 2 games, while the domiUNC nating Duke defense vs has not allowed a goal to an opposing team in Duke Koskinen over the last 650 minutes, setting a THURSDAY, 8 p.m. new school record.

Koskinen Stadium So how can Duke beat the Goliath of women’s soccer for the first time since 2005?

“We need to play really well defensively, and that means from our forwards to our midfielders to our defenders,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “And the other thing is... we gotta be very aggressive and play hungry as a team.”

Strategically, the Blue Devils do not intend to change much, especially given the way they have played so far.

“We’re not really changing our game at all,” senior goalkeeper Cassidy Powers said.

“We’re playing the way we’ve been playing all season... and just [making] sure we shut down their offense and do what we need to do to win the game.”

Although tonight’s high-pressure game

8

SEE W. SOCCER ON PAGE 8

Felicia Tan

THE CHRONICLE

Something’s different on the pitch this season Duke is lighting it up from inside the box and from a distance. Forwards, midfielders and defenders alike have added to the goal tally. And the high-scoring offense that has powered the Blue Devils through their first 11 games is showing no signs of easing up now.

Such prolific scoring is a welcome change from last year’s offensive struggles. At the end of last season, head coach Robbie Church knew what Duke needed to improve.

“We needed more goals,” Church said.

“We needed more firepower.”

And so the coaching staff kicked off this preseason with an emphasis on the offensive side of the ball, putting people in different formations and searching for the right offensive mix. It was a different approach from past years, when Duke started with defense.

Judging by the Blue Devils’ early success, it appears that they’ve found the recipe.

“Last year it wasn’t connecting for us as well,” midfielder Lorraine Quinn said. “We were a little bit unlucky at times. This year it happened to fall in place a little earlier, and we’ve been really thriving off of that.”

But the difference hasn’tjust been an issue of catching breaks. In away, the team has made its own luck through its mental approach.

“I think that everyone’s really bought into the idea that we can score goals and we

Rongjie Chen

THE CHRONICLE

"

MATT LERNER/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

The Blue Devil offense has scored 33 goals this season, just one year after scoring only 34 in all of 2007. can win games,” forward Kay Anne Gummersall said. “We can play with the best.”

That mindset has paid big dividends.

The Blue Devils have already delivered 33 goals on the season, and they are poised to surpass last season’s mark of 34 against North Carolina tonight.

“We’re attacking in numbers,” Church said of the change. “We’re getting more numbers forward, we’re getting more numbers in the box, we’re dangerous from outside.... In the past, maybe we’ve

—

SEE OFFENSE ON PAGE

FOOTBALL I SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Johnson’s Georgia Tech brings another triple-option approach by

Laura Keeley THE CHRONICLE

After Duke’s win over Virginia Saturday, a reporter told nose guard Clifford Respress that the Blue Devils’ next opponent, Georgia Tech, was basically the Navy offense with ACC-caliber athletes.

Then he asked him what he expected, and Respress was quick to respond.

“The Navy offense with ACC-caliber athletes,” he said with a chuckle.

The Yellow Jackets will, in fact, closely resemble the triple-option attack of the Midshipmen. After all, Paul Johnson, the man who sketched the blueprints for the Navy offense, is Georgia Tech’s first-year head coach.

After Johnson’s hiring last winter, critics were skeptical that his triple option could be successful in a major BCS conference. In the triple option, the quarterback lines up under the center and has the option to keep the ball and run it himself. The wide receivers line up as slotbacks who are more likely to receive a pitch and run it up the field than they are to go deep on a passing route. And the fullback lines up behind the quarterback and is the first option to receive the handoff.

So far, the naysayers have been silenced

The Yellow Jackets are 3-1, and their one loss was a 20-17 heartbreaker on a late field goal to No. 20 Virginia Tech.

Johnson’s squad has picked up the new offensive scheme relatively quickly. Georgia Tech is second in the ACC in total offense and has racked up 379 more yards on the ground than any other ACC team. In a trait typical of the run-oriented triple-option offense, the Yellow Jackets are last in passing offense and attempt fewer than 12 passes per contest.

Even the Georgia Tech players admit to being equally surprised at their success.

“I guess if you had asked me [if the 3-1 start is a surprise] before the season, I might have said, ‘Yes,’” senior offensive lineman Andrew Gardner said. “But as we headed into each game, I felt like we could win, and during each game I feel like we’re going to win. I feel I speak for the entire team when I say we go into each game feeling that we’re going to come out with a win.”

One big break for the Yellow Jackets this week was fortuitous scheduling. They are coming off a muchneeded bye week, in which they were able to rest key SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE

8

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

GeorgiaTech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, whomay be sidelined with an injury Saturdayagainst Duke, leads theYellow Jackets'productive triple-option offense.

THE CHRONICLE

8 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

FOOTBALL from page 7 injured players, including starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt. Nesbitt suffered a hamstring injury on the first drive of Georgia Tech’s Sept. 20 tilt with Mississippi State and had to leave the game.

Johnson is hoping Nesbitt is ready to go with an extra week’s rest—he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Nesbitt would not have been able to play in a game last week—but freshman quarterback Jaybo Shaw proved himself an effective leader of the offense in the 38-7 victory over the Bulldogs.

Johnson will not reveal the starter until the game, he told reporters Wednesday.

In addition to their injury woes under center, the Yellow Jackets are lacking depth in most areas. In his press conference Tuesday, Johnson said his team could not afford to have an offensive lineman get hurt, and Georgia Tech has already been working on teaching players multiple positions.

All of that is just music to the ears of Respress and the rest of the Duke defense.

They already planned on playing a physical contest anyway.

“It’s going to be fun,” Respress said Saturday. “We are going to have to hit them in the mouth every play for 60 minutes. Just hit them, hit them and hit them. Everybody has a plan until they get hit. So if we come out and hit them in the mouth, they will probably start wearing down in the second halfjust like most teams do.”

"the SPORTS blog" Check out a video podcast previewing Saturday's game against Georgia Tech,

including key players and predictions www.dukechroniclesports.com

JJ

H® RECORD

9-1-1

RANK

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W. SOCCER from page 7 Forward Kay Anne Gummersall has returnedfrom injury to help guide Duke's offense, its best unit in years.

OFFENSE from page 7 have thrived from their positions in the midfield. Now, as offensive-minded midfielders, they make the Blue Devils dangerous from distance.

Before opponents get tied up with the Duke midfield, however, they must contend with the contingent in front. Gummersall, who led the team in scoring two years ago as a freshman, has keyed the offensive turnaround. She returned this year after sustaining an ankle injury early in her sophomore campaign.

“She’s back and healthy, so now she is just a handful up front,” Church said.

“She can hold a ball, she can strike a ball and she can pass a ball. She’s been a big,

big part of the offense, as a target player, scoring goals and getting assists.”

But Gummersall knows the Blue Devils can’t linger on either last season’s struggles or this season’s successes. With only ACC games left on the slate and the North Carolina tilt looming, Duke has to move on.

“This is a new season, a new team,” Gummersall said. “We’re not going to dwell on the past.”

She repeats the Blue Devil mantra: “Play the full 90 minutes, and the goals will come.”

So whether this year’s high-powered offense is a result of personnel changes, the return of healthy players or changes in formation, Duke will keep doing what it has been doing all season to put the ball in the net And the goals will come.

will have an impact on the ACC standings, the Blue Devils are calm and relaxed.

Even as the two rivals josde for position in the ever-competitive league, the players on the field know the game only counts for one win or loss.

And as the two squads prepare for the rest of the league slate and, of course, the eventual NCAA tournament, they will have more to worry about.

“Our team’s done a good job staying relaxed,” said junior Elisabeth Redmond, Duke’s leading scorer. “With all of the events going on, I think it’s just going to be a fun night and we’re all pretty excited about it” NOTES: All proceeds from tonight’s will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an effort spearheaded by Duke senior defender Sheila Kramer. entrance fee

Duke Basketball VIRGINIAUNION TICKET POUCY

Student Validation & Sale set for October Bth! Undergrads Only

come to have their ID validated for the OCTOBER 25TH Men’s basketball Virginia Union game beginning WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER STH AT 6:30 AM at the Cameron Indoor Stadium ticket office. Tickets will be available on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVE basis unil they are gone on OCTOBER BTH.-

Duke

Undergraduate students should

STUDENTS MAY ALSO PURCHASE WITH CASH OR CHECK A MAXIMUM OF TWO ADDITIONAL TICKETS FOR HIS OR HER PARENTS TO THE VIRGINIA UNION GAME FOR $2O EACH IN THE STUDENT SECTION. A LIMITED NUMBER OF SEATS ARE AVAILABLE, AND ONCE THEY ARE GONE, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. WE WILL NOT GUARANTEE ANYONE A TICKET TO THE EVENT, WHETHER THAT BE A STUDENT OR A PARENT, ONCE THE LOWER LEVEL SEATS IN CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM ARE GONE!

Contact the Duke Ticket Office at 681-BLUE for questions or ticket availability.

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THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008 I 9

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r i Ihere are certain truths environment that encourages ■of class. There is almost no I that one knows but can- intellectual engagement and synergy between these two worlds, and this fact deprives JL not say or see. Whether discussion.

A clear-eyed look around both of meaning. because it’s too hard or too reBecause the University’s unvealing, these truths—without is all it takes to see that Price dergraduate life is shot through wrenching effort—stay locked was right. The erosion of intellectual with a pre-professional mindset, in an unspoken H reservoir. e for which a liberal education is { e at editorial of the justa necessary formality on the Sixteen Founders’ Days ago, in 1992, world’s elite universities starts road to wealth.

Because tenured faculty Reynolds Price, James B. Duke on a small level, where a comProfessor of English, stepped mon opening to a conversamay teach undergraduates, but behind a Chapel podium to tion is: “I can’t believe how faculty-student interaction outarticulate one such truth. drunk I was last night!” side class is sporadic, forced, Price’s speech was—and You may be laughing now, nothing real on the whole.

Because the students who remains today—a stunning and sure, college should befun. evaluation of intellectual life But there’s nothing comical sit at the top of our social ladhere, because the failure cuts der are athletes and Greeks, at this university. As it was a who may be good people but diagnostic, so it was also an much deeper than a phrase. indictment, in which the Because there are two are not admired for that.

Because while the Univercharge amounted to this: Dukes, one sequestered off that, in Price’s words, “All from the other. One is the sity has risen in the rankings, of us, in the long collusion, academic life, and it stays in engaged abroad and develhave failed to exert a susclassrooms and study carols, oped its infrastructure, its tained and serious attempt to and even it is often spiridess. core —intellectual life—has nurture the literal heart of a The other consists of everystagnated. It’s always been great university”—that is, an thing that happens outside easier to pour concrete than °"

ontherecord a

day or

two, I don *t think there has ever been quite such a turbulent time in my lifetime.

President Richard Brodhead, at the first President’s Forum on Critical Issues, which addressed the current financial crisis. See story page 1.

7

LETTERS POLICY The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form ofletters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for

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The Chronicle

1993

CHELSEA ALLISON, Editor EUGENE WANG, Managing Editor SHUCHI PARIKH, News Editor BEN COHEN, Sports Editor MAYA ROBINSON, PhotographyEditor LISA MA, Editorial Page Editor ALLY HELMERS, University Editor JULIA LOVE, University Editor SEAN MORONEY, Online Editor JONATHAN ANGIER, General Manager JOHN HARPHAM, EditorialBoard Chair NAUREEN KHAN, Local & National Editor KRISTEN DAVIS, Health & Science Editor NATHAN FREEMAN, Features Editor ZACHARY TRACER, News PhotographyEditor AUSTIN BOEHM, EditorialPage Managing Editor USA DU, Wire Editor ALEXANDRA BROWN, TowerviewEditor HONLUNG CHU, Design Director NANCY WANG, Recess Managing Editor ALYSSA REICH ARDT, TowerviewPhotography Editor LAWSON KURTZ, Online Photography Editor GABE STAROSTA, Recruitment Chair MARY WEAVER, Operations Manager BARBARA STARBUCK, Production Manager REBECCA DICKENSON, Chapel Hill Ad Sales Manager

old habits Yes, there are outposts.

There are groups,. dorm rooms and programs where a vibrant intellectual attitude thrives. But this is not the norm; this is not the way in which Duke defines itself.

And isn’t that the point? The interest, ability and resources are here, but they are opposed by powerful forces of apathy, disinterestand even hostility.

The source of the erosion is a loss of will that runs throughout this community and especially in us students.

Price saw this, and the tragedy of his speech was that he did not know how right he was.

In the wake of the lacrosse case, the 2006-2007 academic year should have been the tipping point. That year, the University as a whole should have improved its race and gender relations, social life

and intellectual atmospher.e.

In fact, the Campus Culture Initiative, launched in the context of the case, produced a report that expressed dismay at almost every aspect of campus culture.

Yet here, at the youngest top university in the world, this invitation to amend was largely dismissed.

So when the charges against the lacrosse players were revealed to be untrue, all indictments filed against the University’s daily realities were set aside as well. Today, the languishing CCI is the visible emblem of our collective lack of direction and absence ofcourage.

And here we are, sixteen years and a handful of “reports” after Price took that podium, still rooted “in the long collusion.” Still unwilling to fulfill our greatest charge.

The education crisis

Although I have been alive for more than

Esi. 1905

to break

MATTHEW ILES, Sports Managing Editor WILL ROBINSON, Local & NationalEditor JESSICA LIGHTER, Health & ScienceEditor DAVID GRAHAM, Recess Editor CHASE OLIVIERI, Sports PhotographyEditor REBECCA WU, Editorial Page Managing Editor EMMELINE ZHAO, Wire Editor ROB COPELAND, TowerviewEditor ALEX KLEIN, Assistant OnlineEditor BAISHI WU, Recess Managing Editor GLEN GUTTERSON,Recess Photography Editor GABRIELLE MCGLYNN, Recruitment Chair WENJIA ZHANG, Recruitment Chair CHRISSY BECK, Advertising/Marketing Director MONICA FRANKLIN, Durham Ad Sales Manager STEPHANIE RISBON, Administrative Coordinator

The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc, a non-profitcorporation independent ofDuke University. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those ofDuke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of theeditorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

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O 2006 TheChronicteBox906581 DurhamN.C2770& A* rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any formwithout the prior, written permission oftheBusiness Office Each individual is entitledto one fleecopy.

I

lost the most amazing co-worker this week.

She is an incredible teacher; someone who constantly reevaluates her work, who never hesitates to stay after sc and who maintains the highest of expectations for her students.

Throughout our first year working together, we angela jiang became an un-

stoppable team

—

ibetweakin

planning longterm, creating the best assessments and activities for our classes, forming a science club and encouraging each other to become better teachers. My school, however, was forced to cut her position last week.

Because of a funding discrepancy within the district and the state, hundreds of Chicago Public Schools’ teachers were cut. Because of policies in place to protect teachers with tenure, many incredible, but newer, teachers lost their jobs. The school where I teach uses attendance from the first day to determine how many teaching positions they can fill. Many students, however, do not show up until the second or third week of school. Also, the numbers game that CPS plays includes counting on students to drop out or fail, so available staff positions decrease even more.

A lot of the funding available to CPS is directed toward growing numbers of charter schools. Though I believe charter schools are doing incredible things, it should not be at the expense of neighborhood schools and the kids that they serve. Larger class sizes, transitions a month into the school year and the loss of some really effective teachers are not exactly solutions to underperforming schools.

When I talked to my homeroom Monday about the cuts made around the school district, their response really sums up their educational experience.

“That’s bogus!”

The students in my school are forced to suffer enough losses already, and now they must lose their teachers a month into the school year.

The worst part about all of these cuts is how it seems to be kept hushed around Chicago. How is it that after more than 200 teachers lose their jobs (17 at one school), there is not a single

news story about it? Shouldn’t the current education crisis of our nation be as important, if not more important, than the economic crisis? Why is it that the private lives of our nation’s leaders dominate headlines, but not the dysfunction of our public schools?

I joined Teach for America because I knew that there was nothing I could do the year after graduating from college that would be more effective or important. Last year, I saw so many changes in my students and in my classroom, leaving me excited about this year, when I could have an even larger impact. After recent events, however, I have realized that the growing problems in our nation’s failing schools need more than just teachers to solve them.

For those of you who are deliberating about what, to do after graduation, take some time to reflect on what you can do to truly make America a place where “opportunity” is a word all children can write, and truly understand. These school districts need people from all fields to take action and make education meaningful for all children.

Taking action does not necessarily mean you should join a movement like Teach for America.

A recent Duke grad who now lives in Chicago spent one Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago playing basketball with one of my students, J. J, who is from Mississippi but had to move in with his aunt in Chicago after his house was destroyed by Katrina.

I hadj in my class last year, and he expressed his enthusiasm for basketball. This year, J stops by my room almost every day to say, “hi,” and lets me know about how his game is improving.

When I suggested that he play with a friend of mine from Duke, he was elated. The next day, he stopped by my room just to make sure that I had his number, and he came in after school so I could call his aunt with him.

When we arrived at his house Saturday, he was wearing his school jersey and carrying a duffel bag larger than himself. He told me he didn’t even eat breakfast because he was so excited about playing ball. Doing something as simple as playing basketball for a few hours with a kid can send an incredible message to him or her—that someone cares. Our public school system needs to think about what kind of message they are sending.

Angela Jiang, Trinity ’O7, is a second-year teachwith Teach for America in Chicago. Her column runs every other Thursday. er

THE CHRONICLE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

commentaries'

What is beautiful?

I

am beautiful. I am unique. But... what exactly is beauty?

To answer that question, we need to critically examine what each Duke student considers beautiful—and the cultural and socioeconomic influences that contribute to that perception.

That’s the idea behind the documentary “America the Beautiful”—and the reason why the documentary and its director have been invited to Duke on Oct. 28. We need to facilitate discussions between different groups and individuals J at Duke about what exactly guest series the word “beauty” connotes and how it informs our behaviors and judgments as individuals and representatives of our own heritage and culture. Is beauty necessarily inseparable from gender, race, nationality and socioeconomic background? Is it possible to synthesize a personal definition of beauty that embraces unique abilities and discourages conformity to rigid standards? l am not sure whether or not itis possible —or even desirable—to fully answer these questions, but it is absolutely necessary to pursue this discussion about beauty at Duke and how it influences how people perceive themselves and their friends. I hope this discussion will broaden how Duke values, and defines, beauty.

I have a personal interest in body image issues and beauty standards at Duke. For a large part of my life, I have struggled to reconcile my self-image with preconceived notions of beauty and perfection. My ideas about beauty were shaped by cultural cues conveyed by the media and images touted by other girls. The whole idea behind popularity in high school was to have the perfect body, clothes, hair and boyfriend. In my mind, all of this perfection defined what was beautiful to me, ironically because it was so unattainable. I was nowhere near perfect.

My awkward body, second-hand clothes, unkempt hair and lackluster love life kept beauty beyond my grasp. I strived for perfection through academics and service, yet I did not consider my talents and actions beautiful because I focused only on my shortcomings to rigid physical and social beauty ideals.

I had low self-esteem that took trust, respect and a change in perspective to reach my current level of confidence. I know that now I have a healthier perception of my self-worth that is strengthened by self-respect for my unique talents. I am beautiful despite my “flaws” because I have a lot to offer the world. My self-image has improved, yet I think at some level, I still grapple with reconciling my perceptions of beauty with Duke expectations.

Duke, like any other social environment, has its own standards for beauty. Each group at Duke identifies with different values, priorities and perceptions of what “beautiful” is. Body image and self-esteem are interwoven into a complex emotional, social and cultural context that is difficult to isolate from individual behaviors. Yet it is crucial to take a closer look at the social and emotional pressures that affect Duke students’ self-image. Social pressures and beauty standards affect people at Duke in conscious and subconscious ways: depression, isolation, disordered eating, excessive exercise and the general pressure to look or act a certain way.

It is discouraging that behaviors such as eating disorders and excessive exercising do not receive much critical attention from the student body beyond recognition that they occur. A campaign to value all things beautiful—actions, talents, differences between individuals, and self-respect—has received a lot of attention and support from a number of student groups at Duke.

These groups hope to raise awareness about the need for broader beauty and body image expectations to ultimately create a more open and accepting atmosphere at Duke for different beauty ideals.

I hope that through discussions and advocacy work, Duke students will realize that beauty is not exclusively image; it includes all of the actions, talents and personal characteristics that make us uniquely beautiful people.

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Anna Brown, Pratt ’ll, is a Healthy Devils Peer Educator with ESTEEM (Educating Students to EliminateEating Misconceptions).

A confederacy of dunces Every

day, I have one tradition—l religiously read The Chronicle and The New York Times.

Over the past few weeks, my perusals have discovered an alarming trend in our national and local news—l can’t distinguish anymore between Duke Student Government and our federal government d.

Both are divided, bickering and relatively ineffective. It’s true that these are general mOiliuCCll similarities that I’m sure are endemic to frankie says relax almost every political body in the world.

You’d be hard pressed to find a democratically elected congress that wasn’t in this state of legislative rigor mortis.

But, I digress, and I don’t mean to just point out general similarities between DSG and DC, there are some actual parallels that are frighteningly similar.

For example, Duke is blessed with its own George W. Bush in DSG President Jordan Giordano. Both have been trying very, very hard lately to achieve some things that they really care about. Both were pretty good at their previous jobs. But now, things are a little different. Everyone knows both of them mean well, but... it’s just... it’s like throwing a kid into the deep end of the ppol with only one water wing. They’re going to try hard, but, no matter what they do, they’ll keep going in circles while still struggling to keep their head afloat. You want to throw them a lifeline but the dads (George Sr., or Larry Moneta) just want to leave him out there because they figure he’ll learn.

The similarities don’t end there. Behind both presidents are qualified vice presidents who are respected, or at least feared. They both also have great first names. Dick Cheney, meet Sunny Kantha: he’s you, except much nicer. You know how they say what’s in a name? Apparently, a 10t... (Full disclosure: Sunny is a friend of mine.)

I’m currently looking through all the DSG Facebook groups to find someone who could be our Barack Obama ox John McCain. Unfortunately, I don’t keep track of freshmen and I can’t think of a super senior who’s been tortured by Stephen Bryan only to return home to his seven houses for comfort.

I was going to connect someone to Sarah Palin, but, I honestly don’t want the hate mail from every ■

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conservative group on campus who thinks that McCain cares and reads about what they have to say.

Yes, please, keep overreacting to whatever you see in the student paper. That is definitely the perfect way to ensure you get that internship because, God knows, politics needs more people to just open their mouths and say nothing.

Both DSG and the federal government also have their own crises of late. To be honest with you, I found this whole week’s discussion about the bailout and the Panic of 2008 just a tad bit stale. Been there, done that. Pretty ho-hum if you ask us Duke students—we have already had a fiscal debate of monumental importance: the Referendum of 2008.

We had financial heavyweights duking it out with former Student Organization Finance Committee Chair Alex Crable (Alan Greenspan) chiming in while current SOFC Chair Sam Halls (Ben Bernanke) fought to balance our budget. $7OO billion never stung so bad as a $360,000 windfall over two years.

Before I get attacked for bias due to my involvement in DSG elections for two straight years, let’s just say that I’ve retired from the game and now have a cushy media gig, like James Carville 0r... ugh, Karl Rove. (Full disclosure: I ran both Troy’s and Paul Slattery’s presidential campaigns; I was also a member of DSG last year.)

I have nothing personal against anyone at DSG; they* are all trying very hard in a situation that is predisposed to failure. I just think when you take a step back and look at DSG, you’ll notice it’s a comedy of errors, almost like a big joke or a Shakespearean comedy.

In conclusion, I was trying to think of a feel-good message to end with, but in all honesty, the only words that come mind are, this is ridiculous. I’m going to say it again; I don’t have a personal axe to grind. I just feel, however, in this instance, much like Bush and the current federal government, DSG is out of its league to deal with situations that it has very little actual control over. Unlike the federal government, the people aren’t the problem—it’s the institution. The institution gives Jordan one water wing to try and flap against the current with.

It is true that he should be a better swimmer after three years of lessons, but the administration does not give DSG the tools that it needs to do what it wants to do. Perhaps, until then, DSG should set its sights on lower hanging fruit.

Tariq Mohideen is a Trinity senior. His column every other Thursday.

runs

THE CHRONICLE

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12 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2008

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