The Chronicle
WEDNESDAY. OCTOKEK 15. 2<H>»
THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
ONE 111 NDKED \ND EOI IM'II VE\U, ISSI I, 37
90-year-old alum runs for N.C. office Crisis may by
Anna Lieth
impact fin. aid funds
THE CHRONICLE
The recent economic crisis has taken center stage on a number of candidates’
platforms in this year’s election, but one
candidate and long-time Duke alumnus
actually lived through the nation’s worst economic downturn—the Great Depres-
Economic hurt comes as Initiative nears end
sion.
John Forlines,
Trinity ’39, celebrated his 90th birthday this year and hopes to capture Caldwell County votes in his run to represent the 87th district of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Forlines, who describes himself as a lifelong Democrat, entered the U.S. Army after graduating from Duke, later moving to the Caldwell County town of Granite Falls in 1954. As head of the Bank of Granite for 52 years, Forlines helped the bank grow and became a well-known public figure in the
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him back.” Forlines said he is running because Caldwell needs a jump start. The county has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state at nearly 10 percent, which Forlines attributes to outsourcing jobs overseas. “We have lost thousands of jobs,” he said. “It is my judgement that the person who has had this job just has not done anything at all.”
The recent fluctuations in the economy have many people worried about their current and future financial security, and many are considering how much they can invest in an education. “I am not worried because this is my last year,” senior Clifford Goodwin said. “But I do feel sorry for those [students] behind me.” The University, as a need-blind institution, has stated that it is committed to meeting 100 percent ofneed for all students. “If there are specific or identifiable needs, then we can immediately respond to that if they submit documentation,” Director ofFinancial Aid Jim Belvin said. The University’s aid to students is fixed annually because of regular changes in the stock market. This year marked the first after the Board of Trustees announced in December 2007 the expansion of the University’s financial aid program for low- and middle-income families. Duke eliminated parental contributions for families who make less than $60,000 a year, reduced loans for students from families with incomes up to $lOO,OOO, among
SEE N.C. HOUSE ON PAGE 6
SEE AID ON PAGE 8
town.
Now, Forlines wants to serve the members of the 87th district in a different way. “This is the county I’ve lived in for 54 years,” he said. “I wouldn’t have run if I didn’t think I could help people a lot.” If he wins, Forlines will be the oldest representative in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Elisabeth Wall, founder of E. B. Wall and Associates, the communications and marketing firm that manages Forlines’ campaign, said the former banker has done a lot for the community. “I have seen all the quiet, behind-thescenes things that he has done for people,” she said. “I think just about everyone [in the county] knows his name.” Wall added that Forlines helped start the Caldwell Community College &
MICHAEL NACLERIO/THE CHRONICLE
John Forlines, Trinity '39 and an honoree at theOct. 2 Founders' Day Convocation, is seeking to represent Caldwell County in the N.C. House of Representatives.If elected,Forlines will be the body's oldest member. Technical Institute and Caldwell County Hospice, and continues to be involved with both endeavors. He has also served as chair of both the State Board of Community Colleges and the North Carolina Bankers Association. Despite his eight grandchildren and white hair, Forlines said he does not feel old, and Wall said his age will not be a barrier. “I don’t think its a question for anyone who has met him or has tried to do a battle of wits with him or played golf with him,” Wall said. “There is not anything holding
Christopher Ross THE CHRONICLE
Students use Break to help out in the Big Easy Ryan Brown THE CHRONICLE
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VIOLET, La. Darlene Fuqua’s trailer has seen better days. The white metal frame is rusting, the kitchen sink is broken and there is a bucket of murky water in the bathroom in case the tub stops draining again. But she hasn’t complained. “I don’t want to say anything because I’m afraid they’ll tell me I have to get out and then I’ll have nowhere to go,” she said. Fuqua has lived in this trailer—provided to her by the Federal Emergency Management Agency-for the better part of three years, ever since Hurricane Katrina flooded her house in August 2005. But that is about to change. In June, a local nonprofit organization called the St. Bernard Project decided to reconstruct the house. And since then, Fuqua has watched a steady stream of volunteers
flock to the property, slowly transforming the crumbling structure back to its pre-Katrina form. This weekend, while manyof their classmates traveled home or settled deeper into their dorm rooms for Fall Break, a group of Duke undergraduates became a part of that effort when they traveled to New Orleans to volunteer their time reconstructing houses in the region, including Fuqua’s. “It’s messy and it’s hard,” said Donna Lisker, associate dean of undergraduate education. “The thing that struck me is how long it takes to restore even one house, and then you multiply thatby hundreds and thousands. The amount of work left to do is staggering.” It was that very demand for work that led Lisker to organize the trip to begin with. She said the idea came to her after hearing about the St. Bernard Project’s volunteer reconstruction work in a segment on SEE NEW ORLEANS ON PAGE 16
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Some students spent their Fall Break assisting a community near New Orleans rebuild houses destroyed by HurricaneKatrina.