INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Arts & Entertainment, Page 9
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
News Roundup, Page 2
On Fire, Page 11
THE EMORY WHEEL Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University
Volume 95, Issue 2
www.emorywheel.com
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 ACADEMICS
Every Tuesday and Friday LEGAL
BEST IN SHOW
Semester Online Launches Courses
University Pays $1.5M In Legal Settlement
By Lydia O’Neal Staff Writer
Lawsuit Alleged Overcharges
For the first time, Emory students can take classes while traveling abroad, continue coursework while at home for a few months and learn from professors at other institutions. The College is offering 11 Semester Online courses this semester from schools like Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and Washington University in St. Louis, among others. Unlike massive open online courses (MOOCs), Semester Online — a program developed by the educational technology company 2U — offers for-credit courses that can satisfy General Education Requirements (GERs) and major requirements if approved by the appropriate department. Though the cost of taking a course, with prices ranging from $4,200 to $5,600, differs from the free cost of a MOOC, Semester Online don’t suffer the 10 to 20 percent retention rates of their not-for-credit counterparts. “There’s a big difference,” Andrew Hermalyn, executive vice president and general manager of Semester Online, said of the disparity between MOOCs — which frequently serves up to 45,000 students — and 2U’s new program. “We’re focusing on small class sizes of up to 20 students. There’s also the live class proponent, so there’s no ‘back row.’” While traditional classroom formats often consist of a teacher speaking to up to 200 students all facing the front of the room — sometimes scarcely interacting — Semester Online features what Semester Online professors refer to as a “Brady Bunch” theme-reminiscent group video chat for its weekly live sessions. “Having a live class experience is critical,” said Hermalyn, who founded Semester Online two years ago. “You develop a relationship with students from other schools. Semester Online is even giving students the ability to take courses with their high school friends.” Emory’s Goodrich C. White Professor of Psychology Darryl Neill said his in-person course, Drugs and Behavior, seats a maximum of 200 students. In his Semester Online course of the same name, he can connect with all 20 students one-on-one. “I see a headshot of everyone all at once,” Neill said. “A blue line appears when they start talking, and they can electronically raise their hands.” Neill, who has taught at Emory for 43 years, sent his Drugs and Behavior PowerPoint presentations to 2U last winter. With the help of tech specialists, he constructed 15-minute lectures. Slideshows with graphics
See DESPITE, Page 5
By Karishma Mehrotra Asst. News Editor Erin Baker/Staff
HEALTH SCIENCES
See EMORY, Page 5
EVENT
New Health Science Building Opens Lottery for By Mallika Manyapu Staff Writer Researchers moved into the new Health Sciences Research Building on Haygood Drive this summer after two years of construction. The new building is 200,000 square feet with four stories above ground and one below, according to a June 21 University press release. Construction began in June 2011 following demolition of the Turman west residence hall and was completed in April 2013, when it also received a certificate of occupancy, according to the press release. In a joint email to the Wheel, David Stephens, the vice president for research in the Woodruff
Health Sciences Center, and Charlie Andrews, the senior associate vice president for space planning and construction in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, wrote that the building features “a unique open-lab concept with natural light in labs and corridors and with write-up benches placed outside the laboratory space.” The new building is also encased in five shades of marble that were numbered and placed in an exact location like a giant jigsaw puzzle, Stephens and Andrews wrote. It includes biosafety level 2 and 3 labs (or labs that can isolate dangerous materials), a 160-seat auditorium and a café dining area offering breakfast, lunch and dinner with an outdoor seating option, Stephens and
Andrews wrote. The building will be LEED silver certified with features such as sensors that turn down the heating system when the building is not occupied, Stephens and Andrews wrote. They added that each floor also has built-in composting and recycling containers. During the demolition of the Turman residence hall and construction of the new building, 18,548 tons of waste were recycled, which accounted for 98 percent of all construction waste. A two-story bridge across Haygood Drive connects the building to the Emory Children’s Center, which includes pediatric clinical care
See RESEARCH, Page 4
Dalai Lama Tickets Opens By Naomi Maisel Contributing Writer
OBITUARY
Irish Poet, Emory Ellmann Lecturer Heaney Dies at 74 James Crissman/Co-Editor
The new Health Sciences Research Building on Haygood Drive opened this summer after two years of construction. With five stories and 200,000 square feet, researchers have a state-of-the-art space.
Emory Black Student Union Opens in DUC University administrators unveiled the Emory Black Student Union (EBSU) in the Dobbs University Center (DUC) at a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday evening. Located across from the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services, construction of the EBSU began in July as part of an effort by Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair to create more cultural
See HIS, Page 5
S
STUDENT LIFE
By Rupsha Basu Staff Writer
Tickets for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Emory became available through a lottery Sunday morning and will run through Sept. 7 at midnight. The lottery is open to Emory students, staff and faculty only. Students can sign up for the lottery online though Emory’s website. The visit is a part of the EmoryTibet Partnership, which began in 1998 and aims to bring together Western and Tibetan intellect, according to the partnership’s website. His Holiness the Dalai Lama became a Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory in October 2007 and has since visited Emory’s campus every three years, making this year the third time. Kari Leibowitz (‘12C), program
The University has agreed to pay $1.5 million in legal fees to settle claims that it overbilled Medicare and Medicaid for some patients in Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute from 2001 to 2010, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said last week. The University reached the civil settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and Attorney General, according to an Aug. 28 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) press release. Elizabeth Elliot, a former clinical research finance manager at Emory, filed the lawsuit that led to the settlement in 2009. The allegations state that the University billed two separate entities — Medicare/Medicaid and a clinical trial sponsor — for the same medical care and services, according to the settlement. The clinical trial sponsor had agreed to pay for the medical services that the University then charged to Medicare and Medicaid. In some cases, Emory was paid twice for the same services, according to the FBI press release. All claims in the settlement are allegations, and Emory has not agreed or admitted any liability, the FBI said in the press release. The alleged actions violated the False Claims Act, a federal law that holds a person or entity liable when they improperly receive payment from the government, the FBI said. Elliot filed the lawsuit that led to this settlement under a False Claims Act provision that allows private citizens to take on civil actions for the government, according to the settlement. The quality of Emory’s patient care or clinical research was never in question in this settlement, said Nancy Seideman, Emory’s interim
avera, Emory’s classical fusion dance team, which includes College junior Nandi Vanka (front center), performed at Emory’s annual Best in Show on McDonough Field on Friday evening. Along with SaRaas, Aural Pleasure, No Strings Attached, Dooley Noted, TNT and others, they introduced the first-year students to the various talent groups on Emory’s campus.
spaces on campus. “The EBSU emerged out of many, many community conversations following a really challenging year, last year,” he said, referencing student backlash to University President James W. Wagner’s controversial comments in Emory Magazine. “This was really generated from student demand, community interest and a lot of community advocacy and support.” The goal is to bring all members of the student body together, Nair said.
NEWS SECURITY BREACH FORCES ALL STUDENTS TO CHANGE PASSWORDS
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“When you’re on a campus that’s predominantly white or historically white, you want to make sure that you have a space where you feel comfortable,” Associate Director of Student Conduct and Co-Advisor to EBSU Marlon Gibson said. Prior to the EBSU, the only space on campus designated for black students was the Black Student Alliance (BSA) house, which houses five students. As they enjoyed barbeque, drinks and ice cream at Friday’s event, many
OP-EDS STRIKE ON SYRIA PRESENTS A LOSE-LOSE PAGE 6 SITUATION ...
students discussed why they looked forward to the EBSU. “We’re honestly in the minority in numbers, and kind of figuratively as well,” College senior Malaika Nicholas said. “This will be a great space to interact with every single class, to interact with people who are not even in your major. It’s definitely a proud moment.” The EBSU will be a meeting location for on-campus organizations like
See ADMINS., Page 5
By Arianna Skibell Editor-in-Chief Irish poet, playwright and lecturer Seamus Heaney, who has had a relationship with Emory University for more than three decades, died last Friday. He was 74. Heaney’s death was announced in a statement released by his family and his publisher on Aug. 30. The statement did not include the cause of death, but according to a recent article in The Washington Post, Heaney’s health had been failing since he suffered a stroke in 2006. Heaney’s relationship with Emory began in 1981 when he delivered his first reading on campus, according to an Aug. 30 article in the Emory Report. In 1988, Richard Ellmann, Emory’s first Robert W. Woodruff Professor, handpicked Heaney to act as the first lecturer for the Richard Ellmann
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Seamus Heaney, famed Irish poet who had Emory affiliation, died from an unknown cause. Lecturers in Modern Literature, said Joseph Skibell, professor of Creative Writing/English and the director of the Ellmann Lectures. The Ellmann Lectures have since become a Emory tradition, securing renowned writers such as Umberto Eco and Margaret Atwood. Heaney spoke at Emory Commencement in May 2003. Emory’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL) also
See HEANEY’S, Page 5
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