April 19, 2021 by Duke Chronicle

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MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 ONLINE DAILY AT DUKECHRONICLE.COM

Story by Stefanie Pousoulides Investigations Editor

Image by Evelyn Shi Staff Graphic Designer

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 29

Students fight against antiLGBTQ+ legislation in NC North Carolina has joined states across Blue Devils United, the largest LGBTQ+ the country in considering bills that oppose undergraduate group at Duke, explained that LGBTQ+ rights, and Duke students are members of BDU engage with members of the fighting against them—including pushing Duke and Durham community in their work against one law that cites research by a Duke to support the transgender community and Law professor. advocacy for inclusion of transgender athletes. Three bills recently introduced in the N.C. She explained that BDU shares what they have General Assembly deny LGBTQ+ people learned from reading legislation affecting the protection of their rights LGBTQ+ community and access to public in their meetings and in services. One, H.B. 358 [H.B. 358] really harms social media posts. or the “Save Women’s all women, transgender Co-signed by Sports Act,” would block more than 10 Duke transgender girls from women and cisgender organizations, the Duke participating in girls’ women, by excluding LGBTQ+ Network school sports teams. released a statement transgender women. Of the six academic against the discriminatory and journalistic articles legislation on April 13. grace o’connor The LGBTQ+ Network cited in H.B. 358, three JUNIOR, BLUE DEVILS UNITED PRESIDENT are co-authored or statement notes that the authored by a Duke legislation cites Duke Law Law professor, Doriane Coleman. Coleman research and asks Duke to release a statement has publicly condemned the N.C. bill and opposing the legislation. other bills across the country for excluding transgender athletes from school sports and Student activism misusing her research. When the N.C. legislature held a Wednesday The two other bills deny LGBTQ+ hearing on H.B. 358, Justin Sykes, a transgender individuals’ access to health care. S.B. 514, the man, spoke to his lived experience as a former “Youth Health Protection Act,” would prevent cross-country athlete and student at Appalachian people younger than 21 years old from having State University, according to NBC WITN. gender-affirming health care, and health-care Sykes described the significance of support and providers would be able to refuse services to affirmation of gender identity to transgender LGBTQ+ patients under S.B. 515, the “Health athletes who are “trying to live their life, and Care Heroes Conscience Protection Act.” Junior Grace O’Connor, president of See LEGISLATION on Page 4

Workers demand hazard pay, better communication By Mona Tong News Editor

Duke workers and students delivered a petition to Duke this month demanding hazard pay, back pay and more transparent communication from management about COVID-19 details and protocol. The petition, which has been signed by more than 100 workers, asserted that Duke workers deserve “better compensation and better safety” in their workplaces for putting their health on the line to keep Duke running during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Duke Students and Workers

INSIDE Students struggle with burnout Some students are having a hard time staying motivated as another socially distanced semester wraps up. PAGE 2

Healing through poetry This year’s Jambalaya Soul Slam took place April 17, and many poems evoked the anger, sadness and pain caused by violence toward black people. PAGE 6

The forests of Duke Columnist Nicholas Chrapliwy explores the worth and wealth of meaning in the trees on campus. PAGE 14

Alliance created the petition Feb. 5 after running a survey to which 70 workers responded, according to senior Anna Kasradze, a member of DSWA. The group submitted the petition to the Local 77 union, a chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at Duke University in late February and delivered it to Vice President of Administration Kyle Cavanaugh April 8, requesting to schedule a meeting within two weeks of that date. As of April 15, Cavanaugh had not responded to the petition. Cavanaugh directed The Chronicle to Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, for this story. Schoenfeld wrote in an email that Duke can only work with Local 77 on pay, benefits and working conditions for positions represented by the union. Duke does not work with “individual employees or selfdesignated groups,” he wrote. He wrote that the University is therefore not able to respond to or comment on individuals’ demands for pay and benefits. Charles Gooch, a longtime Marketplace worker and chief steward for the Local 77 union—which represents housekeeping and Marketplace employees—affirmed that unless the union leadership backs the petition and brings it to the table, Duke will not respond to the petition. The union’s initial unresponsiveness, he said, is the reason the petition came from a student group. See WORKERS on Page 16

INSIDE — This year’s last regular issue. Enjoy! (And read our LDOC issue.) | Serving the University since 1905 |

Students soak in spring weather See more photos on Page 3

Simran Prakash | Photography Editor Beyond studying for upcoming midterms and finals, students are enjoying playing stress-relieving games, such as spikeball, on the quad with their friends.

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |

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Marketplace workers reflect on shutdown By Katie Tan

“It was kind of scary when I first heard about it, but when you do a lot of research it becomes a lot clearer,” she said. When a COVID-19 outbreak shut Marketplace’s dining Workers received paid leave during their mandated services down, the East Campus Union hall it’s housed in quarantine, according to Charles Gooch, a 46-year became a shell of its normal self. Marketplace veteran who serves as chief The lights were dim. Catering steward for the Local 77 union, which companies were brought in to meet It was kind of scary when represents most of the dining hall’s staff. emergency needs, and a handful of I first heard about it, but When the dining hall first shut employees offered a limited meal down, Gooch said its workers were in selection. The warm food, the upbeat when you do a lot of research “panic mode” with little sense of what pop music and the Marketplace workers it becomes a lot clearer. had happened. all disappeared. “We don’t know what’s going on,” Marketplace and Trinity Café closed julia anderson he said on March 31. Marketplace MARKETPLACE WORKER employees were asked to sequester down March 27, after several Marketplace dining staff tested positive for COVID-19. in their homes during the two weeks The two eateries reopened on April 12. before March 31, according to Gooch. At least 13 Marketplace staff members tested positive, He credits Barbara Stokes, director of residential according to a March 30 coronavirus update shared by Duke. dining services, for doing her best to take care of Julia Anderson, who has worked at Marketplace for 36 Marketplace employees. years, said she spent the time relaxing and wrapping her head See MARKETPLACE on Page 16 around the COVID-19 outbreak. Staff Reporter

Mixed views on first-year group chat By Brooks Robinson Contributing Reporter

When Duke declared a campus-wide stay-in-place policy to counter rising coronavirus cases, the Class of 2024 GroupMe chat erupted in chaos. In the past, class-specific GroupMe chats have been relatively quiet and uneventful. Not this year. The Class of 2024 GroupMe has buzzed with everything from Duke Student Government promotions to insulting comments about fraternities. “There was name-calling, insulting and offensive comments, especially directed toward fraternities and their members,” first-year Drew Greene said. For the past four years, the mobile group messaging app has been the popular choice of social media connection for incoming classes at Duke. GroupMe provides a forum where newly admitted students can share their excitement and concerns as college approaches. The function of the first-year GroupMe chat has followed something of a pattern. Typically, there are high rates of activity in the months preceding orientation week as many students attempt to network. Once students actually arrive on campus though, the chat soon becomes inactive. But the Class of 2024 chat has been different from those in previous years: Many first-year students are still quite active in the group of more than 1,300 members despite the end of the academic year approaching. As to whether the prolonged activity in the GroupMe is a positive or negative development, opinions in the Class of 2024 tend to differ quite drastically. First-years Sophie Smith and Brandon Qin are both moderately active in the GroupMe chat. As members of Duke Student Government, Smith and Qin see the chat’s persistence as a helpful medium for engagement. “I spend most of my time on the group message answering questions, mainly about dining, housing or other topics related to campus life,” Smith said. “I think the GroupMe is a really good informational resource. If you have a question about something, you can always post it in the chat, and someone will likely answer it and address whatever concern you have.” Smith said the GroupMe has functioned as an effective way to promote DSG projects. Though some have the chat set to “Do Not Disturb,” a significant number of people still

Chronicle File Photo East Campus Union was closed from March 27 to April 12 due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Marketplace workers.

See GROUP CHAT on Page 4

Students fight burnout as semester draws to close Contributing Reporter

It’s sunny and 75 degrees and the Bryan Center Plaza is flooded with masked students soaking in the sun during their Zoom lectures, socially distanced with friends. Despite the peaceful scene, many students dread heading back to their desks to finish academic responsibilities for the semester. After months on end with no real academic breaks, burnout has settled in for many. “I don’t feel the point of it sometimes,” first-year Emily Miller said. “Doing 13 straight weeks of school, you never have a moment to take a breath.” Miller finds herself affected by burnout when she seems to be falling behind in her classes. It settles in for her after the first wave of midterms begins and “it doesn’t calm down,” she said. She added that sitting at her computer for hours on end doesn’t help. Sophomore CJ Tyson finds himself losing motivation after academic disappointment. “I work hard for something, turn it in, get it back and don’t get the grade that I wish I would have gotten after all the time I spent doing it,” Tyson explained. For senior Eric Little, burnout comes in the form of a cost-benefit analysis. With the weather being nice and outdoor activities appealing more than homework, “the opportunity cost of

doing other stuff is so high,” he said. Tyson described his need to change scenery often while sitting in front of the neuroscience textbook he needed to read for an assignment. With Duke’s COVID-19 protocol in place, he has had to adapt to studying at the desk in his dorm room. “I’m a huge library dude,” Tyson said, lamenting the lack of study spaces available this semester. Little agreed that pandemic protocol has played a large part in his burnout this year. “We’re not in college right now, we’re in school,” he said while waiting in a computer science office hours Zoom queue, which he had been waiting on for a few hours already. Miller, Tyson and Little all said that their peers also feel burnout and that it comes in different forms for everyone. Students also cope with the burnout differently. Miller finds herself sleeping off the stress of the week when necessary. Last semester, she took up knitting, making scarves and headbands. “It gave me something to do with my hands so I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing,” she said. Miller also finds relief through playing her guitar. Tyson, a member of the Duke Symphony Orchestra, also takes time to play music when he no longer is capable of opening up a textbook. “I grabbed my cello and went to the practice

room and practiced for two hours,” he said. “I came back to my room and felt rejuvenated to start my work.” Despite the stress and fatigue that comes about throughout the semester, “it gets so much better,” Tyson said.

Little takes advantage of the free Headspace meditation and sleep app accounts provided by Duke Student Government this semester. “Sleep the problems away,” Little said, describing how taking his mind off his work allows him to refuel for the next project.

Evelyn Shi | Staff Graphic Designer

By Lily Coll

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Matthew Griffin | Editor-in-Chief First-year students play with dogs at a Sunday event planned by two faculty-in-residence: legendary former Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek and Zbigniew Kabala, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. Wasiolek, the faculty-in-residence in Gilbert-Addoms dorm, said she’s held the event for years as a way to help students relax as the semester draws to a close. “Dogs seem to do that for us,” she said, adding that this year’s event featured masks, social distancing and dog treats.

SPRING COMES TO CAMPUS This time last year, students were studying remotely from home or living on a lockeddown campus. With spring arriving again, Blue Devils are heading outside on campus to soak in the beautiful weather. All the while new life arrives, flowers bursting into bloom and bright-green leaves gracing the trees.

Aaron Zhao | Features Photography Editor What some students missed most was the colors that make campus so vibrant in the spring. “Stuck at home for almost all of last year, I couldn’t experience the colors of the last three seasons. Being able to see this spring’s colors just makes me feel so happy,” junior Henry Mukherji said.

Mary Helen Wood | Staff Photographer People mingled and studied in front of the chapel on Sunday, a cool spring day.

Simran Prakash | Photography Editor Some students decided to use their beautiful spring days to make care packages together for Duke students to use during finals. “While we made these packages to help others feel cared for, I found the act of making the packages in the sun on the quad therapeutic in and of itself. I haven’t been able to feel this way for a while, especially with the spring I lost last year,” said Hindu Students Association co-president Sarabesh Natarajan, a junior.

Aaron Zhao | Features Photography Editor Along with the warm weather, insects roaming campus mark the arrival of spring.

House course covers politics, history, impact of vaccinations weekly as a wide scale vaccine rollout occurs worldwide, students in the course are in a unique position to study the role that As coronavirus vaccines become widely information, communication and history accessible for the Duke community, play in bringing potentially life-saving juniors Anne Crabill and Ishaan Kumar immunity to communities. are teaching a topical house course that Crabill and Kumar share a passion for the explores the politics, history and societal topic of vaccine resistance. Crabill’s interest was piqued as a first-year in the Science and the Public FOCUS cluster, where she, Kumar and Angrist first met. Since then, she has been conducting her own research on society’s relationship with vaccines, spending the last two summers studying vaccine hesitancy— with the British National Archives and one with the London-based Vaccine Confidence Project. Kumar spent his high school years debating with members of large anti-vaccination Facebook groups. “I now know that this is not a very effective science communication strategy,” Kumar said. “We have to lead with understanding and openness when you try and communicate and I think there’s this ivory-tower assumption that people will just listen to us because we’re the scientists. But I think this sort of paternalistic attitude needs to change because otherwise we’re running a race with one leg.” Earlier in the semester, the group heard from historian Nadja Durbach, the author of a book about resistance to vaccination efforts in 19th-century England. “Not only was she a great raconteur, but she was uniquely equipped to show us how the same anti-vaxx tropes from Simran Prakash | Photography Editor 150 years ago are alive and well in the age of Juniors Anne Crabill and Ishaan Kumar are teaching a house course on the politics, history and COVID,” Angrist said. I attended a class session recently. The societal implications of vaccines, with Misha Angrist, associate professor of the practice at the Social focus of the class was on how social media can Science Research Institute, as their faculty advisor. By Carsten Pran

Contributing Reporter

implications of immunizations. Advised by Misha Angrist, associate professor of the practice at the Social Science Research Institute, the course, Vaccines Explained, covers topics ranging from the role social media plays in vaccine misinformation to the deep-rooted history of the anti-vaccination movement. Meeting

fuel the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19 and consequent immunization programs. Crabill and Kumar assigned us each a different social media platform, and we spent a few minutes investigating each company’s COVID-19 policies and discussing how effective each company was at filtering out harmful misinformation. Some of the company policies surprised first-year Andrew Dale. “Discovering the crazy restrictions that I had not previously known from popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram really surprised both myself and the other class members, as we had not understood how strict these rules around COVID-19 had been,” Dale told me. But despite the restrictions and policies, social media platforms can still accelerate the organization and dissemination of vaccine disinformation. “There’s the old adage: ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still pulling its boots on.’ Social media means misinformation can spread faster than it ever has. So what do we do?” Angrist said. The discussions facilitated by this house course attempt to investigate that question and more. One tool that Crabill and Kumar have identified as crucial to the battle against vaccine resistance is effective science communication. “If you’re someone who goes home at Thanksgiving and has to argue with their cousin or their aunt about the efficacy of vaccines or the need for vaccines, know that you’re not going to change anyone’s mind by bashing them over the See VACCINES on Page 16

LEGISLATION FROM PAGE 1 sports is how they find their joy.” “Team sports within high schools, within communities, is how people are able to find themselves through movement, and these bills are going to take that away from them,” Sykes said. “A 2017 Human Rights Campaign Foundation report found that while 68 percent of young people participate in organized sports, only 12 percent of transgender girls do,” Elizabeth Sharrow, associate professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Public Policy and Department of History, wrote in an April 2021 Washington Post analysis. “That means transgender students are less likely to reap the rewards of athletic participation, which include improved academic performance, better physical and mental health, meaningful and even life-changing social ties, and other benefits that help build healthy and fulfilling lives,” Sharrow wrote. O’Connor, who identifies as a queer cisgender woman and an ally to transgender individuals, said that H.B. 358 is “extremely harmful.” Gender-affirming sports teams are an outlet for LGBTQ+ youth to belong to a group supportive of their identity, mental health and development, O’Connor said. As a high school swimmer, O’Connor said that sports was a “huge part of [her] development as a person,” and school sports should be a space for transgender and gender non-conforming youth to have an equitable experience. “[H.B. 358] really harms all women, transgender women and cisgender women, by excluding transgender women,” O’Connor said. “They require people to check medical records on what their gender is, or what their sex is assigned at birth, or their legal sex. I think that is extremely discriminatory.” O’Connor also spoke to how the “Duke label” gives power to the research used in the legislation. Bills opposing transgender athletes participation in school sports across the country reference the Duke research, according to the LGBTQ+ Network statement. “We really think Duke, as a powerhouse of athletics and healthcare of its own, should make a statement against these legislative bills,” O’Connor said. Brett Reis is director of advocacy for Duke OutLaw, the LGBTQ+ law student group, and said that OutLaw believes H.B. 358 is “based on transphobic stereotypes that aren’t founded in current practice.” Reis cited transgender athletes currently competing with athletes of their gender identity and not “dominating sports, like the mainstream movement wants people to believe.”

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From South Dakota, Reis said that he is “used to legislators bringing hateful legislation to the LGBTQ community.” For every instance of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, he said that it feels like “an attack on your community.” “It just impacts your sense of belonging and your feeling of welcomeness as well,” Reis said. “When students, faculty [and] administration don’t speak up about it, it fosters that idea that maybe I’m not feeling as welcome as I ought to be.” That’s where Duke OutLaw comes in, Reis explained. Reis also noted that Duke OutLaw recently won Duke Law’s annual organization award for Greatest Role in Building Relationships. The student group is “pretty quick to respond and provide insight as LGBTQ individuals,” he said. Reis also spoke to his lived experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ community within the law school. “I feel like I can openly talk about my experience as a bisexual man while we’re in class, while we’re in office hours,” Reis said. “And so I don’t think there is an issue of animosity toward LGBTQ individuals with our faculty or within the Law School. I just think that the image that the Law School itself sometimes presents doesn’t fully commit to that ideal or what they’re practicing, within the classroom or within the law school.”

Duke Law

This has not been the first time this academic year that students have criticized the Law School for its actions regarding LGBTQ+ rights. In October 2020, nearly 200 Duke Law students sent a letter to Law School Dean Kerry Abrams demanding that a professor with “unapologetic anti-LGBTQ+ views,” Helen Alvare, professor of law at George Mason University, be disinvited from a Duke Law event or the event be canceled altogether. Duke Law still hosted the event with Alvare. Reis said that, in addition to the Law School’s not making a statement about the anti-transgender legislation, the event with Alvare was “another disheartening experience, where we felt the University or the Law School’s silence said more than what I think the administration thought that it said.” O’Connor similarly noted that she was disappointed with the Law School for the controversies involving the school and the LGBTQ+ community. Andrew Park, executive director of communication and events at Duke Law, provided a statement from Abrams to The Chronicle. “The Law School is committed to ensuring that every member of our community is welcomed and has the opportunity to thrive, and we oppose discrimination in all its forms. We are also committed to ensuring faculty and

GROUP CHAT FROM PAGE 2 see the messages. “Sometimes we even get two or three hundred views, which is really helpful in terms of promotion,” Smith said. “For example, I’ve been pushing for extended dining hours across campus, and the GroupMe was very helpful in communicating that project to other students. DSG managed to extend West Union’s dining hours to 9 p.m. for next semester, and that was facilitated in large part by the mass promotions in the group message.” As a DSG senator for campus life, Qin also uses the 2024 GroupMe to clarify messaging between administration and students while further increasing transparency. Qin remains active in the forum to quell any confusion or panic among students. “In particular, things like housing and dining have been up in the air due to the pandemic. There is a lot of fluctuation,” Qin said. “Take for instance the current suspension of dining on East Campus, after the COVID outbreak was discovered among the staff workers. There was a lot of confusion surrounding that, so the GroupMe served as a tool for first-years living on East Campus to put their questions out there and get some answers.” Although a segment of the first-year population remains active in sending and checking messages in the GroupMe, a large portion of students are much less involved, opting to simply mute the continuous stream of texts. Greene is one such student.

ON DUKECHRONICLE.COM ‘Feels like it happened yesterday’: Revisiting Aaron Lorenzo Dorsey’s death at the hands of a DUPD officer, 11 years later BY MONA TONG AND CHRIS KUO | 04/16/2021 On March 13, 2010, Duke University Police Department officer Jeffrey Liberto shot and killed 25-year-old Aaron Lorenzo Dorsey of Durham.

Housing to largely return to normal in fall, far fewer students choose to live in selective sections BY MATTHEW GRIFFIN | 04/15/2021 Duke’s housing practices will largely return to normal in the fall, but a fraction as many students as normal chose to live in selective housing sections. students have the freedom to explore issues of their choosing and engage in discussions with individuals who hold a wide range of viewpoints,” Abrams wrote. Coleman wrote in an email to The Chronicle that transgender students have the right “like everyone else” to participate in school sports. “Our work is aimed at helping to define the parameters that meet both Title IX and the needs of the student-athletes,” she wrote. Coleman wrote that she has conducted her research alongside transgender researchers in science and policy. She is also a member of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, and Duke Law also sponsored a WSPWG event. Asked about responses to that group not having any transgender members, she replied that the group acknowledges that “many individuals chose to work behind the scenes and don’t want to endanger their personal safety by taking a visible public role,” and that the group has been “in regular contact with many transgender colleagues.” Asked to provide evidence for her research examining participation in women’s sports based on athletes’ levels of testosterone, Coleman cited studies on athletic performance and hormones. She wrote that “testosterone is not determinative of outcomes within groups” but is a “primary driver of the performance gap,” and acknowledged that further studies involving transgender athletes should be conducted. Sharrow, who is also a former collegiate athlete, wrote in the Washington Post article that “athletic performance results from a complex interaction of many factors, not just hormones or chromosomes.” O’Connor advocated that Duke Law, in addition to the University, should issue a statement declaring their commitment to LGBTQ+ students, particularly transgender and gender non-conforming students.

“The GroupMe can definitely be a helpful resource, but at the same time it can also house a lot of useless information too—a lot of socialization and fluff,” Greene said. He added

Matthew Griffin | Editor-in-Chief

that the GroupMe can become controversial at times, like it did in the aftermath of Duke’s decision to impose a stay-inplace policy.

LGBTQ+-affirming state legislation

On March 30, N.C. legislators introduced a set of LGBTQ+ -inclusive legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly. The package of affirming legislation comes five years after the passage of H.B. 2, the N.C. bill that prohibited individuals who were not cisgender from using public bathrooms according to their gender identity and restricted cities’ authority in enacting nondiscrimination measures. One of the four newly introduced bills, H.B. 451, would repeal H.B. 2 in full. Another bill would ban the use of the LGBTQ+ panic defense, so that a defendant would be barred from citing the victim’s sexuality, gender or sex as a justification for the defendant’s assault. Reis, as an aspiring attorney, said that this legislation is “exactly the type of solution” that he wants to advocate for. He explained that 38 states still allow the gay panic defense and trans panic defense. Banning the defense would be “one of the best ways to increase LGBTQ equality, specifically in the criminal justice context,” he said. “As long as the gay panic defense is still legal, I’m here to fight,” Reis said. The third bill, Equality for All, would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in housing, employment, public accommodations, education and other services. The Mental Health Protection Act would ban the use of conversion therapy on individuals under 18 years old and adults with disabilities. “I look forward to having legislation that is LGBTQI+ friendly and gender affirming, so we can really support our trans youth specifically, but the entire LGBTQIA+ community and ban conversion therapy once and for all in North Carolina and allow really radical inclusion,” O’Connor said.

“In no way do I believe students should be gathering in violation of the Duke compact, but I also do not believe that ‘exposing’ or attempting to shame other students in the Duke community by way of social media is beneficial either,” Greene said. Still, Greene maintained that although there are some negative aspects to the group message, he has found the GroupMe to be helpful in light of the pandemic. “The chat has definitely been beneficial, especially with mental health resources. I know that over the past year a lot of people have been going through things. Thankfully, many firstyears in the chat have been constant in their efforts to improve mental health across campus, sending out frequent resources to combat stress, anxiety and loneliness,” he said. There are also several hundred students in the Class of 2024 who are not members of the GroupMe. First-year Aida Anderson decided against joining the GroupMe, and she does not regret that choice. “I was never added in the first place since I didn’t have the GroupMe app downloaded on my phone at the beginning of the school year,” Anderson said. “I mostly use word-of-mouth for important news and updates.” The 2024 GroupMe chat is hardly essential for a successful social life at Duke, Anderson said. She does not feel that she has missed out on any part of the culture at Duke. “It seems like most of the time the GroupMe conversation is not about important stuff, and occasionally it even looks pretty divisive with an unhealthy ‘cancel culture,’” she said.

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main story teaser With a little subhead under that, page 10

secondary teaser A subhead under that too, page 9

tertiary teaser A subhead under that too, page 9

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Best of Biddle virtual series presents

Senior Distinction Concert 2021 A virtual concert featuring Duke Music’s three seniors graduating with Distinction Outside the Major: ANNALISE BRACHER, violinist: works by Debussy, Ravel, and Franck ALINA XIAO, pianist: works by Rachmaninov and Duke graduate composer Brittany J. Green CHARLIE TODD, violinist: works by Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Bruch

Friday, April 23 7:30 pm EDT View for free online at https://sites.duke.edu/bestofbiddle/

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 | 7

NEW NEW FROM CDS BOOKS AT THE CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES “Beautifully illustrated, engaging, and provocative . . . unlike any graphic history I’ve encountered.” —Karlos K. Hill

Author of Beyond the Rope: The Impact of Lynching on Black Culture and Memory

VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK

APRIL 22 (THUR) 12–1 P.M. ET More info at: bit.ly/CDS Events PUBLISHED BY THE CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS; AVAILABLE NOW AT UNCPRESS.ORG

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COURTESY OF THE ACC

KIM POSSIBLE WOMEN’S GOLF: WINS ACC TITLE • MEN’S LACROSSE: TAKES DOWN NO. 3 VIRGINIA

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WOMEN’S GOLF

Gina Kim leads Duke to ACC Championship By Max Rego Assistant Blue Zone Editor

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Gina Kim calmly took her putter back, stroked her short par putt and then let out a shriek of joy when the ball found its way into the bottom of the cup. Duke had officially clinched the ACC Championship in dominant fashion, just two days after Kim took home the individual conference crown. Thanks to steady ballstriking and clutch putting across the board, the Blue Devils brought home their sixth conference title in the last nine years and 22nd in program history. Sunday’s match play finals featured No. 1 seed Duke and No. 3 seed Florida State, and despite the Seminoles defeating No. 2 seed Wake Forest 4-1 in the Saturday semifinals, Duke was not going to be denied, sweeping all five matches with Florida State to secure top-dog status in one of the toughest conferences in the land. “It feels great. It feels a little bit like we won twice, because of the stroke play and then the match play, so it was just really cool.... It was a little bit of an experiment going [with] match play and us coaches got together and decided to do this,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said of the rule change to introduce match play to the ACC Championship. “I think it’s a really great addition and it feels a lot like nationals.” Sedgefield Country Club hosted its 10th ACC Championship, and for good reason. The demanding track in Greensboro presented elevation changes, firm greens and challenging pin positions Sunday, making the victory that much more rewarding for Duke. “I think we attacked it a little better every day, and that’s the mark of a great golf course,”

Brooks said. “The ball can just run away, you hit a great chip and you’re 20 feet away, even you make a putt sometimes and you’re 10 feet away and you thought, ‘Man I swear that was gonna go in.’ They made the pins tougher today, but I applaud the rules officials for not making anything unfair.” The first two matches out of the gate went in Duke’s favor. Freshman Phoebe Brinker and senior Jaravee Boonchant came out firing, as the Blue Devils’ version of the “Killer B’s” were both ahead 3-UP at the turn and never looked back. Brinker and Boonchant were able to watch their teammates close it out for much of the back nine, as the duo posted 5&4 and 6&5 victories, respectively. While the leaderboard was littered with blue for the majority of the day, things tightened up in the early portion of the back nine for Kim and Erica Shepherd, both of whom had built 3-UP leads of their own. Kim, who was set up to seal the deal for the Blue Devils after Brinker and Boonchant put two wins on the board, held a 3-UP lead through 12 holes over Beatrice Wallin. In a flash, though, the junior’s lead was cut to a single hole, and standing on the 15th tee, Kim had to steer herself back into control. “I’ve worked on this ever since I came into college, but your past results don’t really define what you’re gonna do moving forward,” Kim said. “So, I just tried to keep that in mind, stay aware of it and just restart.” Two swings later, the No. 16 individual in the country was comfortably in the heart of the green on the par-five, seizing back command of her match with a birdie to win the hole. On the 16th hole, a sensible iron shot from Kim yielded a two-putt par to defeat Beatrice Wallin

Courtesy of the ACC

The Blue Devils’ conference title is their 22nd in program history. 3&2, securing the championship. Shepherd, who saw her lead evaporate around the turn thanks in part to Florida State’s Alice Hodge draining it from the fairway twice, went par-birdie on the final two holes to wrap up her win. Shepherd was her usual steady self from tee to green, going bogey free over her last 14 holes. For an added bonus, Anne Chen embarked on a dramatic comeback despite facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit. Chen found herself 4-DOWN to Charlotte Heath on the 14th tee, but the freshman rattled off a 2-under run over her final five holes to steal the match. Spurred by Kim’s 10-under 206 in the strokeplay portion Thursday and Friday, the Blue Devils

captured the top seed for match play. Friday’s action featured multiple shifts between Duke and Wake Forest on the leaderboard, but in the latter stages, the Blue Devils eventually pulled ahead of their instate counterparts thanks to an eagle by Kim on the par-five 15th and three late birdies by Shepherd. Kim cruised her way to the individual title, shooting rounds of 68, 69 and 69 for a three-stroke advantage over Wallin of Florida State. The Chapel Hill native took care of the par-fives throughout the first two days, going 10-under in 12 opportunities. “I would say my putting,” Kim said regarding See W. GOLF on Page 13

MEN’S LACROSSE

Robertson plays hero again in win against UVA By Sasha Richie Staff Writer

Apparently when in overtime, get the ball to Joe Robertson and he’ll come in clutch. It was nearly an exact replay of Duke’s overtime win against North Carolina April 1: After a big save from goalie Mike Adler, the Blue Devils made DUKE 13 their way into the zone, where 12 offensive UVA Robertson, a Virginia native and the team’s senior captain, found the tiniest opening to put the ball in the back of the net and give No. 4 Duke the 13-12 overtime win against No. 3 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. If he does this again—and with the

strength of the ACC this year, another overtime game is certainly possible—we just might have to give him a nickname. The Carolina Hurricanes had “Mr. Game 7”—maybe it’s time for Duke to have “Mr. Overtime.” Overall, the game marked the Blue Devils’ fourth straight ACC contest and fourth straight top-five matchup. And after Notre Dame decisively snapped the Blue Devils’ perfect season April 10. Duke was hungry to get back on track. “ACC games are just incredible college lacrosse games…. Great coaches, great traditions, competitive players,” Duke head coach John Danowski said after Thursday’s win. “That was one of the cleanest, toughest, hardest-fought lacrosse games I’ve ever been

Courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

For the second time this season, Joe Robertson clinched the game with a goal in overtime.

involved with. You’ve got to tip your cap to Virginia. Those kids played their heart out and certainly deserved to win.” The Blue Devils (11-1, 3-1 in the ACC) haven’t lost to Virginia (9-3, 2-3) in the regular season since 2004, though you wouldn’t have known it from watching Thursday’s game. In every way, the Cavaliers brought it to Duke. Dominating for stretches and certainly remaining evenly matched for most of the night, Virginia was far from the easy opponent that its 2-18 record against the Blue Devils in the teams’ last 20 meetings would suggest. Frankly, the game could have gone the other way, and it almost did until a likely game-winning goal for the Cavaliers was waved off for a crease violation with just seven seconds left in regulation. But that’s lacrosse, and while certainly frustrating for the Cavaliers it was at least exciting for those watching at home and from the stands. Robertson, who finished the night with two goals and three assists, may have been the hero, but he wasn’t the only player who came up big. Freshman Brennan O’Neill seemed to find his stride in a way he hadn’t in the first three games of conference play. Yes, O’Neill can score and he’s been doing that all year, leading all ACC freshmen in goals. But on Thursday he was fluid, moving into zones of the field he doesn’t normally move to and making an impact even without the ball in his crosse, fighting ground battles and pressuring clears. He even nabbed two assists to go with his hat trick, his first assists since Feb. 27 against Air Force.

O’Neill’s performance seemed to be part of a larger change in strategy, though. One of the biggest things Danowski stressed after Duke’s loss to Notre Dame was the importance of off-ball movement in the offensive zone. While the offense certainly wasn’t perfect against the Cavaliers—the Blue Devils totaled 14 turnovers, many of them in Virginia’s zone—the team seemed to take what Danowski stressed to heart, especially O’Neill and graduate transfer Michael Sowers. Instead of passing the ball around the edges looking for an opening, the Blue Devils were creative with the ball. Sowers often came up high, where he hasn’t been seen much this season, while O’Neill, Robertson and the midfielders zipped around to draw the disciplined Cavalier defensemen out of position and get themselves into scoring positions. “I thought that defensively, Virginia got us a couple of times, got some really nice inside moves and very physical plays,” Danowski said. “And I thought our guys learned from that…. I thought they learned from their mistakes as the game went on and got better.” Goaltending was also a strength of the game on both sides. In the end, 99 total shots were taken—49 for Virginia and 50 for Duke—and the two goalies made 16 saves each. However, Adler’s clutch save in overtime proved yet again that he can and will bail the team out in big moments, and is a force to be reckoned with between the pipes. While there was a lot to like about the game on the Blue Devils’ end, and it was See M. LAX on Page 13

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MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 | 11

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Nolan Smith promoted to assistant coach By Evan Kolin Sports Editor

If the impact Nolan Smith has had on the lives of others wasn’t already clear, it is now. As soon as Duke announced Thursday morning that it had promoted Smith to the role of assistant coach, countless figures across the sports world—both those connected to the Blue Devil program and not—offered their congratulations. Kevin Durant, Todd Gurley, Jayson Tatum—the list goes on and on. And that’s not even counting those who reached out to Smith directly. “Today’s an amazing day,” Smith said in a Zoom with the media Thursday afternoon. “I’ve been overwhelmed with all the texts and outreach that I’ve received today with this promotion.” There was a reason for all those congratulations. Smith’s change in title—he was previously Duke’s director of basketball operations and player development—may have been expected, but it was a pretty significant step for the former national champion. For one, he’ll finally get to work directly with players in practice, allowing him to show off some of the skills that made him ACC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team AllAmerican just a decade ago. “Being on the court with the players,” Smith said on what he’s most excited about with the new role. “It’s been a long journey since I’ve been back behind the scenes working and not being able to be on the court. But now I get to be out there actually

Chronicle File Photo

Nolan Smith has been a leader for the Blue Devils both on and off the court. teaching them—I was reading [Coach K’s] quote about me before I sat down and he mentioned that I could still play (laughs), so I can actually show them a thing or two now, too.” He’ll also get to work with the coaching staff on opponent scouting reports and consistently go on the road for recruiting trips. But most of all, this promotion signifies the continuation of a journey. Smith has always known he eventually wanted to be a coach. His father Derek Smith had been an assistant coach with the Washington Bullets for two years before he tragically passed away in 1996. So when

the younger Smith’s playing career was cut short by injuries in 2016, the natural fit was returning to Durham. “The People’s Champ” started off as a special assistant. Two years later, he was promoted to director of operations and player development. And now, after former associate head coach Nate James left to become the head coach at Austin Peay, Smith finally has the word “coach” in his title, the next step toward the ultimate goal of becoming a head coach of his own. But Smith wasn’t forced to wait this long to take that next step. Last summer, he was offered and

interviewed for an assistant coaching role under Penny Hardaway at Memphis. However, Smith said he’s “an ultimate believer in trusting the process,” which is why he decided to stay the course at Duke. Some convincing from Coach K also helped. “Memphis came in with the offer last summer, and Coach pulled me in his office right away. He said, ‘Look, someone’s gonna get a head coaching job, and you’ll get moved up.’ He said, ‘Stay here, trust me,’” Smith said. “It’s funny—he’s always said, ‘Trust me.’ And I always have, I always have. I’ve never wavered my trust from Coach, and he said, ‘You’re on the right plan. You’re on the right path.’ And it worked out.” It was always clear that if he wasn’t poached elsewhere, Smith would eventually become an assistant coach with the Blue Devils. His nickname is “The People’s Champ” for a reason. He’s been called “the mayor of Duke.” He’s one of the most prominent young figures in all of college basketball. Durant, Gurley, Tatum—they’ll all attest to the kind of person Smith is and how he impacts others. However, with those distinctions also come knowing your place in the pecking order, something a media member jokingly reminded Smith of Thursday. “I’m sure at some point, they will,” Smith said with a laugh of whether current associate head coach Jon Scheyer and See SMITH on Page 13

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‘It’s been surreal’: Jake Naso’s rise to stardom By Sasha Richie

work pays off, though, because a winning faceoff specialist like Naso can turn the tide of a game and is monumental in maintaining possession and offensive momentum. “It’s a special position,” Naso said. ”Every faceoff is different, every opponent is different…. I fell in love with it.”

Staff Writer

Editor’s note: This article was published April 14, a day prior to the Blue Devils’ win against Virginia. All stats used are as of date of publication. The Blue Devils have found a secret weapon where they least expected it this season, and his name is Jake Naso. The freshman faceoff specialist currently ranks first in the ACC and fifth in the country with a faceoff winning percentage of .673, while placing second in the nation in total faceoffs won. Following Duke’s win against Syracuse March 25, he collected ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors and was dubbed the US Lacrosse Division I Men’s National Player of the Week. Even before the game against the Orange, Inside Lacrosse ranked him the No. 6 freshman in the country. There’s a reason Naso received all that recognition. In tight games like the ones against Syracuse and North Carolina, Naso has come up clutch against some of the best faceoff specialists in the country, continually putting up dominant performances at the X. Before the season began, however, he wasn’t even at the top of Duke’s depth chart.

‘We’re as surprised as anybody’

Coming into the season, Duke had Xs aplenty. The team returned its primary faceoff specialist from 2020 in junior Jordan Ginder and added graduate transfer Dan O’Connell, who had the nation’s eighth-highest faceoff win percentage in 2020. Frankly, the assumption was that one of those two would end up with

X marks the spot

Courtesy of Nat LeDonne/Duke Athletics

Naso has been a surprise star for Duke this season, ranking among the country’s best faceoff specialists in terms of winning percentage and total wins. the top spot, and head coach John Danowski even admitted to being caught off guard by Naso’s impact. “We’re as surprised as anybody. First game of the season, he took one draw, and he violated…. He wasn’t in our plan in early February,” Danowski said following the Syracuse game. “Then through practice, through opportunities early in the season he started coming on, but this is a whole different level.” Day in and day out, Naso has proven to be an X-factor at X, and has been absolutely crucial to the Blue Devils’ near-perfect run so far. “I’m just trying to go out there and give my team the best opportunity to get the ball to score,” Naso said in an interview with The Chronicle March 31. Though his outlook on the game is simple, Naso’s position as the X is a little more

complicated. Of all the positions in lacrosse, the X sees the least minutes, running off the field immediately after the faceoff, yet can be the most important person to touch the field in close games. Despite the limited playing time, they train extensively to make the most impact in that short amount of time. For Naso, he emphasised the role of his teammates in preparing him for those moments. “[It’s] constant reps with the other faceoff guys...during practice doing little extra things, like analyzing our opponents,” he said. This methodical approach is par for the course for the position, as the skills required for taking faceoffs are highly specialized and based on reflexes and determination—Naso even draws upon a brief stint in wrestling from when he was younger. The

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The X’s high ceiling of impact makes it a high-stakes role as well. Faceoff specialists operate almost entirely in one-on-one situations, and the pressure to perform can be suffocating, or at least, it seems like it should be. Naso, however, says that he knows his teammates will be right there should something go wrong after the whistle. “I do get nervous sometimes. But I know that whatever way it goes, my teammates will have my back no matter what,” Naso said. “So there’s no real pressure.” That focused, unflappable attitude is part of what has made Naso such an elite faceoff specialist this season, though the road to getting that role on the team was windy. Even going back to the early years of his lacrosse career, he sort of fell into taking faceoffs by accident. “I remember I started at attack, and one time, one game, our faceoff guy didn’t show up. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it,’” Naso said. Clearly, he excelled, and the New York native ended up the 12th-ranked recruit of the Class of 2020 out of St. Anthony’s High School, which he attended with current Blue Devil teammates Brennan O’Neill and Aidan Danenza. Securing the starting role once he came to Duke was another story, though. See NASO on Page 13

SOFTBALL

Duke turns a corner in series win against Louisville By Micah Hurewitz Staff Writer

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster, but the Blue Devils gave a glimpse of their earlier season form over the weekend. Duke entered the series against Louisville riding a 1-8 stretch that sent the Blue Devils way off their throne at the top of the conference and nearly out of the national top 25. Friday’s game made it look like the unfortunate streak was likely to stay—at least up to Saturday afternoon. Louisville blanked No. 24 Duke, marking the Blue Devils’ third time getting shutout in the last four games, as Duke’s offense managed to get only two runners to second base. Peyton St. George dropped her sixth straight game, head coach Marissa Young’s team lost its first game to a team with a below-.500 record and the Blue Devils were now victorious only once over the previous two weeks. Then, boom. The fireworks exploded for Duke and the Blue Devil hitters seemingly all broke out of season-worst slumps during the same game. “[Scoring early] has been the name of our game from the start, so just to get back to that and be able to score in multiple innings is really what we’re looking for,” Young said. Sunday’s game clinched Duke’s first series win since its games against Syracuse, and it wasn’t without drama. Duke (30-10, 18-10 in the ACC) sprung out to a 4-0 lead entirely built by the two through five spots in the lineup, with senior Sydney Bolan driving in two and Jameson Kavel scoring twice. Bolan, typically a pinch-

hitter, this time made it into the starting lineup at first base. “[Bolan’s] been successful and driving the ball, scoring runs for us, doing a really good job,” Young said. Bolan wasn’t the only one in unfamiliar waters Sunday, as Kavel proved to be the Blue Devils’ secret weapon as a shortstop. Her defense was steady, and her batting throughout the weekend was as good as it gets, as she went 6-for-15 with three runs batted in. “[Kavel] has incredible range at shortstop and can cover a lot of ground,” Young said, also hinting that the Blue Devils’ star may be playing some more infield down the road. Despite Duke’s creative rearrangements on both sides of the ball, the 4-0 lead was not enough. A two-run homer in the fourth cut the lead in half, and with a runner on first with one out in the seventh inning, St. George had a pitch returned over the outfield fence to tie the game and send it to extras. “Missing a pitch and giving up a home run is not what [St. George] wanted to do,” Young said. “But she was able to stay in the fight with us so we were able to score that goahead run and then close it out.” St. George did manage to keep Duke within striking distance, and the Blue Devils scored the series’ final run with two outs in the eighth inning off a Gisele Tapia dribbler to seal the 5-4 game and series win. “It was great to see us get back on track offensively and get some runs up on the board and I thought we played solid defense and had great pitching in the circle,” Young said. “Really good to come out on top and

take the series from Louisville.” In the second game Saturday, Duke jumped out to a 5-0 lead, only this time the margin would shrink down to one in the home half of the seventh inning. With pitcher Shelby Walters already done for the game and Butler in a jam, Young turned to her other ace, St. George, to close the game out. “[St. George] started her career as a great reliever for us, and closing games out and being in these pressure situations is what she lives for,” Young said. St. George came in with two outs and the tying run on second, and clinched the doubleheader sweep with a huge strikeout of Louisville’s Charley Butler, sealing the 5-4 win. Earlier that day, the Blue Devils erupted for five runs in the third frame of the first doubleheader game, which was more runs than they had scored in any entire game since March 21. The offense put together a keep-the-line-moving kind of inning, but more impressively, all of the runs scored with two outs. The sudden parade of scoring initiated by Kavel catalyzed the eventual 9-1 run-rule win, as Duke’s offense chugged along with the added benefit of five Louisville fielding mishaps. Senior pitcher Brianna Butler also saw her first action in two weeks, a sign that the pitching duties can be at least somewhat lifted from the shoulders of Walters and St. George. Walters, who started both Saturday games as well as Sunday’s game, was certainly more consistent than she had been over the last several weeks, as she held Louisville (1620, 10-15) to only five hits across her 12.1

innings of work. “She’s almost 100% now from a health perspective,” Young said of Walters, who had been dealing with an abdominal strain. “She just continued to battle her way to the top and separate herself in the circle, and it’s been really good seeing her grit and determination.“ Now on a three-game win streak, Duke will be challenging Virginia Tech for the third seed in the ACC over the season’s final weeks. Up next for the Blue Devils is rival North Carolina, who will be looking to end a five-game losing streak when the two teams face off in Durham.

Courtesy of Hunter Richardson/Duke Athletics

Peyton St. George and the Blue Devils won their first series since March 19-21.

The Chronicle

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W. GOLF

SMITH

FROM PAGE 10

FROM PAGE 11

which part of her game helped her the most at Sedgefield. “My putting really saved me out here, these greens are pretty treacherous and the pin locations—where they put them—[made it] even more difficult. I think I was really creative in how I played the breaks and how I played the putts, and I think also I just got a little lucky that a lot of them went in.” Saturday’s semifinal matchup pitted the Blue Devils against No. 4 seed Virginia. In the early going, it appeared to be smooth sailing for Duke, as the putts were falling on Sedgefield’s slick greens on the front nine. However, Virginia would not go away, as Brinker, Boonchant and Shepherd all fell behind at various points of the round. Eventually, Duke did enough to secure a spot in the finals, as Brinker, Chen and Kim picked up 4&2, 5&3 and 3&2 wins, respectively. The Blue Devils now have a fairly long break before the next step of the postseason, as the NCAA Regional Championship starts May 10.

assistant Chris Carrawell will need to remind him of his place on the bench. “Like, ‘Hey young blood’.... They’ll have their ways where they put me in my place. But they’re excited.” Even if Smith has to do some of the dirty work that comes along with being the third assistant on the bench, he’ll know it’s part of the journey toward his goal of leading his own program one day. And there’s no place he wants to continue that journey more than Duke. “There’s one thing I’ll say about today— to love what you do is one thing, but to work at a place that you love, and with people that you love, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Smith said. “And to be the assistant coach here for Duke with Coach K, who has trusted me since 2007 when he came into my living room and offered me to come to Duke, to this day that trust and that bond is still there. So just honored to be a part of this program and make it continue to be great and continue to hunt championships.”

M. LAX FROM PAGE 10

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in the backyard, go to the field and work on everything by ourselves, make each other better.” The rule change and his work after it may very well have been what won Naso the starting job over Duke’s several other faceoff specialists. And while Naso’s ability to be a major game force flew under the radar, his development and work ethic have been evident to everyone. “The best word to describe him is he’s just like a dog. He’s a tough kid, scrapper, doesn’t say too much,” Duke’s leading scorer Michael Sowers said after the Syracuse game. “He just works...and the results show...and like I said, that’s a credit to how hard he works on his own.” If Naso is anything, he’s adaptable. From rule changes to lineup changes, he’s learned to roll with the punches, and that skill is serving him well in his debut collegiate season. “It’s a lot faster. Everyone’s a lot faster,” Naso said of the biggest thing he’s had to adapt to so far. Not only that, but the entire college game is different from high school, and Danowski’s system is unlike anything Naso has experienced before. “Everyone has to know every position,” Naso said. “At first it was tough. I didn’t really know any plays in high school, like any different sets or anything, but here [Danowski] makes you know everything.”

said. “I’ve known [O’Neill] and [Danenza] for a really long time…. To grow up with them, this whole process has certainly been something special.” In addition to furthering his bonds with old high school teammates, Naso has gotten to create relationships with his new ones, who have all gone out of their way to welcome all the fresh faces. From the veteran faceoff guys contacting him before the team even returned to campus to all the fun times in practice, the Blue Devils have created a special dynamic that Naso cherishes. “Everyone’s been super welcoming. The team has a great camaraderie,” Naso said. “It’s awesome to be a part of...being with the team, them hyping everyone up…. It’s fun. It’s a great time.” His teammates returned the high praise. “He is a very, very humble guy, and a really, really hard working guy. So to see his success is something that everyone on the team is happy about,” senior captain Joe Robertson said in an interview with The Chronicle March 30. “And he’s well deserving of it…. [It] is really, really cool to see. And I’m really glad to see it.” Now, as he moves forward with the season, Naso is focused on the team. Ask him any question and he’ll say one of two things: he’s thankful for the team or he’s doing it for the team. But even he, as humble as he is, can’t help but revel in the experience. “You know, you’ve watched these games as a kid. And it’s like, I want to do that one day,” Naso said. “And then you get to the point, it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m here.’ It’s been surreal.”

undoubtedly a better showing than the one against Old friends and new pals Sharing the experience with former high Notre Dame, the Cavaliers still exposed some of Duke’s weaknesses. For starters, Virginia obliterated FROM PAGE 12 school teammates O’Neill and Danenza has certainly helped Naso’s transition to the the Blue Devils in ground ball battles, picking up an astounding 42 ground balls to Duke’s 25. college game. “It was definitely a comfort at first,” Naso Additionally, Cavalier faceoff specialist Petey Rolling with the changes Over the summer, the NCAA passed a change LaSalla proved to be a tough nut to crack. For the first time since the season opener, when he took one in the faceoff rules, prohibiting the use of the total faceoff, freshman FOGO Jake Naso fell below overhand “motorcycle” grip and requiring that a .500 win percentage, finishing Thursday’s game both players start with their feet on the ground 8-of-20. Dan O’Connell, a grad transfer from Holy and not on their knees, which many players What we’ll miss most about COVID Duke: Cross, didn’t have much luck either at 1-of-5, as previously did to gain leverage. Idk but they better keep Mobile Order: �� mattyg LaSalla’s forward exit strategy (which also got him The entire country had to adjust, but Naso, five shots and a goal) became an effective foil to already facing an adjustment making the jump Class without pants: �� emulator Duke’s previously dominant faceoff game. from high school to college, took the opportunity Cup pong tourneys: ��kolinoscopy Ultimately, though, the Blue Devils hung on to buckle down on training and technique. His Empty gyms: ��thepizzaman and found a way to work together and triumph. brother, currently a sophomore at St. Anthony’s, is Danowski credits that to the players’ mindset also a faceoff specialist, and Naso said they worked throughout the game and throughout the week of together in those final months of the summer to practice as they grew from their loss to Notre Dame, help him practice the new rules. Student Advertising Manager: �� Rebecca Ross Account Representatives: �� Juliana Arbelaez, Emma Olivo, Spencer Perkins, Sam Richey, Alex Russell, a mindset they hope to carry into the future. “I found out pretty late…. It was like three Paula Sakuma, Jake Schulman, Simon Shore, Maddy Torres, Stef Watchi, Montana Williams “There was this mental toughness, [not] or four months before I got to college that they physical toughness, but a mental toughness,” changed the rule…. At first...I was just shocked Marketing Manager: �� Jared McCloskey to see Sales that they changed that much,” Naso said. Danowski said. “The guys wereYorkextremely The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation The New Times Syndication Corporation Student Business Manager �� Dylan Riley, Alex Rose 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. disciplined and under control.” “Having my10018 brother at home helps me just go

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Crossword ACROSS 1 Match, as subject and verb 6 Newspaper held in low esteem 9 Cigar milder than a maduro 14 Top of an espresso 15 Novelist Umberto 16 Swing by unannounced 17 Things that may fly around saloons 18 France’s Académie ___ Beaux-Arts 19 Gives deep massage therapy 20 Old Spice alternative 21 Violinist Zimbalist 23 Only president who was also a chief justice 24 Film school deg. 25 “Whew! What a tiring day!”

27 Padre’s hermana 28 Tackle, for one 30 Slicing, as through water 32 Part of a cello that supports the instrument on the floor 33 Make right, perhaps in a not-so-right way 34 Complete … as suggested by four symmetrical pairs of Down answers in this puzzle 38 Burn black 41 Layered cake 42 Group that votes together 46 A lowercase “f” on a blue background, for Facebook 47 Like Delta Force forces 48 She said “Little boy, gonna make you a man,” in a Kinks song 49 Princess of Avalor, on a Disney show

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C O M I C S

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Edited by Will Shortz 1

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PUZZLE BY JOHN-CLARK LEVIN AND JEFF CHEN

12 Making up variations on a theme 13 Performing live, say 21 Send off, as rays 22 Sea cow 25 One who might become a fiancée 26 Record for later, in a way 29 Screenwriter Nora 31 Flimsy, as an excuse 35 Stuffed grape leaves

36 Half a sextet 37 Member of the weasel family 38 Pitch setter 39 Waits for a better offer, say 40 Game box info 43 Like friends not seen for years 44 Antebellum Dixie 45 People are asked to sign it after an accident 50 1896 Olympics locale 52 Hush-hush org.

55 Tell 57 Many Pennsylvania Dutch speakers 60 Typical “Key & Peele” segment 62 Dark time in France 63 E.R. workers 64 Second part of the sign of the cross, symbolically 65 Glimpsed 66 Indianapolis-toAtlanta dir.

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Crossword ACROSS 1 Ties to the Japanese? 5 Order 10 Some shells 15 Malodorous 16 Go ___ (be green, in a way) 17 Opposition bloc 18 “Well, well, well!” 19 “Don’t be a stranger!” 21 Starting points 23 Fading light 24 “Bel ___” (Guy de Maupassant novel) 25 Put down in words 27 Shade of red 31 Divine nourishment 33 & 35 Cole Porter musical 36 Undisturbed 38 ___ Na Na 41 Increase in size

42 & 44 “You can wait to show your gratitude” 46 Like 48 Repeated word in the Ten Commandments 51 Least polluted 54 & 56 Clothing item for the youngest in the family 58 It may fool you 59 Denial of responsibility 62 Low-lying wetland 64 Best ___ Album (Grammy category) 65 “I’ll think about it” 67 Thumbs-up, e.g. 69 “Don’t be a stranger!” … or what you have to do three times in this puzzle 73 Gets a move on 74 Country/rock singer Steve

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE A F F A B L E

G R I F F I N

R O S T A N D

H O L D S M O D U S T

A G E R A N G E

C L E F

E E T H T S A E A M E M A P I N H E A R T O E N A T S S H A K E Y I N T T S O

R E D F I N

A C E R B

D O L M A

T R I O

S O N

G C L O P O S R O E M T E A T K N I F A V E O T O E T E B T E L E T E R A H M E N S I N U A S S I W H A T

A P L A T I N

R I F F I N G

O N S T A G E

L O N G L O S T

O L D S O U T H

C A S T S S E

75 Connected to a hipbone 76 To be where people sing of amour? 77 It’s snowy in Florida 78 O’Hara’s portrayer 79 P.D.A. component: Abbr. DOWN 1 Paperwork? 2 Word with second or third, but not fourth or fifth 3 Faster than you can say Jack Robinson 4 Kind of terrier 5 Ridge formed by glacial streams 6 Manages 7 Suffix with percent 8 “Get it?” 9 Barbershop request 10 Oscar nominee for “Lion,” 2016 11 Bit of Inuit gear 12 Good name for a mess hall cook 13 Little bit of personality 14 Shade of gray 20 MS followers? 22 Go after, as a fly 26 Poetic contraction usually at the start of a line 28 Newbies in the work force 29 Seventh of 24 30 Western moniker

Edited by Will Shortz 1

32 37 42

56 60

41 45

51 57

58 63

44 49

No. 0416

67 72

64 68 73

PUZZLE BY ALAN ARBESFELD

32 Org. behind the Human Genome Project 34 Pizzeria owner in “Do the Right Thing” 37 Durham sch. 39 Park ranger’s handout 40 Practice pieces 43 Elizabethan dramatist Thomas 45 Prior to, in verse 46 “Kung Fu” actor Philip

47 Thai neighbor 49 French white wine 50 “Gross!” 52 Eagles and hawks, typically 53 Prepare for printing 55 Feature of a baby face 57 “Stop! I don’t need to be constantly reminded!” 60 “Oleanna” playwright

61 Check out 63 Hanger-on 66 Try to stay afloat, perhaps 68 Mother of Helios 69 Fourth of 26 70 It may collect dust 71 Hockey great Bobby 72 Sequel to a sequel

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14 | MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021

opinion dukechronicle.com

The Chronicle

The university in their forest W

hile Duke University is by no means the only institution to claim the title of ‘University in the Forest’ (e.g. Drew University), it has done so since early after the time its indenture was written and has

being formally absorbed into the Nicholas School of the Environment in the 1990s). Walking around the campus perimeter or between campuses makes abundantly clear that the buildings that

Nicholas Chrapliwy ARCHETYPICAL made good on its claim to the title through the prolific work of the School of Forestry (formerly housed in the ReubenCooke building, then the Biological Sciences Building, until

“

hot take of the week

“There’s a strange frenzy in my head, of birds flying each particle circulating on its own. Is the one I love everywhere?”

—Rumi

LETTERS POLICY

”

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Direct submissions to: E-mail: chronicleletters@duke.edu Editorial Page Department: The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708 Phone: (919) 684-2663 / Fax: (919) 684-4696 Est. 1905

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Inc. 1993

MATTHEW GRIFFIN, Editor EVAN KOLIN, Sports Editor MARIA MORRISON, Managing Editor MONA TONG, News Editor CARTER FORINASH, Editor-at-Large ROSE WONG, Senior Editor JAKE SATISKY, Digital Strategy Director SIMRAN PRAKASH, Photography Editor MIHIR BELLAMKONDA, Opinion Editor SARAH DERRIS, Recess Editor CHRISSY BECK, General Manager SHANE SMITH, Sports Managing Editor REBECCA SCHNEID, Sports Photography Editor MASON BERGER, Video Editor JACKSON MURAIKA, News Photography Editor MARY HELEN WOOD, Audio Editor AARON ZHAO, Features Photography Editor NADIA BEY, University News Editor BELLA BANN, Photography Social Media Editor LEAH BOYD, University News Editor MARGOT ARMBRUSTER, Opinion Managing Editor PRIYA PARKASH, University News Editor NICHOLAS CHRAPLIWY, Opinion Managing Editor PREETHA RAMACHANDRAN, University News Editor VICTORIA PRIESTER, Opinion Managing Editor YUEXUAN CHEN, Local and National News Editor SYDNY LONG, Recess Managing Editor ANNA ZOLOTOR, Local and National News Editor BEN WALLACE, Community Editorial Board Chair ASHWIN KULSHRESTHA, Health and Science News Editor RYAN WILLIAMS, Community Editorial Board Chair MICHAEL LEE, Health and Science News Editor SHANNON FANG, Equity and Outreach Coordinator STEFANIE POUSOULIDES, Investigations Editor NADIA BEY, Recruitment Chair JAKE SHERIDAN, Features Editor JAKE SATISKY, Recruitment Chair CHRIS KUO, Features Managing Editor TREY FOWLER, Advertising Director JULIE MOORE, Creative Director The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors. To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 1517 Hull Avenue call 684-3811. To reach the Advertising Office at 2022 Campus Drive call 684-3811. One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased for .25 at The Chronicle Business office at the address above. @ 2021 Duke Student Publishing Company

compose Duke are all recent intrusions into a densely forested elevation. The land East Campus now occupies changed hands between wealthy Durhamites several times before it was donated to Trinity College, but West was always a forest. The CMA acknowledges that both campuses sit on the ancestral lands of the Shakori, Eno and Tuscarora people who doubtless knew the trees and other native plants with intimate indigenous wisdom. Duke students today engage with the campuses mostly through the spaces built not by natural ecological processes but by architectural firms and construction contractors. The knowledge of which trees tower over you as you walk the quad or fill your camera roll come springtime is not part of first-years’ orientation, and besides those who specialize in the local ecological flora as an object of study, most students never acquire that knowledge. In an effort to inspire more connection to the plant biotic community we live with at Duke, and in another series of archetypes, I hope to demonstrate the worth and wealth of meaning present in the trees on campus that contain no less brilliance in their accomplishments than the university in their forest.

spring and summer. Two varieties, grandiflora (the whiteflowered one), and liliflora (the deep pink-flowered one), fill everyone’s spring and summer with an ancient beauty. Next time you pass by one near the Chapel or Social Sciences building, take a minute to look. THE CHERRY TREE: Ornamental Prunus subgenus Cerasus fill many corners of the quad, and the two weeks in the spring when they flower and fill sightlines with white, then pink, then green are a new performance every year that never gets old. Often known as Japanese Cherry or sakura because many cultivars derive from Japan where they produce the country’s national flower, this northern hemisphere plant has represented the volatility of change and mortality because of the brief period of its flowering in the spring. A significant reminder that beauty is not absent, even in death. THE EASTERN REDBUD: Along with the cherry blossoms each spring, the shorter Cercis canadensis or griffithii produce the deep pink flowers you see along Chapel Drive and dotted around the campus buildings. Renowned for their showy flowers that blossom on their branches and sometimes on the trunk itself, the floral beauty is not uncommonly eaten, boiled, fried or raw. The spice in the twigs has been used to season game meat such as venison throughout Appalachia, giving it the name ‘spicewood tree’ in some parts of the mountains. Perhaps when Chef ’s Kitchen opens back up there might be a tasting for all its different applications.

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THE WILLOW OAK: The obvious lead in the cast of campus trees, Quercus phellos dominates much of the main quads of both East and West Campus. A native species used most frequently by urban planners and landscape architects as ornamental trees because of its balance between axial and radial dominance, the common name derives from the obvious difference that this tree bears in distinction from its other oak siblings—leaves shaped like long blades almost like grass or a willow tree’s leaves. A fast grower and producer of a prolific acorn crop (the main supplier for all the campus squirrels), this species lines the quads and creates Duke’s central canopy. The four currently in the quad between WU and the Rubinstein Library in front of the Chapel include one of the oldest on campus, present in some of the films and photos from the 1930’s. They pose statuesque in front of Languages, Social Sciences, Few, Kilgo and Craven, and they provide the shade that makes a day dwelt on the quad so possible and pleasant.

THE WISTERIA: A large genus of bines (twining vines) that are related to legumes climb up all around campus and produce abundant purple flower clusters throughout. Named by botanist T. Nuttal after the American anatomist Caspar Wistar, Wisteria like Magnolia and cherry blossoms have a significant connection to east Asia as well as eastern North America. Frequently seen as a symbol in Japanese heraldry, the species produces a jasmine-like fragrance that is fullest in the middle of spring. So fast-growing that it is considered an invasive species for the southeastern US, the mature plant can be incredibly hardy and grows up and around the trunks of the trees around it, ornamenting them with their floral bunches all while fixing nitrogen in the soil.

THE DOGWOOD: The state tree of North Carolina, Cornus florida dots a few spaces around campus and between East and West, showing off its four-part floral bracts each spring with sunny flair. They grow best in North Carolina’s upper southern climate, and send down their drupes each season to propagate more. Often when I pass by them, I think of the particular disease-resistant cultivar named ‘Appalachian Spring’ THE MAGNOLIA: A species so old that it is common and hear the music of Copland’s symphony start swaying to both the southeastern US and east Asia due to their through the tree’s crooked branches. contiguity when the continents touched in eons past, the Magnolia tree has been used medicinally by peoples *** indigenous to both areas for millennia. Taking the bark, crushing it thoroughly, boiling the Next time you take a walk around campus, notice the pulp and drinking the tangy tea has been used to aid sleep, trees that compose the forest our university sits within. treat anxiety, reduce muscle spasms and soothe stomach I have identified only the smallest portion of all the trees problems. you can find on campus, let alone the immense variety of Contemporary research gives scientific backing to other plants that pop up everywhere from Duke Pond to the such use—the major compounds magnolol and honokiol Bishop’s House. act on GABA receptors in the nervous system similar to But I hope that by knowing a little bit more about the benzodiazepines, quieting overactive nerves and generating plant biological reality you live in as a student, work in as calm, something the students at Duke would unequivocally faculty, staff or administrator and pass by as a visitor, you benefit from. might come to orient yourself with the living things around With large, leathery white flowers that evolved before you that aren’t merely human. bees and depended on giant beetles for pollination at first, the magnolia is not only medicine but art as well, producing Nicholas Chrapliwy is a Trinity senior. His column one of the most powerful and complex fragrances each “archetypical” runs on alternate Fridays.

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dukechronicle.com

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 | 15

I’m CJ Cruz. I’m Monday Monday I

’m upstairs in my home speaking with the national But for whatever reason, I decided to apply and write suicide prevention hotline when my phone a sample column anyway. One thing led to another, and I accidentally connects to a bluetooth speaker found myself completely free of inhibition, giggling at my downstairs. own words as I wrote about an inept, bumbling version of

Monday Monday REVEALED This is in April of 2020, about a year ago. The operator’s rousing appeal for the value of life is cut short and transplanted into a loud muffle in the living room beneath me. Desperate to reconnect the audio, I tap at my phone in the inept way that mortified people do in horror movies right before they get murdered. After a few grueling seconds (long enough for anyone downstairs to intuit that I’m on a suicide hotline), I reconnect. My hyperventilating stops after a while. Then, despite myself, I start laughing. The thrown-off operator asks what I’m laughing about. I tell her that my phone accidentally connected to a bluetooth speaker downstairs in front of everyone. There’s a moment of absolute silence. Then she says, “Oh God. That’s enough to make anybody want to kill themselves,” and starts laughing too. And now I’m laughing even more. We’re both laughing like madmen and it doesn’t take away any of the pain, but there’s a little bit of light that wasn’t there before. My relationship with my mental health is conjoined with my relationship with humor. That’s why I turn to my favorite comedy films when I feel my lowest depressions, that’s why I crack jokes when I feel my most unbearable anxieties, and that’s why being Monday Monday has been so important to me during the most difficult year of my life. Shortly after the phone incident, completely unrelatedly, my good friend and former roommate Mihir reached out and asked if I was interested in applying to be Monday Monday. I wasn’t sure I had the bandwidth to write a biweekly column considering the state of my mental health. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to come back to school at all at that point.

I’m gonna walk down the aisle in my cap and gown and fade into little specks of light like Master Oogway does in the critically acclaimed 2008 film Kung Fu Panda, then I’m gonna re-materialize myself because dissolving into light was a purely symbolic gesture, then I’m gonna move out to LA and chase my dreams. And that’ll be it. As I sit here, at the end of my life, and reflect upon these last four years of college, I’ve gotta be honest: I’m proud of myself. I’m proud of myself for making it through; this particular batshit year, but also the entire thing. It’s been really hard to be funny while everything that’s been happening has been happening, and I am really really proud of myself for getting up every day and trying despite that difficulty, and failing a lot but still trying again and again. You should be proud of yourself too. You should be proud of yourself for having gotten out of bed and done college a single day of your life, pandemic or no pandemic. Because college is really hard! And that is not said enough! You guys have helped me find a lot of light. When I was on the phone with that woman and we laughed together, that small spark lit up the vantablack sealed underground bunker that was my life. Now, though, there are sparks like that everywhere. I feel their warmth every day. I cherish them because I know their worth, but I do not cling to them because I know they’re everywhere. The story of the last year of my life has been the story of fighting tooth and nail to stay alive and, in the process, coming up with a list of reasons that this life is worth living and why I don’t have to fight to keep it, or work to be worthy of it. I am enough, just as I am. This has been my favorite thing that I have done at Duke. I say without an ounce of exaggeration that it has been the honor of my college career to serve as your plague jester. My name is CJ Cruz, and I have been your Monday Monday. Thank you for reading.

President Price whose only love is motorcycles, completely out of his depth getting “gotcha” interviewed about Black Lives Matter by a hard-hitting reporter. The rest is history. Monday Monday has been the bright spot of my week, every week. It’s given me the license to be completely silly and irreverent when I want to be, and it’s also given me the platform to speak out about things that I care about, like mental health and housing reform and racial justice and Duke’s elitism and often flawed policies. All things considered, it’s actually been really cool to do this job while the world has been on fire and everything has been awful. I mean, it sucks that the world has been on fire and that everything has been awful, but neat that I get the vanity of forever being the Monday Monday of the lost year. I’ll always be the sole Monday Monday of the Zoom-SymMon-Mask-Wearing-Surveillance-TestingGreek-Disaffiliating era. Hopefully. Thanks, first of all, to all of the subjects of my satire for being great sports. Thanks to Duke University Improv for letting me make a documentary about them and also for being my truest family here. Thanks, Mihir, for being a class act of a creative collaborator and an even better friend. Thanks, Mom, for not allowing me to listen to selfhate on my worst days. Thanks, Dad, for walking beside me and leading the way at the same time. Thanks, Jake, for giving me the line “If I catch the plague they’ll throw me in the Gulag,” which I used to open my first ever column as Monday Monday. And here I am. I’ve got about two weeks to go. I’m gonna go perform in an in-person, outdoor improv CJ Cruz is a Trinity senior. The national suicide comedy show that will undoubtedly be wildly successful, prevention hotline is 800-273-8255. They will tell jokes if then I’m gonna ace all of my exams with flying colors, then you ask.

edit pages

It’s ok to thrive T

here’s a term here at Duke that students sometimes use called the oppression olympics. It’s an idea that comes from activist movements and stems from various groups sometimes “competing” to show why their oppression is most pertinent. And at Duke this often makes itself present as students sometimes try to highlight their lack of privilege, and show

Tatayana Richardson SEARCHING FOR CANAAN that they have in one way or another come from struggles of one kind or another. This past week I talked to someone about how Christian rhetoric can sometimes mirror this phenomenon, in something I named as “the suffering olympics.” Christianity seems to be perpetually preparing Christians for large battles of suffering, or conditions that will wage war on their spiritual resolve and test their emotional strength. That is made explicit in Bible verses like Eph. 6:1317, where Paul wrote to the Ephesians, offering them instructions on what it means to live a Christian life. In this section in particular, he talks about the armor of God, writing: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes

from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Paul teaches the Ephesians to gird themselves with God in a way that is combative and war ready, and while part

haven’t suffered greatly, then you haven’t reached the fullness of your story yet, and with that comes the subtext: you have not lived enough life to know anything. It’s almost as if you have not earned your stripes and you just have to wait, knowing that your moment(s) of suffering will come. But seldom does Christianity offer extended narratives and teachings on how we are meant to thrive. Yes, there are sermons on what it means to humbly thank God for reaching an accomplishment or coming out of suffering, and the occasional sermon that teaches us how to look for peace, and joy or contentment. But what there is not is a multitude of sermons on what it means to be in happiness, in extended states of peace or to be okay with thriving and not expecting that suffering will bring an end to every good moment you experience. And this creates the idea that peace and happiness aren’t meant to last for extended periods of time, but that suffering is. It creates an understanding that we are not meant to be joyous, which I don’t think is what God wants for us. Although we must understand that humanity is flawed, and that our world is not perfect, I believe God also calls us to understand that through his unending Mercy, he has granted us Grace which will at one time or another bring us seasons of joy. And instead of sitting in these seasons of joy simply waiting for them to be spoiled by suffering so that we can prove we are “war ready,” we must learn to know that suffering may come. We should teach ourselves that it is okay to thrive.

of this narrative may have been born out of the context of culture and lifestyle of antiquity, its message and connotation of war readiness continues in the present. Pastors often cite this passage as the way for Christians to face the ills of the world that may befall them. Along with this comes the rhetoric of what to do when you are in the storm. I myself preached on it a few weeks ago, offering up the need to lean on God for prayer, and trusting the ways in which God can and will guide a person or communities through moments of pain and chaos. And there is truth in the need for a faith to offer its people preparation for things that challenge them, and for moments that threaten to shatter spiritual resolve or moments of doubt. But what about the moments where we thrive…? The rhetoric in churches right now prepares for suffering, creating the expectation that at any moment the ground under you will shift and you will be engulfed into grief that is meant to test you. Tatayana Richardson is a Trinity senior. Her column, It also creates an implicit understanding that if you “searching for Canaan,” runs on alternate Mondays.

16 | MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021

MARKETPLACE FROM PAGE 2 “She is making sure people [Marketplace workers] are getting tested and getting the vaccine if they want to,” he said. Still, Gooch cited confusion about surveillance testing for COVID-19. He has never been tested, nor been asked to get tested, he said. Uncertainty surrounding Duke’s COVID-19 testing policy for Marketplace workers is not new. Anderson and colleague William Minor expressed in January that they were unsure about Duke’s exact testing policies for food service workers. Duke Dining team members, including contract workers not directly employed by Duke, were encouraged to take part in the University’s free asymptomatic and weekly surveillance COVID-19 testing, according to Stokes and Robert Coffey, executive director of dining services. The administrators also noted that Duke Dining staff, including contract workers, were among the first group of University employees offered vaccinations. Anderson was among them: Stokes scheduled a vaccination appointment for her, she said. Duke provided transportation. “So I left work, and then I went to get vaccinated, and I came back,” Anderson said. After Marketplace shut down, Duke Health called her every day, she said. She let out a huge breath when asked about

WORKERS FROM PAGE 1 “For everybody I talked to who’s a member of Local 77, the union will not respond back to them,” Gooch said. “Personally, I haven’t gotten no response either. So, we don’t know where [the union] stand[s] at this point on hazard pay. That’s why the petition is out there.” Local 77 held a Saturday membership meeting in which workers brought up their desire for hazard pay, according to Kasradze. The union leadership ultimately agreed to bring the issue forward in the next round of negotiations with the University, she shared in a message. Local 77 President William McKnight and Local 77 Vice President Wilford Hamm did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Hazard pay and back pay

Throughout the pandemic, the word “unprecedented,” has been used unreservedly. But Alan Williams, a utility worker on East Campus, said that “no one looks at what’s unprecedented for the regular workers.” Williams said that hazard pay, which refers to a pay increase for doing dangerous or physically distressing work, is necessary for workers because there needs to be some financial compensation for the “mental anguish” of being a front-line employee during a pandemic. “This is people’s livelihoods,” Williams said. The petition requests hazard pay equal to 150% of an employee’s regular pay rate for all service workers until June 1. It also requests back pay equal to 50% of pay received over the period from March 10, 2020, to the day hazard pay will theoretically be introduced. “You’re asking us to come to work, put ourselves at risk of giving disease that you may carry home to your family, without any further monetary compensation,” Williams said. “You have to realize the pressure you’re under— whether you come to work and risk getting sick and risk infecting your family members. That’s something that wears on your mind.” Williams has two grandkids, a wife and a stepdaughter at home. “I need to check myself at all times. I say a prayer, I keep gloves, I wash my hands, I stay out of crowds, try to stay six feet from people. I do my best and I pray a lot,” he said. Gooch pointed out that most Duke workers working from home are still being paid in full. “But we are essential workers and we come to

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recent COVID-19 testing. “Oh my God, since this has happened, I have been tested more times than I can remember!” she said. She’s been swabbed twice in the last week of March, she added. Dining works to meet needs of staff, though concerns remain. Even though he appreciates Stokes’s efforts, Gooch said he feels higher-level dining management isn’t concerned with the safety and wellness of Marketplace workers. “We only deal with Director Stokes on down,” he said. Gooch also said temporary workers employed at Marketplace do not use the COVID-19 symptom monitoring app that standard Marketplace employees are required to use. He said that discrepancy puts him and other employees at higher risk. “Temp workers can just knock on the door and come on in. I’m disappointed in my management for allowing this to happen,” he said. Coffey said that Duke’s symptom monitoring app, SymMon, is available to temporary workers. Those workers, who are contracted to temporarily work for Duke through the professional services company Grace Federal, are also required to complete a COVID-19 training course similarly required of workers permanently employed by Duke, he added, and must read and sign other coronavirus safety documents. “The supervisor/manager/chef on duty completes a required manual Employee Health Questionnaire verification for ALL team

VACCINES

membersw arriving for their work shift to East Union, including the Grace Federal temp employees,” Coffey wrote in an email. Stokes said Duke administrators have helped meet the needs of dining employees since the pandemic began and throughout the two week closure. “It is only with their leadership and support and the help of many departments that we were able to adjust quickly to meet the student needs, as well as, support the staff,” she said. Coffey stated that he speaks and meets with Stokes daily, sometimes multiple times a day. In addition to meetings with Stokes, the two directors also had daily meetings with Duke occupational and environmental health experts to review the East Union’s progress since the recent outbreak. Anderson said she believed Duke Dining’s management handled the outbreak well once they became aware of the situation. She was excited to go back to work—she wanted to see her co-workers and students in person again. Recently, her wish was fulfilled. Marketplace seemed to celebrate its reopening with a well-timed weeklong menu of cruise-themed dinners, serving cuisines from different parts of the globe each night. Tuesday was Hawaii and Bahamas night, and the dining hall was decorated with plush sea creatures, fishing nets and lifesavers while reggae music played overhead. Anderson was in her usual spot at the cash register, wearing a lei while she enthusiastically greeted students and handed them utensils.

head with facts,” Kumar said. “All you’re really going to do is alienate them and entrench them in their own position.” Understanding and listening are essential, he said. “You have to understand them first. These beliefs come from a real concern that they have. And whether the concern is empirical or not, that’s not the issue. The issue is that they’re not going to put that thing in their body whilst they have that concern. And to address the concern, you need to understand the concern, and to do that you need to listen,” Kumar continued. Crabill said that achieving more widespread vaccine acceptance is a crucial step to ensuring personal and communal safety. “Vaccines are one of our most cost effective ways to prevent suffering and death. COVID has made it clear how much more we need to prioritize getting vaccines to people who need them most,” Crabill said. Angrist has high praise for Crabill and Kumar. “They are both highly motivated and extremely bright. On top of that they are both original, creative thinkers and lots of fun to be around. I think my biggest contribution to the course has been to stay out of their way and just let them do their thing,” Angrist said.

A worker who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution added that there were people in their department who had COVID-19, but nobody told their coworkers that the workers were infected. “They were just out. The only way I knew was when I saw [a co-worker] and said, ‘Hey, it’s good to see you. I’ve been out for two weeks Better COVID-19 communication because I had a COVID scare.’ They said, ‘Well, The petition requests that Duke workers I had COVID,’” the worker said. “Nobody told be informed of COVID-19 protocols and us that and nobody disinfected the break room details “in a consistent and transparent way.” or anything. I don’t even go into the break This includes asking supervisors to inform room anymore.” workers when someone in a department tests Williams added that after finding out positive for COVID-19, educate workers on his co-worker tested positive, he and other how to access free testing through Duke workers in the department chose to get tested and inform workers on the implications at Gilbert-Addoms dorm to make sure they of testing positive or having symptoms for weren’t infected—but were chastised for COVID-19. doing so. According to Williams, Steele told them that workers could All the workers interviewed expressed I do my job well, but I want not be tested at Duke’s that supervisors and testing locations on East directors do not to be informed. I want and West Campus. Williams was told inform workers if the proper information. I another worker in that the only way the department tests want management to sit workers could get tested was to call and make positive for COVID-19. down and come up with Around 56% of survey an appointment with Employee Health. respondents cited issues something comprehensive. with the management of Williams said that alan williams he found out the truth sick workers. EAST CAMPUS UTILITY WORKER not through Steele, but Schoenfeld wrote that Duke safeguards through a Marketplace the privacy of medical information “as meeting with union leadership. required by law and following all public “That’s when I found out that we can test health guidelines to ensure the safety of anywhere at any time, and it’s been negotiated with the upper management since COVID-19 workers and students.” Williams shared that last semester, he and came out and they decided to let the students other members of his department ate lunch come back,” he said. in the same break room with an employee Williams said that he was never informed who later tested positive for COVID-19. His about this beforehand. Housing has had “little supervisor, Samuel Steele, did not inform to no contact” with their union representatives any of the workers in the department of the during the pandemic, so “the only information we get is coming from our immediate positive test. “Had not the person who tested positive supervisor,” Williams said. called and informed some of my other More than half of workers who responded coworkers that they tested positive, I would’ve to the DSWA survey—about 56%—reported never known,” he said. that they’ve never been tested at Duke, and A former hospital worker, Williams said around 31% reported they are tested less than that he understands the privacy concerns one time per month. around naming individuals who test positive. Schoenfeld wrote that all employees in “You don’t have to tell me nobody’s name, Local 77 and other service workers have had but tell me somebody tested positive so then access to testing “as soon as it was feasible to everyone can at least go get tested. That’s do so on a large scale” as well as treatment the least you can do and only fair to us as and support from Duke Employee and employees,” he said. Occupational Health and the opportunity to

receive the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of most Duke employees, students and the public. “All of this has been communicated regularly to the employees and documented by the Local 77 leadership, The Chronicle and others,” he wrote. He added that Local 77 workers have had “secure employment, pay and benefits when many others at Duke and elsewhere have not.” “The constant attempts by some individuals to misrepresent and in some cases fabricate the actions of the managers and supervisors who have worked around the clock for the past 15 months to support their employees and Duke students, under great stress and often at risk to their own health and safety, is beyond disappointing,” Schoenfeld wrote. Steele did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In general, workers say they have been frustrated with a lack of communication from management. “I do my job well, but I want to be informed. I want the proper information. I want management to sit down and come up with something comprehensive,” Williams said. “We can’t gather in big groups, but we can have individual Zoom meetings and inform us on where we’re at, what’s going on, what’s the next steps.” Lettica Wolfe, a housekeeper on East Campus, said that she thinks it’s hypocritical that while Duke’s management uses the word “safe” for the work housekeepers do, the majority of those working in management have been working from home all year. She feels upset that the University dismisses workers’ safety concerns and acts like “everything is okay” and “everything is under control.” “If it’s so safe, why do y’all still work from home then?” Wolfe said. “Just be honest with me. Don’t be lying to us. Tell us the truth... I know everybody can’t be home and I respect that. But don’t lie to us. But honest to your workers and staff.” She added that this act is frustrating because, aside from her supervisor and a few others who she appreciates, she has never seen upper-level management, including her director. (Leslye Kornegay, Wolfe’s director and director of university management services, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) “Why don’t y’all come and show y’all’s support?” Wolfe asked.

campus at a higher risk… So, I feel like hazard pay should be guaranteed for coming on the campus,” he said. Among survey respondents, 77%— including 92% of housekeepers and dining workers—reported wanting hazard pay. Just over 7% reported wanting back pay.

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April 19, 2021

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INSIDE Students struggle with burnout