The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue S6
www.dukechronicle.com
DPS plans for new high school Endowment
on track to show growth
by Matthew Chase THE CHRONICLE
Duke property near the Durham Regional Hospital will soon be home to a new public high school. In its meeting June 17, the Durham Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the purchase of 58 acres of land from the University, largely to alleviate overcrowding in two Durham high schools. The school district will pay Duke $4.1 million for a portion of the site, which will be home to a high school that can potentially open as early as 2012. The school, which will be located on the corner of Duke Homestead Rd. and Stadium Drive, will initially hold about 800 students, but will later be expanded to hold about 1,200 students, according to a DPS news release. The new high school will help address overcrowding issues at DPS high schools, predominantly at Jordan and Riverside High Schools, which are located about 10.5 and 3 miles away from new site, respectively. Construction of the school will cost around $48 million, according to the news release. Hugh Osteen, DPS assistant superintendent of operational services, said the site is not as centrally located between the schools as DPS had originally hoped, but added that sewage and water systems are close to the site and Stadium Drive was recently updated.
by Taylor Doherty THE CHRONICLE
After historic losses in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, administrators predict that the University’s endowment will reflect steady growth this year. The University’s endowment and similar funds has increased an estimated 15 percent in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, a member of Duke Management Company’s ten-person Board of Directors. The fiscal year officially ends June 30, and more concrete evaluations of the University’s assets will be available in Tallman Trask August, Trask said. “We’ve clearly come back a fair bit from where we were,” he said. “I would guess it’s going to be between 15 and 20 [percent], and if you made me guess, I would say it will be closer to 15 than 20.” At the end of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the endowment was worth approximately $4.4 billion, according to the University’s 2008-2009 financial statements. The longterm pool, in which 98 percent of the
See DPS on page 5
See endowment on page 12 chronicle graphic by melissa yeo
Financial crisis forces fee on Student Health STI testing by Tullia Rushton THE CHRONICLE
melissa yeo/The Chronicle
Sexually transmitted infection test results that were previously free for students will now come with a fee, as a result of the recession.
Duke students must now pay for University-provided sexually transmitted infection testing that was free until this month. Student Health has started charging students for the results of their sexually transmitted disease tests because of a change in contract with the Duke University Medical Center lab that previously interpreted the tests at a deep discount, said Executive Director of Student Health Dr. Bill Purdy. The lab, which processes all the lab work for the Duke clinics and hospital, had to raise its fees for test interpretation as a result of the financial crisis, Purdy said. Rapid tests for strep, mononucleosis and pregnancy, complete blood count tests, urinalysis and wet prep for vaginal infections are still covered under the student health fee, Purdy noted. Last year, the student health fee was about $568 per student. “We didn’t want to do it, but were forced to do it because of the [financial] situation,” Purdy said. As of now, Purdy said students will have to pay 20 percent of the tests’ cost and insurance will cover the rest. Purdy noted that the new prices have not yet been finalized because each insurance company has its own deal with the University.
ONTHERECORD
“If it’s threatening or harassing and directed at an individual, then the University will get rid of it.”
—VP for Student Affairs Larry Moneta on bridge painting. See story page 3
Student Health announced the change June 11 on its website, which is part of the Student Affairs site. Officials did not send a formal announcement to students. Because Student Health supports the Know Your Status campaign, which offers students free HIV testing in the Bryan Center throughout the academic year, Purdy said Student Health routinely ran additional tests for other sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, for free. Now that testing is no longer free, some students have said they are concerned about how charging for STD testing will affect students’ motivation to get tested. “Duke is always talking about how students should be sexually responsible,” said Chantel Morey, rising junior and member of Know Your Status. “[The new price] will be detrimental to the Duke community.” Morey said the affordability of the labs will deter students from getting tested, as was the case for a rising junior who wished to remain anonymous to preserve his privacy. Motivated by campaigns on campus to be sexually responsible, the junior said he went to Student Health to get a routine checkup with an STD screening, but he decided not to send the tests to the lab and get the results because
The Road to Victory Elaine Marshall wins the Democratic primary in her run for U.S. Senate, PAGE 3
See testing on page 12
Former Blue Devil takes on the minor leagues, Page 7