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
The Chronicle
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
Global health major being considered
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ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 109
Nicholas School building to be the greenest facility at Duke
by Julia Ni THE CHRONICLE
Students interested in global health may soon be able to pursue a major in the field. A Duke Global Health Institute committee, which draws 16 senior faculty and administrators from various schools and departments, is currently considering the future of the University’s undergraduate global health education. Among the changes being proposed is the creation of a global health major, said Orin Starn, chair of the undergraduate global health education faculty committee and chair of the cultural anthropology department. A proposal for the major would next go before the Committee on Curriculum of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. “Interest in global health has grown nationwide in the last few years, though no other university yet has a global health major,” Starn wrote in an email Tuesday. “Developing [one such program] could put Duke at the cutting edge of undergraduate education in global health.” Randy Kramer, DGHI associate director for strategy and a professor of economics at the Nicholas School of the Environment, said the growing student interest in global health and the success of the certificate program to date are the primary impetus of the proposal. Strengthening educational training in global health may help the next generation of leaders better tackle domestic and international health disparity challenges. The possibility of establishing a new major in a budding field is exciting, he said, though the process is complicated and involves discussion with numerous stakeholders. Although the specific requirements have not yet been determined, the global health major—keeping up with the spirit of the field itself—will be interdisciplinary, Starn added. Students will be required to have a concentration in a particular department, such as cultural anthropology or biology and to complete substantial fieldwork in an existing field. The concept is early in the planning phase, so no specific timeline has been established for its implementation. The committee is also considering whether a major in global health can measure up to majors in more traditional and established disciplines, Starn noted. “We don’t want to establish a major in a flash-in-the-pan field, and one worry is that global health may not have the lasting kind of weight traditional fields [have],” he said. Many of those worries though, will hopefully be addressed in the major guidelines, which emphasize technical training and collaboration with established departments, Starn added. SEE MAJOR ON PAGE 4
Senate proposes DSG restructuring, Page 3
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
A rendition of Environment Hall, a $36.2 million dollar project scheduled to be completed in November 2015. by Jack Mercola THE CHRONICLE
A new building for the Nicholas School of the Environment will soon be the most eco-friendly structure on campus. The $36.2 million Duke Environment Hall, which was approved by the Board of Trustees Friday, is slated to begin construction April 2013 and open November 2015, said Project Manager
Myron Taschuk. The 70,000 sq.-ft. addition to the Levine Research Center will house classrooms, study spaces and faculty offices, as well as a green roof and an environment-themed art gallery. The hall is being designed by Payette, a leading architectural firm based in Boston. Environment Hall will be certified as platinum under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design stan-
dards, Taschuk said. A platinum certification is the highest honor offered by LEED—an initiative administered by the United States Green Building Council that promotes sustainable construction and operations in the American building industry. “Through achieving the platinum standard, we are striving to have the SEE HALL ON PAGE 5
Court case challenges affirmative action by Michael Shammas THE CHRONICLE
In a move intensifying ongoing debate regarding preferential admissions, the United States Supreme Court recently news decided to hear a case analysis that could potentially limit or even ban racebased affirmative action policies at universities. White student Abigail Fisher is challenging a University of Texas policy that gives black, Hispanic and Native American students preferential treatment in admissions. The Supreme Court decided to hear the case—Fisher v. University of Texas—Feb. 21, and it is the first time since 2003 that the court will consider the future of affirmative action. The court’s decision has stirred some debate among members of the Duke community about whether affirmative action policies are fair and about whether a decision by the
Supreme Court could change Duke’s admissions policies. Black Student Alliance President Nana Asante, a senior, said that though she understands why affirmative action is contentious, the policies are still needed. “Affirmative action is complicated, understandably jarring to some, beneficial to all and overwhelmingly necessary,” Asante said. “It is not a black and white policy but rather a complex and dynamic approach that aims to rectify years of deeply rooted oppression and racism faced by minorities such as blacks and women.” She added that historical wrongs have far-reaching consequences that still plague certain minorities and previously subjugated groups today. Measures to guarantee that these populations receive equal opportunities today must be taken. The question of affirmative action is raised at a time when members of the Duke community are re-evaluating minority groups’ role within the campus
ONTHERECORD
“I guess he was getting his mack on better than he appeared to be (poor girl looked terrified)...” —Mia Lehrer in “You’re a feminist, aren’t you?” See column page 12
climate. The Black Student Alliance issued the Black Culture Initiative to the administration in January. The initiative included recommendations to equate the black community’s experiences with the rest of Duke’s and suggested a renewed University commitment and expansion of the Black Student Alliance Invitational weekend and an explanation of the role of special considerations in the admissions process. Asante declined to comment on the status of the Black Culture Initiative until a later time. Although the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in 2003, the result could be different this time because the makeup of the Supreme Court has changed, said Peter Arcidiacono, professor of economics. Chief Justice John Roberts—a conservative—has replaced the more liberalleaning voice of former Justice Sandra SEE ACTION ON PAGE 4
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