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, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 16
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
The ethics of cheating
ENCODE finds use for ‘junk DNA’
Harvard scandal raises questions at other universities
by John Barker THE CHRONICLE
by Greg McKeon THE CHRONICLE
Allegations of unprecedented cheating on a recent final exam has put Harvard University, and other schools, in a difficult position. Harvard conducted an investigation into nearly 125 students accused of collaborating on a final exam last semester, making it the latest school to fall victim to a rising trend of academic dishonesty in U.S. higher education. The trend raises ethical questions about how universities, including Duke, can maintain academic integrity in an increasingly collaborative environment where students are pressured to succeed. The students, who were enrolled in Harvard’s “Introduction to Congress” course, allegedly collaborated on the class’s take-home final exam. Yet some undergraduates said the professor was unclear about the course expectations, saying they entered the course expecting an easy A. “[The professor] said ‘I gave out 120 A’s last year, and I’ll give out 120 more,’” an accused student told the New York Times. But by the time finals came around, the exam on which the alleged cheating occurred was significantly more difficult than SEE CHEATING ON PAGE 3
CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY ELIZA STRONG
After nearly a decade of research, a group of geneticists at Duke and around the world have reported that a significant amount of information exists in swaths of the human genome that were previously referred to as junk DNA. Researchers from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project—known as ENCODE—published numerous papers last week that collectively assign some functionality to approximately 80 percent of the human genome. Previously, the only portions of the genome that were recognized and understood were those catalogued by the Human Genome Project, which released a list of more than 20,000 genes that code for the creation of various proteins. Those sections of the genome make up less than 2 percent of the genome’s roughly three billion nucleotides—the purpose of the rest was unknown. Now, however, ENCODE researchers have ascribed functions to a much greater portion of the genetic code. “The ENCODE project really teaches us to embrace our own ignorance,” said Huntington Willard, director of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. “The original ENCODE project was designed to say that this stuff
Researches from the ENCODE project—some of whom are Duke faculty—have found that some DNA strands previously thought to be “junk DNA” actually contain a significant amount of information.
SEE DNA ON PAGE 10
Fighting Irish are Main St. rebuild to cause delays ACC’s 15th member by Danli Liu THE CHRONICLE
by Andrew Beaton THE CHRONICLE
The ACC just got a little bit more fight. The conference’s council of presidents unanimously accepted Notre Dame into the ACC Wednesday. The Fighting Irish are currently scheduled to join the conference in the 2015-2016 season. “It is my distinct pleasure to announce Notre Dame as the 15th member of the Atlantic Coast Conference,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Fighting Irish will join as a full member in all sports except
football. Notre Dame will instead play five football games against ACC schools annually but remain independent. Notre Dame will, however, be a part of the ACC bowl lineup excluding the Bowl Championship Series games, Swofford said. In the past, the ACC has insisted that schools have full membership in all sports, Swofford said. It is “significant” that they made this exception for Notre Dame. “What was best 20 years ago isn’t necessarily best in today’s world,” he said. “Now is the time, and this partnership is a win-win.” The Fighting Irish will not be a part of any of the ACC’s football
Dylan, so much older now, spins new magic, Recess page 4
SEE NOTRE DAME ON PAGE 6
PHILLIP CATTERALL/ THE CHRONICLE
Construction along Main Street next year might cause travel delays for students and University employees—particularly those who use the Bull City Connector. The bus route will have to change temporarily due to the construction.
ONTHERECORD
“Nearly every day since my sophomore year of high school, I have carried a U.S. Constitution in my left-hand pocket...” —Daniel Strunk in “The Constitution in my pocket.” See column page 8
Students may experience travel delays as Main Street closes next summer. The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to demolish and rebuild the bridge over Campus Drive adjacent to East Campus, a project called the Main Street Bridge Replacement Project. The construction, which will begin May 2013, comes in response to concerns regarding the structure of the bridge. Construction cannot begin until Durham completes its current waterline replacement project. “This construction is a city project that must happen,” said sophomore Derek Rhodes, Duke
Women’s soccer to take on No. 1 Florida, Page 5
SEE MAIN ON PAGE 4
2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
DUKE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Study ties fistula to DSG to amend DUPD offcampus visitation program mental disorders by Nourhan Elsayed THE CHRONICLE
by Pi Praveen THE CHRONICLE
Duke Student Government approved a proposal to amend the University’s existing Knock and Talks procedure at the Senate meeting Wednesday. Proposed by Derek Rhodes, DSG vice president for Durham and regional affairs, the Knock & Talks amendment looked to make University interaction with students and student groups living off-campus a more comfortable affair. In the past, members of the Office of Student Conduct and the Duke University Police Department visited 12 to 15 offcampus houses at the start of the Fall to assess the dynamic of Duke students living in the greater Durham community. Rhodes called this practice intrusive and said that it sends a negative message about Duke students. “We, as students, do care about the neighborhood,” said Rhodes, a sophomore. DSG approved Rhodes’ proposal—which called for off-campus students to reaffirm their commitment to the Duke Community Standard and for a collaboration with Duke Partnership for Service as part of a restructuring of the off-campus mediation program— by unanimous consent. The Senate also approved three amendments to the Residential House Assessment Committee bylaws, proposed by Vice President for Residential Life Jacob Zionce, a sophomore. The amendments changed RGAC’s scoring system and added an appeals process and a house presentation process.
REEM ALFAHAD/THE CHRONICLE
Sophomore Derek Rhodes, DSG vice president of Durham and regional affairs, spoke Wednesday night about a program that invites Duke Police to visit off-campus student houses. “This is a resolution that will establish how the committee works and the committee’s functionality,” Zionce said. RGAC will score each house based on a written plan outlining the house’s compliance with the committee’s assessment criteria and its performance during the
course of the year. These scores will be released at the end of each semester, and groups will have 24 hours to appeal their score. The meeting began with the swearing in of the freshmen senators. Associate Justice Daniel SEE DSG ON PAGE 3
Women with obstetric fistula are prone to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers found. A study conducted over the course of two years by the Duke Global Health Institute in conjunction with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center found the rates of mental disorder among women with obstetric fistula to be uncommonly high. The results led the researchers to establish a workshop in Moshi, Tanzania that used the findings of the study to initiate discussion about how to better care for women with obstetric fistula. Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal, which can arise after a woman gives birth without proper medical care. A woman who has a fistula experiences uncontrollable leaking of urine or feces and emits a persistent bad odor, said Sarah Wilson, a DGHI doctoral scholar and a leading contributor in the study and a leader in the development of the workshop in Tanzania. “There’s a synergy between the physical and psychological symptoms,” said Kathleen Sikkema, professor of psychology and neuroscience, global health, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and a collaborator in the study and workshop. In addition to the physical effects caused by the condition, women suffering from obstetric fistula are faced with social stigma due to the smell they emit, which leads to self-isolation. The psychological effects of the condition lead to PTSD and de-
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pression, added Melissa Watt, DGHI assistant professor and another leading contributor to the study. “[These women] no longer felt like a person,” Wilson said. “There’s a significant amount of shame and anxiety.” Watt noted that obstetric fistula is prevalent in low-income countries, particularly countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Poor socioeconomic class also contributes to the prevalence of obstetric fistula, Wilson added. Data for the study came from surveys conducted when sufferers from the condition were in the hospital for treatment. “We think that women come to the hospital with a whole host of difficult stresses in their lives, which has led us to believe that the time they are in the hospital can be a real moment of opportunity because it addresses their mental health needs in order to effectively serve these women and address their overall health,” Watts said. Participants in the workshop were receptive to the ideas it presented, Wilson said. The workshop identified ways to help women cope with obstetric fistula. “We see these patients, and we know that they are coming in with mental health concerns, and that there is really a need for special health providers,” Wilson said. “The kind of intervention would be something that would not require any special degree…. It can be someone who just works with patients and has basic skills of active listening and empathy.”
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THE CHRONICLE
CHEATING from page 1 anticipated. “Classes change,” said Michael Gustafson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke. “Certainly, having the answer be ‘I’m taking this course that’s supposed to be an easy A and now it’s not so we’re going to create this mechanism by which we turn it back into an easy A,’ that’s a disaster.” He noted that the widespread allegations are a timely reminder for Duke, which has dealt with similar cheating scandals in the past. In 2007, 34 Duke MBA candidates at the Fuqua School of Business were suspended, expelled or flunked for collaborating on a takehome test, causing concern about integrity and commitment to the school’s honor code. In light of the recent Harvard scandal, the Duke community should pay closer attention to the results of a study on issues of academic trustworthiness published every five years by Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, said Noah Pickus, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and associate research professor of public policy. The latest survey was conducted in 2011. Although Duke continues to show significant improvement in both percentages of students committing outright plagiarism and falsifying data on their reports, the type of unauthorized collaboration seen in the Harvard case is on the rise. According to the Kenan report, the category “Receiving unpermitted help on an assignment” was self-reported by 27.43 percent of Duke undergraduates in 2011, up from 22 percent in the previous 2005 study. Students “Working on an assignment with others when the instructor asked for individual work” rose to 34 percent in 2011 from 29 in 2005. For students, collaboration can be a gray area in the world of academic integrity, Pickus said. As Duke attempts to foster new ideas and learning by encouraging in-class group work
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 | 3
and out-of-class discussion of material, it is difficult to distinguish where earnest learning ends and cheating begins. “The rules we have for academic integrity were written for a time when work was supposed to be solely individual,” Pickus said. “This mismatch causes a great deal of confusion and it’s time to create new approaches that distinguish between appropriate collaboration and inappropriate collaboration.” Furthermore, as students race to distinguish themselves in the high-pressure job competition seen at today’s top schools, they may be more inclined toward academic dishonesty, especially unauthorized collaboration that they view as more benign. “It raises the question of how far the university wants to go about placing boundaries around a competitive ethos,” Pickus said. “Being competitive is what we’re good at, but at the same time we don’t think that competitive success is the only standard by which we should judge success.” Explicit communication is vital in avoid-
ing incidents like the one at Harvard, said Stephen Bryan, associate dean of students and director of the Student Conduct Office. As Duke pushes toward group based learning, expectations for individual assignments are becoming increasingly ambiguous. If faculty—especially in courses that rely largely on group work and take-home assignments—fail to make clear the demands of their class, students are more likely to bend their own moral codes to fit what they think is reasonable, Pickus said. And when these two expectations do not meet, the student can face anything from teacher-student discipline to suspension for two semesters, Bryan added. “A good rule of thumb I have been preaching lately: Students are likely to interpret the acceptable parameters for collaboration far more liberally than their instructor intended,” he said. “If both instructors and students keep this in mind, it will help prompt questions and discussions between faculty and students to reduce any confusion.”
CHRIS DIECKHAUS/ THE CHRONICLE
A cheating scandal at Harvard University has caused the higher education community to reassess methods for preventing cheating on certain projects—particularly collaborative ones such as take-home exams.
DSG from page 2 Strunk, a junior, led the appointees as they took their oaths. Executive Vice President Patrick Oathout, a junior, suggested that the freshman senators should find mentors within Duke’s community. While addressing the role that the new senators will play on Duke’s campus, senior George Carotenuto, vice president for facilities and the environment, told them that if the freshmen had a particular interest on campus, they could find a project related to it. Three justices were elected to the judiciary, which reviews senate proceedings, after an application process involving written applications, interviews, a short speech and a Q&A session with members of DSG. Freshmen Joseph Denton and Max Schreiber and senior Kory Painter were entrusted with upholding DSG’s constitution and with respecting its history. In other business: Strunk called for a DSG soapbox to serve as a weekly public forum, either at the West Campus bus stop or at the Bryan Center Plaza. The Soapbox would enable students to assert their First Amendment rights, Strunk said. All members of DSG will take part in bystander intervention training against gender violence organized by the Women’s Center during the months of October and November. The surplus trustees of the Student Organization Finance Committee were restructured to officially include four representatives from the DSG Senate. This is in addition to the membership of five officeholders from the DSG executive board.
4 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
ELISSA LEVINE/THE CHRONICLE
Former Duke soccer player Chelsea Canepa, Trinity ’11, stopped by the career fair in the Bryan Center Wednesday to recruit students to her current place of employment.
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MAIN from page 1 Student Government vice president of Durham and regional affairs. The bridge, which was built in 1950, is considered “functionally obsolete,” said City Transportation Director Mark Ahrendsen in a Durham City Council meeting in March, adding that the narrowness of the Campus Drive underpass and its low clearance pose safety concerns. Construction on the bridge could take up to 12 months. But the project cannot begin until the city finishes replacing the water line under Main Street. “The new pipeline must be done first to maintain both water quality and availability of water in the distribution system,” according to a handout from city’s Water Management Department. “The old lines, which are underneath the bridge, can’t be taken out of service until the new line is complete.” The construction on the water line is part of the water management department’s project to make long-term improvements to Durham’s water infrastructure. The city plans to replace more than one mile of water pipes built in the early 20th century along West Main Street, Ninth Street, Iredell Street, South Buchanan Boulevard and Perry Street, with a larger waterline to better support the surrounding area’s water system. “While most of the water line work on West Main Street is nearly complete, the section along Ninth Street, some of Perry and Hillsborough Rd. still remains to be done,” said Jim Harding, civil engineer with the city’s water management department. He added that construction on Ninth and Perry streets and Hillsborough Road
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will likely be completed by the end of the month. Construction of the Main Street Bridge will begin as soon as the waterline work is finished, Harding said, adding that West Main Street—between Broad Street and Buchanan Boulevard—will be closed during the construction. NCDOT also has plans to resurface Main Street from Ninth Street to Peabody Street, and a segment of Swift Avenue from Main Street to NC 147. Representatives of the city, NCDOT and the University met in March to discuss opportunities to consider ways to compress the bridge construction schedule and minimize the closure of Main Street. “Normally a bridge this size takes about six to 12 months to replace,” said NCDOT Division Engineer Wally Bowman. “After various meetings [with Duke], the time has been shortened to 150 days for the bridge replacement.... NCDOT has pledged that there will be no work on Campus Drive during Duke’s freshman move-in August.” Bowman added that in the discussions, NCDOT agreed to work during the night until 6 a.m., and the contractor would not begin deconstructing the bridge until after graduation on May 13. But neither Duke Parking Transportation nor DSG have been notified about the specific details of the project, said Joseph Honeycutt, acting assistant director for transit and fleet oprations. “Surely if it becomes a problem or a major inconvenience for students, we will look into it,” Rhodes said. “I have faith that the city will do its best, as it has done in the past, to work with Duke and make the project go as smoothly and quickly as possible.”
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The Chronicle
THURSDAY September 13, 2012
Former Duke basketball assistant coach Mike Brey, who is now the Fighting Irish head coach, will return to the ACC with Notre Dame’s new conference designation.
www.dukechroniclesports.com
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Q&A with Semi Ojeleye, recruit for 2013 class by Brady Buck THE CHRONICLE
Duke picked up its second pledge of the recruiting class of 2013 Sunday night when five-star small forward Semi Ojeleye committed to the Blue Devils following his in-home visit with head coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski. The Ottawa, Kans. product is considered one of the top wings in the class due to his imposing strength, solid athleticism and versatile offensive skill set to go along with his ideal size at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds. The Chronicle’s Brady Buck spoke with Ojeleye to discuss his commitment to Duke. The Chronicle: Can you walk us through your in-home visit with Krzyzewski on Sunday night and how your commitment unfolded? Semi Ojeleye: [The Duke coaches] came over. It was me, my whole family, with my AAU coach there along with Coach K and Coach Wojo. We ate dinner and started talking about what plans they had for me and how they see me fitting into the program. We were able to ask questions and if anyone had any concerns about anything, they answered those. We talked for a little bit and then they showed us some video of some past players and former [Duke] players as well as the USA [National] team and how they won the Gold Medal. And I just decided that [Duke] was the school for me. ANDREW BEATON/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
Small forward Semi Ojeleye, a Kansas native, committed to Duke Sunday as the second member of the 2013 recruiting class.
FOOTBALL SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
TC: What was Krzyzewski’s reaction to your commitment? SO: He was very, very excited. I don’t think I’ve seen him quite like that ever, at least up close.
TC: What was it about Duke that made it the perfect fit for you and prompted you to commit? SO: Their high academic standards, their basketball history and playing for Coach K. I think those three things along with the fact that it felt right in my heart made it the school that I wanted to go to. TC: How does it feel to officially be a Blue Devil? SO: I can’t describe it. It’s a big blessing. TC: Is it a big relief for you to have the recruitment process over and out of the way, so you can invest all of your time and effort into basketball the rest of your senior year? SO: Yeah, that’s really nice. The phone calls are kind of getting a little bit hectic. [The media attention] was a blessing throughout the whole [recruiting] process, but I’m glad to finally get it over with. TC: How exactly does the Duke coaching staff see you fitting into the program? SO: Being able to play multiple positions—the 2-4 depending on what the matchups, the lineups and the game situations are. And [the coaches see me] being able to do whatever they need me to do on the court, whether that is defending, rebounding [or] being versatile to help the team out. TC: What aspects of your game will you specifically be SEE M. BASKETBALL ON PAGE 6
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Blue Devils enter ACC play, Duke finds similar foe in facing their toughest opponent N.C. Central by Lopa Rahman THE CHRONICLE
by Daniel Carp THE CHRONICLE
Though few may know, N.C. Central’s trajectory this season is nearly identical to Duke’s. Entering the season, second-year head coach Henry Frazier was poised to lead the Eagles, who have improved from their 2-9 record in 2011. N.C. Central blew by Fayetteville State 54-31 in its season-opener. But in the Eagles’ second contest, the team relapsed with a 34-14 road loss to Elon, leaving them with a number of questions. As N.C. Central faces the Blue Devils in this weekend’s Bull City Classic, the Eagles hope that their resounding defeat in week two was a fluke. Quarterback Matt Goggans, a junior, took the reins for N.C. Central in his first year of eligibility since transferring from Fullerton College. In N.C. Central’s season-opening victory, Goggans completed 56.7 percent of his passes, but struggled in the Eagles’ loss to Elon. Goggans was removed from the game in favor of backup quarterback Jordan Reid after completing just 1-of-12 passes for 10 yards and being intercepted twice. Despite this disastrous performance, Frazier has made no indication that Goggans will not start this weekend. “Our passing game was not on point at all,” Frazier said. “We had four turnovers and our passing game did not do a very good job at all in terms of our reads and in terms of our progressions.” Regardless of who the Eagles’ quarterback is, Frazier will look for wide receiver Geovanie Irvine to make big plays down the field. Irvine, a Durham local from Hillside High School, is N.C. Central’s leading receiver and has caught eight passes this year for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The senior will see SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 6
Flirting with perfection, Florida State holds a 6-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in the nation. In a battle of powerhouses, the No. 2 Blue Devils (6-1) will look to dethrone the Seminoles from their position atop the standings. The road matchup between Duke and Florida State marks the beginning of conference play for both teams. “Obviously Florida State is a great team,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “Their whole set plays are very dangerous, and we’re going to have to do a good job there.” In particular, the Blue Devils have been focusing on their throw-ins, a notable strength of the Seminoles. No. 2 “Their throw-in is so dangerous,” Duke Church said. “You just don’t see anyvs. body in college soccer with a throw-in No. 1 like that.” FSU Although their teammates have been working on set plays, sophomore Thursday, 7 p.m. Seminole Soccer Complex Kelly Cobb and junior Mollie Pathman have returned to the United States and may appear in their first game of the season Thursday. The standout pair spent the non-conference portion of the season playing for the U.S. championship team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2011, Cobb led the Blue Devils with 11 goals and nine assists. Pathman, the third-leading scorer, registered six goals and 11 assists. Although Cobb will not play because of a lingering injury, Pathman’s status for the game remains questionable, Church said. While Cobb and Pathman represented the United States, juniors Laura Weinberg, Kim DeCesare and Gilda Doria have carried the Duke squad with 18, 15 and 14 points, respectively. Weinberg and Doria led the Blue Devils to victory over San Diego and then-No. 8 Marquette this past weekend.
THANH-HA NGUYEN/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
Kim DeCesare was injured during the game against San Diego. DeCesare went down with an injury in the sixth minute of the game against the Toreros. Whether or not she will play Thursday is a game-time decisiown, Church said. Florida State senior Tiffany McCarty and sophomore Dagny Brynjarsdottir pace the Seminole attack with respective point totals of eight and seven. Both players earned All-America, Soccer America and All-ACC accolades last season. “McCarty plays at a very high level,” Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian said. “Her athletic quality coupled with her abilities in and around the penalty box are hard for a lot of teams to deal with. [Brynjarsdottir] has played very well in the SEE W. SOCCER ON PAGE 6
6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
NOTRE DAME from page 1
ANDREW BEATON/THE CHRONICLE
Jack Swarbrick, John Swofford and the Rev. John Jenkins The Fighting Irish will not be a part of any of the ACC’s football television contracts. But 20 percent of the conference’s TV revenue goes to basketball, so as an ACC member, Notre Dame will receive 1/15 of that revenue. In order to accommodate the new teams, the 15-team ACC basketball tournament will likely involve giving the top four teams a bye. With the addition of Notre Dame this year—on top of Syracuse and Pittsburgh joining last year—the ACC now has 15 members. Swofford noted that there is no intention to add a 16th school to the conference. Due to their current contract with the Big East, the Fighting Irish are scheduled to join the conference beginning in the 2015-2016 season, but that is something that they will try to accelerate, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbick said. Last year, Pittsburgh and Syracuse each paid a $7.5 million buyout to join the conference early for the 2013-2014 season. Additionally, the conference’s exit fee has been raised to three times the annual operating budget, a figure north of $50 million, making it costly for any school wishing to depart. The strength of the conference and the high exit fee should be deterrents for schools thinking about leaving, Swofford said. At the press conference, Swofford and Swarbick were joined by by Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins, North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp, Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch and Clemson President James Barker. Duke President Richard Brodhead and Athletic Director Kevin White were not in attendance, although they released a statement through the school. Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski was not available for comment. “Notre Dame’s excellence in academics, strong traditions in athletics and international recognition make them a wonderful new conference colleague,” Brodhead said in his statement. “We look forward to the competition on the playing fields and courts, and further collaboration on the campus.” Notre Dame’s geographic, athletic and academic fits into the league were all cited among the representatives at the press conference, with Swofford noting that 11 of the 15 ACC schools are among the top 58 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings released Wednesday. “This is the best athletic conference in the country, and we will only make it better in that regard,” Swarbick said.
M. BASKETBALL from page 5
W. SOCCER from page 5
working on during your high school season as you prepare for the next level? SO: Everything. Every part of my game is important to me, especially being consistent mentally and being aggressive. Shooting, ball handling, it all comes into play.
midfield. She has done a very good job of controlling much of the game for us. She’s a presence in the air, and she’s also been very dangerous in and around the box.” The awareness of McCarty and Brynjarsdottir’s movement on the field will be the key to limiting their goal-scoring opportunities, Church said. “When balls are played to them, we’re going to have to get tight,” he said. “Tiff and Dagny like to play off of each other, and we have to be aware of their combination play in passing and moving. We’re just going to have to be very aware of where they are at all times throughout the course of the game.” Regardless of whether Cobb, Pathman and DeCesare compete, the Blue Devils have no shortage of offensive firepower to counter McCarty and Brynjarsdottir’s sharp play. If the Blue Devils tap into their full potential, they just might knock down the top-ranked team in the country. “Duke is a really hard-working team and has a collection of players that are willing to put up one heck of a fight,” Krikorian said. “They have a lot of different attacking weapons.”
TC: As I’m sure you are well aware of, Duke is in the mix for Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, who are two of the top players in the class. Landing one of the two could make Duke a favorite to win the 2013-14 national championship. What is your relationship like with Parker and Randle? SO: I don’t really have a personal relationship with them. You see them play. You see them at camps. You kind of see them from a distance, but you don’t really know them up close. From what I hear about those guys, they are good guys. And they’d be great teammates from what I hear. TC: And will you take it upon yourself now to help recruit other players, like Randle and Parker, to Duke? SO: [The Duke coaches] said since I committed that now they can tell other players that I will be there, so depending on [other recruits’] feelings about me that can be a plus or a minus. But I can’t really help them recruit directly. Everyone has their own wants and needs, so they are going to go wherever they want to go. TC: Do have any plans lined up to take an official visit to Duke in the near future? SO: Yeah, I will definitely take an official visit. We are just working on the details, the schedule and things like that right now.
FOOTBALL from page 5 some familiar faces, as Duke has three Hillside products on its roster, including senior wide receiver Desmond Scott. At just 5-foot-7, Irvine’s biggest weapon is his speed. “He’s definitely our go-to guy,” Frazier said. “He has the type of skills where if you get the ball up to him, he’ll make a play for you.” On the defense, the Eagles have improved at stopping the run this season after allowing more than 180 yards per game on the ground in 2011. N.C. Central’s defensive front has received a strong effort from senior Stephen Young, who recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the Eagles’ first two contests. Entering this weekend’s game as underdogs, Frazier understands that an FCS team defeating an FBS opponent is not beyond reach—it has happened three times since 2006 with Duke’s three home losses to Richmond. “If you execute plays, move the chains and stop other teams you give your team a chance to win. That approach doesn’t change regardless of the opponent,” Frazier said. “If we go out and execute and make a play here and there, you never know what can happen.”
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8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Empty credentials stifle intellectualism Amassing credentials has a student’s intellectual capabecome an almost obligatory bilities, and the clubs a student part of the undergraduate ex- participates in should reflect perience. Whether seeking our his interests. However, some first job or the next degree, of the most common resume many of us experience consid- items have become empty sigerable pressure nifiers, and the to rack up activikinds of credeneditorial ties and honors tials students as we march through college, pursue do not always indicate even if it means sacrificing gen- proficiency and genuine interuine learning. Credentialism est in a subject nor a willingsprings largely from external ness to confront challenging pressures, and those of us who material. accumulate credentials most Without making distinczealously rarely do so out of tions across majors, Duke’s contempt for intellectualism. GPA system fails to account An excessive concern with for variations in the difficulty credentials may diminish the and grading structure of differintrinsic value we get from ent courses. We do not mean learning, but credentialism to imply that some majors are and intellectual growth are not easier or more difficult than necessarily incompatible. Met- others. We only suggest that rics like grade point average a student’s grade means very should, at least in part, signify little if not understood in con-
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Maybe some of our overblown athletics budget should be diverted towards recruiting more eminent faculty members. Just a thought.
”
—“thebluedevil” commenting on the story “Duke moves up to eighth in U.S. News rankings.” See more at www.dukechronicle.com.
LETTERS POLICY The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on the discretion of the editorial page editor.
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E-mail: chronicleletters@duke.edu Editorial Page Department The Chronicle Box 90858, Durham, NC 27708 Phone: (919) 684-2663 Fax: (919) 684-4696
The Chronicle
Inc. 1993
YESHWANTH KANDIMALLA, Editor LAUREN CARROLL, Managing Editor JULIAN SPECTOR, News Editor ANDREW BEATON, Sports Editor CHRIS DALL, Photography Editor MAGGIE LAFALCE, Editorial Page Editor KATHERINE ZHANG, Editorial Board Chair PARKER KUIVILA, Managing Editor for Online JIM POSEN, Director of Online Operations CHRISSY BECK, General Manager KRISTIE KIM, University Editor TIFFANY LIEU, Local & National Editor ANDREW LUO, Health & Science Editor CAROLINE RODRIGUEZ, News Photography Editor PHOEBE LONG, Design Editor MICHAELA DWYER, Recess Editor SOPHIA DURAND, Recess Photography Editor SCOTT BRIGGS, Editorial Page Managing Editor MATTHEW CHASE, Towerview Editor ADDISON CORRIHER, Towerview Photography Editor NICOLE KYLE, Social Media Editor SAMANTHA BROOKS, Senior Editor REBECCA DICKENSON, Advertising Director MARY WEAVER, Operations Manager DAVID RICE, Director of External Relations
text, and that the GPA system should not punish students who risk a bad grade because they desire a challenge. We do not know what the best system would look like, but a student’s GPA ought to reflect his intelligence and aptitude, not his professor’s grading style or his tendency to shy away from challenging courses. Duke’s Latin honors system, because it also fails to differentiate between different courses of study, faces similar problems. The University should think about how to restructure both the GPA and Latin honors systems in a way that rewards achievement and intellectual curiosity. Myths about the kinds of credentials employers and graduate schools value can pit credentialism against intellec-
tualism. Misconceptions about majors and internships, for instance, tend to direct students away from their interests and into unrewarding classes or summer jobs. With few exceptions, majors have no exclusive relationship to particular jobs or post-graduate positions. You do not have to study economics to enter finance, nor public policy to enter politics. Moreover, internships, despite their ubiquity, do not always confer the kinds of practical knowledge and workplace experience that employers and graduate schools prize. Employers, again with some exceptions, care about internships only insofar as they say something meaningful about a student—namely, that he has good interpersonal skills, intelligence and an ability to learn
quickly. Given the shortcomings of internships, students may be better off participating in a program like DukeEngage that, for the most part, allows for genuine learning. Given the importance of intellectual growth, both students and administrators should examine the issue of credentialism more thoroughly. Groups like the Duke Colloquium, which works to understand the relationship between professional success and the humanities, contribute to the discussion, but resolving the issue will require a more focused analysis. We urge the administration to rethink the GPA and Latin honors systems, and recommend the creation of a student committee to determine how well conventional credentials align with aptitude.
The Constitution in my pocket
onlinecomment
Est. 1905
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commentaries
MARGOT TUCHLER, University Editor JACK MERCOLA, Local & National Editor DANIELLE MUOIO, Health & Science Editor ELYSIA SU, Sports Photography Editor ELIZA STRONG, Design Editor HOLLY HILLIARD, Recess Managing Editor CHELSEA PIERONI, Online Photo Editor ASHLEY MOONEY, Sports Managing Editor SONIA HAVELE, Towerview Editor MELISSA YEO, Towerview Creative Director NICOLE KYLE, Special Projects Editor MAGGIE SPINI, Senior Editor MICHAEL SHAMMAS, Recruitment Chair BARBARA STARBUCK, Creative Director MEGAN MCGINITY, Digital Sales Manager
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 103 West Union Building, call 684-3811. To reach the Advertising Office at 101 West Union Building call 684-3811 or fax 684-8295. Visit The Chronicle Online at http://www.dukechronicle.com. © 2012 The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, N.C. 27708. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior, written permission of the Business Office. Each individual is entitled to one free copy.
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early every day since my sophomore ancestor] came here with nothing but [insert year of high school, I have carried small dollar amount] and now s/he is the [ina U.S. Constitution in my left-hand sert successful accomplishment]! Indeed, we pocket whenever I go out. People often ask hear this sort of story so much, spoken from me why. They’re usually fairly the lips of so many people and incredulous when they ask. It so many politicians, that it has strikes many as odd, and I underalmost become an American stand their reasoning. It strikes cliché. But is that not the most a few as honorable. Despite my beautiful thing imaginable, that brother’s warnings not to do so such a great story might be cli(I think the phrase he used was ché? “social strike-out”), I’m going to So instead of an answer, I’ve tell you just one of the many reagiven you a long story. I’ve told daniel strunk sons why I do this. you about my grandmother’s defining Following World War II, my story, a story of my family. But circumstances paternal grandmother was forced the answer is much shorter than into labor in East Germany, that. It’s not so much about this where she worked as a housekeeper and nanny one story. It’s about what that story represents for families. She was paid only in food—just and what this country makes possible. It’s enough to survive. But after a while she decid- about something that resonates with me deeped she’d had enough and resolved to escape. ly—and resonates with all Americans at the She lived near a river that divided East and beating heart of this country. It’s about the West Germany, and, advised by the local car American Dream, the greatest gift our counmechanic about its shallowest section, she set try has to offer its citizens. From my grandma out in the middle of the night to cross it with crossing that river to her grandson attending a friend. The Eastern zone was well-manned. Duke University, this is the dream living on Armed soldiers patrolled it. If my grandmoth- through the ages. er had been caught she likely would have been I do not propose to say that the U.S. Conshot. To make matters worse, she had no idea stitution was written with the purpose or inhow to swim. I cannot imagine the courage it tention of fostering the American Dream. must have taken on her part, but she pressed This is not a column about constitutional onward, wading in water that sometimes went interpretation or the intention behind the up to her neck. sacred document. I do not mean to say that Upon reaching the other side wet and cold, all Americans have access to this dream—but, her friend approached a house and asked the rather, that it is something we must continue family inside if they could stay and sleep on to work toward. What I do propose to say is the floor. Turned away, the friend came back that the country founded by this Constitucrying. My grandmother decided to give it a tion has given my family and so many others try, hoping she could—as she puts it— “warm such happiness, opportunity and liberty. It’s the hearts” of the family inside. Fortunately the type of dream, the type of vision, that my for both her and her friend, they got a floor grandmother longed for as she crossed that to sleep on and some food that night. The river so long ago. next day they worked their way to Berlin, and So, yes, I carry a pocket Constitution with from there my grandmother was able to gain me wherever I go. And, yes, in the eyes of most passage to America, sponsored by her brother people it is not the coolest thing a man could who was already a U.S. citizen. Fast forward do. But I ask just one thing of you. Imagine for several decades, and my grandmother is now just a second that there existed an object that 90 years old and surrounded by a family that represented ideals you believed in so strongly, has grown and prospered. so deeply, that you would give everything to But though my grandmother’s story is preserve them. Now also imagine, for just a unique in its details and brings pride to my second, that the object in question could fit in family, it is not so unique when compared to your pocket. Quite simply, wouldn’t you carry the family histories of other Americans. Many it around with you, too? have come to this country after escaping hardship with little else but dreams. It seems that Daniel Strunk is a Trinity junior. His column we often hear the following sentence at the runs every other Thursday. You can follow Daniel start of an American family history: My [insert on Twitter @danielfstrunk
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 | 9
commentaries
Hunting for the middle
I
watched the primary debates for the Republican shop statement she wrote, “An atmosphere of polarization nomination for president last fall and found myself and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies has become pervaenthralled by a well-groomed, middle-aged, Mormon sive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.” man from Utah. Duke’s strategic plan calls “knowledge in the service of And it’s not the strong-jawed, prominently cheek- society” a signature of our institution. And yet Huntsman boned, tanned candidate you think it is. Jon Huntsman was derided by his primary opponents for doing exactly entranced me, and my fantasies were fulfilled when the that in accepting the ambassadorship to China that PresiSanford School and the American Grand dent Obama offered. The Republican ParStrategy Program brought him to camty, hostile to real bipartisanship, punished pus this past Monday to deliver the Terry him for being a civil servant. Sanford Distinguished Lecture on “AmerIsn’t it sad that Governor Huntsman ica 2012: Challenges and Opportunities is, at this point, leaving politics and flirtAbroad.” ing with academia (he’s taken a position The anticipation leading up to the at the Brookings Institution) because he event and the reactions in response were appeared to be rational and accommodatfascinating. Intriguingly, he’s speaking at ing to members of both parties? Nods of samantha Duke twice this semester, returning in late approval from documentary filmmaker October to discuss domestic issues. Michael Moore (“[he] has sanity operatlachman To be a bit of a gossip-monger, there what’s our age again? ing inside of him”) and Bill Clinton, along has been (highly speculative) chatter that with a refusal to sign pledges and pander we’re seducing him with the double speakin debates, heralded the death knell. ing engagement because he has been offered a top post Huntsman acknowledged that he faced this obstacle, either with the Sanford School (which, rumor has it, is in writing in his stepping-down-from-the-campaign letter, “I the market for a dean) or at Kunshan. This may be me will never stop fighting for America, and I will continue making up higher-education gossip for my own entertain- to put her welfare first, ahead of any partisan or special ment, but regardless, there is an important Duke connec- interest.” tion to be made in his history as a governor, diplomat and Perhaps by focusing on civic engagement and policy politician. analysis at the Sanford School and in other departments, Huntsman’s cult-of-personality provokes varied re- we’re instilling values in students that will eventually sponses from interested parties across the political spec- change the current, broken political discourse. If we are trum at Duke. teaching students how to view issues such as health care, “I think he’s a surprisingly wonderful politician. … He education, immigration and the environment through appeals to the younger generation more as the future of an academic lens, then maybe we are creating future civil the conservative movement,” said Chloe Rockow, deputy servants who are valued for their expertise in these issues, vice chair of Duke College Republicans. “I think he will rather than the party politics that prevent reform from grow in popularity as we, young conservatives, grow older happening. and more influential in the party.” Seriously, though, how many adept, experienced civil Other students noted that he represents a new hier- servants do we lose because they fear being tainted by archy of priorities that appeals to our cohort. Huntsman past associations with the other party? Does Duke give us supports civil unions and is thoroughly pragmatic on a (falsely) rosy outlook on society? Is it naïve to think that foreign policy issues. Anyone in Page Auditorium would we can make a difference without adhering to our respecagree that his knowledge of China is, as one of my profes- tive party lines? sors put it, “granular” in scope. Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t think it would be It must be mentioned that he is frighteningly anti- that hard for Huntsman to run as a Democrat, if he just choice, supporting, among other things, a constitutional tweaked some of his reproductive rights views (hey, it was amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade. Leaving that aside easy enough for Romney going in the other direction). (which I usually don’t ignore, but for the sake of the col- Regardless, it will be interesting to see whether he decides umn let’s continue), I think he definitely provided a rare to return to politics in the near future, or if he, like myself, moderate voice during the primaries. sees the political arena as simply a place to make a name Am I fetishizing him unjustifiably? Is he the sole excep- for oneself before getting the heck out of there. tion to dominant party ideology? Is it even possible, given the primary process, to be a moderate Republican? Samantha Lachman is a Trinity senior. Her column runs Case in point: Maine’s Olympia Snowe is retiring from every other Thursday. You can follow her on twitter @SamLachthe Senate because of partisan gridlock. In her closing- man.
lettertotheeditor Panhellenic recruitment and the house model Duke’s Panhellenic Association agrees with the Editorial Board’s stance that housing is an important topic of discussion during Panhellenic recruitment. We have just finished our annual editing of the recruitment rules for the upcoming year and have allowed for the possibility of discussing sorority spaces with potential new members. The topic “buildings” was declared off limits during last year’s Panhellenic recruitment because of all the unknowns that the new housing model posed. Because women had never lived in a “sorority section,” chapter members were not well equipped to speak to the differences. These unknowns are still a reality as all Duke students, Panhellenic women included, navigate the housing changes. In the coming recruitment, talking about housing with potential new members is encouraged. Members should be candid about the challenges that housing may pose, but it is already apparent after just two weeks of school that the independence and sense of community created by including sororities in the house model is an enhancement to the Panhellenic experience. It is important to note that the housing implications of joining a sorority are no different than they were last year. As Duke refines the house model, ratios of sophomores, juniors and seniors are not yet in place. Panhellenic spaces on Central range in size,
with the difference between the largest and smallest houses at 18 beds. With the entire campus moving toward the house model, the sophomore-year, residence-life experience is changing for all students. According to Duke’s office of Housing, Dining and Residence Life (HDRL), “All sophomores, juniors and seniors living on campus are members of a house—a home on campus they can identify with and where they can build networks of friends spanning different class years.” Blocking no longer operates in the same way, as block sizes have been decreased from 12 members to six, and the block will necessarily become a part of a house. Potential new members are encouraged to educate themselves on Duke’s housing process as a whole before choosing to participate in recruitment. Panhellenic is thrilled to have housing as an option. We look forward to the lasting friendships that will be strengthened as a result of the houses themselves and the proximity of the Panhellenic spaces to one another on Central Campus. We are, above all, excited to share these new possibilities with the women who choose to participate in recruitment this spring. Hannah Hayward, Trinity ’13 Vice President of Recruitment and Membership, Duke Panhellenic Association
Slowing down in Paris
A
s Duke students I think we’ve all become addicted to the rush of “getting something done.” We might not realize it, but there’s a little mental competition going on in all of our heads. It’s that satisfaction you get when you tell someone that you were just at the library or just came back from the gym. Or, better yet, that you just churned out a five-page paper in three hours. Yeah, it’s a good feeling getting things done. You feel productive. You feel efficient. You feel philip doerr good. small world You know what I love about Paris, though? A lot of people just don’t care. Every morning when I’m walking to the metro or going to class, I’ll pass a café or two where a decent number of people are just chillin’. They’re drinking a coffee, talking with a friend, just chillin’. People in the U.S. drink coffee too, of course. But at Duke a lot of that coffee drinking takes place in Perkins at midnight before a midterm. It’s just not the same ambience. It’s the body language of these coffee drinkers that makes them special. You look at them and can just tell that they’re really in no rush to be anywhere. They are thoroughly enjoying that cup of coffee, taking in that moment. Paris is full of places just asking for you to go and take in the moment. The other night I went to the Eiffel Tower with some friends to hang out, picnic and take the token abroad pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower. The place was crowded with people, and everyone was doing the same thing—there were people lying on the grass, drinking some wine, talking and maybe even making out. On the hour, the tower would begin to sparkle, and you would feel as though your life could have been a movie. It was a night full of perfect moments. Out of the blue, though, I found myself feeling guilty for being so stress free, guilty for partaking in so much uninterrupted fun. I actually had some friends from Duke staying with me for the weekend so I admit I had taken procrastination and leisure to the next level. But why did I care? I was so happy and so relaxed, so why feel guilty about it? What is life all about at the end of the day—being productive or being happy? Clearly this is a more complicated debate, one that you all can enjoy exploring in philosophy class back on campus. When that debate does happen, though, know that I’ve cast my vote for being happy. I’ll take a stress-free life of casual coffee sipping and Eiffel Tower lounging in place of the presidency and a life where anxiety is the norm. I hope all is well in Durham and that you guys have had the chance to partake in some afternoons of carefree lounging on the plaza. We’re lucky enough that as a school with such rigorous academics, we still know how to kick back and have some fun. Some of my fondest memories over the past two years include afternoons sitting in a chair on the plaza for a few hours with a friend, just talking and watching passers-by. As tempting as it might be to overload this semester and fill up those schedules, we can’t forget to give ourselves some time to enjoy just taking in the moment. As grumpy as some Parisians might be, I would definitely say that a lot of them have mastered this ability. The best part about relaxing is that it can really be done anywhere. Obviously kicking back at the Eiffel Tower has a different magnitude than you might find in other places, but you can find people kicking back anywhere at any time of the day. It’s really all about the mindset. There’s no reason to worry about what you’ve got to do later today or that paper that’s due in a few days. Immerse yourself in the moment at hand—that cup of coffee, that chair you’re sitting in and everything going on around you. At the end of the day you don’t need the Eiffel Tower to not have a worry in the world; a seat on the plaza, in the gardens or, heck, even in your dorm room can do the job just fine. Philip Doerr is a Trinity junior and is currently studying abroad in Paris, France. His column runs every other Thursday.
10 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
DNA from page 1 couldn’t just be there doing nothing.” Because the cost of researching unfamiliar portions of the genome is so expensive, it was more economical to sweep these less recognizable nucleotide sequences under the rug or dismiss them as “junk DNA,” Willard said. The ENCODE researchers, however, remained curious about the massive genetic unknowns. The ENCODE project began in 2003 as an effort to fund research proposals from biologists to analyze and assign meaning to these unknown sections. Over time, the program’s researchers, among them Duke’s Greg Crawford, assistant professor affiliated with the IGSP, refined their methods and began to uncover hidden relationships between separate sections of the genetic code.
THE CHRONICLE
Crawford could not be reached for comment in time for publication. By 2007, the project’s pilot phase had proven so successful that the researchers began to apply their methods to the entire genome. Now, the team has gained understanding of gene interactions and how different sections of nucleotides influence one another, said Robert Cook-Deegan, IGSP director for genome ethics, law and policy. “This really was the kitchen sink project for genomics,” he said. The 440 scientists of the ENCODE project have released data on at least 147 different cell types across 1,648 experiments, many of which indicate unexpected links between small sections of DNA and disease. The studies have indicated correlations between certain changes to the genetic code and an individual’s susceptibility to various
kinds of disease—a few nucleotides out of place can create an immune disorder or a disease. The studies also found that sections of DNA that do not generate protein-coding RNA can still be transcribed into important regulatory compounds that affect signaling pathways within the cell. “The ENCODE project begins to shine some light on where we might begin to look for the areas in which genome variation or genome changes might underlie gene dysfunction and thus disease, beyond the mere two percent of the genome that everyone studied before,” Willard said. The program has also identified over 70,000 promoter regions that activate sections of DNA for transcription, as well as over 400,000 enhancer sections that affect the expression of other portions of the genome. Although Cook-Deegan noted that
many of these regions’ assigned functions are “best guesses,” based on the limited available data, he said that the ENCODE project’s findings should make further discoveries much easier. “We can now get these tools into the hands of as many geneticists as possible to start figuring out how these things work together in terms of gene expression,” he said. The ENCODE project has discovered many new roles played by the genome, but their findings have given rise to many more questions than answers. Cook-Deegan said that although the project has located a number of anecdotal links, we are very far from completely understanding how genes interact with one another. “There’s a much richer story to be told here, but it will take a long time for us to learn how to understand it,” he said.
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A panel of Duke professors gathered in the Gross Chemistry Building Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Rational Middle Energy Series—several short films about the future of energy.
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35th Annual Volunteer Fair
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Be active!
Meet with representatives from Durham non-profit agencies, schools, and Duke student service groups to learn how you can get involved.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
12:00– 3:00 p.m. Schaefer Mall, Bryan Center
s s e c c u S How does your body and mind respond to the stressors you face?
How do your thinking tendencies influence how much stress you face? How does your approach to your emotions relate to stress? And What Can You Do About It All? This 3 session workshop offers skills and insights into how to effectively manage your stress.
Mondays Sept 17, Sept 24, and Oct 1 4:00 - 5:15pm To register, visit the CAPS website at http://www.studentaffairs.duke.edu/caps Click on Workshops on Discussions for more information and to register.
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