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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
XXXXXDAY, MONDAY, FEBRUARY MMMM XX, 10,2013 2014
Unemployment in N.C. drops to 6.9 percent
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE ONE HUNDRED HUNDRED AND AND EIGHTH NINTHYEAR, YEAR,ISSUE ISSUEXXX 81
Slews gather for Moral March protest by Imani Moise THE CHRONICLE
by Jen Chen
THE CHRONICLE
The unemployment rate in North Carolina plummeted in 2013, a trend mirrored in Duke’s hiring. According to figures released by North Carolina Department of Commerce, the unemployment rate in the state was 6.9 percent in December 2013, down from 7.4 percent in November 2013 and 9.4 percent in December 2012. The report indicates that 13,414 more people are being employed in December 2013 compared to 12 months earlier. The University, among the state’s largest employers, hired more people in 2013. “The trend of more people getting back to work in North Carolina is great news for our state,” Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican elected in 2012, said in a statement. “We continue to see that our pro-growth and pro-jobs policies enacted over the last year are having a positive impact and getting people into jobs.” The seasonally adjusted data show a net gain of 64,500 nonfarm jobs in the last 12 months, including 22,200 more in professional and business services and 18,800 more in trade, transportation and utilities—the two sectors with largest job growth. This upward employment trend is reflected in Duke’s hiring. The total number of employees at Duke has increased from 33,680 in 2011 to 35,573 in 2013, Paul Grantham, associate vice president of communication services, wrote in an email Friday. In the past few years, the University has increased its staffing for strategic developments, notably the Duke Forward capital campaign, Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh said. The Duke University Health System also hired more employees, due to the growth of its operations and the opening of the Cancer Center. See UNEMPLOYMENT, page 8
VICTOR YE/THE CHRONICLE
A large crowd gathered in downtown Raleigh to protest recent changes in N.C. policies.
A crowd of nearly 100,000—including Duke students—protested recent North Carolina policy changes in downtown Raleigh Saturday, a culmination of last year’s popular Moral Monday protests. North Carolina’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People spearheaded the Moral March. Marches of this nature have been organized every year since 2006 on the second Saturday of February by the Historic Thousands on Jones Street Coalition Assembly which includes the N.C. NAACP as well as more than 150 partner organizations. This year’s event was titled Moral March to build off of the momentum of the Moral Monday protests, at which more than 900 civilians were arrested for refusing to vacate the capital square last summer. In his keynote address, Rev. William Barber, Divinity ‘89 and president of N.C. NAACP outlined the organization’s demands. He called for secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that ensure economic sustainability; wellfunded, quality public education and health care for all; a fair criminal justice system; and the expansion of voting rights, women’s rights, immigrants’ rights and LGBT rights. The Duke chapter of the NAACP organized a group of students to attend the See MARCH, page 8
Carleigh Stiehm elected Chronicle editor-in-chief by Tony Shan THE CHRONICLE
The Chronicle staff elected sophomore Carleigh Stiehm to serve as editorin-chief of its 110th volume. In a staff-wide election Friday evening, Stiehm, currently a University news editor, was appointed editor of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., which publishes the independent student-run daily newspaper. She will succeed junior Danielle Muoio for a
one-year term beginning in May. As editor, Stiehm will be responsible for determining the content of the newspaper and will serve as the public face of The Chronicle. She will lead a staff of approximately 200 student reporters, editors, photographers, layout designers, web developers and additional contributors. In her platform, Stiehm emphasized the need to steer the paper towards a JULIA MAY/THE CHRONICLE
See EDITOR, page 8
Sophomore Carleigh Steihm will begin her position as editor-in-chief in May.
www.dukechronicle.com
2 | monDAY, februArY 10, 2014
The Chronicle
What’s happening at Duke..............................
ELLEN YUAN/THE CHRONICLE
Duke’s quidditch team played UNC Charlotte on East Campus Sunday afternoon.
to o h p g n i n Win
NICOLE SAVAGE/THE CHRONICLE
Students gathered at JSU’s third annual B’nei Mitzvah.
JESÚS HIDALGO/THE CHRONICLE
“Dancing the African Diaspora: Theories of Black Performance” was held at White Lecture Hall last Friday through Sunday. The performance brought together scholars and educators for presentations, workshops and film screenings.
User @theothersophia sent this photo our way, highlighting the busy Sunday night rituals of many students on campus. If you want to see your picture on the paper, tweet or Instagram #chronsnap.
The perfect gift for
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The Chronicle
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monDAY, februArY 10, 2014 | 3
Conference explores Islam in new media outlets by Raisa Chowdhury THE CHRONICLE
Experts on a range of topics from Egyptian YouTube sermons to Nigerian urban culture gathered in Rubenstein Hall Friday. The conference, titled “Islamic Media: Technology and the Sacred,” was the final installment of a two-part workshop focusing on Islamic media. Scholars from across the country as well as graduate and undergraduate students discussed topics relating to media cultures in the Muslim world. Approximately 50 people attended, filling all the chairs and taking to the floor when necessary. “This is the dream team for this conference,” said Ellen McLarney, assistant professor of Arabic literature and culture and one of the organizers of the conference. The academic gathering was intended to focus on self-invention inspired by Islamic media, both new and old. “The Quran itself combined new technologies of the book with technologies of recitation,” McLarney explained, noting how the text was translated from an oral tradition and how it is related to the current transition of Islamic ideas to mass media. Charles Hirschkind, undergraduate faculty advisor for social anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, spoke about his research on Arab-Muslim sermon culture both on the ground in Egypt and
on the Internet. He argued that the Muslims perusing these sources preferred a simple aesthetic to allow viewers to more easily connect with the spiritual audio content. “That is why noise is so useful—it helps us to learn and hear, bypass intelligence and speak to something inborn,” said Anna Kipervaser, a first-year master’s of fine arts candidate in experimental and documentary arts, in her introduction of Hirshckind and his work. “Sound is the medium of suggestion, sound cannot make statements while sounds lends itself to suggestion.” Hirschkind added that new media has taken interpretation of religion out of the hands of the small group of elite who have historically made decisions and taught Islam. Jonathan VanAntwerpen, director of the Digital Culture program and Religion and Public Sphere program at the Social Science Research Council in Brooklyn, spoke about the impact of the rise of interdisciplinarity as an active component of academia. “These spaces afford new possibilities and potentiality there with the rise of wider study of religion and secular studies in the sedimented disciplines,” he said. “We have to do analysis for the effects of the spaces with porous boundaries and wide variety of actors.”
The event was intended to encourage engagement from the audience, academics and students alike, said Negar Mottahedeh, associate professor of literature who helped organize the event. Brent Curdy, a second-year Ph.D. candidate in sociology with research interests in religion, attended the conference in a Jane’s Addiction T-shirt from the ‘90s— appropriately, the first thing he ever bought on the Internet. He said hearing experts in the field speak and having the opportunity to question them was helpful in clarifying his own approaches to research and interdisciplinarity. “To me, religion isn’t real—emotion and feeling is real and ‘God’ is real but only because people believe and others believe without the quotations,” he said. “There are different shorthands that I’m not used to, and it helps me clarify my own terms.” Mottahedeh noted that the conference was intended to further thought about Islam in a digital age where the lines between traditional and new are becoming increasingly blurred. “We tend to think of ways in which information flows, and it’s usually secular, profane, worldly,” she said. “When we think of religion, we think of it as oratic, traditional, community values.” Senior Kristen Brown, a student in
Mottahedeh’s class on social media and social movements, said seeing the readings from class illustrated with videos and screenshots helped make the subject material feel less distant. “The humanities are well-suited for addressing these type of questions because we are concerned with theorizing and thinking about the world,” Mottahedeh said. Other speakers included Brian Larkin, an associate professor of anthropology from Barnard College, who spoke about different types of media in urban Nigeria; Wazmah Osman, assistant professor at the School of Media and Communication at Temple University, who talked about Afghanistan’s culture wars; Jeanette Jouili, a visiting assistant professor at the College of Charleston, who has researched Muslim rap in France and Narges Bajoghli, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at New York University who has done work on the evolution of religious culture in Iran. The event was sponsored by the Duke Islamic Studies Center, Kenan Institute for Ethics, A Humanities Writ Large “Emerging Humanities Network,” Duke University Middle East Studies Center as well as the departments of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, cultural anthropology, literature and religion.
Got a cool pic? Submit it on Twitter or Instagram with #chronsnap. Best photo will appear in Monday’s paper!
The 2014 Library Party:
Life is a
Cabaret Un-shushed fun in Perkins for one night only
Delicious Free Food. Beer + Wine for those 21+.
A Chance to Get Dressed Up and Dance
The Chronicle
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4 | monDAY, februArY 10, 2014
Whole Foods vs Harris Teeter With the opening of Harris Teeter on 9th Street, Whole Foods has been facing steep competition. The Chronicle’s Jenna Zhang spoke to students about where they prefer to shop for groceries and why.
“I’ll shop at Kroger.”
“Whole Foods. Why not pay $10 for an apple?”
“Whole Foods has great pastries and terrible snacks.”
Junior Jason Rice
freshman Tanner Lockhead
Freshman Edward Yoon
“I prefer Harris Teeter— “I lean 100 percent towards Harris Teeter. Their stores are always
it’s open 24/7, and the prices
clean, neat and easy to navigate. They carry good brands and have a
Foods when you have Marketplace?”
are cheaper.”
great selection of meat and produce. I also love the fresh items from their bakery. I am saddened by Kroger’s acquisition.” Senior Eric Stach
Freshman Eddie Hanlon
Freshman Marina Poole
good sandwich. No wait, they made an “I like [Harris Teeter], because I’m a col-
a sandwich.”
lege student, and I’m broke.”
Freshman Calder Alfano
Sophomore Calvin Xiao
D ukes anD D uchesses R ecRuitment Attention first-years & sophomores: Are you interested in becoming a representative of the President’s Office, assisting the Board of Trustees, and interacting with distinguished University guests?
Consider Dukes & Duchesses Applicants must take the Duke University history and current events test and submit an application. Testing dates: Tuesday, February 11, 7PM Sanford 04
Thursday, February 13, 7PM White Lecture Hall
Applications due by 11:59PM on Friday, February 14th
For more details on the organization and recruitment please visit:
www.web.duke.edu/dandd
Freshman Chelsea Anasi
“You get celery for $2.”
“Whole Foods. They made a really average sandwich. Actually, they made
“Who needs Harris Teeter or Whole
“I’m a wholesome individual, a holy person, and I holistically care about everyone, so it’s only right I shop at Whole Foods.” Freshman Gilbert Brooks
Q & A
The Chronicle
www.dukechronicle.com
Grad Young Trustee explains BOT role The next graduate Young Trustee will be elected by the general assembly of the Graduate and Professional Student Council Feb. 18. Katherine Duch, Sanford ‘13, was elected for her three-year term last year. Duch sat down with The Chronicle’s Carleigh Stiehm to discuss important traits for a Young Trustee, the challenges of serving on the Board of Trustees and the process of being elected.
effective Young Trustee while simultaneously launching my career.
TC: What do you think is the primary role of a Young Trustee? KD: All trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of the University as a whole, not in the best interests of any one group of stakeholders. Young Trustees also have a unique opportunity to contribute to Board discussions by sharing the perspectives of their peers. Thus the primary roles of Young Trustees are to combine these two responsibilities—to act in the best interests of the University while ensuring that recent graduates and current students have a voice at the table. TC: What are the challenges and difficulties of being a Young Trustee? KD: I joined the Board in July, defended my dissertation in August, started working full-time in September and attended my first Board meetings in October. Over the past six months of my Board tenure, the biggest challenge has been carving out time to serve as an
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TC: What is your opinion of the way in which graduate Young Trustees are elected? KD: Like any electoral process, there are benefits and drawbacks to the current system of indirect elections. While almost all undergraduates spend four years on campus, the amount of time that graduate students spend on campus varies widely. The graduate Young Trustee finalists in 2012 ranged from an outstanding candidate who had only been on campus for two years to another outstanding candidate who had been on campus for nine years. The current election system gave both of these candidates a fair chance. Created by Peter Ritmeester/Presented by Will Shortz
Created by Peter Ritmeester/Presented by Will Shortz
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a Young Trustee. Each candidate has been extensively involved in graduate and professional student life and would be able to use those experiences to contribute to the Board.
TC: What do you like about being a Young Trustee? KD: I have most enjoyed interacting with trustees, administrators, faculty and students. I have met with graduate and professional student leaders before each Board meeting The Chronicle: What do you feel are the and with undergraduate student leaders after greatest qualities of a Young Trustee? each Board meeting. Because I have studied Katherine Duch: First and foremost, Young higher education extensively since my freshTrustees should be passionate about contrib- man year of college, I have also enjoyed usuting to Duke. Young Trustees should also be ing that knowledge to contribute to Board engaged, thoughtful, articulate and confident. discussions. They should solicit students’ perspectives. They should consider other stakeholders’ TC: Do you have anything to say to this views, and they should feel confident sharing year’s candidates? their own opinions. KD: It is a tremendous honor to serve as
Katherine Duch, elected Grad Young Trustee in kakuro_410D.txt 2013, has had to launch her career while fulfilling her role as Young Trustee.
In Kakuro you must place the digits 1 to 9 into a grid of squares so that each horizontal or vertical run of white squares adds up to the clue printed either to the left of or above the run. Numbers below a diagonal line give the total of the white squares below; numbers to the right of a diagonal line give the total of the white squares to the right.
monDAY, februArY 10, 2014 | 5
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Find the answers to the Kakuo puzzle on the classifieds page
2 5 3 5 4 7 2 1 3 4 6 8 9 7 The Chronicle 1 6quizzes: 5 9 If our 1 lives3 were buzzfeed “What font are you?”: .............................................................. duranddurand 8.......................................................Mr.Teeth 4 6 9 1 2 4 “Which famous turtle are7 you?”: “Do you eat your age?”: ......................................................................... Chow 1 2 7 3 4 Mouse “Are you ready to have kids?”:............................................................. “Which narcissistic rapper are you?”: ...............................................Magicarp 7 .........................................Linsanity, 3 8 6 2 7darbz9 “Which Disney couple are9you??”: “What type of Emoji are you?”:............................. Locopop, Jpector, Swanth “Which arbitrary thing are 8you?”: 4 ............................................................Jorts 4 2 6 7 “Are you in love?” [We love you!] ...........................................................Barb 6 9 8 5 1 2 5Sinclair3 Student Advertising Manager: ..................................................James Account Representatives: ...................... Jennifer Bahadur, Shannon Beckham 6 2 7 4 7 9 Peter Chapin, Caitlin Chase, Courtney Clower, Alyssa Coughenour Tyler Deane-Krantz, Chris Geary, Liz Lash, Hannah Long, Parker Masselink Nic Meiring, Brian Paskas, Nick Philip, Cliff Simmons, Lexy Steinhilber, Olivia Wax Creative Services Student Manager: ................................. Marcela Heywood Creative Services: ..........................................................Allison Eisen, Mao Hu Rita Lo, Izzy Xu Business Office .........................................................................Susanna Booth
Crossword ACROSS 1 Follows orders 6 Be a passenger 10 Hop, ___ and a jump 14 Mass destruction 15 Ruler of Dubai 16 Small plateau 17 *“The Sixth Sense” director 20 Actress Ward of “CSI: NY” 21 Recent: Prefix 22 Apportion 23 *1988 Best Play Tony winner inspired by Puccini 27 Kiddie racer 30 Gift upon arriving in Honolulu 31 Bit of cheesecake 34 California’s Santa ___ racetrack 35 Girl in Byron’s “Don Juan” 37 Upstate N.Y. campus 38 TV hookups
39 *Craft knife brand 40 Duck or one of its colors 41 Antlered animal 42 Two-lanes-intoone highway sign 43 “Voilà!” 44 Chicken drumstick 45 ___ nutshell 46 More than enough 47 *2007 Stephen Colbert satirical book 51 Mosey along 53 Holder of sale goods 54 Praise 58 *22nd in a Sue Grafton series 62 “The Time Machine” people 63 Puts on TV 64 Actor Hirsch of “Into the Wild” 65 Philosopher Descartes
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66 Information on a boarding pass or stadium ticket 67 ___ numerals (what the initial letters of the answers to the five starred clues all are) DOWN 1 ___ law (electricity principle) 2 Source of misery 3 Diabolical 4 They may be unrolled before meditation 5 Acad. or univ. 6 Button putting everything back to zero 7 Declaration while perspiring 8 Handyman’s inits. 9 Gay Nineties, e.g. 10 Wee 11 Good color for St. Patrick’s Day 12 Golfer Aoki 13 Huff and puff 18 Letter-shaped bolt fastener 19 “The Sopranos” subject 24 Garment under a blouse 25 Best of the best 26 Move, to a real estate agent 27 It helps call a meeting to order 28 “Mon ___” (Jacques Tati film) 29 Dodgers slugger who was the 1988 N.L. M.V.P. 32 In pieces
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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
“
Ban cigarette sales on campus Last week, the drugstore chain CVS announced it would no longer sell tobacco products in its stores. The company, which also offers health care services, has argued that selling tobacco products is inconsistent with its responsibilities as a health care provider. We think Duke should follow CVS’s lead. The negative health effects of tobacco are widely known, and the U.S. Surgeon General recently released a report adding a host of new diseases to the official list of tobacco-related conditions. Given the health risks associated with smoking—as well as Duke’s role as a major regional medical provider—the University ought to discontinue the sale of tobacco on campus. Many of the University’s early benefactors, most notably Washington Duke, amassed fortunes selling tobacco, and reminders of tobacco’s historic importance dot the campus. Despite this legacy, Duke should quit cigarettes for three reasons. First, selling tobacco on campus conflicts with Duke’s commitment, as both a research institution and medical provider, to health. Duke has spent enormous amounts of money researching and treating tobacco-related illnesses. It boasts one of the best cancer research institutes in the country, operates a prestigious regional hospital and implements on-
campus initiatives designed to reduce smoking among students and staff. And yet, Duke continues to sell tobacco—a practice that not only sanctions tobacco use, but also threatens to undermine Duke’s efforts to combat the negative health effects of smoking. Second, eliminating cigarette sales on campus may
Editorial help alleviate negative externalities associated with tobacco use. Many find cigarette smoke unpleasant or irritating, and second-hand smoke is linked to heart disease and cancer in non-smokers. Treating conditions like lung cancer can be extremely costly, and smokers impose enormous long-term costs on the country’s health system. Limiting the availability of cigarettes promises to reduce both the immediate and long-term social consequences of smoking. Third, discontinuing cigarette sales might discourage students from smoking. Only a few retailers on campus, like the Lobby Shop and Uncle Harry’s, sell tobacco, and customers looking for cigarettes have to request them from the cashier. Despite the relative inaccessibility of cigarettes on campus, a considerable number of
I can assure you that the number of Rhodes scholars that we produce will fall even further if we continue to divert our resources towards sports teams and campuses in distant parts of the world.
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.
B
” edit pages
—“Madison” commenting on the article “In past decade, Duke sees fewer Rhodes Scholars.”
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
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Inc. 1993
Danielle Muoio, Editor Sophia DuranD, Managing Editor raiSa chowDhury, News Editor Daniel carp, Sports Editor elySia Su, Photography Editor Scott briggS, Editorial Page Editor caSey williaMS, Editorial Board Chair jiM poSen, Director of Online Development kelly Scurry, Managing Editor for Online chriSSy beck, General Manager eMMa baccellieri, University Editor elizabeth DjiniS, Local & National Editor anthony hagouel, Health & Science Editor julia May, News Photography Editor kelSey hopkinS, Design Editor lauren feilich, Recess Editor eliza bray, Recess Photography Editor MouSa alShanteer, Editorial Page Managing Editor aShley Mooney, Towerview Editor jennie Xu, Towerview Photography Editor kriStie kiM, Social Media Editor lauren carroll, Senior Editor anDrew luo, News Blog Editor anna koelSch, Special Projects Editor for Online rebecca DickenSon, Advertising Director Mary weaver, Operations Manager Megan Mcginity, Digital Sales Manager
students continue to smoke, often in order to relieve stress associated with classes or exams. Limiting access to cigarettes would impose an additional cost on would-be smokers—by forcing them to go off campus to buy tobacco—and discourage casual smokers from lighting up. Students should be free to make decisions about how to treat their bodies, and we recognize that banning the sale of cigarettes on campus would impinge on students’ choices. But the disincentive to smoke would remain low, given the availability of cigarettes at nearby stores. Besides, discouraging students from smoking is not only defensible—because smoking can cause enormous bodily damage—but also entirely consistent with Duke-sponsored programs and institutes designed to reduce smoking. Smoking can be deadly, and the University should discourage students from using tobacco, even if doing so requires limiting consumption choices. Duke is a private university; many of its rules and procedures—on-campus housing, dining options, curriculum requirements—limit students’ choices. Given how unambiguously bad smoking is, a minor reduction in consumer choice is a small price to pay for a healthier campus.
The whiter olympics
onlinecomment
Est. 1905
The Chronicle
www.dukechronicle.com commentary
6 | monDAY, february februArY 10, 2014
carleigh StiehM, University Editor georgia parke, Local & National Editor tony Shan, Health & Science Editor eric lin, Sports Photography Editor rita lo, Design Editor jaMie keSSler, Recess Managing Editor thanh-ha nguyen, Online Photo Editor Matt pun, Sports Managing Editor caitlin MoyleS, Towerview Editor Dillon patel, Towerview Creative Director julian Spector, Special Projects Editor chelSea pieroni, Multimedia Editor Derek Saffe, Multimedia Editor glenn rivkeeS, Director of Online Operations yeShwanth kanDiMalla, Recruitment Chair julia May, Recruitment Chair barbara Starbuck, 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 2022 campus Drive call 684-3811. to reach the advertising office at 2022 campus Drive call 684-3811
lue Devil Nation, We are in the thick of possibly the worst time of the year at Duke. We just had to deal with the Me Too Monologues, Feminist Week is on the horizon and we’re around the anniversary of Asia Prime, so who knows what the Asians have up their sleeve. But there is hope, and all we have to do is look to our Cold War compadres. Yes, the
was roughly $0, while taking the lifts alone at some ski resorts can be as costly as $100. I’m sorry, is it my fault Timon and Pumbaa can’t afford to go to Aspen? And if this wasn’t enough strife from the dark ones, we also have to deal with strife within our own color in the form of the gays. Currently in Russia, there are no gay people. Plain and simple. Unlike here in America, Russians don’t
Monday Monday right wing
Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi, Russia, and it seems that we have a haven away from the posters that tell me that “no homo” is a no-no. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with the Winter Olympics. It’s like a mini-American pep rally before we all have to ignore the World Cup. But, as the butterfly effect predicts, if a white man smiles, an earthquake happens in China as a result. The ethnics are starting to rain on my winter wonderland with talks of “racism” surrounding the 2014 Olympic Games. For those that have avoided the discrimination, the Winter Olympics have had the reputation of being the white man’s Olympics because of factors such as wealth, weather and the fact that African nations didn’t start playing until the 1980s. But people just seem to be turning a blind eye to the white man’s burden. Let’s look at weather. Now the Summer Olympics are hailed for their ability to bring the world together outside of the day-to-day struggles of war and political aggression. But the Winter Olympics are a time for the aggressors to get a break. Imagine having the strength to blow up the world, but not being able to win a game of ping-pong. I mean, we tried adding bulls--- events like trampoline, but we can only do so much. So we need a way to exert superiority to make sure the other nations don’t get cocky with their poverty and abnormally low mile time. And speaking of strength, we have all the wealth, so we should be able to have an advantage. That’s what separates Magic Johnson’s AIDS from the greater part of Ethiopia. For example, look at the difference between the marathon and skiing. Famous Olympic marathon runner Abebe Bikila won gold twice and did so barefoot, so the total cost for sheer athleticism
even have to deal with the pandemic that is meticulous grooming and colorful floral patterns. But the gays of our nation do not seem to want to play ball with Russia because of this. To the Rainbow-Americans out there, I have written the following statement: Come on, guys. Do you really think we have a shot at winning during the summer? I would say that we don’t have a leg to stand on, but, during the last Olympics, we barely beat a double amputee runner from South Africa. And that was just in the semi-finals. That’s why we need the Winter Games where everything is expensive and easy. I mean, look at the sports. Bobsledding is competitive sitting, luge is competitive laying down and curling is legitimately just sweeping. And some of the sports are just pathetic attempts at taking a summer game and making it winter-themed. I mean, speed skating is running, but on ice. And as for the other events, they’re basically just your talents and dreams. Don’t tell me that you don’t have a sequin outfit in your closet ready to figure skate in on a moment’s notice. You can enjoy this and more if you just stay in the proverbial bobsled and straighten up. Don’t ask, don’t tell and don’t forget to smile. So, to everyone out there, let’s just ignore the problems with the Winter Olympics and just focus on the positives. I hear Jamaica qualified again. That’s so cute. I mean, bobsleds are made from an aerodynamic composite body of steel and carbon fiber, but I’m sure one made from coconuts is just as good. Am I Right, or am I right? Right Wing is offended by mimes and does not appreciate people in white face. His Me Too Monologue on the issue was not performed.
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Add LGBtQ identity question to college application
W
hen I narrowed down the list of universities to which I would apply, admittedly the factors I considered were arbitrary. Since I had not yet come to terms with my gay identity, not even in the back of my mind had I considered Duke’s LGBTQ climate. If I were “out” when I filled out my college applications, as a Californian I likely would not have even considered Duke, given the stereotypes I held about the South. I came out just weeks prior to visiting campus
a question, however, stretches far beyond my community. An appropriately phrased LGBTQ demographics question can play a tremendous role in Duke’s efforts to assert itself as a progressive institution. Because of Duke’s location and misperceptions about Durham’s political climate, the University suffers a unique burden, losing admitted students to peer institutions north and west of here. This assertion will, in hand, reaffirm the institutional norms that LGBTQ people are celebrated here, thus attracting applicants like
Daniel Kort guest column during Blue Devil Days, so I was naturally very eager to inquire about Duke’s LGBTQ community. I was immediately sold on enrolling after speaking with current LGBTQ students. Now, three semesters into my college experience, Duke has exceeded my expectations as an LGBTQ student, and I have capitalized on so many opportunities. Notably, I’ve spent the last few semesters on the executive board of Blue Devils United. In the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, I’ve attended several discussion groups, made all kinds of new friends and even taken a course on LGBTQ clinical psychology. My roommate and I comprise one of the few gender-neutral housing units on West Campus. Duke even sent me and three other students to Houston this month for Creating Change, the largest annual LGBTQ conference— all expenses paid. On an institutional level, Duke truly offers a lot to its LGBTQ students. That being said, Duke fails to recruit many top-notch students to apply, attend and take advantage of the innumerable possibilities for LGBTQ students to thrive. I look forward to the day when Duke can successfully profile these opportunities to students who might ordinarily and, under false premises, write us off simply because of our geographical location. The addition of an optional LGBTQ identity question to next year’s application for undergraduate admission holds the power to dramatically alter the landscape of LGBTQ life at Duke for years to come, starting with the Class of 2019. Elmhurst College, the University of Iowa and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have all adopted this policy as a means of more effectively monitoring rates of admission, yield and retention of their LGBTQ applicants and students, a practice the Office of Undergraduate Admissions certainly takes seriously in regards to Duke’s black and Latino applicants and students. The potential impact of the addition of such
me who might ordinarily have written off Duke prior to even applying. In such a cycle, Duke will draw applications from and enroll more allies and members of the LGBTQ community, who will in turn set the bar higher for acceptance of LGBTQ individuals going forward. Furthermore, a large double standard exists at the root of the exclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity from the admission process at Duke. Namely, the University’s non-discrimination policy lists identities protected from discrimination: “race, color, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, genetic information or age”. Interestingly enough, demographic information is collected for all of these identities on the application for undergraduate admission, except for sexual orientation, gender identity and—for legal reasons—disability status. In order for Duke to fulfill its mission of protecting members of the LGBTQ community, the University must begin to treat sexual orientation and gender identity as pieces of information no less relevant than the other demographic factors cited in the non-discrimination policy. For these reasons, it is crucial for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to add an optional LGBTQ identity question to next year’s application for undergraduate admission. The addition of this question will serve to facilitate early and accurate communication of available resources to students who choose to self-identify, while simultaneously reaffirming Duke’s character as a progressive institution. Perhaps then, Duke will ultimately seal the deal in permanently closing the gap of the college admissions game with our elite peers.
Online Only Today: “So, is he gay or bi?” by Dillon Patel
“The problem was that labels began defining people rather than people defining their labels. While we have many aspects that each blend beautifully into our personal identity, attaching labels transforms our interest or habits into sharpie signs written across our foreheads. At Duke, we see it all the time. We constantly define our peers by their greek affiliation, race or even sexual orientation. Why do we find a need to attach so many labels to everything?”
... Activist anger
Whenever I can’t think of a topic for a column, I walk around and ask people, “What makes you angry?” I’ve found that this is the easiest way to learn of topics that deserve more attention. In asking this question, I encounter topics that are urgent—topics that matter. This Saturday, I was doing my usual pre-column canvass of my floor’s hidden rages when I got a CNN alert. It read: “Attorney general to extend U.S. recognition of same-sex marriage even in 34 states that don’t consider it legal.” I felt happy. I felt hopeful. I didn’t want to get angry. I wanted to take a moment to realize that in a lot of ways, things were…OK. So that’s what I’m doing today. Of course, there is so much more to be done in the battle for equality for same-sex couples—so many injustices still to remedy, and, even after that, there’s so much to be done in terms of gender identity acceptance. But it’s easy to forget how far we’ve come in such a short time. The
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Daniel Kort is a Trinity sophomore and the president of Blue Devils United.
monDAY, february februArY 10, 2014 | 7
Ellie Schaack brave new world
night before that Saturday afternoon, I met a man who told me that he spent some time in the Navy until he was kicked out for being gay. My own uncle died of AIDS, and the end of his life was a time during which his president declared that his problem with the gay rights movement was that it was “asking for recognition and acceptance of an alternative lifestyle which [he did] not believe society [could] condone.” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is now repealed, and, last summer, I stood outside the Supreme Court as the law was deemed unconstitutional. It seems like every few months I get another notification like the one I received last Saturday. We are, steadily, righting an enormous wrong. I also get angry about the racism that still infects society at every level, and I get angry about violence that could be prevented by commonsense legislation. I get angry about extreme poverty. But sometimes I take a moment and think about the fact that our president is black, and sometimes I take a moment to note that violent crime rates have dropped steadily since 1993. I think about the fact that the United Nations Millennium Development Goal to halve extreme poverty rates was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline. And then the anger mixes with other, more pleasant emotions. The same night I received that CNN Alert, I went to the Me Too Monologues. They’ve always made me feel a little confused, and, as I sat there, I finally understood why. They’ve confused me because, both times I watched them, I sat not on the main level, but up above where you can see the whole crowd below. The monologues make me angry. When I look at the stage and listen to stories of how people have been affected by society’s flaws, I feel disgust and disillusionment and urgency to change. But then I look around, and from the second floor I can see the hundreds of people crammed into hot, uncomfortable Nelson Music Room, sitting on painful stairs, their butts already aching from waiting for over an hour in the hall outside. Anger about where we are mixes with happiness at how far we’ve come and anticipation for where we’re going. Activists traditionally try to get you to pay attention to the anger. Discontentedness is, after all, a necessary ingredient for social change. But I think people are less eager to participate in social movements when a great deal of anger is present, because it’s exhausting. Anger’s a wonderful catalyst, but there comes a point when we need other things: recognition of the progress that’s been made, belief that people are almost universally well-intentioned, realistic hope that things could be different. The audience of Me Too—their tears and laughter and standing ovations—forms an essential element of my enjoyment. Our best forecast for the future is that things will not be how they are, for, even in the present, we see things changing for the better at a rapid rate. So today, I want to stop and take a moment to recognize that Eric Holder, the country’s first black attorney general, declared that “In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages.” It’s a good day today—because we’re going to make tomorrow an even better one. Ellie Schaack is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Monday.
EDITOR
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digital-first online model in order to stay relevant to the Duke community. She hopes to assemble the infrastructure and talent needed to create a dedicated team that will not only provide interesting and diverse coverage but also bring content to readers more effectively via multimedia. “I could not be more excited for all that’s in store for next year,” Stiehm said. “It’s a changing time for journalism and I’m really honored to have been selected to lead The Chronicle through this moment of innovation.” Stiehm, a computer science major from Nokesville, Va., held managing positions for two newspapers in high school. She began her career at The Chronicle in the design team at the beginning of her freshman year, but eventually focused her work on writing for the University department. She became a staff writer for the section that November and was promoted by Muoio to cohead of the department last March. “Carleigh was one of the hardest working editors on staff this year… and she’s grown so much,” Muoio said. “She is dependable, strong willed, handles things with dignity and poise and will be a great steward of The Chronicle Volume 110.” David Graham, Trinity ’09, a former editor of the paper and current vice chair of the Duke Student Publishing Company board of directors, said the board was very impressed with Stiehm, especially with regards to her experience with programming. “It’s very exciting to have someone with a grounding in computer science,” Graham said. “It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll use that unique skill set to
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drive us into being digital-first.” Members of The Chronicle’s news department also expressed support for Stiehm. Junior Raisa Chowdhury, current news editor, had high hopes for where Stiehm will lead the paper next year. “She really understands the big picture of where The Chronicle and media is headed,” Chowdhury said. “She’s done an amazing job as University department head and I’m really excited to see what she does.”
UNEMPLOYMENT
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At the same time, the employment statistics show that the labor force in North Carolina shrunk by 110,930 workers from December 2012 to December 2013, meaning that a number of people have chosen to leave the workforce. This pattern is partially affected by North Carolina’s policy to reduce the level and duration of unemployment benefits in July 2013, said Mac McCorkle, associate professor of the practice of public policy and director of graduate studies. “Two things are happening at the same time: More people are looking for work, and there are more people giving up,” McCorkle said. “Neither is good because while we don’t want people to stop looking for work, we also don’t want them to be desperately taking any job they can find.” The state economy was hit hard during the recession because it has a large manufacturing base, which was one of the sectors that incurred the most job losses, McCorkle said. The economy has since been picking up, but has not yet
recovered to the same level as before the recession. Although there need to be generous unemployment benefits for a substantial period, they are not a permanent solution, only temporary relief, McCorkle noted. The main goal for the government should be to increase employment. Part of the challenge of creating more jobs lies in the unpredictability, both within the businesses and in the wider economy, said Ted Conner, vice president of economic development and community sustainability at the Durham Chamber of Commerce. “Hiring people is expensive, and it is hard for companies to make that investment when they don’t know whether they will get adequate rate of return from it,” Conner said. As one incentive to encourage hiring, the government can provide tax cuts to entrepreneurs who create jobs, McCorkle said. There has been significant economic growth in the past five years in Durham, Conner said. From 2010 to 2012, there had been an addition of 8,000 employed workers and 9,000 people in the labor force in Durham. The responsibility of improving the employment situation also lies with the individual workers, Conner added. People can improve their chance of being employed by going through more training and redefining their skill sets. The projections for Duke’s hiring are modest in the near future, Cavanaugh said. “A lot of [the employment trend] depends on what continues to evolve in health care developments, but the University itself will remain prudent in its employment pattern,” Cavanaugh said.
MARCH from page 1 march and helped coordinate transportation. Approximately 80 students from the Duke NAACP, Duke Students for Humane Borders and Students for a Democratic Society attended the march through the transportation organized by Duke NAACP. “We felt that it was vital to provide all students with the chance to attend the march so that everyone would have the chance to stand in solidarity with the rest of the state on key issues affecting people of all colors in North Carolina,” said Duke NAACP President Brittany Thompson, a senior. “It was truly empowering to stand with such a diverse crowd fighting for issues that affect us all. I am confident our voices were heard.” Some professors, such as visiting history professor Steven Milder who teaches about social movements, took their students to the march. Milder said the average Duke student is very politically aware. “Given the talents of Duke students and all the resources available at Duke, students here have the opportunity to make a big difference in helping us to solve some of these problems,” he said. First Vice President of the Youth and College Division of N.C. NAACP, Demonte Alford said the march gave him hope for a brighter future. “It was a really great feeling because of the history that was being made,” the East Carolina University senior said. Still, Amina Bility, a Duke freshman who helped organize Duke NAACP’s Moral March participation, said that there is more work to do. “It’s not like we show up to a march and things get better,” she said. “One thing to keep in mind is it’s our decision whether or not that march becomes a movement.”
Congratulations 2014 Winners samuel Dubois Cook soCiety aWarDs The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, Distinguished Service Award President of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP Kerry Haynie Associate Professor of Political Science and African & African American Studies; Director, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Social Sciences, Duke University Summer is a great time to catch up, get ahead or try something new. • Choose from more than 300 courses. • Immerse yourself in an intensive language or science sequence. • Get ahead on credits toward your degree. • Experience all Northwestern and Chicago have to offer in the summer.
Naureen Huda Chemistry major, Duke University Camille Jackson Writer, Office of News & Communications, Duke University Patricia James Staff Specialist, Duke Community Service Center, Duke University Roketa Shanell Sloan PhD candidate, Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics (UPGG) David Stein Senior Education Partnership Coordinator, Duke Durham Neighborhood Partnership (DDNP) “the divine search for knowledge, truth, and wisdom is by no means alien to the equally divine quest for human decency, justice, compassion, love,
Registration opens April 7. Classes begin June 23. northwestern.edu/summer
peace, and the beloved community of whole and creative persons.”
– dr. samuel dubois cook