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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
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ONE ONEHUNDRED HUNDREDAND ANDEIGHTH ninth YEAR, YEAR, Issue Issue xxx 100
Donna Lisker Loved ones gather to honor Becky DeNardis to leave Duke for Smith by Staff Reports The chronicle
Donna Lisker, associate vice provost for undergraduate education, will be leaving to become the dean of the college at Smith College in Northhampton, Mass. Her term officially begins in July, and she will succeed Maureen Mahoney. Lisker was attracted to the role because the allwomen’s private college focuses on shaping undergraduate women into global leaders such as Gloria Steinem, Julia Child and Sylvia Plath—all Smith alumni. Lisker declined to comment on becoming dean of college at Smith. “Smith enrolls 2,500 undergraduate women, and their major mission is to shape those women into global leaders,” Lisker wrote in an email obtained by The Chronicle Sunday. “As someone said to me, Smith is like the Baldwin Scholars on steroids.” Lisker is the founder and co-director of Baldwin Scholars—a program established in 2004 to help undergraduate women become “engaged, confident and connected leaders.” “We’ve had a fantastic first 10 years and I can’t wait to see what the next 10 brings,” she wrote. “I will be watching with pride and joy from Smith.” Although, she will miss being a part of the day-to-day aspects of the program, Lisker noted that she will still be involved with the Baldwin women and encourage them to take greater ownership of the program. See lisker, page 12
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Family, friends and fellow students gathered in front of the Chapel Friday afternoon to honor the memory of Becky DeNardis, the student that recently died in a car accident.
by Jenna Zhang The Chronicle
A memorial service for Becky DeNardis was held on the Chapel Quadrangle Friday evening. DeNardis died in a car accident returning from a spring break camping trip. The service was attended by around 100 people, most of whom were friends and classmates. Attendees shared their memories of DeNardis and a few chose to read poems about her aloud or performed songs dedicated to her memory.
Friends, acquaintances and professors remembered her as an intellectually gifted and profoundly empathetic young woman with a passion for technology and penchant for pranks. Several speakers noted that DeNardis was strongly conscious of her potential to create change in the world. “She seemed acutely aware of her presence in the world and the potential she had for influencing others,” senior Susan Hilbig said at the service. “And she was using that to change us all.”
The service commenced with opening remarks from senior Rhyne King, copresident of Round Table selective living group of which DeNardis was a member. Owen Astrachan, director of undergraduate studies in the computer science department, remembered DeNardis as a student who would help struggling peers. “Every one of the students I spoke with talked about Becky’s amazing ability to care deeply and to follow through with See Memorial, page 12
men’s basketball
NO MERCY: Blue Devils upset by 14th-seeded Mercer By Ryan Hoerger The Chronicle
RALEIGH—Live by the three, die by the three. By that logic, the Blue Devils should have had no problem Friday afternoon. Mercer had other ideas. Fifteen 3-pointers were not enough for No. 3 Duke to escape the 14th-seeded Bears, falling 78-71 at PNC Arena. The Blue Devils made just three two-point baskets in the second half, as Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood were never able to find a rhythm. Parker scored 14 points but was just 4-of14 from the floor, while Hood finished with just six points and was held scoreless in the
second half. Arriving in Durham with high expectations, Parker called the loss “disappointing” and his season “incomplete.” “We didn’t close the deal. We had a lot of chances to do so,” said Parker, who acknowledged that the pressures of playing in March affected his style of play. “I should’ve treated it like any other game... [I didn’t do] what I did before this: just playing.” Empty possessions down the stretch proved costly for the Blue Devils, as an errant pass out of bounds, an air-ball and a travel gave Mercer a chance to erase a 6358 Duke lead. The Bears took advantage, scoring 11 unanswered points in the closing minutes to pull off the major upset. Playing a Mercer squad with seven seniors, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team showed its youth, letting a
late second-half lead slip away for the fifth time this season. The tournament sometimes places you in a position where you have a younger team than the team you’re playing against. Not just younger in age but in physical maturity,” Krzyzewski said. “[We’re] just young [inside]. I mean, we’ve gone through that all year.” Initially, Duke was able to survive the struggles of its two leading scorers, thanks to the 3-pointer. Rasheed Sulaimon set the trigger-happy tone early for the Blue Devils, draining two corner triples on Duke’s first two possessions. He and junior Quinn Cook hit big shot after big shot from downtown to pace Duke, finishing with a combined 43 points, 36 of which came via 3-pointers. With Mercer center Daniel Coursey—
the Atlantic Sun’s Defensive Player of the Year—making life difficult for the Blue Devils in the key, Sulaimon and his teammates resorted to the long ball, firing away 37 times on the afternoon. “[Mercer] really packed it in,” sophomore forward Amile Jefferson said. “They did a good job of, whenever guys drove or we got it in down low, they had multiple guys crowd the paint, and that’s what was there, the kick-out three.” Even with the Blue Devils’ streaky shooting, the Bears (27-8) refused to roll over. Ike Kwamu poured in all 11 of his points in the first half off the bench as Mercer executed brilliantly in the half-court. The Bears shot 55.6 percent from the field and converted on 23-of-28 free throws. See m. basketball, page 9
2 | MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
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What’s happening at Duke
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Student dance troupes performanced at Pangea night, the annual cultural semi-formal.
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International Association, in collaboration with DukeAfrica, Chinese Student Association and Eastern European Student Association, organized their annual semi-formal event.
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Atlantic senior editor and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates delivered the 2014 Robert R. Wilson Lecture in the Sanford School Thursday evening.
Nina Davuluri, the newly-crowned Miss America, visited campus Thursday. She volunteered on Duke Farm along with students and also held a talk at White Lecture Hall on East Campus.
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Duke researchers tackle the Carl Bernstein advises to illicit tobacco trade in Asia seek best version of the truth A joint effort between researchers in the United States and Southeast Asia is tracking the illicit tobacco trade within the region. Led by Dr. Anthony So, director of Global Health and Technology Access at the Sanford School of Public Policy, the study aims to help Southeastern Asian governments improve their tobacco control policies. The partnership is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, and researchers are working with the American Cancer Society and the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. Illicit tobacco, which refers to counterfeit and contraband cigarettes that evade tobacco taxes imposed by the governments, tends to be lower-priced and can directly affect both public health and economies in countries within the region. “The greater availability, affordability and demand for cigarettes obviously means more consumers might be harmed because of the increased smoking that results,” So said. “The second direct effect is of course the financial tax revenue losses to government...the taxes are not being paid on that product.” So said the illicit trade can also indirectly affect how national policies on tobacco are formed. Tobacco industry lobbyists within Southeast Asian countries contend that higher tobacco taxes lead to higher illicit trade and loss of revenue for the government, thus hindering more stringent tobacco control. But So disagrees, saying that there is little evidence to suggest a high correlation. “The reason why is, there are many mitigating factors that a country can take to prevent illicit trade of tobacco, including using
the taxes of tobacco to ensure there’s adequate enforcement of the law,” he said. So met with the SATCA in Thailand in February to continue their work. Members present during the conference discussed their research methods as well as their initial results from their household surveys of smoking in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. An important part of the conference was creating transparent research methodology, which would allow researchers in the region to pursue further independent projects long after So’s work is completed. “These estimates we hope will be useful alongside others who put forth, particularly from the industry, sources of such estimates that we cannot independently verify,” So said. “We [cannot] be sure of whether or not they are exaggerating the magnitude of illicit trade of tobacco, or if there are particular special interest purposes.” Elizabeth Turner, assistant professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics and global health, was also present at the conference as a statistical research consultant. During the conference, Turner provided training in the use of statistical software and advised some secondary research questions. “These secondary questions were related to the primary research question discussed at the workshop, which seeks to determine what demographic characteristics of smokers are related to whether smokers purchase illicit cigarettes,” Turner wrote in an email Sunday. James Bowling, research associate professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina See Tobacco, page 12
Nannerl Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professorship Lecture
The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty: How emotions shape our moral and political beliefs Research showing a correlation between an individual’s response to disgust and their moral and political views sheds light on how basic differences in emotion can give rise to differences in our judgments about the social world that surrounds us.
David Pizarro Associate Professor of Psychology at Cornell University Monday, March 24, 2014 5:30pm, Reception to follow Room 04, Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University
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Carl Bernstein, the journalist who broke the Watergate scandal, spoke and took questions from the audience regarding the current state of the American government and media culture.
by Elizebeth Djinis The chronicle
Journalist Carl Bernstein urged students to undo the recent breakdown of political culture in Page Auditorium Friday. Bernstein rose to fame after he and partner Bob Woodward broke news of the Watergate break-in and cover-up in The Washington Post, leading to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Bernstein compared the political climate of the ‘70s to that surrounding the current government, noting that the government is not working now in the manner it should. He added that today’s journalists should seek out the truth instead of catering to political ideologies and personal beliefs. “We need to pursue the best obtainable
version of the truth,” Bernstein said. “The opposite is too often the case—creating ideological and partisan ammunition.” The current culture relies too heavily on consuming media that is tailored to particular political beliefs, Bernstein noted. He cited the Internet and certain television networks as proponents of this manner of journalism. “We need to look at ourselves as citizens,” Bernstein said. “The hunger for ideological answers is exponentially greater than it was before.” Bernstein also addressed the meaning of truth in the media and methods of sorting between facts and myth, noting that the See bernstein, page 12
Meet AwArd-winning nAture PhotogrAPher FeAtured in docuMentAry Chasing iCe
James Balog 2 PM sat., aPril 12 2014 Duke LeAF™ AwArD recipient griFFith theAter bryAn center, Duke cAmpus A reception and open house will follow the event in the new Duke environment hall (circuit Drive)
provost.duke.edu/awards-and-professorships/nannerl-keohane/
Photo by Mary Cybulski
Free and oPen to the PubliC, but tiCkets to the leaF CereMony are required.
tickets.duke.edu • 919.684.4444 The Keohane Professorship recognizes the commitment to collaboration exemplified by former Duke President Keohane and former UNC Chancellor Moeser.
photo by Jeff Orlowski/Extreme Ice Survey
by Tim Bai
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TEDxDuke urges full house to accept the challenge by Jeffrey Cicurel The chronicle
The 2014 TEDxDuke audience was asked to challenge themselves at the fourth annual event in Reynolds Theater Saturday. TEDx is affiliated with TED—Technology, Entertainment, Design—a program that aims to share ideas in communities around the world, usually through short talks. More than 600 people attended the event—tripling last year’s attendance—to hear 12 speakers, ranging from students and faculty members to local Raleigh-Durham residents, address this year’s theme, “Challenge Accepted.” “We didn’t think it would sell out the 600 tickets here but we did,” said junior Gavin Ovsak, TEDxDuke committee codirector. “It’s really pretty awesome.” Keeping with the theme, some speakers discussed challenges they were working to solve. Professor of biomedi-
cal engineering Nimmi Ramanujam explained that with the help of her students, she thought of cheap and innovative ways to diagnose cervical cancer in women in impoverished countries. Raleigh-Durham resident and cofounder of Mapquest Chris Heivly discussed how aspiring entrepreneurs should be encouraged to take small steps in bringing their ideas to fruition. The two biggest challenges facing the next generation are health care and education, said Aaron Chatterji, associate professor at the Fuqua School of Business, in another speech. Chatterji, a former White House economist, said these challenges must be addressed through a combination of personal interaction and technology. “We can’t be thinking about substituting teachers and doctors for technology when it comes to education and
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Kari Barclay, a speaker at the event, is a theater director from Bethesda, MD., who blends the arts and social change.
How shall I study? Let me count the ways. 1. in Bostock 2. on the quad 3. in the gardens 4. by the pool 5. in the gardens and by the pool
Registration now underway.
summersession.duke.edu summer@duke.edu
health care,” he said. “We need to think about complementing people and good technology.” Chatterji said you can never replace the inspiration of a teacher or the bedside manner of a doctor with technology, but stressed the importance of using and evaluating mobile applications in the healthcare and education fields. Like Chatterji, this year’s TEDxDuke committee sees the value in mobile apps, said senior Neby Teklu, co-director of the TEDxDuke committee. As an experiment, the event used an app called EventJoy in order to facilitate interaction between the speakers and audience. The app allowed for the audience to respond to poll questions from speakers, view mentions of the event via social media and see the profiles of other audience members. “TED events are really supposed to be interactive and it’s not meant to be
a place where you sit, listen and leave,” Teklu said. “You’re meant to interact with the audience members.” The comfortable environment TEDxDuke provided is what differentiated the conference from watching the event on a computer screen, Teklu said. For example, during the event’s intermissions, beach balls were tossed around with questions written on them to facilitate discussion among the audience. “We wanted everyone to be able to relate to it,” Ovsak said. “We wanted it to be something that could unite everyone as a whole.” Ovsak said he hopes this year’s theme inspires interaction that lasts well beyond the conference. “People often come up to the speakers afterwards and get involved,” Ovsak said. “We’re hoping to cultivate something like that.”
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Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, challenged the audience to use the arts to connect to the environment.
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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
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Duke fans: hated nationally, loved passionately Duke’s loss in the Round of 64 of the NCAA championship to No. 14 seed Mercer has come with the expected wave of head-scratching, crushing disappointment and nation-wide euphoria associated with a Blue Devil defeat. For the second time in three years, we have been sent home early to mourn while the rest of the country celebrates. As a recent piece in The New Yorker put it, “Duke loses, world wins.” We are undoubtedly the school everyone loves to hate. Although we join head coach Mike Krzyzewski in congratulating Mercer for the great game they played and wish the team all the luck in the coming weeks, we also want to take advantage of the loss to do some soul searching. For better or worse, being Duke fans puts us in a unique position. For starters, we are part of the commercial behemoth that is not only Duke basketball, but also NCAA sports. ESPN’s “College GameDay” coverage makes us players in a spectacle all its own, one that tries to monetize our reputation, tenting traditions and body paint. We have made
Cameron Indoor Stadium legendary—and a terror for visiting teams. This season alone we went undefeated in our home court because, behind the incredible talent of our team, the
Editorial Cameron Crazies stood and cheered. But being a Blue Devil is a lesson in the burden of expectations. We have no shortage of passion, but we rarely feel our victories as deeply as our losses. In most encounters, Duke is the favorite to win. Had we beat Mercer, it would have been business as usual, a fulfillment of our expectations, and we would be gearing up for the next game. We take victories in stride and have gotten used to doing so, but when we lose, the basketball world turns its head. In all likelihood, we will never experience what Mercer did that fateful Friday afternoon. Our basketball team will never be the underdog. We will never feel the rush of toppling a giant
Dear Mom
onlinecomment This season hasn’t been “Live by the three, die by the three.” Rather, it has been “Live by the ‘Bari, die by the ‘Bari.” Jabari Parker is great, but when he struggles, he brings the whole team down with him.
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.
Est. 1905
D
ear Mom, I think about you not just everyday, but literally all the time. I think about you every time I kindly refuse to “chug the wine.” Every time that I ask for “no tomatoes” on my Mediterranean wheat wrap and every time I write a new column for The Chronicle. I think about how proud you and Dad are every time I send you my latest piece, mass-emailing it out to our friends and family
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against all odds—of being the David to some other school’s Goliath. No one will ever tell the inspiring story of the little Blue Devil that could. We will have few opportunities to storm the court, but we can still expect to have it rushed whenever another team beats us on their home turf (because, remember, we do not lose in Cameron). The closest we came to a court storm was last November when our football team upset the Tar Heels in a thrilling game. But this experience is likely to forever elude basketball fans. So while our coaches try to understand where we went wrong, we look into our Dukeblue souls and realize that this is what it means to be a Blue Devil. It means we will never be a Mercer. It means being really loud. It means being held to the highest standards, not only of play, but of behavior, since Coach K demands as much of the fans courtside as he does the team on the court. And it means being hated for all of these reasons. We love you Duke, and, as always, GTHC.
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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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 carleigh StiehM, University Editor elizabeth DjiniS, Local & National Editor georgia parke, Local & National Editor anthony hagouel, Health & Science Editor tony Shan, Health & Science Editor julia May, News Photography Editor eric lin, Sports Photography Editor kelSey hopkinS, Design Editor rita lo, Design Editor lauren feilich, Recess Editor jaMie keSSler, Recess Managing Editor eliza bray, Recess Photography Editor thanh-ha nguyen, Online Photo Editor MouSa alShanteer, Editorial Page Managing Editor Matt pun, Sports Managing Editor aShley Mooney, Towerview Editor caitlin MoyleS, Towerview Editor jennie Xu, Towerview Photography Editor Dillon patel, Towerview Creative Director kriStie kiM, Social Media Editor julian Spector, Special Projects Editor lauren carroll, Senior Editor Derek Saffe, Multimedia Editor anDrew luo, News Blog Editor anna koelSch, Special Projects Editor for Online glenn rivkeeS, Director of Online Operations yeShwanth kanDiMalla, Recruitment Chair julia May, Recruitment Chair Mary weaver, Operations Manager rebecca DickenSon, Advertising Director Megan Mcginity, Digital Sales Manager 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 @ 2014 Duke Student publishing company
Dillon Patel it’s casual...
while sharing it on your Facebook profile with some sort of heart-shaped emoji. I first decided to apply for a column to help me deal with my utter dislike for writing while being able to share my personal experiences and perspectives in my unique, light-hearted way. I’ve never really been much of a writer, and I’m still convinced my grammar and humor will forever be stuck at a second grade level, but I have learned to be more confident in what I have to say and have even managed to garner a small following. Yet, I still failed. I still managed to keep the most important pieces of my life out of it. While my column may be presented as part of “The Duke Chronicle,” it has come to form a much stronger connection between my life at Duke and my one back home, which has become increasingly separate over the past couple of semesters. This disparity was never more apparent than when I decided to publish my column, “So, is he gay or bi?” in which I discussed society’s affinity for labels, specifically focusing on the pressure to polarize one’s sexuality. This column turned out to be my most popular one of the semester, which I found incredibly surprising, considering that I published it almost half unfinished. This was the piece that I wrote in my application to become a columnist back in December. When it was just a few hours until the deadline for my February 10 column and I had nothing written, I thought, “Why not just publish it?” But I didn’t simply publish what I had written in my application. I trimmed and cut chunks out of it until it barely even resembled the original piece. I took myself out of it. I took my stories out of it. If I were out, I would have talked about how difficult it was to decide just what words to use every time that I came out at Duke. I would have talked about how, as much as I hate the baggage and assumptions that come along with the word “gay,” I use it for others’ sake, not for mine. I use it because society demands certainty, so I give it them. I give it to them, because that’s all I have to give.
Mom and Dad, I wanted to tell you first, but I couldn’t. Not because you don’t matter as much, because you matter so much more. At Duke, it eventually became as simple as switching out pronouns when I told stories or after I came back from a date. (Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if anything actually lasts more than three months…) But you deserve better than that. Over Spring Break, I wanted to tell you in person, but, every time I tried, the words didn’t come out. I kept using baby news and engagement news in the family as excuses to hold off a little longer. I even tried calling, and the words still refused to come out. When I got back, I decided that I just didn’t want to wait any longer. There are so many other things that I’d rather be spending my time thinking about. I’ve already lost enough sleep over this… You know me better than anyone else in the world. You know what I love to do, love to eat and you definitely know how to make me happy. I even convinced myself that you already knew, but I still continued to lie by omission, and I’m sorry for that. I thought you knew when you suddenly stopped asking if I was dating anyone, when you started becoming really curious about all my “gay friends,” and when you liked Blue Devils United on Facebook just 10 minutes after I did. I thought a lot about the implications of writing this in such a public forum, but then I realized just how “popular” you are, Mom. The thought of having to make 200 phone calls to our closest family and friends just seemed incredibly daunting, and I wanted to be able to express myself in my own words and my own terms. I wanted everyone to hear it from me. I know things take time to settle in. I mean, it took me almost my entire freshman year and one too many sloppy Shooters moments with a few of my female acquaintances to totally realize that it wasn’t just a phase. (You know who you are and thank you, by the way.) The only important thing is that I’m happy. Being gay is just one part of my identity, and I like to think I’m a pretty cool person. I mean, let’s be real, I am your son… And you thought your biggest worry was whether or not I’d be bringing home a “nice Indian girl,” but hey, you always said how long you’ve been looking for a “gay best friend.” I love you, Mom. Love always, Dillon P.S. Dad, this is just as much addressed to you too, but something about the word “Mom” had a much better ring to it. I love you. Dillon Patel is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Monday. Send Dillon a message on Twitter @thecasualdevil.
6 | MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014 The Chronicle
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Pay to play
B
lue Devil Nation, I decided to take an extra long Spring Break this year and really soaked in the air of freedom. It was exactly what I needed. I had a wonderful Caribbean cruise, salmon short weather all day long, and I got that right amount of tan where I
French Quarter for Mardi Gras. There are those who can’t just eat at fancy restaurants in Raleigh because of their “fixed budget.” And this is awkward. Imagine a conversation with your friend. You ask if he wants to have a candle-lit dinner at 604, and he responds with, “Sorry, I want to use food points.” And
Monday Monday right wing don’t look like Casper, but not so much that I look Mexican-y. It was perfect. That is, until I returned to our Floridian port, cocktail in hand, and tripped over a pile of garbage. This was no ordinary pile of garbage. No, it was a homeless. Yup, a do-nothing pile of nothing that is leeching off our welfare system day in and day out. And as I expected, this only got worse when I returned to campus, seeing troves of the lesser class at Duke. Now, some may try not to acknowledge the “others,” but I find it next to impossible to not notice the class difference at Duke. They pollute our campus with off-brand clothing. (I’m sorry, but if you don’t have a pony on your polo, you aren’t a real man.) They constantly refuse to eat off-campus because they are saving money or something. And they’re always “just staying home” for break. But I will admit that there are some that even pass through my fine-toothed comb—people that have learned to camouflage into the higher class scene through things like fraternity scholarships or doing porn for money. These are the people that must be feared. And don’t try to trick me into thinking that there is a level playing field for some because you can come from a well-off family but still not have endless funds for social events. If your parents would rather pay the mortgage than pay for you to actually have a college experience, then they aren’t your real parents. You’re probably thinking, “Right, what’s the big deal? If I don’t even notice them, what’s the harm?” The thing is, you don’t notice them now. But what happens when they infiltrate your fraternity or friend group? In Duke’s social scene, activities are tied to income. There are those that can and those that cannot afford random excursions to the
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this is the best-case scenario—the response you get from someone bold enough to say no. Sometimes the person lies about being busy (because who wouldn’t want a nice dinner with me?), or they do go out to dinner with me and I accidentally am the cause of his family losing their home or something. My point is that we need a new system for dealing with this problem. My brain-dead cousin, Left Wing, would probably suggest that we create a system of social stipends that students could use for events or making a more subsidized system where students wouldn’t have to worry about being able to pay for certain events. But this welfare-esque system is only taking money from the rich and rewarding failure. Side note: Life isn’t Mario Kart. You don’t get better items for being in last. But I have an ever-so-modest proposal for how to deal with the problem of the poor. In order to avoid associating with them, all we need to do is put a marker on these people so we don’t have to deal with the awkward conversation about whether or not they can afford certain things. I put forth Hoover Flags as a valid idea. Made popular during the Great Depression, Hoover Flags were a way the poor showed anguish by displaying their empty pockets so everyone could see that they were worthless. Similar to a small star or triangle, a Hoover Flag could make people of a lower income more identifiable so they could mix with their own kind and we could mix with ours. All of a sudden, everyone you know can afford Caribbean cruises, the hoi polloi are in a selective living group and your cares are as lost as a Malaysian airliner. Am I Right, or am I right?
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014 | 11
A tale of two numbers
$
61,404. $48,872. The first number is Duke’s estimated annual cost of attendance. The second number is the average annual income of workers in the United States. Here’s another number: 53 percent. According to a presentation by Provost Peter Lange to Duke Student Government last Wednesday, that’s the percentage of Duke students who receive no financial aid,
Ellie Schaack brave new world putting their parents’ income in the top 5 to 10 percent of U.S. earners. If you’re on campus in a public place, take a look around. Over half of the people you see are from the top 5 to 10 percent of earners in the U.S. At Duke, for all of the good that we do, for all that I love about his place, a large part of what we do is teaching the wealthy skills that will allow them to stay wealthy. Now I want to be clear: This column is not encouraging action from Duke. Lowering tuition actually inhibits socioeconomic diversity as it reduces funding for aid programs. And we’re not discriminating based on income in who we admit—we’re need-blind, admitting on merit supplemented by affirmative action policies that promote diversity and control for historic inequalities. Relaxing the standards of admittance for low-income students in order to increase their prevalence on campus would make funding the education we receive impossible—meaning that we would have to sacrifice the things that make us a world-class institution, like small classes and state-of-the-art facilities. No, this column is aimed at all of us—the likely future 5 to 10 percent of earners, who will also come to possess the power that is wealth’s inevitable companion. A few weeks ago at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rick Santorum asked, “Since when in America do we have classes? Since when in America are people stuck in areas or defined places called a class?” He’s not alone in his thinking. In an interview with CNN, Jason Long, an economist at the University of Wheaton, stated, “It’s clear that Americans still believe that America has exceptional mobility, and that’s not true.” It’s “vexing,” he continued, that “lots of people could be systematically mistaken about verifiable, factual information.” And it is objectively true that in the United States, people are “stuck in areas or defined places called a class” more than they are practically anywhere else in the developed world. According to research from University of Ottawa economist and Russell Sage Foundation Fellow Miles Corak, out of all of the major developed countries, only Italy and the United Kingdom boast lower levels of economic mobility than the United States. According to a study by Pew Charitable Trust, if you’re born into the lowest income bracket, you have a 70 percent chance of staying there. Why is economic mobility in this country so low? That question is over-determined. Look to the fact that education is funded based largely on property taxes, correlating better schools with higher income levels. Look to the fact that eating well and participating in extracurriculars that encourage physical activity is expensive, meaning that lower income children are likely to have poorer nutrition and thus not develop as well. Look to the fact that, given decreasing restrictions on campaign funding and increasing restrictions on voting, the powerful are increasingly the ones who decide whether or not the powerful should stay in power. After the DSG Senate presentation on tuition, a friend and I watched an episode of House of Cards. The show is about the Washington elite. I recognize these people—or at least I recognize less cartoonishly sadistic versions of them—from people I know at Duke and met at internships over the summer. They talk a certain way; they look a certain way. I recognize their world, too: beautiful spaces, soaring ceilings, historic windows. In one episode, though, a journalist goes to a trailer park to get information. Everything about the world I recognize from the show and my own life transforms. The marble floors and paneled walls of Congress are replaced by rotted wood and aluminum siding. The woman who answers the door is overweight. She carries a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She speaks in crass, accented fragments. When asked about the location of a source, the following exchange takes place: “He got evicted. Shooting off his gun too much in the yard…Skipped town— that’s what I heard. Had a girl living with him. Maybe she knows. Name was Echo.” “Echo?” “That’s what she went by, at least. Works at the titty bar over on 40.” “Highway 40?” “Mhm. Across from the Burger King.” Watching this, I felt this sense of enormous relief. I was hesitant to admit it, but I was unendingly grateful that place—that miserable place—would never be my life. My friend turned towards me, apprehensive. “It sounds terrible,” he said, “but I’m so glad I’ll never be lower-class.” At Duke, we value diversity. It’s easy to look at the different cultures and familial backgrounds and hometowns and mistake ourselves for a fairly reasonable crosssection of the world around us. It’s easy—as Rick Santorum knows—to surround yourself with your own class and then claim that class differences don’t exist. $61,404. $48,872. The cost of attending Duke is $12,532 more than the average American makes in a year. As we go forward into this world with the blessings we’ve all received here—and very likely the blessings we’ve received over our entire lives—we’d do well to remember that.
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Right Wing pities Belle Knox. No one should ever have to talk to Piers Morgan.
Ellie Schaack is a Trinity junior. Her column runs every other Monday.
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bernstein
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media will often produce “manufactured controversy,” which he defined as containing information that does not illuminate or present the truth. “Facts by themselves without context are not truths,” Bernstein said. Although the majority of his speech was a discussion of broad topics, Bernstein did mention the current presidential administration, focusing specifically on the misleading public opinion of President Barack Obama. “His accomplishments are better than what most think, but his view as a disappointing president is understandable,” Bernstein said. Bernstein stressed, however, that Obama’s ability to steer the national conversation so intensely toward economic equality has been impressive, especially as an incumbent president. Although he was not critical of Obama’s presidency in particular, Bernstein said that he has noticed a breakdown in politics that has veered toward political and ideological warfare. He cited Obama’s inauguration as an example, noting that a number of prominent Republicans were reported to have gathered together during the ceremony to discuss how best to “ensure Obama’s presidency does not succeed.” Freshman Harrison Ferlauto asked Bernstein about how coverage of current political scandals differed from Bernstein and Woodward’s own coverage of Watergate. Ferlauto said media portrayals of the Benghazi and Internal Revenue Service scandals have not been as thorough and illuminating as they should have been and posed the question to Bernstein that there may have been coverups within prominent media organizations. Bernstein countered that it was absurd to deny the thousands of hours reporters have
devoted to covering the Benghazi scandal and said he disagreed with Ferlauto’s opinion. “You may not like what answers have come up so far…but there is no evidence of this being a criminal presidency,” Bernstein said. He added that journalism is not a perfect art and often reporters cannot find the answer to the questions they are researching. Freshman Gopi Neppala, who also attended the event, noted that he was impressed by the frank and direct nature of Bernstein’s talk. “It was really fascinating to hear his view,” Neppala said.
memorial
from page 1
energy and compassion,” Astrachan said. “She helped so many of her friends.” Samhita Noone, Trinity ‘13, and senior Fei Gao, close friends of DeNardis, dubbed their friendship triad “Samfecky” because one would never been seen without the other two. Gao recalled meeting DeNardis at a Round Table rush event and bonding with her over a three-legged race. Noone, DeNardis’ former roommate, said DeNardis had a fondness for pranks and recalled how she had once hid resumes all around their dorm room—even one in Noone’s water bottle. “We all have a little of Becky in us, and so we’ll always be Samfecky,” Gao said. Noone expressed the inadequacy of using words to portray DeNardis. “No matter what I say here, I’m implicitly making a decision to exclude certain aspects about Becky,” Noone said. “But she was a whole person. That’s what she taught me—that we are all whole people.” Several pieces of music and poetry dedicated to DeNardis were performed at the
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service. Duke Chorale sang two pieces— “Sing Me to Heaven” by Daniel Gawthrop and “Danny Boy” by Frederic Weatherly, and members of Round Table performed “Night Still Comes” by Neko Case, one of DeNardis’ favorite songs. Junior Jonathan Hill-Rorie and senior Victoria Lang sang “Who Knew” by Pink, and Bernard Jiang, Trinity ’13, read a poem he wrote about Denardis. After the official service, the floor was opened to anyone who wanted to share a memory about DeNardis. Several friends and acquaintances shared memories about DeNardis’ consideration for others and empathetic nature, including members of her soccer team from high school and friends who accompanied her on the spring break trip. “Sometimes, we think we have a lot of friends, but there aren’t a lot that we can open up to about our anxieties,” said junior Nonie Arora, who went on the camping trip with DeNardis. “Becky was one of the few people I was able to share things with.”
lisker
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“Change is always hard, but I hope you will be happy for me and will take even a little more responsibility for the Baldwin Scholars,” Lisker wrote. Before stepping into her current role in 2012, Lisker served as the associate vice provost for global strategy and programs. Beginning in November 2013, Lisker took on the responsibilities of Nora Bynum, vice provost for Duke Kunshan University and China initiatives, while Bynum took a personal leave of absence until February. “It’s a huge career move and one I found I could not turn down when offered,” Lisker wrote.
tobacco
from page 3
at Chapel Hill, has led the statistical analyses for the project for about five years. Bowling designed the surveys conducted in the three countries, using methods that were comparable to surveys used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to look at smoking prevalence. “We had interviewers go to the household to interview them and collect data on a questionnaire, but also to ask if they had a pack of cigarettes in the house that they were currently smoking,” Bowling said. “We purchased the pack from each of the households and then sent it to a central location in each country to make a determination of whether… the pack was illicit.” Although the group meets annually to review the progress of their work, Bowling said that the conference in Thailand was focused this time on combining their data from the initial household surveys for publication, for which he will be conducting the necessary data analysis. The language of the text used in the health warnings on some cigarette packs suggested they were smuggled in from other countries, So said. This has led to concerns of a connection between large criminal networks and the trade. So said he believes the work they have done will be able to guide the local government in creating newer policies on tobacco. In addition to improving the public health quality in these countries, So said they have created a legacy for further research to take place. “Obviously the struggle for tobacco control will take decades,” So said. “We wanted to ensure that we’ve left behind a cadre of researchers capable of sustaining this type of local evidence, this type of work and the type of stability to do this type of research over time.”
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