Issuu

The Chronicle

See Inside

Men’s lacrosse tops Virginia Page 7

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

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2019 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 52

Tufts’ Mary Pat McMahon to succeed Moneta By Lexi Kadis Senior Editor

Nathan Luzum Senior Editor

The University has named Mary Pat McMahon as the new vice provost/vice president for campus life, replacing Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs. Since 2014, McMahon has served as the dean of student affairs at Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. She will begin her role at Duke and succeed Moneta July 8. “I look forward to hearing from student leaders about ways to build upon the outstanding work of the Student Affairs team and deepen partnerships with graduate and undergraduate student leaders, the Durham community and the broader Blue Devil community,” McMahon said in a news release. President Vincent Price said he was “delighted” to welcome McMahon to the University in the release. “Her leadership in every part of student affairs--from residential life to wellness to the important work of inclusion, identity and culture--will contribute to our goal of having the most vibrant and dynamic university community,” Price said. “Mary Pat will be a wise and enthusiastic partner for students and faculty, and I look forward to working with her.” Provost Sally Kornbluth said that McMahon is an “experienced leader” with “boundless enthusiasm and energy.” Kornbluth noted that she was impressed by McMahon’s “communication skills” and her experience working with students on issues that are similar to those administrators deal with at Duke. At Tufts, McMahon helped to spearhead a review of the university’s undergraduate residential life, which led to the creation of all first-year residence halls and a restructured education curriculum. She was also a member of the President’s Mental Health Task Force at Tufts, where she was in See MCMAHON on Page 4

Aaron Zhao | Staff Photographer

Dozens injured after Remembering coffee downtown explosion shop owner Kong Lee By Isabelle Doan

By Ashwin Kulshrestha

News Editor

Staff Reporter

Ben Leonard Ten Duke employees were injured in the explosion in downtown Durham Wednesday, a Duke official confirmed Thursday afternoon. According to Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, all Duke employees were accounted for after the explosion at 115 North Duke Street Wednesday morning. A total of 10—nine working in Duke offices and one on the street at the time—were injured, but none seriously, Schoenfeld wrote in an email to The Chronicle. The 10 were treated at the scene or at the hospital. “All Duke employees in the buildings directly impacted by the blast were evacuated, as were those in nearby buildings,” Schoenfeld wrote Thursday. “All total, more than 600 Duke employees were relocated yesterday.” The explosion destroyed a building on North Duke and Main Streets directly across the street from a leased building that housed Duke offices, he wrote. The explosion was said to be caused by a gas leak, which occurred when a contractor was boring under the sidewalk and hit a gas line. Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos said at a Thursday morning press conference that nine firefighters were injured—one, Durham firefighter Darren Wheeler, seriously injured—pushing the total injuries from the blast up to 25 people, including six critical injuries. The firefighters continued to rescue people after sustaining injuries from the blast. Alongside the Durham Police Department, firefighters were able to evacuate eight to 10 people before the explosion. In an email to The Chronicle, Schoenfeld confirmed

Kong Lee, the 61-year-old owner of the popular coffee shop Kaffeinate, died in the explosion that destroyed his shop last Wednesday. Lee opened Kaffeinate in 2017 with his two children. In a Facebook post, his children Diana and Raymond Lee described their father’s dedication to serving the Durham community. “He had the biggest, purest heart out of anyone we know. He always wanted a cafe because he loved to serve people, and we were finally able to build him one,” the post reads. “He loved being able to bring people something that would make them smile. The family we created at Kaffeinate made him so happy. We watched your smiles give him strength and joy.” The post notes that Lee valued family, often working 12 to 13 hour days “doing jobs no one else wanted to do,” but never complaining. Kaffeinate will be “indefinitely closed,” according to the post. Lee’s children wrote that the shop was built for their dad but added that they have “been discussing it and hope one day to be able to rebuild and reopen and bring his memory back to life.” According to Kaffeinate’s website, the Lee family has been in North Carolina since 1993, and the state became “the embodiment of the word ‘home’” for them. In the short time it had been open, Kaffeinate had already emerged as a popular spot for Duke students and Durham residents. Kaffeinate’s latest Facebook post has amassed over 1,900 comments as of Sunday, with expressions of love and support from both those who were regulars at Kaffeinate and those who had never been. “A lot of this still seems unreal, including the outpouring of love and support from our community,”

See DURHAM on Page 4

See LEE on Page 4

Managing Editor

Courtesy of Duke Today Mary Pat McMahon is coming to Duke.

All Ph.D. students to receive full year stipend

Women’s tennis wins 10th straight

‘Don’t forget to call your parents’

After about a year of student demands, every Ph.D. student will get paid year-round starting in 2022. PAGE 2

The 4th-ranked Blue Devils defeats Boston College in their last game before the ACC tournament. PAGE 6

Columnist Emily Liu reminds busy students to not forget about keeping up with family. PAGE 11

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |