August 22, 2017 by Duke Chronicle

Major addition

N.C. small towns under threat

Marvin Bagley’s commitment gives Duke topranked recruiting class | Sports Page 9

UNC study shows that North Carolina’s small towns face declining populations | Page 3

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

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2017

DUKECHRONICLE.COM

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 2

Interest in law, medical school rises among undergrads career path for students considering law school admissions. “As prelaw adviser, one of my jobs is to find out if people really want law school or if somebody else wants law school for them,” he said. “I would never go out recruiting people to go to law school, but if people want to go to law school, I would certainly encourage them and work with them. I will point out the advantages of a legal education and a law degree, but I say ‘you have to figure out if that’s right for you.’” The Law School Admissions Council—a non-profit organization of more than 200 law schools, including Duke Law—reported that 56,500 students applied to law schools nationwide in 2016, a drop from 2010, when the number of applicants was 87,900. Medical schools have experienced a gradual upswing of applicants during that same period. The Association for American Medical Colleges reported 52,549 applicants to medical schools in 2016 compared to 42,268 in 2010. At Duke, Andrea Lanahan, director of admissions at the School of Medicine, noted that the upward “trend is real” and credited it in part to the outreach efforts. “We already have too many applicants in my opinion,” she said. “However, we still feel it’s good and it’s important because Duke is being noticed as a potential school that all people think that they could attend, and that’s what we want.” Despite the increase in law school applicants in the past year at Duke, Wilson said he does not anticipate the

Kenrick Cai The Chronicle Duke undergraduates showed an increased interest in applying to law school and medical school from previous years. Despite the recent rise in law school applicants, Gerald Wilson—senior associate dean and the University’s prelaw advisor—said that last year, only about 14 percent of Duke undergraduates were applying to law school as opposed to 20 percent four years prior. The number of students interested in medical school, however, has been more stable. Donna Kostyu, associate dean and prehealth advisor, noted that the number of Duke undergraduates applying to medical school has not decreased. “There used to be the idea that if you don’t know what you want to do, go to law school and you can always get a job,” he said. 2017 saw the rise of law school applicants for the first time in recent years—133 students applied to law school in 2016 compared to 146 applicants in 2017. Wilson said he believed that the trend had “bottomed out” in 2016 and that there would likely be an increase in the number of applicants in future years. The law school trend isn’t particular to Duke but is rather a reflection of the national trend, Wilson said. He noted that the University has not made any efforts to deliberately promote law as a

Jeremy Chen | The Chronicle

number of students applying to law school to reach what it was seven or eight years ago, pointing to three “inhibiting factors” that he believed would prevent a full recovery in applications—technology, students “drifting” into law school and the debt load. In the past, people required lawyers to perform certain entry level duties, such as drafting wills, but can now go online to fulfill their requirements. Wilson said that due to the decreased workload, law firms require fewer lawyers to operate. Additionally, Wilson, who has advised prelaw students for years, noted that fewer students are “drifting” into the profession, in part as a reflection of the

smaller job market. “One of the things I dealt with over the years was not people wanting to go to law school, but people drifting into law school. They couldn’t think of what else to do,” Wilson said. “They’re not doing that anymore.” The issue of the debt load stems out of the first two factors, Wilson said, noting that students are increasingly unwilling to “pile on another debt load for law school” on top of their undergraduate debt load. Despite the declining job market, Wilson said there is a “countervailing force” that allows the number of See SCHOOL on Page 7

Construction update: Where everything stands or doesn’t Nathan Luzum The Chronicle While many Duke students have been off campus during the summer, the incessant hum of on-campus construction hasn’t taken a break. With multiple construction projects slated for completion in the next two years, workers have been taking advantage of the reduced traffic on campus during the summer to make progress on the buildings. All of the projects currently remain on schedule.

Chronicle File Photo The new residence hall on East Campus will be completed in January 2018.

Trinity House The “superdorm” of East Campus is the nearest to completion of Duke’s three current dorm projects. Joe Gonzalez, interim assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life, noted that work over the

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summer has focused on both the exterior and interior of the building. On the outside, workers have been putting the iconic red bricks of East Campus into the skeleton of the building. Interior work has included the installation of drywall and flooring. “Most of the major construction for that project has been completed, and now we’re on to the final phase of that project,” Gonzalez said. After the remaining work—most of which is interior construction—is finished in January 2018, the dorm will then open to house students returning to campus from abroad or elsewhere for the Spring 2018 semester. The Hollows The new dorm complex coming to West Campus, named The Hollows, is part of the University’s plan to phase out Central Campus residences.

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Gonzalez explained that most of the work done this summer on The Hollows was laying the ground for construction of the actual buildings. “A lot of progress has been made, but it’s basically been infrastructure, utility setup—so a lot of digging—and work of that nature,” he explained. Towerview Street was closed for most of the summer due to the utility work being done for The Hollows. Gonzalez said he expected that preparation work would “continue throughout the fall” and that the dorm would be completed around July 2019, with students being able to move in for the Fall 2019 semester. Crowell renovations The renovation of the Crowell Quadrangle—which spurred the University to purchase the 300 Swift

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