October 9, 2009 issue

Page 1

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

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

Gov. backs ‘green’ LED technology

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, ISSUE 34

WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

Yunus to speak at graduation

A packed house awaits...

by Toni Wei

by Will Robinson

THE CHRONICLE

THE CHRONICLE

Cree, a pioneer producer of light-emitting diode products, announced the expansion of the company’s manufacturing capacity and the addition of several hundred jobs within the state at its corporate headquarters in Durham Thursday. Gov. Bev Perdue and Democratic state Sens. Floyd McKissick and Dan Blue were on hand at the event as Cree Chief Executive Officer Chuck Swoboda announced plans to add 275 jobs by the end of the year, as well as another 300 over the next three years. Swoboda said the company has already started to fill the new positions. Perdue spoke at the event, indicating her support for the proliferation of environmentally friendly technology and jobs, adding that the state would “do whatever it takes to build this green economy.” Swoboda, who along with seven other CEOs met with President Barack Obama July 2, said they discussed the importance of innovation and using energy efficiently. Swoboda added that the conventional light bulb is now “only appropriate for a museum,” and the highly regarded fluorescent light bulb is only a temporary solution, given the high levels of toxic mercury each

Microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus will deliver Duke’s 2010 commencement address, President Richard Brodhead announced Thursday. Yunus, a banker and economist, first experimented with the concept of microfinance, also termed microcredit, while serving as an economics professor in his native Bangladesh. Microfinance involves making small loans to the poor to help them break free Muhammad Yunus from a cycle of debt. “Everybody wants some big famous person, and I think we got that, but I think we got more than that,” Brodhead said at an afternoon meeting with 10 student leaders. In 1983, Yunus established the Grameen Bank as a collateral-free banking system based on microcredit. And in 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was presented to Yunus and Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” Grameen America launched its first branch in New York City last year. In August, President Barack Obama awarded Yunus with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s

MICHAEL NACLERIO/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Duke hopes to break an unfortunate streak of 12 straight losses to N.C. State when the two teams, both in desperate need of a win, face off in Raleigh Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

SEE PERDUE ON PAGE 8

SEE GRADUATION ON PAGE 8

Cleaning cuts draw complaints by Julia Simenauer THE CHRONICLE

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then Saturday has become the new day of rest at Duke University. In order to reduce the Residence Life and Housing Services budget, Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life, said administrators decided in early July to reduce the cleaning schedule from six to five days a week. The day removed from the schedule was Saturday. “Saturday was removed from

the schedule because it was always a reduced effort compared to cleaning on Monday through Friday,” Gonzalez said. “Removing Saturday cleaning took away a much smaller component of the cleaning program.” Although Gonzalez said removing Saturday from the schedule has helped to reduce the RLHS budget, he did not have specific numbers. The early retirement of several housekeepers over the summer led SEE CLEANING ON PAGE 9

Duke to partner with Durham on new bus route by Allison Schulhof THE CHRONICLE

Duke is partnering with the city of Durham to implement a new bus line, which would connect Duke to downtown Durham, said Phail Wynn, vice president for Durham and regional affairs. Although still in developmental stages, the Duke-Durham connector is projected to start running in late Spring 2010. The proposed route, which is not yet finalized, includes both circulator and connector transportation functions. The bus would connect Duke to downtown Durham and stop at various locations in the city. The route would run roughly along West and East Main Street and would include stops near the Medical Center, the American Tobacco Campus and North Carolina Central University, Wynn said. “The feeling is we need to keep [the route] as linear as SEE BUS ON PAGE 6

ONTHERECORD

“We’re looking to go out there and win.... Winning cures all evils.” —Women’s soccer player Cody Newman. See story page 10.

New pass/fail policy? Arts and Sciences Council addresses possible changes to pass/fail, PAGE 3

Blue Devils face steep opposition, Page 12


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