October 13, 2009 issue

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, OCTOBER 13, 2009

www.dukechronicle.com

Hospital bans visitors under 18

Children’s high risk to H1N1 virus prompts policy change, debate

by Jingwen Hu The chronicle

Innai, Zakiya and Ruhai Pettiway’s father was stabbed in the back and chest Saturday, but his children could not visit him because they were under the age of 18.

The Duke University Health System recently changed its visitor policy so that only immediate adult family members and designated caregivers are allowed to see patients. The restriction, which raises the minimum age of visitors from 13 to 18, aims to limit the spread of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

Like the seasonal influenza virus, swine flu is spread from close contact with infected individuals when they cough or sneeze. A person can also be infected if he touches something that has the virus and then touches his nose or mouth. An infected person may spread the virus from one day before symptoms appear to a week afterward.

Tammy Outlaw, the Pettiways’ mother, said she understands the policy aims to protect patients and visitors from swine flu, but she also believes See hospital on page 4 photo illustration by michael naclerio and libby busdicker/The Chronicle

Panhel pulls out of Derby Days

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 36

Williams campaigns on campus

Mayor Bell’s rival criticizes his handling of lax case

by Julius Jones The chronicle

Durham mayoral candidate Steven Williams held an informal town hall meeting with approximately 20 students Monday night.

Williams, who is a registered Republican, was invited to campus by the Duke College Republicans. During his remarks, Williams was often critical of incumbent Mayor Bill Bell, who he will face in the Nov. 3 general election. One of his sharpest critiques of Bell came when Williams was asked about the mayor’s handling of the Duke lacrosse case. Williams said Bell failed to keep the city united as false rape allegations were leveled against three members of the men’s team in March 2006.

“When you are in a position where you’re an introvert, and you are in a position where you are supposed to lead people, it’s not going to work,” Williams said. “[Bell] could have handled the situation much better. The issues in court, they can handle themselves, but in terms of the institutions, his job was to bring everyone together, and he didn’t do that.”

Williams’s criticism of Bell resonated with many in the room who felt the mayor See williams on page 6

Unanimous decision comes after years of controversy for the fundraising event

by Joanna Lichter The chronicle

lawson kurtz/chronicle file photo

The Panhellenic Association voted to withdraw from Sigma Chi’s annual Derby Days event after complaints from sorority members.

Duke’s Derby Days may soon be numbered.

In a decision that was “months, if not years, in the making,” presidents of all nine on-campus sororities voted last month to withdraw from the event, as stated in a letter written by the Panhellenic Association to Sigma Chi fraternity.

Derby Days is Sigma Chi’s week-long annual event to raise money for various national charities that in previous years culminated in the Lip Sync contest—a competition among sororities to win over the hearts of the judging “Derby Daddies” through suggestive dance steps and lip motions on the elevated plaza stage.

“We cannot in good faith ask our women to participate in an event that, in our opinion, mars the reputation of the Greek community and detracts from the positive experience we work hard to cultivate for our members,” the sorority presidents wrote.

In response to past complaints from sororities, the fraternity has restructured the event, said senior Andrew Bevan, Sigma Chi president. In 2007, the fraternity moved Lip Sync from Shooters II to the West Campus Plaza to provide a more controlled environment for the event, he said. Although the absence of the

Big Blog on campus Officials aim to curb dropout rate, Page 3

Check out our new unified blog, BIGBLOG.DUKECHRONICLE.COM

See derby days on page 4

ian soileau/The Chronicle

Durham mayoral candidate Steven Williams speaks at a campaign event Monday night. Williams criticized Mayor Bill Bell on his approach to the lacrosse case.

ONTHERECORD

“...We’ve got to have the players create a product on the field that gets people in the stands....”

­—Head coach David Cutcliffe on attracting students to games. See story page 7.

2 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

worldandnation

TODAY:

7850

State-run utility disbanded

Mayo Clinic limits patients Undergrads bring Solar WASHINGTON — The renowned Mayo Decathlon to National Mall

Clinic is no longer accepting some Medicare and Medicaid patients, raising new questions about whether it is too selective to serve as a model for health care reform.

The White House has repeatedly held up for praise the clinic and other medical centers, many of which are in the Upper Midwest, that perform well in Dartmouth College rankings showing wide disparities in how much hospitals spend on Medicare patients.

The model centers have capitalized on their status to insert into health care legislation provisions that would result in higher Medicare payments for hospitals that do well on the Dartmouth rankings while punishing those elsewhere— mostly, big cities and the South—that spend the most per Medicare patient.

“

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

— J. W. Eagan

”

WASHINGTON — The small village on the National Mall looks like something out of a science fiction story. Dozens of solar panels project from the rooftops of unusually shaped buildings, most of which have at least one face dominated by large, glass windows or some kind of metal.

The structures are not displays in an Isaac Asimov convention; instead, they are temporary homes competing in the Solar Decathlon, an intercollegiate contest designed to spur students to pursue careers in science and engineering, encourage the development of green technologies and raise public awareness of energy efficiency.

Hundreds of undergraduates worked as long as two years to plan, design and build the solar-powered houses.

TODAY IN HISTORY 1884: Greenwich established as universal time meridian of longitude

MEXICO CITY — Angry electrical workers asked Mexico’s Congress Monday to help them reverse the government’s decision to disband the state-run utility that supplies electricity to Mexico City and several neighboring states.

The union, representing 66,000 current and retired workers, also threatened legal action to save jobs terminated Sunday when President Felipe Calderon ordered the dissolution of the utility, Luz y Fuerza del Centro.

Calderon said the utility was inefficient and too costly to operate during lean times. He placed it under the control of another government agency.

The move came amid a dispute between the Mexican Electrical Workers Union, which represents Luz y Fuerza employees, and the Calderon administration over the outcome of the labor group’s elections. The administration refused to recognize the re-election in July of union secretary-general Martin Esparza, citing voting irregularities.

WEDNESDAY:

5148

Online Excerpt “On walking back to Jamie’s place I got in an insane text war/conversation. I remember finding myself sitting next to some glass doors of a huge office type building firing off crazy drunk texts that no one else in the world ever fires off.”

— From Freddy Ruppert Visits Whiskey, Does Durham.

Read more at bigblog.dukechronicle.com

Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times

Nelson Carey and his colleagues have built a Teletubbies doll stuffed with C-4 military explosives and an Entenmann’s cake covered with an explosive compound that looks like white frosting. Along with other scientists in the Transportation Security Laboratory in New Jersey, he works to create weapons that terrorists may come up with and build defenses to detect these threats.

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the chronicle

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 | 3

Program aims to curb local dropout rate Merson joins

global health commission

by Allison Schulhof The chronicle

This summer, Duke hopes to attack youth violence and delinquent behavior— before it has a chance to begin.

The University’s Office of Durham and Regional Affairs released “Attacking the Dropout Rate in Durham Public Schools: Considerations in Program and Research Designs,” an analysis addressing the dropout rate within DPS, said Phail Wynn, vice president for Durham and regional affairs.

This analysis, released Aug. 28, outlines three ways Duke could implement a summer enrichment program within DPS to curb the number of disconnected youths in Durham. The University has been trying to determine its role in addressing the systemic issues involved with local gang and youth violence, Wynn said. The program would encourage academic reengagement among at-risk students and their families.

“I think [starting an enrichment program] is the best plan available to help reduce the number of students not successfully completing high school and becoming disconnected,” Wynn said. “Disconnection does lead to socially deviant behaviors. It is not just a matter of helping the students regain their confidence and catch up academically, but also it is a way to find ways to get their parents involved and engaged.”

The Duke analysis is based on a study

by Robert Balfanz, a research scientist at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University. Balfanz concluded that students in high poverty school districts who get off-track between middle school and high school have

Group advises gov’t on allocating $63B in aid

by Sony Rao

The chronicle

addison corriher/The Chronicle

Officials hope to lower Durham Public Schools dropout rate with a new summer enrichment program. The program will target specific students such as those with low attendance and unsatisfactory behavior. a graduation rate of 20 percent or lower.

Balfanz identified four indicators that can predict which students are likely to drop out—attendance below 80 percent, unsatisfactory behavior and failure in math and English courses. According to the study, about 40 percent of eventual drop outs could be identified by the sixth grade.

“If there are ways in which we can use existing data to identify students at the end of sixth grade who are most likely to drop out or become disconnected, then logically the most effective and efficient utilization of resources would be to target resources and intervention strategies at those students that we have identified,” Wynn said.

Wynn will meet with DPS Superintendent Carl Harris and School Board Chair Minnie Forte-Brown this week to request access to data to start identifying students

exhibiting the indicators.

Wynn will also propose a pilot project for summer 2010, in which Duke would design an enrichment program to provide academic remediation and life skills training to at-risk youths. Wynn said he hopes to include a follow-up component, that will allow student volunteers to serve as mentors and tutors to continue the progress made during the summer.

He added, however, that these are only possible plans and nothing will be finalized until he has DPS support and access to student data.

Junior Will Passo, Duke Student Government vice president for Durham and regional affairs, said he hopes students will use this opportunity as another way to get engaged in the Durham community.

See dropout rate on page 4

Dr. Michael Merson has been a man on the move in the past few years. After serving as dean of public health at Yale University for a decade, he became the founding director of the Duke Global Health Institute in 2006.

Now, Merson has yet another notch to add to his belt. He was tapped to join the Commission on Smart Global Health Policy in April and is now working with the highlevel bipartisan group to advise the government on global health policy.

The commission was launched by the See merson on page 6

CORRECTION An Oct. 12 story “Referrals rise for alcohol, plagiarism” gave an incorrect portrayal of student conduct statistics involving Greek students. The number of Greek student referrals rose from 108 to 116, but these cases were not necessarily Greek-related and did not involve the Greek Student Conduct Board. The Chronicle regrets the error.

4 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

that kids with parents in the Intensive Care Unit or the Step Down Unit should be allowed to visit “so kids can sleep at night knowing their parents are okay.”

The Step Down Unit admits patients who are ill enough to be moved off of the general medical and surgical floor but not so ill as to be admitted into the ICU. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an attending physician in the division of infectious diseases at the School of Medicine, said he sympathizes with Outlaw’s frustration. Even though there have been no official complaints about the policy as of Monday afternoon, Wolfe said he believes that in cases where the patient is in critical condition, children of that patient may be allowed to visit.

Wolfe added that the staff in each hospital

unit has the autonomy to allow flexibility in the visitor policy for special cases.

Wolfe said the hospital would consider removing the policy “if we clearly see the number of cases dropping off,” but noted that, as of now, it is impossible to give an estimate of when that might occur.

He noted that the hospital admits about 15 to 20 cases of swine flu a day, some of which are referrals from other regional hospitals. In addition, Duke’s clinics and Emergency Department treat other infected patients who are not ill enough to be admitted. Wolfe noted that young children and pregnant women are especially susceptible to swine flu, though it is unclear why the former group is at risk.

One reason may be that they are less likely to have run into similar viruses before, Wolfe said.

On the other hand, those older than 65,

who used to be identified as high risk, are at lower risk of contracting swine flu. This may be because older people were exposed to a similar flu virus in the 1970s and therefore have more immunity, Wolfe said.

But for the most part, swine flu is “not dissimilar to any regular flu,” he said, noting that most people recover without medical care.

Robin Gaines, a health unit coordinator for the Step Down Unit, said she has had to deal with a lot of anger stemming from the policy.

The Pettiway children, who had been sitting in the waiting room for an hour, said they were mad they could not see their father. Their mother is the only family member who has been allowed to visit him.

Conspicuous stop signs are posted on the outdoor hospital walkway, the lobby, the elevator and the entrance of each floor. Visitors

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below the age limit are restricted to the lobby and not supposed to come up to the floors, but “they’re doing it anyway,” Gaines said.

Although most visitors understand the policy, others ignore it, Gaines said.

“Even though they’ve seen the reports on TV… they still feel like it’s okay [for their kids to visit] if the sick person is a mother or a grandparent,” she said.

Bert Collins said his brother, who has diabetes, has come to Duke Hospital three times in the past in hopes of getting a transplant and finally underwent surgery Thursday to replace his liver, pancreas and kidney.

But Collins said his 11 and 12-year-old nephews have not seen their father since.

He said his brother’s family understands the reason behind the policy, but “it’s been hard on the kids… they talk to him on the phone.”

dropout rate from page 3

Questions? Call 660-5386

hospital from page 1

“A lot of the time Duke students don’t realize there is a Durham beyond Duke,” he said. “There is a greater community out there and there are still some problems that we face.”

Leslie Baylor-Newpher, a sixth and seventh grade guidance counselor at Brogden Middle School in Durham, said it is a good idea to use Balfanz’s four indicators to identify students in need of targeted intervention. She added, however, that the success of an enrichment program would depend on other, more practical elements.

“It really depends on if it is free or not, because that would be a major inhibitor, and if transportation was available,” she said. “Those two things would make or break a summer enrichment program.”

derby days from page 1 Shooters II ambiance induced some positive changes, Panhel leaders felt such steps were inadequate.

“We acknowledge that efforts were made after last spring to improve the event, but we feel that they have not been substantial enough to merit our participation,” the letter continued.

Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said that although she trusts Sigma Chi’s charitable intentions, she believes Panhel acted appropriately in leaving the event.

“Over the years, I have heard a number of sorority women express some dismay in participating in some aspects of Derby Days, particularly Lip Sync,” she said. “I really can’t say how widespread that sentiment has been, but having heard of it and heard about it, my sense was that there were a number of women who felt that way.”

But not all members of the Greek community agree.

Last fall, junior Heather Wiese, member of Alpha Phi sorority, participated in Lip Sync. She said the event promoted a competitive environment and acted as a fun bonding experience for her pledge class. Although Alpha Phi’s costumes were initially relatively modest— shorts over black leggings with colored tank tops—rain turned the girls’ shirts partially transparent, making the outfits more inappropriate than intended, she said.

This year, Sigma Chi is looking to introduce more changes to Derby Days, which has been postponed indefinitely. In addition to increased fund-raising for the Duke Children’s Hospital, the fraternity is aiming to address prior concerns by completely reforming the event, said Bevan.

“There has been some miscommunication and misunderstanding between us and the sororities in the past, and a good deal of that responsibility lies with us,” he said. “We are reevaluating the event and are using all the feedback we have gotten.”

In the meantime, Duke students will have to wait and see how Derby Days plays out in the future. Bevans noted, however, that ideally the fraternity hopes to continue Lip Sync.

Still, Wasiolek said she expects to see changes from past years.

“My understanding is that the sororities’ participation in Derby Days, whether at Duke or any other institution, is a fairly critical component,” Wasiolek said.

“I’ll be interested to see how Sigma Chi responds to the sororities not being involved.”

the chronicle

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 | 5

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6 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

williams from page 1

merson from page 3

has not always reached out to the Duke community.

“The fact that [Williams] is here so early in the campaign, whereas Bill Bell has not even responded to the same invitation we gave to Steven Williams shows that he is at least interested in getting students involved,” said junior Justin Robinette, chair of the Duke College Republicans. “The first step to getting us to volunteer out in the community is to come and ask us.”

Williams also criticized Bell for what he said was the mayor’s failure to substantially reduce crime during his eight-year tenure. Williams said his plan to reduce crime would be two-fold—increasing pay for police officers to ensure Durham was able to recruit the best candidates for the job and increasing funding for community centers that would keep high-risk youth out of trouble.

“You’ve got to get to the root of the problem,” he said. “We’ve taken the money away from the community centers and then put them on shoe-string budgets. We fuel the crimes and the gangs in the community when we throw them out onto the streets.”

He noted that keeping Durham safe would also encourage more student involvement in the community.

Instead of providing economic incentives, Williams said the city must attract students to put their energy and resources into community service.

Students who attended the event said Williams seemed to be both knowledgeable and honest, although they could not gauge his chances of victory come Nov. 3.

“It’s interesting that he is a Republican, but I don’t think he and his campaign manager are going to be overtly advertising the fact that he is a Republican,” said sophomore Charlie Sullivan. “I think it works to his advantage that it is a nonpartisan election.”

When questioned by a student as to how he would pay for some of his new projects and what items he would cut from the budget, Williams declined to give specifics.

D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank, with the purpose of bringing together experts from both the government and the private sector to discuss global health issues for the upcoming year. It consists of 26 members, including former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Exxon Mobil President and Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson and Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, as well as several members of Congress.

The major goal of the commission is to determine the best use for the $63 billion that the Obama administration has allocated to combat global diseases, Merson said. Members are currently working on a report that must be presented to the State Department by the end of the year, which will focus on how the aid will be distributed.

“We are looking for a wider health agenda that tries to strengthen global health systems,” Merson said.

The commission will also be evaluating the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program that was created by former President George W. Bush in 2003 and reauthorized in 2008 with the purpose of treating and preventing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in 15 high-risk countries, Merson said.

“We want to build on the great work that has been done on HIV/AIDS and malaria over the last two administrations and develop an approach that is more comprehensive with measurable impacts,” said Helena Gayle, co-chair of the commission and chief executive officer of CARE USA. The commission will also address the question of including other initiatives—such as maternal health programs and long-term methods to prevent flu pandemics—in U.S. global health efforts, Gayle said. She noted, however, that the commission realizes that there will be problems with funding these programs as a result of the current economic environment.

“However, improving global health is in all of our best interests in a much more globalized world, and we will all benefit from having more equity in health status throughout the world,” Gayle said.

In August, the commission traveled to Kenya to look at how U.S. funds were aiding the treatment of HIV/AIDS, Merson said.

The group visited Nyanza Province, where much of the population lives on less than $1 a day, to determine what actions must be taken to improve the region’s health clinics.

“We are striving to highlight the most pressing global health issues that the administration will face, along with what we see as the most effective ways of addressing these issues and tackling some of the world’s most persistent health crises,” said Debora Spar, a member of the commission and president of Barnard College.

Locally, the commission is holding public consultations around the country to get people involved in global health issues. Members recently held a health session in Research Triangle Park Sept. 21 where they discussed the importance of sustaining global health to increase the productivity of the economy and lessen the threat of the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu.

Spar added that the commission will be facing many challenges in determining the top priorities to place on the agenda for global health care.

“We also face the reality that the U.S. government is just one player—albeit a major player—in this realm, and thus any real solutions will demand cooperation and joint effort across a wide and varied range of actors,” she said.

Merson, for his part, said his experience on the commission has been valuable.

“Being a member of the commission has been very interesting,” he said. “ I have had the opportunity to participate in a high level panel with people who have a significant amount of experience working with government.”

ian soileau/The Chronicle

Durham mayoral candidate Steven Williams answers questions from students during a campaign event on campus Monday night.

“To know what I would cut I would have to be in the position to make the cuts, to know where the fluff is,” Williams said. “But what we do know is that there is a lot of fluff.”

Another student asked Williams his thoughts on the tensions between students and residents in the Trinity Heights neighborhood off East Campus. Williams said that if he were a member of city council, he would oppose noise ordinances targeted at students who party off campus.

Williams added when pressed that ultimately, people who decide to make their home near a college campus should expect some noise when students partied.

“It’s almost like living on a golf course. Sooner or later, when you’re living down by the 16th hole, your house is going to be hit by a ball,” he said.

Sports

>>MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Chronicle

The egg and the chicken

In his wood-paneled office, David Cutcliffe has a collection of keepsakes that’s begging to grow. There’s the enlarged photo of the fervent student section that watched Duke open Cutcliffe’s tenure with a 31-7 win over James Madison last year, and there are game balls from that victory and his first conference win, a 31-3 shellacking of Virginia last September. There’s a scrapbook of press clippings from the early months of his tenure, and there’s a laminated copy of the speech he gave his players before the final game Ben of his first season—a cross between benediction, poem and pep talk.

The mementos aren’t completely representative of his time at Duke, though. There was nothing particularly inspirational about the 13 games between the Blue Devils’ last two ACC wins, and for Cutcliffe, space on his shelves is precious. The decorations aren’t there for aesthetic purposes, even if league victories look as pretty in pictures as they do on the scoreboard. They’re there because Cutcliffe wants them there for inspiration, and that’s why a ball from Duke’s win Saturday over N.C. State will soon nestle its way into a certain corner office on the fourth floor of the Yoh Football Center.

Football isn’t democratic, and not all wins are created equal. Some are better than others.

Saturday’s was the best in the last two years.

“I don’t know what a ‘signature’ win is. I think they’re all pretty neat myself,” Cutcliffe said Sunday. “On occasion, on a tough day, it’s important to remember past successes. I think it energizes you. A lot of people have themes in their office, and I like to think of success—that’s kind of my theme.”

ONLINE

TUESDAY

October 13, 2009

Duke announces details of Saturday’s open practice and Parents’ Weekend Oct. 24 Listen to a podcast analyzing Duke Football’s first win over N.C. State in 12 tries

www.dukechroniclesports.com

Men’s Soccer

Revenge, recovery on Blue Devil minds in nonconference tilt

Cohen

See cohen on page 8

Chase Olivieri/The Chronicle

Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis’s big day against N.C. State added a new game ball to David Cutcliffe’s office.

dianna liu/The Chronicle

Junior Christian Ibeagha was an integral member of last year’s Duke team that was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament by UNC-Greensboro.

by Chris Cusack The chronicle

Last year, Duke’s season ended abruptly in the first round of the NCAA tournament, as the Blue Devils were upset by UNC-Greensboro 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium. Tonight at 7 p.m. in Koskinen, the No. 9 Blue Devils look for vengeance against the Spartans.

Both teams are reeling afUNCG ter suffering vs. tough defeats No. 9 last week. Duke Duke (7-4) fell to Davidson and N.C. TUESDAY, 7 p.m.

State, while Koskinen Stadium UNC-Greensboro (3-6-3) is looking to shake off losses to Wake Forest and College of Charleston. Despite his team’s recent struggles, however, junior defender Christian Ibeagha believes in his team’s new game plan.

“It’s a brand new mentality, brand new approach to the game,” Ibeagha said. “If we come with that brand new approach, we should come away with a win on Tuesday.”

The Spartans are led by forward Thomas Campbell, who paces the team with seven points. He will be flanked on the attack by Matt Foxx and E.J. O’Keefe, who have accounted for two goals each.

The game’s key matchup, however, figures to be between Duke’s attack and the Spartan defense. UNCGreensboro has given up a whopping 20 goals on the year, including seven in its last three games, while the Blue Devils were only able to find the back of the net once last week.

In fact, Duke’s success thus far has been defined by the consistency of its defense. And while the offense has shown flashes of brilliance—highlighted by a win over defending national champion Maryland two weeks ago—it has struggled to sustain the effort. Tonight’s game presents a chance for the Blue Devils to find chemistry between their midfielders and their forwards before they head back into ACC play.

“We have an opportunity to get back to winning ways,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “This is a chance to get back to the same kind of level we played against Maryland.”

The Spartans’ shaky defense presents a chance for the Blue Devils to experiment with different game plans for the rest of

this season. With a crucial regular-season matchup against No. 6 Wake Forest coming up and postseason play fast approaching, Duke must find its rhythm quickly.

Last year’s loss will serve the Blue Devils well tonight, as they know not to underestimate the Spartans’ ability.

While UNC-Greensboro has not yet begun to match its performance from last season, the Blue Devils know firsthand how dangerous the Spartans are. Duke returns 17 players from last year’s team, and Ibeagha asserts that the squad is much improved.

“We’ve come a long way from last season.” Ibeagha said. “We watched tape of the way our team played last year and this year, and it’s night and day.”

dianna liu/The Chronicle

Senior Matthew Thomas and the Duke defense hope to keep UNC-Greensboro off the scoreboard Tuesday.

8 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

making the grade

Football

EXAM NO. 6: The N.C. State Wolfpack

OFFENSE Rush:

Overall Grade:

The Blue Devils’ rushing game was anemic, as the team totaled only 43 yards on 35 carries for a disappointing 1.2 yard average. Senior Thaddeus Lewis scored Duke’s lone rushing touchdown late in the first quarter, which was just one of his six touchdowns on the day. Though the running game was virtually nonexistent for the Blue Devils, Lewis’s stellar play and a potent aerial attack more than made up for the inability to run the ball against N.C. State.

Pass:

Lewis had his best day in a Blue Devil uniform and one of the most remarkable games in school history. The senior quarterback completed a school record 40 passes and tallied personal bests of 459 yards and five touchdowns. He also broke Duke’s school record for career touchdown passes. Sophomore Donovan Varner caught seven passes for a career-best 154 yards and freshman Conner Vernon had 86 yards on 10 catches, the most of his young career.

X’s & O’s:

Duke snapped a 20-game ACC losing streak Saturday by beating N.C. State and its 49 points were the Blue Devils’ highest output in an ACC game since 1994. The Blue Devils scored touchdowns on their first three drives and posted 502 yards of offense, the first time this season that the team eclipsed the 500-yard barrier.

DEFENSE Rush: Pass: X’s & O’s:

A

Overall Grade:

B+

Although the Blue Devils by no means shut down N.C. State’s strong rushing attack, the Wolfpack has averaged 136 yards on the ground per game this year—roughly their output Saturday. The defense allowed the Wolfpack to rush for 142 yards on 23 carries for an impressive 6.2 yards per carry average. N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Toney Baker each rushed for touchdowns, but they were stopped on the ground in key fourth-quarter situations.

The Blue Devils played well against the Wolfpack’s passing game, allowing Wilson to throw for only 172 yards on 15-of-27 passing and one touchdown. Duke’s defense pressured Wilson for the last 35 minutes of the game, sacking him four times.

The defensive backfield made some big plays down the stretch with Leon Wright and Lee Butler each grabbing interceptions on the Wolfpack’s final two possessions to surpress any sort of comeback effort.

Duke did not allow N.C. State to score in the fourth quarter and the defense forced four turnovers, including two on special teams. Defensive back Butler was a standout in the secondary, managing a tackle for a loss, sack, pass deflection and the game-sealing interception with just seconds remaining.

Highest marks: QB Thaddeus Lewis

Hit the books: Duke’s Rush Offense

Head coach David Cutcliffe said it best after Lewis’ record-breaking performance Saturday: “I will probably upset a couple of my former quarterbacks, but I believe that is the finest game that I have had a quarterback have in college.”

After two solid rushing efforts against N.C. Central and Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils could not develop any sort of rhythm on the ground against N.C. State, even though Lewis and his receivers made up for the deficiency.

— by Harrison Comfort

cohen from page 7 It’s never been much of a Duke Football theme—not in the last 20 years, at least— and precedent is pesky at a place where football simply isn’t an aspect of campus culture.

At Duke, football coaches are responsible for more than drawing X’s and O’s during the week and executing them on Saturdays.

They have to make sure people are there to watch, hardly a concern at hotbeds like Tennessee, Notre Dame and Ole Miss, Cutcliffe’s last three stops. When Cutcliffe taught a coaching strategy class at Ole Miss, he moved the starting time to the wee hours of the morning and promised the packed room he would fail students if they weren’t on time. Nobody ever came late again.

Here, students get to class early and stay late. They get to Wallace Wade

Stadium late and leave early, if they even bother coming at all.

Usually, it’d be hard to fault anyone who opted for a post-Tailgate nap. The Blue Devils were a bad football team—the worst, sometimes—and what’s more, they were a boring football team. They’re not anymore, and incompetence is no longer an excuse for apathy.

“We’ve got to put a product on the field that they enjoy watching play,” Cutcliffe told me a few weeks into his job, when his office was not his own, but simply a stale shadow of Ted Roof’s abode. “What comes first, the egg or the chicken? We’ve got to have people in the stands to create a little atmosphere for the players; we’ve got to have the players create a product on the field that gets people in the stands. This is their school. I want this to be the students’ football team, and I think

they’ll enjoy the heck out of it.”

Eighteen games later, the Blue Devils are 7-11. Not good, but not bad. Certainly not the worst. Tennessee is 8-10 in the same time frame, and for comparison’s sake, Roof started 4-14 and Carl Franks 3-15. That is, the product on the field isn’t what it used to be, and if Saturday’s 49-28 win over N.C. State isn’t worthy of kickstarting the rest of the season, then I’m Thaddeus Lewis. (I’m not!)

Entering an open date and heading into matchups with three of the ACC’s most middling teams, the Blue Devils couldn’t have picked a better opportunity to finally put together the type of performance most expected out of them in their season opener.

One game isn’t definitive—remember Richmond, anyone?—but it is indicative. Duke is better than it was at this time last year, and

Duke is better than it was six weeks ago.

When Cutcliffe walked into the visitor’s media room on the field level of CarterFinley Stadium Saturday, clutching a can of Diet Coke and sporting a cautious smile, he mentioned that the win warranted special recognition. It merited a game ball in his office, the space that looks nothing like it did the first time I saw the room nearly four years ago, when it belonged to Roof.

About 18 months later, there I was again, staring through the head coach’s window into the stadium. Somehow, everything looked different. The office was bigger and the desk had been moved and, of course, the guy sitting behind it finally exuded the confidence that comes with winning.

After Saturday, lots of other parts of Duke Football look different, as well. The next time I look, maybe the student section will, too.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 | 9

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The Independent Daily at Duke University

The Chronicle

10 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle commentaries

When sharing isn’t caring The emergence of Web troubling practice. sites such as CourseHero.

The sharing of notes and com, a user-generated da- tests is not evenly spread tabase of notes and study across departments, but it materials for college courses does affect all of them. Analyznationwide, is ing an already a problem that graded essay editorial our University complete with and the larger higher edu- a professor’s markings can cation community needs to be just as helpful in getting a address sooner rather than good grade as knowing the solater. lution to a math problem that Though test banks shared is on the final every year. among friends or members More importantly, shared of Greek organization have course materials also raise been a reality at colleges for questions concerning intelquite some time, the new lectual honesty and copymodel created by sites such right law. as Course Hero—in which Access to old tests and users pay a monthly fee or quizzes gives certain students contribute their own class an unfair advantage, and material in order to view a in a vast majority of cases, huge collection of course is used to circumvent hard documents—magnifies what work and serious engageis already a widespread and ment with course material.

“

onlinecomment

Drunk or not, everyone at Tailgate is probably not going to the game.

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C

This goes against the spirit of academic integrity that should be the cornerstone of higher education.

Furthermore, in the realm of academics, and in research especially, divulging syllabi, lecture notes or tests to the general public can be damaging to the intellectual property and copyright privileges of the instructors.

And in a climate of dwindling research funding, sites like Course Hero should raise even more eyebrows if they can make money off of course materials produced by professors.

In the short term, simple steps such as adding copyright markings to course materials or requesting Web sites that host protected files to remove the content

might be good avenues for professors and universities to stop collusion and protect copyright.

But it is not realistic to expect professors to take the initiative to register for online sharing sites and regulate their content. Given the ease with which students can share information in the digital age, universities must begin to formulate long-term solutions to address the very real and persistent problem of shared course material.

Designing courses and curricula that change from year to year, when possible, is one option. This not only keeps classes fresh and interesting for students but renders materials from earlier years much less valuable to online black markets.

In classes that cover the same slate of information each semester—like pre-med and economics introductory courses—departments could maintain sample test question banks that would give all students equal access to preparatory material and simultaneously allow professors to proactively control the use of their copyrighted material.

At Duke, one would hope that the sharing of course material among friends or through Web sites like Course Hero is the exception and not the rule. In reality, however, students do use these types of tools.

Our University should take the lead in addressing this issue to protect the intellectual community it works so hard to foster.

Columbusgate

hristopher Columbus was not an American, but he might as well have been.

His story reads like that of a 19th century Gilded Age business aficionado. Guy manages to procure massive funding for a project for which he is, ben brostoff at best, tenuously qualified. Guy then bro’s stuff spends majority of money wastefully and engenders the resentment of an entire group of people. Finally, guy somehow returns home a success with an impressive legacy for something he did not do (Columbus’s discovery of America is the 1492 equivalent to Al Gore’s invention of the Internet). Columbus embodies the American dream in its (im)purest form: For that he is more than deserving of a holiday in his name.

Apparently, the students of Brown University do not share my sentiments about the great should-beAmerican explorer. To our thankless Brown brethren, Columbus is merely a ruthless abuser of Native Americans undeserving of historical recognition.

Last April, students pressured the faculty and administration into ditching Columbus Day weekend completely, replacing it with the creatively named Fall Weekend. While the rest of the country was appreciating a man who played a role of sizable proportions in American and world history, Brown was denouncing him as a heartless imperialist. If you’re not sickened to the point of Aristocrat-induced vomit, you clearly have not been paying attention.

All Fox News-induced sarcasm aside, Brown’s decision still should be condemned because it reeks of hypocrisy. If the school is going to nix Columbus Day, then it is necessarily obligated to strike out Veteran’s Day and President’s Day, seeing as our armed forces and a slew of presidents are just as responsible for Native American suffering as Columbus. In addition, Brown continues to accept Amherst College as a legitimate institution of higher learning, despite the fact that that institution’s namesake, Lord Jeffrey Amherst, led a vicious war against Native Americans via spreading smallpox-infected blankets through their communities. Brown also has no official policy on Washington Redskins jerseys (although I would be surprised if anyone had the heart to wear one at this point). The students who find Columbus so disreputable seem to have no qualms with Andrew Jackson, Manifest Destiny or the National Football League.

Even if we are to recognize the renaming of a national holiday as a commendable form of social

protest, that doesn’t mean such a renaming is at all effective in accomplishing anything. Unlike students of yesteryear who had a discernible impact on something, such as those who demanded divestiture during the Apartheid in South Africa, Brown students are doing nothing except wasting everyone’s time. Instead of leading to a meaningful discourse on a subject of current value, like healthcare, Brown’s anti-Columbus movement has instead led to extended debates on fifteenth-century history. Thank god for higher learning.

It’s easy to accuse our Rhode Island friends of uninformed babbling until we take a look in the mirror. Suffice to say that the “new” Tailgate has sat at the forefront of student concerns since August, with Duke Student Government again doing their best to pour kerosene on a destructive fire. The debate has revolved around such important buzzwords as “student-freedom” and “tradition”, while the reality is we’re arguing about Busch Light in a can versus Busch Light in a solo cup. We are fighting to preserve the modern day equivalent of T.S. Eliot’s wasteland. Brown doesn’t look too shabby after the realization kicks in that Duke’s main student versus administration battle centers around trashing a parking lot.

What Duke and Brown students are fighting for, however, is at some basic level less important than why they’re fighting. The cold reality here is that college is a four-year blink of the eye, and attacking the institution at its margins is more effective than head-on. Columbus Day and Tailgate are winnable (albeit incredibly stupid) issues, and for that reason they dictate collective student consciousness more so than undergraduate research, the development of new majors, graduate-undergraduate interaction or any of the stuff you once read about in The Fiske Guide to Colleges. We only care about the issues that tangibly affect our lives in the here and now.

It’s not as though we approach life any differently outside of college. I’m completely willing to spend several hours tweaking my fantasy lineup for next Sunday, but you couldn’t pay me to sit through a preachy lecture on saving the environment. Why? Because I’m able to witness the enormous payoffs of playing Rashard Mendelhall over Brandon Jacobs in one week, whereas buying solar panels might not pay off for ten years. The small, inconsequential aspects of life are the ones where we have the best chance of winning, precisely because our opponents rarely care enough to offer extreme resistance. It’s a wonder anyone ever does anything ambitious, like searching for the Western route to the Orient.

Ben Brostoff is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Tuesday.

the chronicle

It’s okay to like it

“I

don’t call boys, boys call me.”

That’s what she replied when he told her to hit him up some time. Three years ago, my sister Cate, Trinity ’09, had an epiphany and turned her newfound wisdom into a simple phrase that has changed millions of lives (maybe not millions, but at least two). She refused to be the chaser.

She decided to either be the chased or to anna sadler be nothing at all. Was she just being lazy? i’m not being that No. She was bravely way, but... blazing a treacherous new trail.

Why at Duke (and likely at many comparable institutions of higher learning) do girls have to do all the romantic work? It’s just ridiculous. When it is time to go out, we are expected to find out where our (hopefully) future boy-toy will be. It then becomes our mission to show up there looking sexy as hell and sweep him off his feet with frat-tastic drinking abilities. I’m sorry (not really), but what ever happened to courtship, people? I think it’s amusing that the negative female stereotypes fade away when guys get lazy—women are suddenly trusted with control. But I digress…

Don’t be afraid to assert yourself, ladies. Contrary to popular belief, guys actually do like a girl with an opinion, a little sass and an IQ—at least for the long term. Junk in the trunk doesn’t hurt either, but my mom always told me that confidence is sexy. I recommend thinking back through your escapades and thoroughly analyzing your tactics. This goes for dudes too. Nobody likes desperation. Neither my sister nor I have ever successfully reeled in a man by filling his voicemail inbox. If we can change our ways, you can too (because we’re both absurdly awkward). Disclaimer: The strategy I propose is not the most effective in securing a one night stand, so if you’re just looking for a quick d-floor seduction, by all means call away.

But to back up what I’m telling you, here’s a little more about how my sister’s epic night went down: homegirl (homegirl being my sister) decided to “see and be seen” at Devine’s one weekend night. The small crowd meant that this boy (let’s call him John) felt more at ease hitting on my sister—less people to watch him potentially get denied, I guess. I respect that.

Now, as most of us know, Devine’s has been the site of many a lasting love connection, so it is not shocking that Cate got up the (liquid) courage to sit next to John. She wanted to make it a little easier for him to get his game on. After some deep intellectual discussion, John said, “Let me give you my number.” Say what?! Rewind. This dude had no qualms about making it perfectly clear how opposed to effort he was. So my sister, being the feisty hottie that she is, immediately and without a second thought (or a first inhibition— bazam!) responded, “I don’t call boys, boys call me.”

Now this may sound just too off-the-wall for some of you girls (which it shouldn’t), but just hold up a second. Expectedly, John was taken aback and said, as he chuckled, “Did you really just say that? I can’t believe you just said that.” In relaying this story to me the other night (random side note: I sketchily make my important phone calls in the Bostock stairwell using secret coded words), Cate laughed as she remembered how John seemed shocked and acted like her assertion was a total turn-off. But, surprise, surprise, Mr. Cool called Cate the very next day and they ended up dating for a few months shortly thereafter. You have to agree, that totally gives my point some serious credibility.

You see people, you can get what (or who) you want and still keep the upper hand. Be talked about in a good way. The silly boys around here might pretend like they don’t like it, but obviously, having to dial your number (heaven forbid!) won’t deter them if they really want your body (and mind, of course).

Anna Sadler is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Tuesday.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 | 11

commentaries

letterstotheeditor Campus Council’s rationale for smoking restrictions Two weeks ago, Campus Council addressed the lack of smoking restrictions on the East and West campuses.

This conversation, while triggered by a recent incident where a student in Edens Quadrangle suffered a very serious asthmatic reaction to secondhand smoke, has much larger implications for the Duke community.

The new guidelines that Campus Council advocates were developed with an eye towards both current policies at peer institutions and medical data provided by Healthy Devils.

Campus Council advocates limiting smoking to certain designated areas for the following reasons: a. A student’s residential experience extends beyond the confines of his or her dorm room. Subjecting any student, but especially those with life threatening medical conditions, to any level of secondhand smoke is an unacceptable compromise. b. Implementing such a policy is in line with broader trends at Duke, throughout the State of North Carolina, and on university campuses across the country: c. The entire Duke Medical Center campus became tobacco free in July 2007. d. As of January 2, 2010 smoking will be banned in most public places in North Carolina e. Nineteen states have enacted comprehensive smoke-free legislation prohibiting smoking in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars. f. Even a 25-foot policy allows for the potential for smoke to enter into both individual window AC units and centralized AC intake locations.

Campus Council is pushing for the implementation of this policy not with the intent of ostracizing smokers, but rather to limit the effect that secondhand smoke has on others. It should be noted that it is neither within Campus Council’s purview, nor is it in any way the aim of the council to dictate students’ choices when it comes to smoking.

Stephen Temple President, Campus Council Trinity ’11

I

Joe College Day’s alcohol policy dampened the mood Although Joe College Day this past Saturday was an overall success, I was shocked and disappointed that open containers were not allowed on the Main West Quad. It mystified me that on every other day, we can sit out on main quad, relaxing with a drink, but on Joe College Day, one of the most ideal days of the year to do this, we couldn’t.

Instead, those over 21 were penned into a tiny area (with what looked like the same picket fences that were used for Pets on the Quad), and forced to stay there while they drank. As a 21-year-old senior, I appreciated the free beer, but the beer garden separated 21-yearolds from our underage friends and kept us far from the music.

Though the new regulation was probably intended to discourage underage drinking, what really happened was that those who were underage just went off the main quad to drink. Seniors, in turn, drank quicker, so they could return to underage friends and the music. The new alcohol regulations made Saturday’s drinking hurried and clandestine rather than open, relaxed and connected with enjoying the concerts.

I am not promoting a drunken bacchanalia on the main quad, but the mood of Joe College Day was negatively affected by the new regulations. The quad was emptier than it’s been for past Joe College days—over and over again, I watched groups of people coming to hang out, but leaving as soon as they were told they could not drink on the quad.

The new policy was also a surprise for most students, as there was little communication about it in advance of the event.

I hope that these new rules, which were established without feedback from the general student body, will not be continued for events to come.

Tracy Gold Trinity ’10

Crossing the boundaries

f you haven’t read “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich, I suggest you do.

“Nickel and Dimed,” my cultural anthropology reading last week, has made me (and all my classmates, I hope) thoroughly think about the concept of class. The book is the account of an undercover journalist, who in 1998 to andrea patiño 2000 investigated the ways in numb which the American working class gets by with the minimum wage. And she does so by working these kinds of jobs herself.

Of course the book raises many questions regarding working conditions, salaries and the quality of life of many Americans.

On the other hand, it also brings up questions about the status of the writer herself and especially interesting, the ways in which she is able to move from the upper-middle class to the working class and back, as if no boundaries existed between the two.

But the boundaries do exist—at least most of the time. Clearly, Ehrenreich’s class mobility is allowed under exceptional conditions as a journalist that most of us (from either side of the border) wouldn’t have. Nevertheless, her experience makes me think of the different ways in which I have experienced the notion of class in my life and how unique each has been.

I grew up and lived in Bogotá, Colombia, until I was 17 years old. The notion of class is particularly strong in Bogotá (and I want to clarify that living in Bogotá is a completely different experience from living in rural Colombia). I would dare to say that class is a concept that shapes social life in Bogotá in a very strong way; more so than gender or race (which might be surprising given the country’s strong tradition of sexism and racism).

But class is the unbreakable barrier; even physically it is hard to cross it. Because of the city’s stretched geography, the more wealthy inhabitants from the North rarely (if at all) commute to the most Southern region where poverty is striking. The same is true for those who live in the South.

As a result not only is there little social mobility, but there is a mental and physical separation between classes that has filled the minds of each with stereotypes and fears. So, chances are that, unless you look for one, you won’t have a friend from a different class than your own.

In 2005 I moved to Flekke, Norway, a country which couldn’t be more different from Colombia and where all the ideas I had grown up with had to be reevaluated. My host mother in Norway, Helga, was part of the cleaning staff in my high school. I remember how surprised I was by how different her lifestyle and working conditions were from anything I had ever seen. She had a beautiful house, a car, traveled around Europe regularly and was an active member of the local community as a folk musician. And there was no difference whatsoever between her and anyone else because of her job.

Certainly, the radical difference in wages must have an impact on the way in which others understand these types of jobs: a Colombian cleaning staff member can earn less than $2 an hour—this being a well-paid job—whereas a Norwegian employee gets minimum a payment of $17 an hour. Now, someone would say, that this is logical given that Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world to live in today. But I argue that their great working conditions are nothing else but a projection of how Norwegians perceive their working class, creating a community where boundaries between classes are arguably invisible. In fact, I’d add, that the idea of class itself is rather blurred in the Norwegians’ minds.

For my experience in the United States I can only really talk about what I have seen and experienced here at Duke and its surroundings (and from what I’ve read in Ehrenreich’s book). And so far I am still trying to discover how is it that we, on a college campus, understand the idea of class. The student body seems to be a rather homogeneous group. This could mean that students of different classes can easily come together in a college setting like Duke, or that there is little class diversity on our campus. Regarding employees—kitchen and cleaning staff—things are obviously different, with the great majority of the employees being Hispanic immigrants or black.

On the other hand, the University seems to be aware of this notion, with financial aid for students and benefits for employees encouraging integration despite economic or social backgrounds. I would like, however, to open a conversation about the ways in which we experience the notion of class on campus. So if you have anything to contribute, be my guest.

Andrea Patiño is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Tuesday.

October 14 – October 20

12 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 the chronicle

Arts DUKE

arts.duke.edu

Medieval and Renaissance Music Fest Immerse yourself in the sounds of Spanish ages gone by! The interdepartmental Duke Festival for Medieval and Renaissance Music (October 16 – 18) presents the best vocal and instrumental music from medieval Spain, offering a weekend of lectures, sounds and even a masterclass by vocal phenomenon Anonymous 4.

Friday, October 17 thru Sunday, October 18 Duke University

Events Wednesday, October 14 MUSIC. Jazz at the Mary Lou with Professor John Brown and his house band. 9:30pm. Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. Free.

Thursday, October 15 TALK. 2009 WOLA - Duke Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America. Awardwinner Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz discusses The Dictator’s Shadow. 5pm. Perkins Library Biddle Rare Book Room. Free.

TALK. An Evening with A.S. Byatt. Award-winning author of Possession and Angels and Insects reads from her new novel. 7:30pm. Perkins Library Gothic Reading Room. Free.

Friday, October 16 MUSIC. Rare Music: Sounds of the African Diaspora: Instruments from West Africa to Cuba with The Elements of Percussion. Bradley Simmons, director.

4 pm. Perkins Library Rare Book Room. Free.

MUSIC/TALK. Manuscript Chantilly 564 and Ars Subtilior. Anne Stone (Queens College, CUNY). Part of the Duke Festival for Medieval and Renaissance Music.

4 pm. Room 101 Biddle Music Building. Free.

don byron new gospel quintet feat. rev. kelly andrews Friday, October 16 • 8 pm • Hayti Heritage Center anonymous 4 Saturday, October 17 • 8 pm • Duke Chapel murray perahia Tuesday, October 20 • 8 pm • Page

don byron new gospel quintet · 10/16

for tickets & info

919-684-4444

dukeperformances.org

Screen Society

All events are free and open to the general public. Unless otherwise noted, screenings are at 8pm in the Griffith Film Theater, Bryan Center. (“White” = Richard White Auditorium, East Campus.)

10/19 The Beaches of Agnès Agnès Varda, 2008. French Film Series.

To mark her 80th birthday, filmmaker Agnès Varda reminisces about her life and her films, cataloging the moments, the meetings and the events that forged her existence. “If you could open people up,” she says, “You would find landscapes. Me, if someone opened me up, you would find beaches.”

fvd.aas.duke.edu/screensociety/schedule.php

MUSIC. In the Chamber of the Harpers: Late Medieval Music from the Iberian Peninsula. Trefoil: Drew Minter, Mark Rimple and Marcia Young. Part of the Duke Festival for Medieval and Renaissance Music.

8 pm. Nelson Music Room.. $15 gen./$12 seniors & students/Duke students free.

Sunday, October 18 MUSIC. Vocal Music Masterclass with Anonymous 4. Part of the Duke Festival for Medieval and Renaissance Music. 12 pm. Nelson Music Room. Free.

Monday, October 19 MUSIC/TALK. Conversation with pianist Murray Perahia. 5 pm. Nelson Music Room. Free.