March 17, 2010

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH YEAR, Issue 112

www.dukechronicle.com

DCCE looks to unify civic engagement

by Nicole Kyle THE CHRONICLE

Civic engagement groups are beginning to face challenges as they try to meet the goals of civic engagement reform at the University.

Leaders of service organizations at Duke have begun to consider how their groups can news work within the recommendations of the analysis Klein-Wells report, issued Jan. 15. The report recommended centralizing some aspects of civic engagement under the Duke Center for Civic Engagement, which would be led by a professor.

“The challenge is, how do we make sure that Duke doesn’t simply have Noah Pickus the biggest or splashiest program, but the best,” said Noah Pickus, Nannerl O. Keohane director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics. “Students, faculty and community leaders [must be] attracted to a common vision.”

The DCCE’s main purpose will be to foster a higher level of coordination of civic engagement opportunities campus-wide. It will be led by Leela Prasad, associate professor of ethics and Indian religions.

“One of our main requests was that we somehow have more of an established network to share best practices so individual groups aren’t repeating requests from campus departments or contacts,” said Joan Clifford, assistant director of the Spanish language program who is involved with Spanish Service Learning.

Leaders of civic engagement programs like Spanish Service Learning, the Hart Leadership Program and the Center for Documentary Studies contributed reports to the Klein-Wells committee when it convened in the Fall.

If executed correctly, DCCE has the potential to support existing engagement opportunities, like a bilingual storytelling program in Durham Public Schools, Clifford said. DCCE should let organizations know what others are doing to prevent miscommunication and allow organizations to best serve their communities.

“We need to know what the rest of the Duke community is doing so we don’t overstress the community,” she said.

Civic engagement should not be too centralized, however, said Tom Rankin, See dcce on page 8

ACC play resumes as Duke heads to Blacksburg, Page 9

stephen farver/The Chronicle

Speaking at the Sanford School Tuesday, former White House advisor Elliot Abrams said the U.S. needs to renew efforts to spread democracy to oppressed states.

Abrams advocates new push for democracy

by Stephen Farver THE CHRONICLE

Former White House Adviser Elliott Abrams discussed issues facing U.S. foreign policy as it tries to democratize other nations, especially in the Middle East, in his speech Tuesday.

Abrams addressed a diverse, packed room of students and adults in the Sanford School of Public Policy in an event

titled “The Freedom Agenda and the Middle East.” Sponsors of the event included the von der Heyden Fellows Program Endowment Fund and the Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy.

Although the United States has traditionally played an important role in spreading democracy to other nations, Abrams said it will need to toughen its engagement to bring substantial changes to

the Middle East.

An adviser to both former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Abrams argued that democracy is necessary for nations to function. He referenced many countries, including those in the Middle East.

“No culture is resistant to democracy,” See abrams on page 7

Inaugural United College Conference to feature former Costa Rican president

by Joanna Lichter THE CHRONICLE

This Thursday, Mi Gente will host the University’s first annual United College Conference.

In the first of the three part conference on Latin America, child rights expert Emilio Garcia Mendez will speak in Love Auditorium on child rights in Latin American democracies March 18. The conference will end with former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres’ address on climate change and sustainability April 22. The UCC secured Figueres’s visit with the help of junior Naima Ritter, his niece.

“The UCC was born as an initiative to bring leaders of Latin American countries to talk about current issues regarding democracies,” said junior Luciano Romero, founder of UCC and co-chair of Mi Gente’s Political Affairs Committee. “Democracy in Latin American societies has become very disenchanted because it hasn’t delivered promises.”

Mendez worked with the United Nations Children’s Fund from 1990-1999, including as regional adviser on children’s rights for the Latin American and Caribbean regions. He is currently president of Sur-Argentina Foundation, an organization dedicated to child rights. After the lecture, a free Cuban style dinner will be served.

At the second part of the conference April 2, the UCC will show “Treading on Sand,” a documentary film that tells the story

of Peru’s democratic successes obtained through the use of participatory budgeting. Following the screening, students will be able to discuss the film with its producers.

“We want to bring different perspectives from different areas of interest,” said sophomore Caroline Buck, co-chair of Mi Gente’s Political Affairs Committee. “We want to show... the progression each country has made individually and the Latin American region as a whole.”

Although Buck and Romero look forward to the conference kick-off, they are most excited for the final segment of the UCC at the end of April.

“I’m excited to have Figueres come in,” said freshman Ashley Boaz, a member of the UCC committee. “It will be a good opportunity for others to hear what he has to say and to have such a big speaker on campus.”

Despite initial setbacks, both Buck and Romero are confident that the conference will return in the coming years. Although the UCC began as part of Mi Gente, it functions as an independent branch of the organization. Students who are not members of Mi Gente are eligible to join the UCC committee. Buck noted, however, that the UCC is funded entirely by Mi Gente.

“Now that we have our foot in the door, because we’ve been planning for so long, we hope it’s easier because people are aware of what we’re trying to do and where we want to go,” Buck said.

ONTHERECORD

“As of 4 p.m. [Monday], there are only about 1,500 tickets left.”

­—DUU Major Attractions Director Liz Turner on Cameron Rocks. See story page 3

Blue Devils take on No. 3 Trojans, Page 9

2 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 the chronicle

worldandnation

Nuclear negotiations progress

Honda recalls 412K cars ‘Historic Flooding’ possible to repair brake systems ST. PAUL, Minnesota — One-third of the United States faces the possibility of “historic flooding” in coming weeks, especially the upper Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, government forecasters said.

“Once again we are delivering an urgent message to get ready,” John Hayes, director of the National Weather Service, said in a conference call Tuesday. “The flood risk is above- average over one-third of the country.”

The flood potential is driven in part

by El Nino, a warming in the Pacific Ocean, which steered storms that have left the ground saturated from record rains and heavy snows. The area designated for above-average risk stretches from New Mexico in the west to Maine in the east, federal maps show.

“

Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.

— Pable Picasso

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Honda Motor Co. on Tuesday recalled 412,000 U.S. vehicles including the Odyssey, the country’s best-selling minivan last year, to fix a brake-system flaw that spurred driver complaints of pedals feeling “soft.”

A part called a vehicle stability assist modulator should be modified on 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Element wagons from the 2007-2008 model years, said Honda, Japan’s second-largest carmaker. The company is reviewing at least three reported crashes in which brakes were cited, none of which involved deaths, said Chris Martin, a spokesman.

The recall is Honda’s second of similar size in as many months. The Tokyobased company said in February that 437,763 vehicles worldwide needed repairs to air bags that may deploy too forcefully.

TODAY IN HISTORY

”

432: St. Patrick, a bishop, is carried off to Ireland as a slave.

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian and U.S. negotiators made progress toward agreement on a nuclear-arms reduction treaty during talks in Geneva last week, a Pentagon official said Tuesday.

“The differences have narrowed substantially over the last week or so,” said James Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy. “I think it is realistic to think now about concluding a treaty within the next several weeks. It does not mean that that’s going to be done.”

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke by telephone on March 13 in an attempt to resolve differences, the New York Times reported. It was at least the third time the leaders talked personally as negotiators seek to reach an understanding on verification procedures and U.S. missile defense plans. Miller, testifying before a House Armed Services subcommittee in Washington Tuesday, cited “a thousand catches” that have arisen in the negotiations in recent weeks.

TODAY:

6437

THURSDAY:

6939

Online Excerpt “Carrick Felix, a 6-foot-6 wing player from the College of Southern Idaho, announced via his facebook page Tuesday that he intended to accept Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s scholarship offer and join the Blue Devils. Felix averaged 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds this season for the Golden Eagles while leading his team in blocks with 37. ’” — From The Sports Blog sports.chronicleblogs.com

katherine fray/The washington post

Drawing on the skills he learned not in a dance studio but in the corridors of Congress, Paul Emerson has positioned his dance company CityDance Ensemble of Bethesda at the forefront of Washington D.C.’s arts scene. CityDance, shown here performing Paul Taylor’s “Images,” has become one of Washington’s most interesting and successful troupes, as well as an active U.S. cultural ambassador abroad.

Korean Diner 5-7pm Show in Page Auditorium 7:30pm Panel Discussion on Korean Education System Monday, March 22nd Events on the Plaza: Dance Team • Free Giveaways • More!

Food catered by local restaurant Booth to purchase tickets [Also join us for a Korean Movie on Sunday, March 21, 8pm, White Lecture Hall]

Tickets on sale March 15th - 19th

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 3

Duke University Union

MythBusters’ Adam Savage will speak April 7

by Ray Koh

THE CHRONICLE

Duke students will not have to tune into the Discovery Channel April 7 to see the MythBuster in action.

At their meeting Tuesday night, Duke University Union members announced a Major Speakers event featuring Adam Savage, co-host of Discovery Channel’s “MythBusters”—a documentary-style television show that tests popular science rumors and myths. The event will take place in Griffith Theater.

“He will be showing videos about some behind-thescenes stuff from the MythBusters and talking about the job,” said Major Speakers Director Yi Zhang, a junior.

Before MythBusters, Savage, a New York City native, had several professions, including toy designer, animator and graphic designer. He designed three-dimensional graphics for the popular movies “The Matrix Reloaded” and “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”

Zhang said tickets will be $3 and go on sale about two weeks before the show.

She noted that Savage’s show will likely be the final Major Speakers event this year.

In other business: DUU will host its first campus-wide NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket Challenge starting today. A maximum of 800 participants can enter through the CBS Sports college bracket Web site. One winner will be selected before the Final Four games and receive front-row seats to Cameron Rocks and another—who will be determined after the National Championship game—will sit front row at the Adam Savage show.

“The purpose is to raise students’ interest for Duke’s upcoming basketball tournament and to build student pride,” said Executive Vice President Adam Hinnant, a senior.

Tickets for the Cameron Rocks concert are still on sale.

DUU will be marketing the show in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham to increase general public sales.

“As of 4 p.m. [Monday], there are only about 1,500 tickets left with slow and steady sales,” said Major Attractions

james lee/The Chronicle

Major Speakers Director Yi Zhang (left), a junior, announced that Adam Savage of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters will speak at Duke April 7.

Director Liz Turner, a senior.

Duke’s radio station WXDU and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s WXYC, will host “The Prom” April 3 at 10 p.m. at the Duke Coffeehouse.

The annual event, which was canceled last year, facilitates a relationship between the two stations and provides a fun, free event for students, said WXDU Station Manager Marc Loeffke, a junior.

4 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 the chronicle

Democrats frustrate Republicans on health bill

by Dana Milbank

The WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An obscure parliamentary maneuver favored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ignited Tuesday as the latest tinder in the year-long partisan strife over reshaping the nation’s health-care system, triggering debate over the strategy’s legitimacy and political wisdom.

Republicans condemned Pelosi’s idea—in which House members would make a final decision on broad healthcare changes without voting directly on the Senate version of the bill—as an abuse of the legislative process.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called it “the ultimate in Washington power grabs.” Pelosi shot back: “I didn’t hear any of that ferocity when the Republicans used this, perhaps, hundreds of times.”

Off Capitol Hill, parliamentary experts of both parties said the tactic has been used with increasing frequency in

recent years by Democrats and Republicans alike. And political analysts wrangled over whether the use of the “selfexecuting rule,” also known as a “deem and pass,” would further antagonize an electorate whose enthusiasm for Democrats has dimmed in the past year.

Legal scholars disagreed about whether it would be a constitutional way to pass the legislation. Yet even critics said they doubt that the procedure would put the measure at risk of being struck down by the courts.

“I feel pretty confident it is unconstitutional,” said Michael McConnell, director of Stanford Law School’s Constitutional Law Center and a former appellate judge appointed by President George W. Bush. “What a court would do about it is a murkier problem.”

The debate centers on a parliamentary technique that is a variant on the “rule” that the House adopts for every bill that comes to a floor vote. Rules define the ground rules for the vote, including amendments, length of the debate and

other terms. Under a self-executing rule, the House essentially agrees that a vote on one measure is tantamount to, or “deemed” as, deciding on something related.

In this instance, the self-executing rule would say that the Senate’s version of health-care legislation would be deemed approved if House members adopt a set of changes to that bill. The Senate then would have to approve the changes, but the original bill could go directly to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Pelosi has said the process would make it easier to secure the votes needed to push health-care changes across the legislative finish line. At a time when relations within Congress are frayed, it would enable House Democrats not to be on record directly as supporting the Senate measure.

House Republicans are unified against the bill.

Although the speaker has embraced the idea, a decision on whether to use a self-executing rule will not be made until the House Rules Committee convenes later this week, probably on Thursday.

Republicans sought to block Democrats’ path. Rep. Parker Griffith, R-Ala., who switched political parties in December, plans to introduce a resolution that would compel the Democrats to conduct a regular vote. Outside the Capitol, hundreds of conservative activists affiliated with the “tea party” movement gathered to protest the healthcare legislation. They seized on the parliamentary method, with demonstrators shouting out “treason.”

At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs sidestepped the question of whether Obama supports the “deeming” approach. The president called on Congress last week to move forward with an “up-or-down vote” to redesign the health-care system. Gibbs told reporters Tuesday: “You’re going to know where people are on health-care reform, and where they are on the president’s proposal on health-care reform.”

Close watchers of the debate were divided about whether the parliamentary strategy would influence public sentiment about the legislation—or its Democratic sponsors.

Robert Laszewski, a consultant who follows the politics of health care, predicted the effect would be negligible, because Americans’ views on the subject have solidified.

Democrats “are pushing through Obamacare,” he said.

“You either like it or not.... There’s not a lot of subtlety.

Either people really want this to happen or they think it’s incredible arrogance. I don’t think there’s anybody in the middle on this.”

On the other hand, Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan political analyst, said the current stage of the debate is a rare instance in which the public is focused on the process of legislating. “Voters are aware it’s been pulling teeth,” he said, adding that some Americans think Congress’s Democratic leaders had “to give away the store to get even Democrats to pass it,” and, more recently, resorted to a “reconciliation” procedure that requires fewer Senate votes to pass.

“From there, we’ve leapt to a totally different planet with this deeming,” Rothenberg said. “I feel like I’ve fallen through the rabbit hole: `Oh, they are going to not pass the bill and just pretend they passed the bill.’ “ Parliamentary specialists said there is ample precedent for “self-executing” rules. Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution said that congressional leaders of both parties are using the procedure more frequently, with 36 instances under the last Republican-led House, in 2005-06, and 29 during the immediate past session, when Democrats were in control.

Donald Wolfensberger, a former Republican staff director of the House Rules Committee who now directs the Congress Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, said this use of such a rule would be unusual, though not unprecedented, because it would send part of what the House would be voting on—the bill already approved by the Senate—directly to the president.

Wolfensberger said that self-executing rules were often employed earlier in the legislative process, rather than for final passage of a bill. He said he knew of four instances when a measure that was deemed to have been passed went directly to the White House.

Stanford’s McConnell said that such a procedure would be unconstitutional because, in passing both the Senate legislation and the changes in the reconciliation package in a single stroke, “no one bill will then have been passed by both the House and the Senate” because the Senate still would have to approve the changes added by the House.

Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor who is a former Democratic House counsel and has written extensively about House procedure, disagreed, saying: “This is so familiar a House procedure. ... I don’t know anything in the Constitution that prevents the House from holding one vote for two bills. ... Why would it make a difference?”

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 5

Colombian political party may be linked to death squads

by Juan Forero

The Washington Post

BOGOTA, Colombia — A new political party accused of having links to right-wing death squads gained important political ground in Colombia’s congressional elections Sunday, raising concerns that ties between corrupt politicians and armed gangs remain strong, despite vigorous criminal investigations.

Since 2006, prosecutors have zeroed in on more than 80 lawmakers in Congress, charging half and placing the others under investigation for collaborating with death squad militias that killed thousands in this country’s shadowy war. Most of the those lawmakers were close allies of President Alvaro Uribe, Washington’s closest partner in the region and caretaker of billions in military and anti-drug aid.

Many of those implicated in crimes resigned from Congress, and election observers had hoped that voters would cast ballots against would-be successors with suspected criminal links. That would have helped purify a Congress badly tarnished by its collaboration with groups that trafficked cocaine, killed villagers and toppled smalltown governments.

But Sunday, voters instead elected scores of political novices who are either under investigation or are relatives or associates of lawmakers implicated in a range of crimes.

Political analysts say a third of the incoming lawmakers have questionable connections, as many as when prosecutors began leveling charges against members of Congress more than three years ago.

These lawmakers, prosecutors say, were an important component of a paramilitary movement that had two main objectives: erode support for Marxist rebels and smuggle cocaine into the United States. The movement’s gunmen liquidated opponents—from peasant farmers to journalists to leftist politicians—killing more than 24,000, say prosecutors still unraveling the crimes.

The violence made Colombia’s long conflict among the world’s bloodiest—but it also weakened the rebels and won support from some quarters more than willing to overlook the brutality.

On Sunday, three mainstream parties that support Uribe won seats with candidates questioned for having collaborated with armed bands. But the newly minted Party of National Integration, or PIN, attracted the most attention by winning eight of 102 Senate seats, giving it make-or-break influence over legislation. The PIN was also poised to carve a niche in the lower house, according to partial returns.

“It’s a scandal,” said Leon Valencia, director of New Rainbow, a policy group that is studying the relationships between lawmakers and armed groups. “This is very grave and shows that these armed groups still have influence

over the Congress.”

Elisabeth Ungar, the Colombia director of Transparency International, the anti-corruption group, said voters had been warned about candidates with shadowy pasts. “The people knew, the authorities knew, the government knew, and nothing was done about this,” Ungar said.

PIN politicians elected to the Senate include Teresita Garcia—whose brother, Alvaro Garcia, is a former senator who was recently condemned to 40 years in prison for helping plan a massacre—and Hector Julio Lopez, the son of a local power broker known as “The Cat,” who is on trial for murder.

Teresita Garcia could not be reached for comment. But the PIN’s legal representative, Alvaro Caicedo, said that her brother’s conviction is no reason to ban her from office. “That would not be fair to those people,” Caicedo said of the PIN’s candidates, who he said were carefully vetted

by him and other PIN directors to ensure they had not committed crimes.

Caicedo, a councilman in Bogota, said voters supported the PIN candidates because they offered better representation.

Though thousands of paramilitary members demobilized in a three-year process that ended in 2006, authorities say new paramilitary organizations steeped in drug trafficking and other crimes have sprouted up. The police estimate they contain at least 4,000 members, fighters that New York-based Human Rights Watch has said benefit from their links to corrupt politicians.

“There’s a real risk that Colombia will continue repeating the same patterns—of violent groups maintaining a hold on political power and influence,” said Maria McFarland, a Human Rights Watch researcher who recently completed a report on the new groups. “That undermines democracy and the rule of law.”

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6 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 the chronicle

Haiti’s hopes turn to tourism destinations

by William Booth the washington post

JACMEL, Haiti — Behind the peeling facades and louvered shutters of its faded mansions and crumbling warehouses, this little beach town was a happening place before the earthquake—and if Haiti is to ever revive its shattered economy, planners say, Jacmel needs to draw some tourists again.

“Tourism will not be the cure for all that ails Haiti,” said Eduardo Marques Almeida, head of the Haitian office of the Inter-American Development Bank, “but Haiti has a lot to offer a foreign visitor, and Jacmel is one of places where the country should put its resources.”

Three hours south over the mountains from Port-au-Prince, Jacmel was starting to revive after years of coups, violence, despair. A few foreigners were moving in, with money from places such as New York and Paris, investing in properties that look like a Haitian version of New Orleans, with high ceilings and wrought-iron balconies alongside the old wharf.

Jacmel was funky, with a bit of a bad-boy reputation as a drug-transshipment nexus, but mostly it was famous for its Carnival, the lively weekend beach scene and the vitality of its voodoo.

Here is Haiti’s only film school, a respected art institute and a movement to preserve the town’s historic Creole architecture. It is the center of Haitian arts and especially handicrafts. But what hurricanes and years of neglect could not destroy, the earthquake tried to snatch away.

There is severe damage, especially in the downtown, which was short-listed as a possible Unesco World Heritage site.

Now the 19th-century Victorian structures are tilting and cracked, the filigree detailing down in the rubble piles and wrought-iron railings bent and broken.

Engineers from city hall swept through recently, tagging buildings with spraypainted circles and dots. Red for danger, for destroy. Gold for good, fix, repair.

There is a lot of red.

“Our old buildings have big problems,” said Jean Ruid Senatus, manager of the Hotel Florita, an 1888 townhouse. Before the quake, there were 15 guests at the Florita, decent WiFi and beer so cold there was ice inside the bottles. Now Senatus and a crew are shoveling plaster out of stairwells and propping up the roof. He vowed to reopen next month.

Before the earthquake struck, the locals say, the sea suddenly withdrew and the beach was covered with flopping fish. The French clock on the cathedral stopped at 5:37 p.m. when a big aftershock hit.

Dieusone Denejour is a fisherman who was knitting a net the other day in his yard.

In the months before Carnival, Denejour, like many residents here, spent his days making the papier-mache masks that the town is known for. In a tin-roofed shed, he shows off his work—puffer fish, mermaids, sea horses.

“No Carnival, just three days of prayer,” he said, so no sales.

Richard Morse, proprietor of the Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince and the leader of the voodoo rock band Ram, walked around Denejour’s neighborhood as residents came out to greet him (“Papa Richard!”) and kiss him on the cheek.

“That’s where I was initiated,” Morse said, pointing to the voodoo peristyle, or

Nikki Kahn/The washington post

Dieusone Denejour, a resident of Jacmel, Haiti, makes a puffer-fish papier-mache. Normally used in the town’s annual Carnival, Denejour’s creation will likely remain unsold after the Carnival was canceled due to the earthquake. temple, where he was formally brought into the religion. The place is now in ruins.

Morse bought a historic house in Jacmel a few months ago and was relieved to see that it was still standing. When his friend the musician Jimmy Buffett visited Haiti a couple weeks ago, flying in his plane to deliver a load of tents, he said he was looking for a place to help and maybe invest in—and he thought that Jacmel, with its Key West Caribbean vibe, might be the town. “I like it,” Buffett said.

They need the help. At the empty Hotel la Jacmelienne, the guard dog is sad and won’t get up. The Samba Shop dance club is closed. The Sleep Late bar is shuttered.

Giant pigs snuffle around on the beach.

In front of one of the handicraft galleries, Wilson Sanon was painting tap-tap buses onto wooden trays. Asked how it is going, Sanon said, “The tourists are not coming, and my home fell down.” Before the quake, “things were getting better for Jacmel. Now the city is not the same city.”

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 7

Afghan women question nation’s progress

by Karin Brulliard The Washington Post

LAGHMAN, Afghanistan — The head-to-toe burqas that made women a faceless symbol of the Taliban’s violently repressive rule are no longer required here. But many Afghan women said they still feel voiceless eight years into a wartorn democracy, and they pointed to government plans to forge peace with the Taliban as a prime example.

Gender activists said they have been pressing the administration of President Hamid Karzai for a part in any deal-making with Taliban fighters and leaders, which is scheduled to be finalized at a summit in April. Instead, they said, they have been met with a silence that they see as a dispiriting reminder of the limits of progress Afghan women have made since 2001.

“We have not been approached by the government—they never do,” said Samira Hamidi, country director of the Afghan Women’s Network, an umbrella group. “The belief is that women are not important,” she said, describing a mind-set that she said “has not been changed in the past eight years.”

The Taliban’s repressive treatment of women helped gal-

abrams from page 1 he said.

Abrams said the Bush administration and President Barack Obama’s administration have not lived up to the role America should be playing in spreading democracy. By engaging in conferences with opposition leaders, the United States considers the opinions of heads of states more than the needs of “millions of people they are oppressing,” he said.

Abrams also noted that Obama’s approach to world politics is often to “reach out to previously scorned regimes.”

In doing so, however, the administration implicitly accepts some of the wrongdoings of those governments, he said.

“If that’s what we mean by engagement, I reject it,” Abrams said.

Calling Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “Pharaoh” in jest, Abrams recounted that the foreign leader became

vanize international opposition in the 1990s, and by some measures democracy has revolutionized Afghan women’s lives. Their worry now is not about a Taliban takeover, Hamidi said, but that male leaders, behind closed doors and desperate for peace, might not force Taliban leaders to accept, however grudgingly, that women’s roles have changed.

Those concerns share roots with the misgivings voiced by many observers, including some U.S. officials, about Afghan efforts to forge a settlement with the Taliban, whose leaders promote an Islamist ideology that seems wholly at odds with rights the Afghan constitution guarantees.

The unease about such a settlement stretches from Kabul to the mountain-ringed valleys of Laghman, a scrappy town in a province still stalked at night by Taliban fighters. As a young girl here, Malalay Jan studied in a private home, hidden from the Taliban regime that forbade her education. Four years ago, her girls’ school was torched in a rash of suspected Taliban attacks. Now, she said, she is sure of one thing: Afghan women should have a spot at the negotiating table.

“We don’t want them to stop us from getting an education or working in an office,” said Jan, 18, wearing a rhine-

stone-studded head scarf at her rebuilt school. Women, she said, should be “the first priority.”

Karzai, the Afghan president, has endorsed the idea of talking with all levels of the Taliban, and his aides insist that women need not worry about the equal rights the Afghan constitution guarantees them. But they also say they are performing a difficult balancing act, and suggest that making bold statements about the sanctity of such topics as women’s rights might kill talks before they start.

“We will act from a position of principle. And that principle is that half the public wants these rights to be protected,” said Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, who is drafting Karzai’s reconciliation plan. “It is not the authority of a group of people in government or a group of people in the insurgency to decide the fate of a whole nation.”

In today’s Afghanistan, females make up one-quarter of parliament, fill one-third of the nation’s classrooms and even compete on “Afghan Idol.”

But violence against women remains “endemic,”

so upset with Bush administration policies that Mubarak canceled his annual spring visits to the United States until Bush left office.

When asked in the question and answer session about the future of nuclear weapons in Iran, Abrams replied that it “will be catastrophic.” Now that Iran has ignored U.S. and United Nations pleas not to build nuclear weapons, other countries can feel more confident in building their own without approval.

“I think the lesson of that to other countries is that the non-proliferation treaty is dead,” Abrams said. “No one is going to stop you.”

The foreign policy expert further expressed concern that America simply appeases foreign powers.

“Nothing good comes of being nice [to oppressing groups],” he said.

Only after weakening these groups should the U.S. give them a political way out which could lead them to embrace

a democratic system, Abrams said.

Sophomore Danni Lin attended the event after taking PS93: “Introduction to International Relations” with Peter Feaver, professor of political science and co-director of the American Grand Strategy program. “[Abrams] made some really great points... on controversial topics,” Lin said.

Lin said she hopes to become more involved in American Grand Strategy and plans to attend the next installment of the von der Heyden lecture series as well.

In the question and answer session, Abrams compared Britain 50 years ago to many Arab countries now. He noted that many of these countries outlaw criticism of their leaders but are developing along the right path. Abrams said, however, that with the proper influence the United States can continue to democratize Middle Eastern countries.

“No democracy in 2010—including ours—is perfect,” he said.

See afghan on page 8

8 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 the chronicle

afghan from page 7 according to the State Department. The percentage of female civil servants is steadily dropping. Just one of 25 cabinet members is a woman, and female lawmakers say their opinions are often ignored.

That point was underscored

in January, many observers said, when the women’s affairs minister was not invited to an international conference in London on reconciliation and reintegration.

Bringing the Taliban into the government could make things worse, Hamidi said.

“They think women should stay at home,” she said. “And all of them have the same percep-

tion and same beliefs, from the lowest to the top level.”

The Taliban itself, led by Mohammad Omar, has tried to dispute that. As part of what analysts call a public relations campaign to soften the movement’s image, Omar, though still in hiding, released a statement last fall that said the Taliban did not oppose women’s rights and favored education for all.

Karin Brulliard/The washington post

Although the female students at Haider Khani girls’ school in Laghman, Afghanistan will show their faces inside the school, many will leave school in the head-to-toe burqas that made women a faceless symbol of the Taliban’s violently repressive rule.

dcce from page 1 director of the Center for Documentary Studies.

“Civic engagement comes in all shapes and colors,” Rankin said. “Value of civic engagement at Duke is wide range— communally, locally and beyond. I do think a center for civic engagement is a great way for students to advocate speaker series and solidify a lot of the pieces that are happening at Duke anyway.”

Most of the responsibility of developing the new role of the DCCE will fall to Prasad. Pickus said it is important for service organizations to maintain ownership of their programs and for DCCE to act as a resource and not a controlling body.

“When you centralize [civic engagement], you kill it,” Pickus said. “You want different units to own it—the question is can the center make the whole greater than the sum of the parts? It all depends on what the director will set.”

Although Prasad does not officially assume her position until July, she has already started discussions with various civic engagement groups like the Duke Partnership for Service. She is also working with the administration to create a suite of civic engagement courses to connect service with the curriculum.

“Having a faculty member director of DCCE will be a huge benefit for students,” said DPS

President Adam Nathan, a senior. “There is hardly anyone better for the job. From a student’s point of view, she is extremely aware of the challenges of creating a cohesive relationship between civic engagement and academics.”

Hart Leadership Program Director Alma Blount said that if the University wants to establish civic engagement with a unified, strong presence, its needs to be incorporated into coursework.

The Hart Leadership Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy focuses on leadership through applied research, social entrepreneurship and service learning.

“Students tell me they’re hungry for a sense of integration,” Blount said. “They want to see how what they’re learning in the summer integrates with a larger intellectual context.”

Tony Brown, director of the Robertson Scholars Program and professor of the practice at Sanford, will rejoin the Hart Leadership Program to teach a service-based capstone course, Blount said. This course reflects the objectives of the suite of service learning courses the administration and Prasad are working to establish.

“I would like to see students go and work in a poor community and come back hungry about causes of poverty, proposals of solutions, etc.” Pickus said.

“It needs to be analytical and it needs to be rigourous while still keeping the experiential.”

Sports

>> BASEBALL

The Chronicle

ONLINE

WEDNESDAY March 17, 2010

The Blue Devils host Liberty Wednesday at the USA Baseball complex in Cary Carrick Felix, a junior college player from Idaho, says he will play at Duke next year

www.dukechroniclesports.com

Duke finally has its Mr. Clutch After Duke beat Georgia Tech for the ACC Tournament title Sunday afternoon, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team was better than it was the week before.

It sounds like typical coach speak. Of course a head coach is going to say his team is improving as it enters the NCAA Tournament. It doesn’t matter if the team won its conference title by playing three teams in the bottom half of the standings in a down year for the conference as a whole, or that the team looked as good as it did all season a week earlier, dismantling its Joe archrival at home.

But Krzyzewski is right. The Blue Devils are better than they were a week ago, and it’s not just because they managed to win three games in three days. And it’s not because Duke is shaking its label as a late-season underachiever—failing to collapse is not the same as improving.

No, the greatest benefit of the ACC Tournament was Duke’s positive experiences late in games. Particularly, it was the success of one player in those situations: Jon Scheyer.

The senior guard’s 3-point dagger to sink Georgia Tech may be the most clutch shot any Duke player has made in the

Drews

past four years. (The only other candidate: Gerald Henderson’s game-saving layup against No. 15 Belmont in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Henderson leads in helping his team avoid historic embarrassment, but Scheyer has the edge in degree of difficulty, especially considering he was 4-for-12 from the field before that shot.)

Scheyer’s role in tight games is not a new development that emerged Sunday afternoon. One shot, after all, does not make a player clutch. (Sorry, Dave McClure.) Scheyer hit two big 3-pointers against the Tar Heels Feb. 10, and he was the force behind a game-changing 11-0 run Friday against Virginia.

After that win over the Cavaliers, Krzyzewski compared him to a baseball player who knocks in the winning run after going 0-for4. Lance Thomas kept his praise basketballrelated after the championship game.

“I knew it was nothing but the bottom,” he said. “I didn’t even go for the rebound.”

That’s a huge compliment for a player who had struggled with his shot all weekend, and it indicates that Duke once again has a go-to scorer in late-game situations. The shot against Georgia Tech probably wasn’t necessary to prove that fact, but it leaves no doubt that Scheyer can come through in the clutch.

Every great team needs a player like that: a reliable scorer who can convert with the game on the line in the final

Ian Soileau/The Chronicle

Jon Scheyer’s 3-pointer late in the game against Georgia Tech came after a rough shooting night for the senior. minute, regardless of what happened earlier in the contest. In the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, Duke didn’t have that player. Last year, it was Gerald Henderson, but when he left for the NBA after his junior season, the Blue

women’s lacrosse

Devils once again faced a void at the end of close games. The team had several capable candidates for a deciding shot going into this year—three, to be See drews on page 10

men’s tennis

Duke heads north for road test Desperate

by Patricia Lee

Blue Devils host Trojans

THE CHRONICLE

With an all-time 11-0 record against Virginia Tech, including a 4-0 streak away from home, No. 6 Duke is looking to gain its fourth consecutive win and first ACC victory this season in a road contest against the Hokies.

After defeating two top-10 nonconference opponents last week, the Blue Devils (7-1, 0-1 in the ACC) are moving back to ACC Va Tech play and setting their eyes on a win today at 4 p.m. in Blacksburg. vs.

“It’s an ACC game, which means it’s No. 6 a very important game, but the way we Duke approach every game in the season is that the next game we play is the most WEDNESDAY, 4 p.m. important,” head coach Kerstin Kimel Blacksburg, Va. said. “We’ll be on the road, and we always expect Virginia Tech’s very best.”

Each team is coming to the match with one conference loss, and though the game will be in Hokie territory, Duke knows the playing field well.

“We spent four or five days last year in Blacksburg for the ACC tournament, and our kids are very familiar with staying in the same hotel and playing on the same field where we played three of our best games last year,” Kimel said. “I’m not worried about it being an away game. We travel pretty well.”

The Blue Devils and the Hokies (2-5, 0-1) have lost many players to graduation, particularly their leading scorers and goalies from last season, and both schools are looking to rebuild momentum for the remainder for the year.

See W. Lax on page 10

From Staff Reports The Chronicle

Margie truwit/Chronicle file photo

Duke has gone 6-1 this season with goalie Mollie Mackler (above) in net, but she missed the Blue Devils’ most recent game against Georgetown.

A Duke squad reeling from consecutive losses to top-10 teams gets one more chance to pick up a signature win Wednesday when the Blue Devils host No. 3 Southern California.

Assuming the weather is good, the match will be held at the outdoor Ambler Tennis Stadium beginNo. 3 ning at 1:30 p.m.

USC The Blue Devils (5-5) have vs. tumbled all the way down the national rankings to their curDuke rent spot at No. 50 because of a lack of depth in the order.

WEDNESDAY, 1:30 p.m.

Ambler Tennis Stadium Freshman Henrique Cunha, the No. 9 player in the country, has won six straight singles matches, and he has done so impressively. In Duke’s loss to current No. 5 Texas 10 days ago, Cunha recorded the Blue Devils’ only singles win, a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 against a player ranked seventh in the nation.

However, Duke went down 5-2 to the LongSee trojans on page 10

10 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 the chronicle

drews from page 9 exact—but no clear-cut choice.

But of the trio of Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, there’s no longer any doubt who that choice is. Scheyer saved Duke’s ACC championship if you believe Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt.

“If he misses that, we’re winning the basketball game,” Hewitt said after the championship.

“We’re getting the rebound—it’s going to come out long—and we’re going to score.”

At some point in the next three weeks, that kind of clutch performance will be critical for the Blue Devils to advance. It wasn’t very common in the regular season, mostly because there weren’t many opportunities.

Prior to the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils had played surprisingly few contests that went down to the wire. By my count, there were four: road games at Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Maryland. Almost every game in Cameron Indoor Stadium was a blowout, and the ones that weren’t, such as contests against Wake Forest and Florida State, turned into comfortable wins before the end.

In a single weekend, Duke al-

most doubled the number of close games it has played this season.

You can argue that some of them should not have been as tight as they were, but that’s the danger associated with playing teams fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives.

In any case, it’s irrelevant whether the games should have come down to the final minutes. What matters is that they did, and that the Blue Devils came out on top.

That wasn’t always the case in the regular season. Of those four close regular season games, Duke only beat the Eagles. (Important note: This statistic depends on how you define whether a game goes down to the wire. If you include Duke’s wins at UNC and Miami—and I didn’t because they were both at least two-possession games for the final four minutes—the Blue Devils are a respectable 3-3 in tight games.)

One of the problems, especially in the early games, was that Duke did not have an established clutch player to take a critical last-minute shot. That’s no longer a problem with Scheyer, and it’s why I’m fairly confident in my pick that Duke will make it to Indianapolis.

Well, that weak South region doesn’t hurt, either.

Ian SoiLeau/The Chronicle

Duke’s win against Georgia Tech was one of few to come down to the final moments.

trojans from page 9

nathan pham/Chronicle file photo

Henrique Cunha has been the lone bright spot in Duke’s recent three-match skid.

W. Lax from page 9 Duke hopes to establish itself as a formidable opponent while moving further toward its goal of building team cohesion and growing together as a relatively young squad.

“We’re young in particular on the offensive side of the ball, and in every sense we’re trying to grow,” Kimel said. “Tomorrow won’t be any different for us. Virginia Tech has some new faces, but we have some familiarity with them because they’ve done some things in the past, and I’m particularly looking forward to our defensive play because [some Blue Devil defenders] have played this group in the past.”

Duke’s defense ranks first in the nation in forced turnovers per game, and boasts three players with 20-plus points on the season.

Following this game, the Blue Devils will have five consecutive matches at home, two of which are

horns as the rest of the squad struggled in singles play, and that defeat was the first of a threematch losing streak for the Blue Devils after an unsuccessful road trip through California.

Back on the East Coast, Duke welcomes the Trojans (13-1), who boast the best player in the country in sophomore Steve Johnson.

But Southern California has established itself as a national contender because of its balance—six Trojans are ranked among the top 120 players in the country.

Southern California suffered its only defeat to the same Texas team that beat Duke at home, but the Trojans bested the Blue Devils against the teams’ only other common opponent, UCLA. Duke suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to the Bruins while Southern California swept its biggest rival, 4-0. in conference play, before completing their season in an away contest against North Carolina.

margie truwit/Chronicle file photo

Head coach Kerstin Kimel’s club needs a win Wednesday to stay on pace in the ACC race.

announces

2010 Student Impact Awards $100 Cash Prizes Awards will be made to undergraduate students or projects engaged in science education related outreach or research activities.

The DCSE will award students whose projects promote increased science interest, literacy, or knowledge among members of the K-16 population. Impact may be applied or have basic research implications to drive future policy.

Download an application at www.scied.duke.edu.

Go to the Support link at the bottom of the homepage. Submit your application scied@duke.edu by APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY , March 19, 2010.

the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 11

In basketball, the parabola is paramount

by Curt Suplee

THE Washington Post

The annual NCAA basketball playoff spectacle in which millions of us, firmly docked in front of the TV screen, consume 1,000 calories an hour while watching young athletes burn 12 calories a minute— begins in earnest this week. If you’re planning to participate in this national sit-in, you can drastically enhance the viewing experience by pondering the parabola.

It’s the elegant arched trajectory naturally formed by any projectile, from an artillery round to a tomato, moving in a gravitational field. Parabolas have been extensively studied since people started throwing stuff at each other, and they shape the outcome of many ballistic sports, such as baseball, golf, football, shot put and more. But they reach their apex in basketball, where field goals and free throws demand precision control of parabolas.

But not just any parabola. Success favors a fairly high arch. The ball must pass through the hoop with a little room to spare, and that limits the possibilities. The hoop is 18 inches in diameter, and the men’s ball is about 9.5 inches wide—women’s about 9.2. So if the men’s ball were thrown straight down from above—that is, at an angle of 90 degrees to the horizontal hoop rim, as in the classic Michael Jordan airborne dunk—there would be 4.25 inches of free space all around, a comfy margin.

But as the angle decreases and approaches the horizontal, the free space for

a “nothing but net” shot gets much smaller.

At 55 degrees, it’s about 2.5 inches. At 45 degrees, it’s down to 1.5 inches. And at 30 degrees, it’s basically impossible to get the ball straight into the basket, even with a full scholarship and more tattoos than a Hell’s Angels convention.

Not surprisingly, increasing the height at which the player launches the ball not only reduces the distance to the basket but raises the entry angle of the ball’s parabolic arch, allowing more free space.

In a classic study in the 1980s, Peter Brancazio, then a physics professor at Brooklyn College, determined that adding two feet to the height at which a shot leaves the player’s fingers increases the success rate by a whopping 17 percent. No wonder you see so many jump shots.

But is there a launch angle that gives the maximum probability of a perfect telegenic swish?

Well, there are many different parabolas that will do the job, and the choice varies according to player height, personal preference and position on the court. But one way to decide, Brancazio wrote 25 years ago in Sport Science: Physical Laws and Optimum Performance, is to “consider the amount of force needed to launch the shot. It is to the shooter’s advantage to use as little force as possible,” he reasoned, because the less the force, “the more quickly and effortlessly (the ball) can be released.”

Okay, fine, but how do we know what takes the least force?

Here physics comes literally into play.

We know from theory and experiment that you get the most distance with the least effort by firing a projectile at 45 degrees, exactly midway between vertical and horizontal. And we can assume that least-effort shooting is really important for a player taking a jump shot, because he or she can’t push against the floor for power, especially in heavy defensive traffic. So the fastest and easiest angle would seem to be 45 degrees.

Except when it isn’t, which is a lot of the time. The reason is that 45 degrees is the ideal least-effort angle ONLY if the ball is shot from the same height as the basket, which is 10 feet above the floor. So it’s perfect for a 7-foot player whose arms reach two feet over his or her head and who jumps a foot off the floor to shoot. The rest of us will be launching the ball “uphill” (that is, as if we were firing a cannon at a target on a higher elevation). So we’ll need larger angles.

How much larger? Again, science comes to the rescue.

Brancazio explains that you need 45 degrees plus half the angle formed by a straight line between the position of the ball at launch and the basket. Depending on your height and where you are on the court, that typically ranges from 7 to 14 degrees. Thus, for a shot leaving your hands at eight feet above the floor from 18 feet out, you’ll want to launch the ball at a bit more than 48 degrees. For most players at

a distance of 10 to 25 feet, the least-effort angle ranges between 47 and 52 degrees.

Using that system, you can calculate the ideal free-throw angle. It’s 13.75 feet from the free-throw line to the center of the basket, and a 6-foot player launches the ball from about seven feet above the hardwood. That works out to a shooting angle of 51 degrees.

Of course, Brancazio did his calculations long before the advent of the modern computer. But a new state-of-the-art study gives basically the same result. Last November, engineers at North Carolina State University published an analysis of hundreds of thousands of 3-D computer simulations of free throws. Their optimal angle: 52 degrees. (Check it out during the playoffs.

Seen from the side, a 52-degree free-throw parabola has its highest point just about even with the top of the backboard.)

Free-throw success is also improved by adding a little backspin, which pushes the ball downward if it hits the back of the rim.

The North Carolina State engineers calculated the ideal rate of free-throw backspin at three cycles per second. That is, a shot that takes one second to reach the basket will make three full revolutions counterclockwise as seen from the stands on the player’s right side. Watch for that, too.

And while you’re at it, take a moment to remember Menaechmus, the geometer who first described the parabola in the 4th century B.C. He never made a layup, but he got game.

Watch to our March Madness Preview online at tinyurl.com/mmpreview.

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Announcements GSA: India/China 2011 April 16 app deadline!

Apply now for next spring!

The Global Semester Abroad (GSA): India/ China program will launch in spring 2011 in Udaipur, India and Beijing, China, and offer four Duke courses in development, environment, and global health.

Two courses will be taught in each country. Courses will count towards multiple major, minor, certificate, and curricular requirements. Full program details can be found at <http:// studyabroad.duke. edu/ home/ Programs/ Semester/ Global_Semester_Abroad>.

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Holton Prize in Education

Three cash prizes of $500 will be awarded for outstanding, innovative, or investigative research in education related fields. Application deadline is April 23, 2010.

Open to Duke undergraduates.

For more information, www. duke.edu/web/education/scholarships/holtonprize.html

SUMMER SESSION DISCOUNT

Duke alumni, including current Duke seniors graduating this May, can attend Summer Session and receive a significant discount.

View projected summer course offerings on ACES. Questions?

Contact us at summer@duke. edu. or visit www.summersession.duke.edu. Registration for Summer 2010 is now open 919684-5375

SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS

Make a teaching license part of your undergraduate studies and earn a Minor in Education at the same time! The Program in Education at Duke offers students the opportunity to earn a teaching license at the elementary level (grades K-6) or at the high school level (grades 9-12 in English, math, social studies, or science). Students in the Teacher Preparation Program also qualify for the Minor in Education. Applications for admission are now being accepted. For elementary licensure, contact Dr. Jan Riggsbee at 660-3077 or jrigg@duke. edu. For high school licensure, contact Dr. Susan Wynn at 6602403 or swynn@duke.edu.

Research Studies Paid Research Opportunity

Participants are needed for studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Studies are conducted at the Duke University Brain Imaging and Analysis Center. Must be 18 years of older and no history of neurological injury or disease. Studies last 1-2 hours and participants are paid approximately $20/ hr. For more information call 681-9344 or email volunteer@biac.duke.edu.

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Email sssrc@ mindspring.com 919-967-0915 Durham Academy, an independent private school, seeks an Upper School speech and debate coach. The debate team competes locally and nationally, with an emphasis on public forum debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, Congressional debate, and extemporaneous speaking. Practices are in the afternoons and evenings. Tournaments are on weekends. The ideal candidate will have substantial speech and debate experience, excellent organizational skills, and the ability to relate well to a wide range of students and parents. To apply, send a resume and cover letter to jeffwelty@yahoo.com.

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the chronicle

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 13

Diversions Shoe Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins

Dilbert Scott Adams

Doonesbury Garry Trudeau

The Chronicle myths we’d like to bust: that st. patty’s falls on the 17th: ����������������������������hon, clee, grant self explanatory: ������������������������������������������������������� will, emmeline the one about the balloon and the rabbi: �������������������������� carmen that the NIT matters: ���������������������������������������������������������������austin the jews-as-athletes myth: ���������� gabe, jscholl, andy, stephen, joe beer before liquor...: ��������������������������������������� courtney, sam, james that the internet is a series of tubes: ���������������������������� klein, doug the greek one: ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� reed Barb Starbuck finds the proof in the pudding: ������������������������ Barb

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The Chronicle

14 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

Athletics strikes out on scheduling Baseball weather has final- only masks mismanagement ly arrived, but fans looking to and perpetuates fiscal irrecatch a game on campus at sponsibility.

Duke’s Jack Coombs Field Presently, the combination will be sorely disappointed. of poor water drainage in the This season, the Blue Dev- Jack Coombs outfield and ils will only play a particularly six games at rainy North editorial Jack Coombs Carolina spring Field. The majority of the have made scheduling home team’s “home” games will be games with far-off oppohosted at the Durham Bulls nents risky. To avoid flooded Athletic Park in downtown outfields and cancellations, Durham and the USA Base- the Athletics Department ball National Training Com- has moved most of its home plex in Cary. games to the DBAP and Cary.

Although moving certain The DBAP is one of high-profile games to the the premier minor league DBAP can lend a special sig- baseball parks in the counnificance to these events and try and is an excellent increase Duke’s presence in venue for Duke Baseball’s the Durham community, the big games. Fewer students Department of Athletics’ in- might attend games played creased use of the DBAP and at the DBAP instead of the the USA Baseball complex on-campus stadium, but

“

onlinecomment

You have beautifully captured the feeling of returning home for short visits while away at college. I still remember the unsettling transitions between the two worlds.

—“brussman44” commenting on the column “The Odyssey: Duke edition.”

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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.

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hosting games against highprofile opponents at this impressive facility has the potential to draw in crowds from the Durham community and boost excitement for the baseball program.

Playing a few home games off campus could actually be a positive step in building a strong baseball program.

But relying on off-campus facilities because the home stadium is in a state of disrepair is unacceptable.

Drainage and facilities problems at Jack Coombs Field are not a recent development. In its 2008 strategic plan, the Athletics Department conceded that the field was “the worst baseball facility in the ACC” and far inferior to stadiums at peer institutions. As a result, the

plan called for immediate renovations to the facility.

When it came time to implement these renovations, though, the Athletics Department made a poor decision. Because North Carolina was in a drought and the problem was not pressing at the moment, athletics officials chose to construct an all-weather pitching and hitting facility and upgrade the locker room instead of addressing the drainage problems at Jack Coombs Field.

Now, as a direct result of their jumbled priorities, Duke has a virtually unplayable baseball stadium and only a handful of home games will be played on campus.

These missteps come at a steep cost. Representatives

from the Athletics Department, DBAP and the USA Baseball complex have been tightlipped about the financial arrangements at stake, but it is reasonable to assume that the University must pay to use outside facilities. This money—which should have been used for improvements to Duke’s own stadium—is now being wasted.

Beyond dollars and cents, the lack of a reliable on-campus baseball facility hurts recruiting, takes away from our home field advantage and increases time that studentathletes spend away from campus.

All of this highlights one simple fact: when it comes to the management of Jack Coombs Field, Duke Athletics has struck out.

C’est K-ville

irst, I give my regards to the newly retired Zach White. This year’s Krzyzewskiville was smartly and sensibly run. Good work.

Because it was the ideal year to be a tenter, it would be a shame to let the memory fade so soon.

I imagine that, someday, I won’t remember a thing from college but basketball games and all the fanfare connor southard surrounding them. dead poet Or that’s the hope.

A few weeks’ distance from K-ville was necessary before I could write about it—you’ll note that George Orwell had to actually get done tramping around England with surly Irishmen before he could sit down to write Down and Out in Paris and London.

I always used to regard people who spent overlong amounts of time in line for things as idiots.

Then—like many freshmen this year, last year and next year—I found myself not having been talked into spending over a month in a tent: I was actually clamoring for the chance to do so. The game was going to be better than a Van Halen concert, though, or it better be since I was going to sit out in the cold for it.

Then the tent was made a mess of in any number of ways, our merry band of freshmen discovered creative ways to repeatedly flake on one another and we lost the game. I swore I would never tent again.

An oath which didn’t last me long. This year, things turned out better, largely because we won.

Renewed faith in a victory—or even, given the festivities of March sixth, a triumphant pummeling—will no doubt lure me and other tenters back for more next year, and the year after that. But it’s not about the basketball.

No doubt you’ve heard the story that our “Blue Devil” mascot pays homage to a World War I French infantry unit that specialized in mountain warfare and was distinguished by the bravery of its members. The Chasseurs Alpins were everything it’s hard to be when wedded to a university campus: mobile men of action with a shot at making substantive history at any given harrowing moment.

According to our University archives, they didn’t make much military history, daring-do aside, but they became famous for looking good in their berets and capes and generally being dashing. They looked the part of a bunch of dudes you’d name a sports team in honor of, at least back when it was cool to wear a cape.

Tenting is in some ways all about looking good. K-ville is nationally famous for being a ritualistic display of fanaticism on the part of the group of devotees ESPN most likes to advertise: the Cameron Crazies. We look the part, not so much by dint of our face paint as by the nylonskinned, fiberglass framed, muddy little village we insist on populating. If it weren’t there, to what cut scene would College Gameday roll every 15 minutes?

But it’s not just about appearances, either, whether in 1915 or two weeks ago.

The college narrative we’d most like to believe in is one of adventure: carefree youth, intellectual energy, playful triumphs and missteps, boisterous friendships and getting passionately, gloriously worked up over Oxbridge boat races or ACC basketball games. It’s the same aesthetic of dashing, glamorous, purposeful activity—all undertaken in the company of one’s close fellows—that we so heroically evoke when we romanticize wartime military units. We’re willing to forget real bloodshed and replace it with a happier mythology of warfare, one that doesn’t necessarily include basketball, but is full of all the good things that college life is also supposed to be bursting with— fierce passion, devoted camaraderie, winsome adventure.

But we Diables Bleus are more likely to feel as though we’re beset on all sides with draining obligations and other reasons for angst. Far from feeling as though we’re comparable to righteous young warriors roaming the Alps, we too often feel like salarymen and women going gray before our time.

So, given the choice between staying locked up in our dorm rooms or Perkins and stealing away—irresponsibly, but for reasons of passionate fanhood—to a tent quagmire for a few weeks, some of us choose to muddy our shoes. It may not be the natural thing to do, per se, but it both looks good and has a tinge of the combatively romantic about it: There’s a goal, but there’s also the simple joy of being out there against more mundane instincts.

On his return from fighting against the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell declared that no man would ever want to go to war if he could just once smell a trench—nothing romantic about untreated sewage. On behalf of K-villers everywhere, I thank the IM Gym bathroom and its cleaning staff for ensuring that K-ville remains nothing worse than a relatively odorless, painless simulation of camping out in a bombed-out Belgian meadow.

Connor Southard is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every Wednesday.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 | 15

commentaries

The ‘rights’ vocabulary

Duke v. Harvard

uke v. Harvard is not a basketball and the students to burst out laughing. match-up that you are likely to He could have been talking about unisee. Subconsciously comparing corns for all the difference it would have the experiences at each school, however, made. After class my friend explained is how I spent my spring break. to me that sadly, “people seem to care espite all the recent hullabaloo osophical points have been largely igInstead of picking up The Chronicle more about themselves here more than regarding health care, there nored is that most people—including every day, I read the Harvard Crimson, other people.” has been precious little discus- to a large degree myself—do not have and instead of eating in The difference can be exsion regarding what I take to be the the knowledge base or vocabulary to our Great Hall, I ate in plained in part by the varicentral philosophical discuss intelligently such a Great Hall with half a ation in the social and resiquestion underlying concerns. Few people undozen chandeliers, high dential organization of the the critiques and affirder 30, even in academia, ceilings, intricate arches two schools. Despite close mations of the various have grappled with what and stained glass winaffiliation to their residenhealth plans proffered it is that a government or dows that looked as if it tial house where they are by the president and state must provide to its were taken straight out assigned to live for three Congress: whether or citizenry. To a large deof Hogwarts. If you ever years, Harvard students not health care is a gree, this is because the sue li thought Duke, where seem to lack a collective “right.” major rights battles of the daniel bessner each student who was philosopher’s stone experience that students To my knowledge, 20th century, embodied mutatis mutandis by the Civil Rights Moveconsidered the smartat Duke share. For examfew media pundits, est kid in high school becomes pitted ple, Duke students, whether they like it whether they be on ment, are wrongly beagainst thousands of others who had or not, have experienced the griminess cable news or newspaper journalists, lieved to be behind us. the same reputation of being equally of Shooters or pneumonia in Krzyzewshave addressed what it philosophiNot only that, but the major issue in high achieving, is a weird place, I dare kiville. Harvard students, in contrast, are cally means to have a “right” in a lib- which rights talk has dominated—the you to visit Harvard—a campus where much more independent. eral democratic society generally, and issue of homosexuals’ “right” to marevery single student was not only considAlthough this lack of cohesiveness alour American democracy specifically. ry—is not really a discussion about a ered “the best” at his or her high school leviates much of the social pressure that Instead, the discussions about health right. It is instead the attempt to deny too, but is also conscious of the fact that may occur at Duke, some Harvard stucare occurring in the media have cen- a right that everyone understands must he or she attends the most prestigious dents complain about the effects of not tered on the material benefits of these be free from state interference—the school in the world. having a common student experience plans; does the proposed health plan right of consenting adults of any ethWhereas we proudly display our school and the lack of a party scene at their reduce costs in the short-term? Does nicity, race or gender, to receive the spirit on T-shirts and with bumper stick- school. On the other hand, regardless it reduce our long-term deficit? Do legal benefits that every other marers, Harvard students shy away from wear- of the structure of the student body, it people stand to be healthier under the ried adult is allowed. The debate about ing anything that advertises their school. is also possible that the absence of roproposed plan? gays’ right to marry is not a legitimate With the word “Harvard” written all over mance is a fate in which schools with Although these are all crucially definitional battle, as the “right” is alCambridge, however, it is difficult not to highly motivated students focused on important questions one must ask of ready established in our culture and see a student wearing a backpack and im- their own futures must face. the proposed plan, the philosophical legal system. (Full disclosure: I think mediately have the impression “Oooh, No institution is perfect, but we can element of whether or not health is a it is philosophically—not religiously— someone goes to Hah-vahd.” In order to learn from the experiences of other colright has not been a central part of the indefensible to deny individuals of any avoid attracting attention to themselves, leges that share similar characteristics to public debate. Nevertheless, where you sexual orientation the same rights as students also try to refrain from acci- Duke. Despite Harvard’s reputation and stand on this issue will often determine others who are of different orientadentally dropping the “H-bomb,” which the advantages it has to offer, I wouldn’t where you stand on the issue of health tion, and subsequently that the denial causes strangers either to love or hate trade any amount of prestige or money care, and perhaps other policy con- of homosexual’s rights to marry is a them instantaneously for their pedigree. for the unity of the Duke community cerns as well. If you believe health care travesty.)

My visit at Harvard has shown me that and knowing that when I write the acrois a right, then the state must provide The discussion over health care, despite Duke’s issues with its administra- nym GTHC GTH, I will feel an ineffable everyone with access to it. If you be- however, is such a definitional battle. tion and social life, dissatisfactions in- connection with a stranger who knows lieve health care is a benefit, than you That is to say, if health care reform is evitably manifest itself in different ways exactly what I’m talking about. may argue that increasing state power passed, the cultural and legal definiat top tier schools, especially based on to provide citizens with access to it is tion of rights in the American will have the organization of the campus and city.

Sue Li is a Trinity senior. Her column philosophically unjustifiable. been transformed. I think that this is For example, as an island in the middle runs every other Wednesday.

One reason I believe that these phil- a good thing, and that a liberal demoof Durham where students, if and when cratic government of America’s means they go off campus, drive to Southpoint does have the duty to provide its citior Chapel Hill, Duke greatly contrasts zens’ with access to health care. Others from the layout of Harvard, which scatmay legitimately disagree. Wherever ndorsement olicy ters its academic buildings and dorms one stands on this issue, however, is throughout the city. Instead of taking engendered by how one thinks about The Chronicle will be running en- participate in the endorsement voting buses, students never stop walking, usurights. But as I stated earlier, we—or at dorsement letters for the 2010 Duke for the office of the candidate(s) they ally disregarding crosswalks. Cars always least I—do not have the ability to disStudent Government elections. From did not hear speak. stop for them; apparently no one dares cuss this issue astutely.

March 18 to March 30 we will publish 4. The Chronicle trusts that memhit a Harvard student.

This may be my problem, of course, letters for the election of president bers of organizations with significant The most striking detail I noticed, but in my defense I have gone to coland executive vice president, and personal or professional attachments however, was the contrast, or similarity lege and am now in a Ph.D. program. from April 3 to April 15 we will pub- or associations with candidates will (depending on how one looks at it), beAt the very least, I am educated. Yet I lish letters for the vice presidential remove themselves from the endorsetween the dating scenes, or lack thereof, lack the basic vocabulary with which to elections. ment process. at both schools. Many students at Duke discuss the issue of rights in America.

We will accept letters from any and 5. If an organization then wishes express frustration with the hook-up Institutions of higher education must all student organizations, so long as to endorse candidates in a Chronicle culture and the difficulty of finding relacreate classes designed to teach Amerithe groups adhere to the guidelines letter, the president of the organizationships on campus. I’ve heard stories cans the ethical and moral vocabularbelow. We will not accept personal en- tion must e-mail Editorial Page Editor from sorority members sick of frat guys ies one needs to talk about not only dorsements from individuals.

Shuchi Parikh (sp64). The e-mail must who will wine and dine a girl and then rights, but other central philosophical 1. Organizations must meet with all include an attached endorsement letdump her without explanation. problems that permeate our political candidates in the office(s) for which ter and the following statement: While visiting Pasadena City College, and legal discourses. This point may they choose to make endorsements.

“I, the president of [organization one of the few people I’ve known who has initially appear reactionary, but it is Organizations may not endorse with- name], certify that all required endorsehad a long-term relationship at Duke comnot intended as such. out meeting with the candidates or if ment guidelines were followed in the mented on how weird PCC was compared I hope that, in the future, these they only meet with some of the candi- formulation of this letter. I understand to her alma mater, although she could not discussions regarding curricula will indates running in a given race. that failure to adhere to the guidelines put her finger on why. She later realized clude debates about mandatory “civics” 2.

In the endorsement process, orundermines the election process, as well that it was because she saw couples kissing courses of the type described above. If ganizations must give equal speaking as the integrity of my organization and everywhere, something that she almost such courses are instituted, I maintain and questioning time to each candi- The Chronicle.” never saw at Duke. I myself admit to doing that our present public discourse will date. No candidate may receive more 6. There is no guarantee that ena double take whenever I see two people be elevated as individuals study the time than another. dorsement letters will be published. holding hands on campus. Couples are albasic assumptions that underlay our 3. Members of organizations who The letters with the greatest likelihood most a spectacle here. democracy. These first principles, perdecide they want to participate in en- of being published are those that arrive It could, however, be a lot worse. The haps due to their fundamentality, are dorsements must remain in the room earliest and are concise. Letters may first flyer that caught my eye on Hartoo often ignored. for every candidate’s appearance. not exceed 325 words. vard’s campus read: “Does dating even Members may not leave and return, or Please contact Shuchi Parikh at exist at Harvard?” During lecture later Daniel Bessner is a third-year Ph.D. arrive late.

If they do so, they may not sp64@duke.edu with questions. that day, the professor made a joke about candidate in European history. His column “love at Harvard,” which caused him runs every other Wednesday.

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