December 1, 2010 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

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

RLHS grants 99 additional exemptions

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 65

www.dukechronicle.com

Surgeon also charged with embezzlement

Chechen children

by Nicole Kyle

from Staff Reports

Additional juniors returning from abroad can join their peers living off-campus, following a second wave of housing exemptions granted by Residence Life and Housing Services.

Ninety-nine more students have been released from the University’s three-year housing requirement, Linda Moiseenko, manager for Duke community housing, wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. These students were notified of their release via e-mail in mid-Novemeber and were among the original 220 students who applied for off-campus housing earlier in the Fall. Only 66 students were initially issued exemptions in October.

University housing policy mandates that RLHS fills all on-campus beds before granting off-campus housing privileges to juniors looking to live off-campus in the Spring. The number of students living on campus next semester has fluctuated, allowing RLHS to grant more exemptions to juniors abroad, said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta.

“There’s always a meltdown over the course of the semester,” he said. “People made last minute decisions whether regarding medical withdrawals, academic withdrawals or Spring study abroad. Throughout the semester, there are always some changes which permit more students to be exempt.”

Moneta called the existing housing process “pretty dynamic,” adding that Duke’s large residential student body makes changes inevitable.

Moiseenko added that RLHS officials’ decision to grant more exemptions was partly influenced by accommodation.

“RLHS has several variables to track, which impact the number and configuration of bed spaces available for the [Spring],” she said. “In attempting to meet the needs of on-campus students and students returning to campus, RLHS determined that additional release was necessary.”

Yet even with the additional exemptions, fewer juniors were released this year than in previous years. Last year, all students who applied for off-campus housing received it, said Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a senior.

An increased number of available beds on campus combined with the fact that graduate students are not required to live on Central Campus threatens the “cultural norm” that promotes off-campus living for juniors in their second semester, Temple said.

“It’s not a change in policy [that’s

A former Duke surgeon is the second ex-employee to be charged for the embezzlement of $267,000 from the University.

Eric DeMaria, 51, was arrested Tuesday morning, following the Nov. 24 arrest of John Cotton, a former Duke employee who is charged with involvement in the same theft. Both are accused of embezzlement of more than $100,000, according to the arrest warrants from the Durham County Magistrate’s Office. Cotton is also accused of securing property under false pretenses, abusing his position to order products and services worth $58,706 for personal use.

Cotton, 49, was a business manager in the surgical department at Duke Hospital, and DeMaria was his boss. Both were removed from their positions Aug. 1, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. He added that no further arrests are expected.

Although Duke police initially investigated the embezzlement, the case is now being handled by the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, Schoenfeld said.

DeMaria was director of Bariatric Surgery

THE CHRONICLE

See housing on page 5

DSG calls for peer reviews, Page 4

THE CHRONICLE

ted knudsen/The Chronicle

Dr. Khassan Baiev discussed his experience during the Second Chechen War in a crowded White Lecture Hall Tuesday. Baiev’s impartial work forced him to seek political asylum in the U.S. SEE STORY PAGE 3

See embezzlement on page 5

NO. 6 MSU

No. 1 DUKE

CAMERON • WEDNESDAY • 9:30 p.m. • ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE

Duke prepares for battle with Spartans

by Vignesh Nathan THE CHRONICLE

It will be a strange day at Duke University.

One will pass the cobblestone crosswalk across Towerview Road and bear witness to a sight normally seen in the middle of spring. Hoards of Cameron Crazies acting, for the lack of a better word, crazy: Barbecuing, drinking and relaxing in the middle of the day. In the middle of the week. In the middle of an academic semester. With final examinations merely two weeks away.

Usually the anticipation of the Duke-Maryland or Duke-North Carolina game is required to generate this much student interest and outright disregard for homework. However, tonight’s game is different from the typical fall-semester, non-ACC contest. Tonight at 9:30 p.m., the No. 1 Blue Devils will find themselves facing off against themselves, but with a different team logo—the green Spartan helmet of No. 6 Michigan State.

See michigan st. on page 7

Spring concert may be held on Central Campus, Page 4

Chronicle file photo

The Duke Blue Devils will host the Michigan State Spartans tonight in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The non-ACC game is a highly anticipated matchup.

ONTHERECORD

“We are looking for someone who has a good reputation for leadership around the community.”

­—GPSC President Daniel Griffin on the graduate Young Trustee. See story page 3

2 | Wednesday, December 1 2010 the chronicle

worldandnation onschedule...

Supreme Court Discussion Law School 3041, 12:15-1:15p.m.

Sri Srinivasan, veteran of the Supreme Court and current partner of O’Melveny and Myers LLP will discuss Supreme Court advocacy.

on the

LATAM Symposium 2010 Fuqua, 12:30-6:30p.m.

The 2010 symposium focuses on exploring opportunities in a new global environment and addressing trends and challenges.

5928

THURSDAY:

5030

Men’s Basketball vs. MSU Cameron Indoor, 9:30-11:30p.m.

Come cheer on the Duke Blue Devils as they take on the number six team in the nation: the Michigan State Spartans.

web

“The ACC is looking to earn respect in the upcoming ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

With only one team left in this week’s AP Top 25, the ACC’s struggles have been well-documented this season. The defending champions are the lone remaining undefeated team in this young season. For comparison’s sake, as of Monday, eight conferences had multiple undefeated teams.”

— From The Chronicle’s Sports Blog sports.chronicleblogs.com

Linda davidson/The washington post

Shown above is the medical care unit of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The war in the Middle East has witnessed the birth of a new military medical strategy: a few extremely sophisticated and hightech hospitals located close to the battlefield. Within a few hours of being wounded, soliders can receive care from top-notch specialists that previously were unavailable without long-distance travel.

“

TODAY:

Age will not be defied.

— Francis Bacon

”

TODAY IN HISTORY

1878: 1st White House telephone installed.

Government support of Russian president sees education showing returns new arms race looming WASHINGTON D.C. — The Education Department announced Tuesday that it has provided an unprecedented amount of aid to turn around struggling high schools, while an independent report found the nation’s high school graduation rate is on the rise.

The federal announcement and the report from America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization founded by former secretary of state Colin Powell, reflected a coordinated response to what some experts have called high school “dropout factories.”

Through the 2009 economic stimulus law, the government has targeted $3.5 billion to improve persistently lowperforming schools. Tuesday, the department disclosed that 48 percent of the 730 schools that have set turnaround plans in motion through those grants are high schools.

off the

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MOSCOW — In a state-of-the-nation speech Tuesday that dwelled on overcoming the persistent weaknesses sapping Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that failure to reach agreement on missile defense cooperation in Europe could set off a new arms race in the decade ahead.

Those dark remarks appeared aimed as much at his generals as at the West.

Medvedev has indicated that he wants to bend the nation’s resources toward diversifying the economy rather than restoring the military industrial complex of old, and the Kremlin has come to see arms control as in its own interests.

Medvedev did not mention the stillunratified nuclear arms agreement with the United States, but he spoke approvingly of a summit in Lisbon on Nov. 20 where he discussed the eventual goal of Russian cooperation with NATO on a European missile defense system.

Senate sets standards for imported food safety

the chronicle

Wednesday, December 1 2010 | 3

Physician recounts toll Approximately 30 apply of Second Chechen War for graduate YT position

by Ashley Mooney THE CHRONICLE

During the Russian Chechen Wars, a vicious conflict unbeknownst to many in the West, thousands of children sustained injuries requiring extensive plastic surgery. Luckily for some of them, Dr. Khassan Baiev was there to help.

Baiev, a Chechen native and chairman of the International Committee for the Children of Chechnya, spoke Tuesday to a large group of students and faculty gathered in White Lecture Hall about his experiences helping sick and injured children during and after the conflict.

In the last two decades, Chechnya, a federal subject of Russia, was immersed in violent struggles for independence.

Although the conflict did not result in Chechen autonomy, it destroyed the region’s infrastructure and socioeconomic system. It also left thousands of people handicapped and unable to contribute physically to society.

“After the war, there were 26,000 children left without parents—14,000 children were left without arms or legs. And there is a very high statistic of people in Chechnya with cancer,” Baiev said.

He added that he helped both Chechen and Russian soldiers indiscriminately during the war, upsetting both sides in the process.

Eventually, staying in Chechnya became too dangerous, and Baiev was forced to seek political asylum in the United States.

He returned to Chechnya in 2007 with a team of plastic surgeons and has gone back several times for four to five months at a time since.

During his presentation, Baiev showed the audience a series of photographs from one of his recent trips. The slides included images of children with cleft palates, severe burns and amputated limbs.

One such image displayed a child who had been burned so badly that Baiev had to operate on him to give him eyelids so that he could close his eyes.

Another picture depicted a young

man who had lost both of his hands and his eyes in a land mine explosion.

“I feel very fortunate, as an immigrant from the Ukraine, to be here, considering that there are kids who are my age who have missing limbs and have to grow up in that economy where there aren’t even that many people to treat them and where they can’t even work in agriculture because there are mines lining so much of the country,” freshman Paul Chubinskiy said.

“After the war, there were 26,000 children left without parents...”

— Khassan Baiev, Chechen native Baiev also addressed several medical issues in Chechnya, noting that chemicals from the warfare have caused one in every three children to be born with defects, many of which are extremely rare and require treatment from specialists.

“The biggest tragedy in Chechnya today is that there just aren’t enough specialists because during the first war, a lot of doctors and nurses died,” he said.

“So when the second war broke out, all of these doctors and nurses left to resettle in Europe and the younger generation that’s working there now doesn’t have the experience—they’re still young.”

Although Baiev spoke about the war, he left out the politics, remaining neutral to both the Russian and Chechen sides.

“I really enjoyed the apolitical nature of the talk,” said Timur Kuran, professor of economics. “He didn’t use this as an opportunity to make a political gesture.”

Baiev said he spoke to raise awareness, not to comment on the political climate of Chechnya.

“People are tired of fighting and they just want to live in peace,” he said.

by sony rao

THE CHRONICLE

About 30 graduate and professional students have applied to serve as the next graduate Young Trustee.

The Graduate and Professional Student Council’s Young Trustee Screening Committee will narrow the field to three applicants in January, one of whom will be elected at GPSC’s general assembly meeting Feb. 15, said William Hunt, chair of the YTSC and an English graduate student.

The graduate Young Trustee is elected for a two-year term, serving first as a nonvoting observer of the Board of Trustees and then as a full-voting member. Applications were due yesterday at midnight.

“The trustee committee is looking for people who have a good grasp of what goes on at Duke and who come from across the different schools within Duke,” said GPSC President Daniel Griffin, a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in classical studies. “We are looking for someone who has a good reputation for leadership around the community.”

In recent years, between 20 and 30 graduate students applied for the graduate Young Trustee position, Griffin said. The selection process will likely have two rounds, though this may change depending on the quality of the applicant pool, he added.

“The [Young Trustee] selection process

was extremely thorough,” said Young Trustee James McDonald, Law ’09.

The current Young Trustee Screening Committee has seven members whose educational backgrounds range from Fuqua School of Business to the Divinity School.

“They are looking for a person who is interested in representing the entire graduate and professional community at Duke,” Hunt said.

The election of the graduate Young Trustee differs from the process for the undergraduate Young Trustee in that the student government—not the general student population—selects a candidate. Griffin said the diverse group of representatives in the current general assembly will adequately represent their constituents, however.

courtney douglas/Chronicle file photo

The number of applicants for graduate Young Trustee this year is comparable to that of previous years.

4 | Wednesday, December 1 2010 the chronicle

Duke student government

Duke university union

Committee considers Spring New bylaw calls for DSG concert on Central Campus performance peer reviews

by Fei Chen

THE CHRONICLE

Duke University Union members discussed the possibility of a Spring concert on Central Campus during their meeting Tuesday night.

For the show, the committee aims to bring in one main artist and two supporting artists.

Some committee members expressed concerns that the concert would be held too close to the Last Day of Classes celebration. However, others did not think this would dissuade students from attending, citing the popularity of the Kid Cudi and N.E.R.D. concert in April as evidence that timing would not negatively impact attendance.

Members also expressed concerns that students would be reluctant to attend a concert held on Central Campus, as it would be an inconvenience for students living on East and West campuses. However, members ultimately agreed that the concert would be an “experiment” worth trying.

“It’s important for us to explore other venues,” said Major Attractions Chair Karen Chen, a senior.

She also noted that it is difficult to plan attractions in spaces such as Page Auditorium because of their relatively low capacity numbers.

“We want to have this space where students can dance and have fun,” Chen said.

While LDOC caters to a more general audience, members discussed the pos-

sibility that the bands considered for the Spring concert would only cater to a niche audience. Whether this would be a positive or negative factor, however, is unclear.

Additionally, DUU members discussed and approved a proposal for the president and the executive vice president positions to be elected before all other executive committee positions.

Currently, only the president is elected first, and then the new president and the outgoing executive vice president sit in on interviews for the other committee positions.

The new rules state that the president and the executive vice president are elected first so that the two can sit in on the other interviews. Members said they hoped the two would have the chance to discuss goals for the next year and determine the types of committee members they are looking for before the interviews.

caroline rogriguez/The Chronicle

DUU members discussed questions regarding a possible concert on Central Campus this Spring.

DUKE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

DUKE CHORALE Rodney Wynkoop, director

CHRISTMAS CONCERT for the entire family

Tuesday, December 7 7:00 pm Duke University Chapel

C

m: 6:30 p early! sic & e u m M o C rillon gan a C l a he Or Season Music for t as hristm

Admission: One non-perishable food item for needy families in Durham For more information, visit music.duke.edu or call 660-3333

by Anna Koelsch THE CHRONICLE

After the approval of a new Senate bylaw in the Duke Student Government meeting Tuesday night, all DSG senators and executive board members will now be given performance reviews each semester.

According to the bylaw, senators will be evaluated based on their work with individual DSG projects and their participation during meetings. Senators will evaluate their peers on their individual committees and their committee vice presidents. Vice presidents will also evaluate senators on their own committees.

In past years, DSG executive members were reviewed, but the body did not conduct individual senator evaluations.

Executive Vice President Pete Schork, a junior, said the reviews will be partially qualitative and partially quantitative performance evaluations.

“We are very sensitive of causing rifts in DSG,” Schork said. “We’re not trying to kick people out.”

Schork said the reviews are intended to be “snapshots” of how senators are performing, stressing that they will exist purely to provide constructive feedback for senators and keep them accountable.

Although senators approved the bylaw, some members questioned components of the new policy. Senior Will Passo, a student affairs senator, said he did not like the numerical aspect and noted that the legislation will create a more competitive

Shariza baranyanka/The Chronicle

DSG approved a new Senate bylaw calling for peer reviews of senators and executives each semester. atmosphere.

Schork said the senator reviews will only be shared with individual senators.

Sophomore Ari Ruffer, senator for Durham and regional affairs, questioned the logistics of the reviews, asking if they would just provide a number rating your performance. Schork said the reviews would be a holistic evaluation of each senator’s legislative and project involvement.

See dsg on page 5

the chronicle

Wednesday, December 1 2010 | 5

embezzlement from page 1

dsg from page 4

and vice chair of Network General Surgery at Duke University Health System, according to Durham Regional Hospital’s website. Under DeMaria’s leadership, the Duke Weight Loss Surgery Center at Durham Regional was named an American Society for Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, a recognition of a record of favorable surgery outcomes.

Both were released from Durham County Jail after each posted $25,000 in secured bonds. The embezzlement allegedly occurred between Jan. 23, 2009 and Dec. 24, 2009, according to the arrest warrants.

In other business: DSG approved changes to the election bylaw, which will establish a DSG Board of Elections. Starting next academic year, this body will oversee all DSG elections, including the election of the undergraduate Young Trustee.

This body, which will be composed of seven undergraduate members selected through an application process, will be formed at the conclusion of this year’s elections. The commission will oversee every election and will establish rules for elections that will be published at the beginning of the year.

DSG members also discussed future Tailgate policies.

Sophomore Chris Brown, vice president for athletics and campus services, recounted a recent trip he made with DSG president Mike Lefevre, a senior, to Wake Forest University’s tailgate. Brown

housing from page 1 needed], it’s a change in expectations,” he said.

At its Nov. 4 meeting, Campus Council recommended a policy to RLHS that aims to give students more reasonable expectations when it comes to off-campus housing. The policy recommends RLHS conduct a Spring lottery for students who wish to apply for off-campus housing. This would help students roughly gauge whether they have a good chance at living off-campus, depending on their lottery numbers.

“Someone with a higher lottery number would be almost guaranteed to not get [off campus housing] as opposed to someone with lottery number one,” Temple explained. “It’s a whole lot better than nobody having any idea before going into the system before they go abroad.”

And although unsatisfied expectations caused problems for students denied in October, the sudden second wave of releases caused even more inconvenience said Kim Solow, a junior who was released from the housing contract Nov. 15.

“When we didn’t get off campus we [thought] ‘whatever,’ but when we had to go back to those places and try to reopen our contracts, that was difficult,” she said.

Solow, who had been studying abroad in India, was slated to live in a two bedroom in the Belmont Apartments.

She withdrew her application after RLHS notified her that she did not receive off-campus housing. When Solow was released form her contract, the Belmont apartment was no longer available. Solow will now be living in West Village Apartments, which have reached capacity, she said.

“I understand that they have costs they have to cover and that we’re contracted to live there for three years, [but] at the same time it sounds like [RLHS] made a huge mistake in keeping so many people. Most of the people I know were released, which just made it more difficult.”

Heather Brown, assistant manager at West Village, said although the new releases did not hurt West Village financially, it did cause many students to lose their first or second choice apartments. Brown added that West Village was “lucky” this year in that it still had enough two bedroom apartments available for the four or five contracts that returned in November. “[Students] got apartments they just didn’t get their first choice, which is unfortunate because the whole point of putting money down early is getting the best apartment,” she said.

The administration has no plans to change the threeyear housing requirement, said Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost of undergraduate education. He added that this policy is what makes Duke unique, and that the introduction of the house model will bring even more value to Duke’s distinct residential community.

“Duke is a residential university—that’s not an arbitrary fact about Duke, it’s an intentional fact that recognizes the importance of not just synergistic learning but of living,” he said. “If you choose to come to Duke, part of that is understanding it’s a residential experience.”

As more on-campus housing becomes available or is added, it is less likely people will be released, especially with the completion of K4 in Spring 2012, Moneta said.

“I keep reminding people [to] not presume any releases, that’s just the luck of the draw,” he said.

jon bedell/The Chronicle

Even with additional exemptions, granted partly due to accommodation needs, not all junior applicants will be able to live off campus this Spring.

said that because both tailgating and the stadium are off campus, students who tailgate are more likely to attend the game. He added that Wake Forest’s facilities provide for a better experience for students.

“They have a gate for student entrance [at football games],” Brown said. “We have a gap in a chain-link fence.”

Brown added that because of this year’s new regulations, recent Tailgates were the best Duke has ever had, noting that this year likely had the fewest calls to Emergency Medical Services and occurrences of students standing on objects. He said these changes were significant, but that more must be done to create a better Tailgate experience.

“Sure, Tailgate is a party, but it’s called Tailgate for a reason. It’s university-sponsored for a reason,” Brown said. “What happened was that the university decided that it was a dangerous event that didn’t achieve any... goals.”

Sports

>> INSIDE

The Chronicle

ONLINE

WEDNESDAY December 1, 2010

We break down Duke-Michigan State by position In our online-only column, Around the ACC, we try to figure out if the conference has a chance against the Big 10

www.dukechroniclesports.com

baseball

women’s basketball

Duke releases schedule Duke contains one of More games return to Jack Coombs Field country’s top scorers

Duke announced its full regular season schedule on Tuesday, a 55-game slate highlighted by an ACC series at home against Georgia Tech and away versus Miami, North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia

Chronicle file photo

Will Piwnica-Worms and the rest of the Blue Devils face a challenging slate of games this season.

and Florida State. Along with Georgia Tech, Duke will play Boston College, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest in home sets.

The Blue Devils will face six teams that finished last season ranked in the Baseball America top-25, and eight that participated in the NCAA Tournament. Two of those teams—Florida State and Clemson—played in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., with the Tigers coming just one game away from the championship series.

The nonconference schedule is highlighted by a trip to 2010 Southern Conference champion The Citadel. The Blue Devils will also play three-game series against Richmond, Villanova and La Salle before ACC play begins.

The team will play single games against N.C. Central, High Point, William and Mary, Campbell, UNC-Greensboro and Davidson.

In sharp contrast to last season, in which Duke played all but one of its home games at either the Durham Bulls Athletic Park or the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, the team will play 13 games at the recently-renovated Jack Coombs Field. The rest of the Blue Devils’ home slate will be played at the DBAP.

—from staff reports

by Alex Krinsky THE CHRONICLE

Despite boasting one of the most prolific scorers in the country and a stadium packed with fans, James Madison was unable to overcome Duke’s smothering defense and plethora of scorers last night.

After strugDUKE 75 gling to defeat UNC-Charlotte 58 Saturday, the No. JMU 5 Blue Devils (70) rallied with a dominant victory over James Madison on the road, winning the contest 75-58. With standout performances from senior Krystal Thomas and freshman Chelsea Gray, Duke remains unbeaten.

Initially it seemed as if the Blue Devils would have their hands full with an excited Dukes squad, as the teams remained tied midway through the first half. James Madison’s Dawn Evans, the second leading scorer in the country, was 5-for-10 shooting in the first half and finished the game with 20 points.

A lockdown defending job from Jasmine Thomas, though, kept the dynamic scorer in check. Evans faltered in the second half and finished the game shooting See w bball on page 7

faith robertson/Chronicle file photo

Chelsea Gray came off the bench to lead Duke in scoring against James Madison with 15 points.

The Blue Devils went 3-9? I’m still optimistic The first time that I put pen to paper this year was to opine that the 2010 football season was a make-or-break season for head coach David Cutcliffe and his Duke football program.

Perhaps ironically, as I write my last column of the year, my opinion has changed.

This season’s regression was not that drastic.

In recanting my early Jason season proclamation that it was bowl game On Football or bust for the Blue Devils, I think I am demonstrating a certain level of wisdom gained through watching 11 football games this year.

Much of my early season optimism for the team was based on the fact that at one point last year, Duke was 5-3 and on the doorstep of qualifying for its first bowl game since 1994. Even though these postseason hopes flamed out in November against some of the conference’s toughest competition, a 5-7 mark

Palmatary

was a great success in Cutcliffe’s second season. Support and optimism for the program was as high as it has been in recent memory, and after Cutcliffe decided to stay in Durham despite an offseason that saw him flirt with the Tennessee job, expectations were heightened further.

Yet, in reality, graduated quarterback Thaddeus Lewis meant more to last season’s team than can ever be quantified. On his way to passing for over 10,000 yards for his career, Lewis turned an offense with average playmakers and no semblance of a running game into a yardage-piling, point-scoring machine. This machine was proficient enough to overcome a defense that ranked in the bottom half of the nation in most statistical categories.

Many observers expected highly-touted redshirt sophomore Sean Renfree to step right in and pick up where Lewis left off, as he did admirably in a comeback victory against Army when Lewis went down with an injury. However, such forecasts were probably unreasonable given that the Aricourtney douglas/The Chronicle

See palmatary on page 8

While Duke finished with a 3-9 record, players like Kelby Brown provide hope for the future, Palmatary writes.

the chronicle

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | 7

Michigan st. from page 1 The similarities between these two teams are hard to dismiss. Both are among college basketball’s most storied programs. Both are led by legendary coaches, and both are represented by top recruits, NBA hopefuls and former McDonald’s All-Americans on the court.

Nobody will disagree—it’ll be a good game.

“I’m really excited. They’re a really good team, and whenever you play a really good team, the competition is going to be high, and the energy is going to be great,” senior forward Kyle Singler said. “I’m looking forward to playing them.”

MORE For the Blue ONLINE Devils (6-0), it will be their Wondering why the second top-ten matchup of the Cameron Crazies are wearing red ribbons at season. The first could not have the game today? dukechroniclesports.com gone any better for Duke, which soundly defeated thenNo.4 Kansas State in a game that settled any qualms that the Blue Devils were not the best team in the nation. Even Wildcat head coach Frank Martin admitted that, “[Duke] knocked the living piss out of us.”

Though biologically impossible, Martin’s statement sent a clear message: The Blue Devils are the team to beat this year.

Going into this game, Duke fans may look favorably at their chances to win. Seniors Nolan Smith and Singler have led their team to an undefeated 6-0 record thus far, but potentially the best part of this year’s Blue Devil squad relies on its diversification of talents. If Singler or Smith is having difficulties, then head coach Mike Krzyzewski can rely on Kyrie Irving, who has six straight double-figure games, to pick up the slack. If Irving can’t handle it, then Mason Plumlee, who showed signs of effectiveness in a

michael naclerio/Chronicle file photo

Kyle Singler, who scored 30 points Duke’s last time out, will face a tougher challenge from Michigan State tonight.

25-point performance against Marquette earlier this season, is well-equipped to lead the Blue Devils. If not Plumlee, then Ryan Kelly, who has blossomed as a starter and has shown a knack for long-range

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 6 Michigan St.

w bball from page 6

Cameron • TONIGHT • 9:30 p.m. • ESPN

The Frontcourt DUKE: Everyone remembers Mason Plumlee’s 25-point explosion against Marquette, but he and his brother will be expected to mainly contribute on the rebounding front tonight. Can they hold their own down low?

MICHIGAN STATE: Not an overpowering amount of height, but point forward Draymond Green, big man Delvon Roe and Derrick Nix—if his playing time increases—could provide matchup problems for the Blue Devils.

ADVANTAGE:

DUKE: Not much one can say about this backcourt that hasn’t been said before: Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith have excelled so far playing together. It will be interesting if Durrell Summers can slow them down.

MICHIGAN STATE: Turnovers have hurt the talented players at this position.

Kalin Lucas is averaging 2.5 per game, and backup Korie Lucious has been even worse with 3.2. Lucious shooting 32 percent isn’t helping, either.

ADVANTAGE:

The Backcourt

Players to Watch KYLE SINGLER: Singler went off against his brother and Oregon, scoring 30 points. Normally a slow starter shooting-wise, the senior seems to have found his touch again.

DURRELL SUMMERS: Known primarily for his length and defense, Summers has also amped up his scoring this year, going from 11.3 to 15.2 points per game. He’s an explosive athlete who now possesses an outside shot, too.

Our Take

77-72

OUR SCORE:

HADES WILL TOP THE GREEKS: The Spartans are doing two things very poorly right now that do not bode well for their chances: Protect the ball and hit their shots from the charity stripe. When a team with those inconsistencies goes up against a more talented opponent, well, you don’t have to be Jay Bilas to guess the winner.

shots, hitting 71 percent from downtown, may be able to.

However, Duke will need more than one star to shine against Michigan State, even at home. It’ll be a much differently paced

— ­ by Andy Moore

36 percent.

“I thought Jasmine Thomas was extremely strong in defending [Evans] and making her work for her shots,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

“She did get loose a couple of times in transition, but I thought Jasmine did a fantastic job.”

Duke responded from the tie game with a 13-2 run that included big treys from Thomas and Gray. Gray came off the bench and led the Blue Devils with a career-high 15 points and also grabbed six rebounds.

“James Madison came out strong and ready to play,” Gray said. “We just tried to match their intensity. My teammates did a great job moving the ball and kicking it out to me.”

The Blue Devils went into the locker room at halftime with a hefty 43-32 lead, and they never relinquished that advantage. Although James Madison senior Lauren Jimenez earned a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, both season-highs, the Dukes (3-3) were simply unable to defend the Blue Devils’ multi-dimensional offense.

Along with Krystal Thomas and Gray, seniors Jasmine Thomas and Karima Christmas also scored in double figures,

game than those against Princeton or Colgate. Rather, they will need all of the talent, and luck, that they can get.

In quite possibly their toughest matchup of the regular season, the Blue Devils will be tested by a tough Spartan (5-1) team that also made it to last year’s Final Four and which returns four of their five starters from last year’s squad.

Particularly worrisome for the Blue Devils is junior forward Draymond Green, who has been an incredible presence under the basket for Michigan State, averaging 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Combined with junior Delvon Roe, sophomore Garrick Sherman and freshman Adreian Payne, Green leads one the best frontcourts in the nation, consistently outrebounding its opponents.

The troubles don’t end there for Duke. This talented Spartan frontcourt is complimented by an even better backcourt, including Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Korie Lucious. Lucas leads the offense, scoring 17.5 points and dishing out 3.3 assists per game. He has been a prolific scorer and the Spartans’ go-to guy in tough contests, such as an earlier game against then-No.11 Washington, when he scored 29 points.

“Everybody talks about our perimeter, but their perimeter is also their strength.

It’s going to be a very good matchup,” Smith said. “We feel like we have the best perimeter in the nation, and tonight we get to prove it. It will be a big test for us.”

Lucas will likely be matched up against Duke’s Irving, who has experience defending elite guards this season. In Duke’s matchup against Kansas State, Irving contained preseason All-American Jacob Pullen to a mere four points on 1-of-12 shooting. How Irving and Lucas perform against one another will be perhaps the most interesting aspect of tonight’s game.

But no matter what happens, things will return back to normal tomorrow for those camped-out Duke students, who will go back to studying for final exams. Not even a victory over Michigan State can take that away.

tallying 11 and 14 points, respectively.

“I thought Karima was just stellar in terms of her poise and her aggression, and the way she plays and leads her team.”

McCallie said.

Junior Kathleen Scheer and freshman Haley Peters both added seven points.

Peters made her presence felt, though, in more than just the box score. Early in the first half, the freshman received a pass from Jasmine Thomas and knocked down a 3-pointer that helped the Blue Devils pull away from the Dukes.

Thanks to another big performance from Krystal Thomas, Duke was dominant down low. Thomas continued her hot streak with her second straight double-double, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Blue Devils scored 38 points in the paint compared to James Madison’s 16, and Duke outrebounded its opponent 41-33.

“JMU is an excellent team and we expect them to win their conference, and we’re excited about that,” McCallie said.

“Our team, I was very impressed with our poise, our resilience, and our ability to try and not let the crowd get involved in the basketball game.”

Duke continues its road trip Thursday night in Madison, Wis. as the Blue Devils take on the Badgers as part of the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge.

We’re there to live blog Duke-Wisconsin Thursday: sports.chronicleblogs.com

8 | Wednesday, December 1, 2010 the chronicle

capable of picking up the tough yards and with the potential to break big runs. With an offensive line returning three starters, the zona native underwent major reconstructive offense should only become more balanced knee surgery in the offseason and had thrown and continue to see more efficiency on third just 50 passes at the season’s beginning. down and in the red zone.

And, with the up-and-down season in the Beyond Renfree’s midseason struggles probooks, it is apparent why these expectations tecting the ball, the Blue Devils’ main downfall existed and also why they were far too high. was its defense, which statistically was one of His brilliant 28-for-30 performance for 314 the worst among major conference teams. For yards in a road win against Navy is support for a unit that gave up 35 points and 450 yards per the former. But, just two weeks earlier, he went game, numbers far worse than those posted in 18-for-38 with five interceptions against Miami 2009, it is hard to pinpoint exactly which area to give more credence to the latter argument. needs to improve. The bottom line is that the On the whole, I would say Renfree’s group needs to get better at every position and season was promising, especially given his continue to put more emphasis on recruiting strong play in the season’s second half. The faster, stronger athletes. middle of his seaThe upside is son was characterthat with the excep“While this season should ized by a terrible tion of Abraham slump that began Kromah, none of not be considered a success, with his poor the five starters showing against give the man some more time that will be lost to Alabama. (I chalk graduation would with players he recruited.” that rut up to the have been considCrimson Tide de— Jason Palmatary ered part of the sofense damaging lution. Youngsters the psyche and Kelby Brown, Ross confidence of a quarterback who wasn’t Cockerell and Walt Canty emerged as starters ready to face that caliber of competition.) and demonstrated improvement as the seaAlso encouraging for Renfree is that all son went along. Still, before any Duke team of the weapons around him will be return- can achieve consistent success, its defensive ing. His top two targets in Conner Vernon unit will need to become much better at and Donovan Varner will be back. As will both pressuring the quarterback and forcing tight end Cooper Helfet, who emerged turnovers, two areas where this year’s team down the stretch as a real third-down ranked among the nation’s worst. threat, hauling in 28 balls for 339 yards It is easy to be critical of Cutcliffe and his over the season’s final five games. staff for failing to build on last year’s momenPerhaps the most encouraging sign on the tum, but they managed to sustain it despite offensive side of the ball was the emergence the graduation of a game-changing quarterof a ground game. In 2009, Duke averaged back. While this season should not be considjust 2.2 yards per carry, a number that jumped ered a success, give the man some more time to 3.4 yards per attempt in 2010. Beyond the with players he recruited. I expect a bowl numerical lift, both Desmond Scott and Josh game before Renfree graduates­, and Duke’s Snead emerged as young running backs both chances have never been better.

palmatary from page 6

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Sean Renfree finished the season with 3,131 yards passing and 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

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Duke in Greece Info Mtg: All students are invited to attend an information meeting for the summer Duke in Greece program on Thursday, December 2, at 6 pm, in 201 West Duke. See the Global Education Office for Undergraduates website at global.duke. edu/geo for more details about the program.

Attention Undergraduates!

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). Applications for admission are now being accepted. For elementary licensure, contact Dr. Jan Riggsbee at 660-3077 or jrigg@duke.edu.

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Duke in Mexico summer 2011 info meeting

Come to an information meeting for the Duke in Mexico summer program on Wednesday, Dec. 1 in Allen 306 at 5pm. Meet the faculty director and learn more about this 6 week language and culture summer program based in southern Mexico. Questions? call 684-2174 or visit http://global.duke.edu/geo.

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“

Student representatives a good step Recently, Duke Student Gov- a number of years. The last efernment and the administra- forts in the 2006-2007 school tion worked to secure student year were rejected due to bad involvement on two different timing caused by the massive Student Conduct committees. public interest associated with Two student representa- the lacrosse case. We are glad tive seats have such advances been added to have finally editorial a committee rebeen made. sponsible for approving conThis decision allows unduct policy at Duke, and one dergraduates to have a say in student representative seat what they deem is appropriate has been added to the Un- conduct for themselves. While dergraduate Conduct Board’s the student body certainly has appellate board. We feel this a voice on campus in almost signifies an important change every matter, that voice is ofin student-administrator rela- ten not heard in an official tions and view it as a model for capacity. Too often, students future interactions. are relegated to merely reFirst, we commend DSG viewing or providing input for working diligently to cre- on policy decisions officiated ate these positions and the by administrators. With these administration for approving new seats, students can legitithem. Long overdue, students mately affect policy on conhave fought for this change for duct matters. The distinction

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T

is subtle but momentous.

Having students on the policy committee allows insight into how specific policies will affect undergraduate life. Students have a different understanding of what happens on campus than administrators, and they are therefore able to ascertain the various implications of policies on campus.

Administrators, removed from the minutia of student life, may be unaware of possible complications or consequences.

Additionally, having a student on the appellate board offers a similar benefit. This becomes important when considering appeals in conduct trials, in which minute details in policy and student life become increasingly influential.

Under the new system, a student voice cannot be

passed over by an aloof or possibly negligent committee of administrators. DSG representatives pointed out that administrators made unilateral policy decisions related to Tailgate this summer.

The Judicial Affairs Student Advisory Group, created in 2008 and now called the Office of Student Conduct Advisory Group. This group of students and staff meets to review proposed changes and additions to undergraduate policy each year. However, with the creation of these new positions, what role does the OSCSAG serve?

This paltry advisory group’s purpose has been usurped by the students now directly involved in policy making.

Advisory boards such as the OSCSAG allow students to affect policy-making indirectly,

but too often their advice seems to be neglected by the administration.

Realistically then, OSCSAG should be dissolved. Instead, DSG’s Student Affairs committee should identify key issues related to student conduct and provide input to the representatives themselves.

The OSCSAG, while not a bad thing, represents a bad trend at the University. DSG’s role should be to work with administrators at the same table to create, alter and improve policy. It should not be settling for a committee with little voice at an outside table drafting recommendations.

We commend DSG for advocating for these positions in student conduct, and we hope they represent a new model for student-administrator interactions from here forward.

A neuroscience dilemma

he brain is so complicated that it is almost ignore. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging impossible to isolate one variable as the rea- (fMRI) relies on blood flood and oxygenation levson for a specific observation. Even when els (BOLD) in particular areas of the brain to dethe sample size is statistically signifitermine the brain’s activity level. cant, doubt is never extinguished.

However, the brain is constantly As a result, nothing in neurosciconsuming oxygen. It is the single ence is set in stone. organ that consumes the most caloImagine: there was once an ries in the human body. Under an parapsychology institute at Duke. fMRI scan, the brain is constantly lit Professor J.B. Rhine had supposup like a light bulb. edly read the minds of dogs and Researchers mitigate this probDurhamites. It was considered lem by measuring the differences rui dai legitimate research. To most neuin BOLD. Yet the differences are a picture’s worth roscientists today, Extra Sensory sometimes so small that it is almost Perception (ESP) is absurd. But impossible to prove significance Professor Rhine was once a full-fledged professor, with just one subject’s scan. The stereotypical imwith a laboratory and published papers. age of a brain with a rainbow range of colors seen One of the longest standing doctrines in neuro- in most journals and papers is typically a combinascience is that language and speech are produced tion of several brains. in certain regions of the brain named Wernicke In 10 or 20 years, who knows? fMRI and MRI and Broca’s areas. Pedagogically, Broca’s area is in might also become relics that we will scoff at. charge of desequencing the various sounds that However, that’s the best that we have right travel to the brain. Wernicke’s area is the analysis now. And it’s a lot better than what we’ve had center of speech comprehension. Individuals with in the past. MRI and fMRI have revolutionized the language disorder aphasia in Broca’s area sup- neuroscience. For the first time in the history of posedly don’t have the ability to produce coherent the field, the brain can be accurately examined speech, while those with Wernicke aphasia, lose without an invasive procedure. Other precise the ability to understand speech. technologies like Positron Emission Tomography However, this theory has been widely contest- (PET) require the patients to be injected with a ed. According to Edna Andrews, professor of lin- dye. Anything else requires opening the brain in guistics and cultural anthropology at Duke, Broca neurosurgery. and Wernicke’s theory of speech production and The current stage of neuroscience research is comprehension is no longer relevant to current comparable to early physics, when physicists first research. observed that things always fall downwards. We Even the most basic assumptions of the theory, have no idea why, and until an apple falls on Isaac the locations of the two nuclei, are up for dispute. Newton’s head, we can only hypothesize. Any conWernicke’s area was thought to be in the posterior clusions or theories that we extract from observapart of the left temporal lobe. But current neu- tions are always subject to the test of time. roimaging suggests that is no longer true.

Students and professors cannot approach neuDoctors first observed the two nuclei in patients roscience as we approach physics, chemistry and with lesions in that particular part of the brain. even to some extent, biology. Those fields are Patients with brain damage in the Broca and/or more established and more mature. Neuroscience Wernicke’s areas exhibited a lack of certain traits is changing so rapidly that textbooks cannot be that were then attributed to those areas. published fast enough for the material to be up Comparisons of lesion studies are often too ob- to date. tuse to draw this conclusion because the lesions The Duke neuroscience major does a great job can be much broader than the two nuclei. immersing students in research papers and up-toThe brain constantly changes and adapts to in- date information. But Wernicke and Broca’s areas juries. Observations of aphasic patients differ de- are still discussed as absolute truths in “Biological pending on the stage of recovery.

Psychology,” the textbook used in the introducThis is further complicated by factors such as tory neuroscience class. varying recovery rates and different symptoms exWhat neuroscience really needs is a more hibited at each stage of recovery. These confound- comprehensive curriculum centered on guest reing variables are often so overwhelming that no searchers conducting cutting-edge science. conclusion can be taken at face value.

Even neuroimaging, the holy grail technique Rui Dai is a Trinity sophomore. This is her final colof neuroscience, has huge flaws that are hard to umn of the semester.

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Interested in sharing your opinion with the Duke community?

The Chronicle is now accepting applications for Spring semester columnists.

Email sef8@duke.edu for a copy.

M

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | 11

commentaries

Bon appetit?

y language partner here in Italy, Giulia, adores article in Italy Magazine.

America. She can’t get enough of it—mostly Here at the villa in Sesto Fiorentino the presence of New York City, shopping, “Sex in the City” and eating anxiety is palpable among the females in the procollege parties. I find it fascinating (and gram, a group made up of students from often hilarious) to see American life Duke, the University of Michigan and the through her eyes, which perpetuates steUniversity of Wisconsin. Our program has reotypes fueled by American television, the great fortune of a gourmet cook, Brumusic and movies. My favorite percepno. Every day, Bruno prepares an array of tion of our culture: all high school sefresh dishes typical of the Tuscan region niors lose their virginity on Prom night. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She tells me that while we Americans While the 50 students who live at the come to Italy for la dolce vita, she longs villa rave about Bruno’s food, there is lauren moxley to experience the American way of life, an air of uneasiness during almost evla vita e bella which she refers to as la vita veloce, Italery meal. Many girls talk uncomfortably ian for “the fast life.” about how they are eating too much, Over coffee the other day, Giulia shared a cultural ob- push the food around their plate and look anxiously at servation that has crossed my mind more than a few times the other people at the table. One girl even has severe here in Italy—Americans’ extreme eating habits. Giulia anxiety attacks if she eats a piece of bread or a few bites visited New York last summer, and she was floored by the of pasta—too many carbohydrates. excessive eating habits of many individuals, whether exThe 2003 Women’s Initiative report at Duke coined cessively gluttonous or excessively meager. the term “effortless perfection,” a phrase that has stuck She was, predictably, taken aback by the high number and that resurfaces in our discussion about health and of obese individuals. But she also noted the number of gender relations on campus. A search through The women so thin they looked as if they should be attached Chronicle archives shows that anorexia has been the subto an intravenous therapy unit. ject of 40 articles since 1993. Kristen Davis’ “For some, Here in the land of pizza, pasta, bread, Nutella and eating disorders define a troubling lifestyle,” published gelato, an obese person is few and far between. While March 2009, cites the results of the 2006 American Colthe U.S. has the highest percentage of obesity by country lege Health Association National College Health Assessat 30.6 percent, Italy ranks 25th on the list at 8.5 percent, ment. In the survey of male and female Duke students, according to data compiled by the Organization for Eco- 2.8 percent of the 22 percent who responded said they nomic Cooperation and Development. Experts accredit had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. the lack of obesity to fresh ingredients, portion control, Americans’ unique approach to eating was highlightand lots of walking. ed in a recent article in Newsweek, “Divided We Eat.” Giulia and I discussed the reasons behind the dichot- According to Claude Fischler, a French sociologist, when omy between obesity rates in the U.S. and Italy. She ex- Americans are asked “What is eating well?,” we respond pressed her utter shock that people would eat fast food in quantities of calories, carbohydrates, fats and sugars. for dinner or on the go. “To me,” she explained, “dinner Europeans, on the other hand, answer in terms of enjoyis a holy experience. I would be so depressed if I had to ment, conviviality and togetherness. eat alone without friends or family!”

Perhaps we could learn something from this Italian Equally shocking to Giulia was the frequency of eat- phrase: “Food is like religion; the more you think about ing disorders among young women. Nearly 10 million it the more you’re in the dark.” Embracing moderation women and one million men have an eating disorder as the guide to a healthy lifestyle is one aspect of “la such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, according to an ar- dolce vita” that I will definitely bring back with me to ticle published on Oct. 19 by the Los Angeles Times. This the fast life. means that of the 155 million women living in America, nearly 6 percent, suffer from these diseases. In Italy the Lauren Moxley is a Trinity junior. She is abroad in Italy for percentage is closer to 0.2 or 0.3, according to a recent the semester. This is her final column of the semester.

Thanksgiving

D

uring my two clinical years, the only constant has been the patients.

Over 16 months, I have rotated through internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, psychiatry, surgery, palliative medicine and cardiology. I have learned how to recognize the common presentations of illnesses common and alex fanaroff obscure, how to do dozfarewell tour ens of procedures, how to call consults, how to survive without eating and how to survive without sleeping. In each rotation, the residents, fellows and attending physicians were different. But through it all, there were patients.

And with patients came patients’ stories—often sad, sometimes uplifting, but always interesting.

It seems obvious, and it was. The patients were always there. Until they weren’t.

On my current radiology rotation, I have not seen a single patient for three weeks. I have seen pictures of patients (the insides of patients, to be more specific), and I have discussed patients’ diseases, but I have not seen a real, live, in-the-flesh patient.

I would be lying if I said I missed seeing patients.

In fact, between mornings spent in the reading room looking at films and afternoons studying, I didn’t really have time to miss seeing patients.

But this week, I am rotating through ultrasound, and on Monday, I was assigned to watch one of the ultrasound techs perform a study on a patient.

The patient was young-appearing, too young to be in the hospital. I introduced myself and explained that I would be watching the tech perform the procedure. His response surprised me; he was also a medical student.

He explained that he attended school in a different state, but that his family lived in North Carolina. Late in the summer, he became very sick and was admitted to the hospital at his medical school. No one could make a diagnosis, and he grew even sicker, with multiple failing organ systems. Eventually, he was admitted to the intensive care unit. So that he could be closer to his parents, he was taken by medevac to Duke Hospital.

At Duke, he improved, but his diagnosis remained elusive. Discharged home, he pored over his medical records, looking for the key to his diagnosis. He grew ill again, and was re-admitted to the hospital. This time, a sample of tissue was taken, and his doctors were finally able to diagnose him.

As it turns out, he was suffering from an exceedingly rare illness, so rare, in fact, that his doctors could tell him very little about his prognosis.

We talked a little about his future plans and how this illness changed them, and then some more about how sick he was during his first hospitalization. By then, the tech had completed his procedure, and I wished him luck before walking out of the room.

As I walked out, and all through the rest of the day, I thought about how tenuous human health is, and how lucky I was to be healthy.

Statistically, we young adults are at the age where we are least likely to die. We’re too old to die of childhood illnesses, but too young to have heart disease or cancer. We can deprive ourselves of sleep and go days without eating (or go days consuming only pizza and beer), and we come out no worse for wear. But here, in front of me, was someone exactly my age who was very seriously ill.

To have an experience in which I reflect on how thankful I am for my health so close to Thanksgiving seems kind of corny.

But it’s true.

The death and suffering in the hospital can be overwhelming, especially for a trainee. And often, it’s easiest to depersonalize it, to think about patients in terms of their diseases, to let their stories fade into the background. But every once in a while, through some quirk of fate, a patient comes along who reminds me of myself perhaps a little more closely than I’d like.

But I’m not sick, and so I’m thankful.

It’s nice to be reminded, sometimes, of how much I have to be thankful for.

Alex Fanaroff is a fourth-year medical student. His column runs every Wednesday.

12 | Wednesday, December 1 2010

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