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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

UNIVERSITY

Nurse sues Duke, alleges religious discrimination

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 29

TO BE FRANK

Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank reflects on his visit to Duke, career in Congress

Staff Reports The Chronicle

A Catholic nurse has filed a lawsuit against Duke and the Duke University Health System, alleging that they failed to accommodate her religious objections to abortion, birth control and vaccines, and thus violated anti-discrimination laws, according to a report by the News and Observer. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court Oct. 27, seeks back pay and other damages for Sara Pedro, who took a job as a nurse at Duke hospital in 2016. After assuming her position, Pedro—who previously worked as a nurse for eight years in New York—received an exemption from the hospital from receiving vaccines. She later told the hospital that she was also unable to administer abortions and could not provide contraceptives or vaccines. Pedro’s lawyers contend that Duke eventually put her on administrative leave for “pretextual reasons” possibly linked to a “performance improvement plan.” The lawsuit alleges that the hospital violated the See DISCRIMINATION on Page 4

GPSC calls for resources to reduce smoking By Adam Beyer Digital Content Director

The Graduate and Professional Student Council approved a resolution at its meeting Tuesday that encourages the University to reduce smoking. A proposal for a smoke-free campus was first presented at the previous meeting. However, GPSC members amended the policy to make it less strict after some members raised concerns this week about such a policy’s effects on staff and students who smoke. Under the original proposal, which was recommended by the working group studying the issue, all combustible tobacco products would be banned on campus. A group of volunteers would be tasked with enforcing the ban by handing out cards with resources for quitting to people they see smoking. Some students were worried that would send a bad message. “We would see the undergraduate students, who are fairly privileged by the fact that they’d be getting See GPSC on Page 3

Xinchen Li | Contributing Photographer Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank spoke at events last Tuesday and Wednesday and had lunch with students Thursday.

By Likhitha Butchireddygari Editor-in-Chief

Barney Frank entered the House of Representatives before most Duke students were born. Frank won his first race in 1980, noting that the reason he was able to run in the first place was because Pope John Paul II told Frank’s predecessor Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest, and other priests to leave political life. Frank narrowly won both the primary and general election that year with about 52 percent of the vote. At the time, he was hiding the fact that he was gay. “For me, the first pressure for the first seven years I was in Congress was how to deal with the fact that I was a closeted gay man,” said Frank, who was on campus last week. “That was selfimposed pressure on me and I finally figured out that was stupid. It wasn’t worth it. I came out and from then on, the pressure was self-imposed about how to maximize my effectiveness.” Frank’s experiences as a young gay person may have informed his thoughts on free speech, a topic that came up at his talk at the Sanford School of Public Policy last Tuesday. Frank noted that he along with other gay and lesbian people were told that they shouldn’t engage in public displays of affection, such as kissing their partners or holding hands in public because it made other people uncomfortable. “Well, I said, ‘Tough, I’m going to do it,’” he responded. Free speech applies to everyone, he added. If gay people can express affection that makes some people uncomfortable, others should have the right to make anti-gay comments that make gay people uncomfortable.

“It’s either free speech or it’s not free speech,” Frank said. Wes George, a graduate student in the public policy program who attended the talk, said that he disagreed with Frank on this issue and argued that not all speech should be protected. “[For example], you can’t yell fire in a theater,” George said. “I do think hate speech on publicly-funded college campuses should be one of those areas, and I don’t think he necessarily was very responsive to that.” Another topic that came up at a separate event with Frank was Americans’ souring attitude toward their government. At Wednesday’s panel with Frank and Rubenstein Fellow Sarah Bloom Raskin, the former congressman explained that government had become very unpopular after the 2008 financial crisis. He said people would look at government more favorably if politicians did a better job explaining that the programs they advocate for are an aspect of government. Frank also commented on the polarization in Congress, noting that during George W. Bush’s time as president, bipartisan compromise was still happening. However, after Barack Obama’s election, extreme groups like Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party came to power, the latter being more “smart” about their political efforts. He described how moderate Republicans lost their primary races to more extreme candidates in 2010. “The Republican Party was taken over by the people who were not interested in governance and who were not interested See FRANK on Page 3

Lunch for a Lincoln

Taking over the ‘downtown renaissance’

New DSG dining initiative offers dining options $5 and under at all venues. You can find a list of the options on Duke Dining’s website PAGE 2

Durham mayoral hopefuls Farad Ali and Steve Schewel came to campus to talk affordable housing, Duke’s role in the city PAGE 2

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