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MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 11
Librarian’s song becomes surprise hit By Lillian Clark Contributing Reporter
This summer, for the first time in three years, Duke librarian Jamie Keesecker started composing The culprit? A p g music again. g rapping mouse. When the Nashville Public Library released a video of a chainwearing mouse puppet bobbing to a parody of “Ice Ice Baby” to explain their curbside book pickup, Keesecker’s colleagues wanted him to make something similar for their new contactless reserve system, called library takeout. Keesecker went a step further than parody, and his video became a viral sensation. Fuqua School of Business student Zoey Kang recalls opening the video from an email newsletter. Thirty seconds in, she rewound it and started over. She did that about 10 more times, sent it to her friends as mandatory listening and shared it on Instagram. “Sometimes I wake up with the song stuck in my head. It’s genius,” Kang said.
The Prodigal Composer
intensive care unit nurse, spent less. While Wait worked overtime at Duke Regional Keesecker started making music as a teenager, Hospital under layers when a friend handed of personal protective him a floppy disk equipment, Keesecker with music editing and Naima perched software. between the baby blue And he kept walls of their living room writing music, for on two blue plastic kids’ more than 17 years. chairs and worked their He got a master’s in way through quarantine music composition with a crayon box. from Duke in 2011 Naima squiggled, flirted and a doctorate in with pointillism and 2016, but worried learned to draw faces. constantly about his Keesecker drew a stick career. He realized he figure playing a red would make a better keytar, shelves of books hobbyist composer and other animations to than professional. accompany his newest Keesecker began composition—the work at the library, “Library Takeout” song. where his work felt Headphones in, he refreshingly regular. He Visuals courtesy of Jamie Keesecker built sounds until they didn’t need to invent turned to gibberish. The things from scratch. As COVID-19 infections in North Carolina headphones came off when Naima got bored or rose throughout the spring, Keesecker spent needed help adding a My Little Pony to her halfmore time at home with his three-year-old sleeve of temporary tattoos. For the library takeout video, Keesecker daughter Naima. His partner Heidi Wait, an
thought he would write something simple, synth-pop. But once the beat came together, he started adding layers and didn’t stop. The song oscillates between two chords topped with sounds that sparkle while stick figures dance in a choppy animation style that reminds Keesecker of the Sesame Street he watched as a kid. It’s electrifying and funny. Living on Keesecker’s laptop, the song grew to be so bombastic, he had to pare it back down to fit in instructions for takeout along the way. “There can actually be freedom when you’re working on top of something so rigid,” Keesecker said. Keesecker edited together the animations and the song and uploaded it on YouTube under the pseudonym MicrOpaqu3, just in case it got really big. He showed Naima, even though she’d seen it in parts for weeks as they drew together. “Look, there’s all your work,” Naima said. See SONG on Page 3
How Duke chooses whom SCHOOL SWITCHEROO Students swap in and out of Pratt to pool test for COVID-19 By Madeleine Berger By Chloe Nguyen Contributing Reporter
It’s become common to wake up and see this text: “Duke United Testing: You have a required COVID test tomorrow. Visit a campus site to complete test. Details at…” But how does Duke choose who gets tested and when? According to Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh, students living on campus or in the Durham area are tested anywhere from once or twice a week to once every other week. In order to determine how many times each student gets tested, Duke uses “modeling data” that was developed by other universities, Cavanaugh
wrote in an email. These models are based on the prevalence of COVID-19 on and off campus, the percentage of asymptomatic infections and the average number of nonsocially-distanced contacts, among other data, he explained. Duke’s current surveillance testing system uses pool testing, a method of testing which combines respiratory samples from several people and screens them as a group for COVID-19. If the group sample comes back positive, the samples from each individual in the pool are then tested again. See TEST on Page 2
Aaron Zhao | Features Photography Editor Duke has aimed to conduct about 10,000 COVID-19 tests a week and conducted more than 14,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2.
Staff Reporter
Navya Belavadi Contributing Reporter
Due to Duke’s academic flexibility, students are able to move from the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences to the Pratt School of Engineering, and vice versa. Many students make this switch once—and a few have done it twice. Linda Franzoni, associate dean of undergraduate education in the Pratt School of Ayesham Khan | Staff Photographer Engineering, explained in an email the logistics Some students have switched from Trinity to of the process. Duke’s previous policy used to Pratt—and then gone back. prohibit students from switching schools until By around winter of his sophomore year, the end of their first year, so given Duke’s major declaration deadline of sophomore spring, it however, Nair had realized his interests lay would have been nearly impossible for a student more outside of engineering and that he would to switch in and then out of a school. See SWITCHEROO on Page 2 Now, students may make the switch after their first semester. After consulting with an academic dean in 6INSIDE Pratt, Franzoni wrote that there is “one student [to go back and forth] per year in a typical year, A survey on sex and that we may have two every once in a while.” A Bass Connections team will conduct a Varun Nair, a senior majoring in computer survey to research how COVID-19 has affected science and minoring in mathematics and students’ sexual behavior and health. PAGE 2 Chinese, is one of the students who transferred from Trinity to Pratt to Trinity. NCLAFF goes virtual “I applied to Duke as a neuroscience major, so I came in as Trinity officially,” Nair said. “But, over The North Carolina Latin American Film the summer, before my first semester at Duke, I Festival is offering a diverse and nuanced PAGE 6 basically made up my mind that I wasn’t going lineup of programming. to do anything in Trinity and instead I actually The election’s consequences registered for the first-year engineering classes. By the end of my first semester at Duke I had applied to Our response to climate change is on the transfer, and by my second semester I was officially ballot this Novemeber, Nathan Iyer writes in a column. PAGE 10 an engineering student.”
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Bass Connections team to research sex in a pandemic By Nadia Bey University News Editor
A Bass Connections team is researching how the pandemic might impact sexual behavior and sexual health among college students in the Triangle. The project team, called Sex and Contraception Among College and Graduate Students During COVID-19, will conduct a survey of undergraduate and graduate students to gain an understanding of how their sexual behavior and access to sexual health education and resources may have changed due to COVID-19. “What are the things people are engaging in? What does that put them at risk for? Does it put them at risk of unintended pregnancy? Does it put them at risk for sexually transmitted infections? Are they still able to access services that would help keep them safe, so in particular, contraception?” said team co-lead Jonas Swartz, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Swartz said that he is particularly interested
Chronicle File Photo The research team’s leaders wonder whether COVID-19 has changed contraceptive access.
TEST FROM PAGE 1 This strategy is convenient for two reasons: The Duke community is a large population with a low prevalence of the virus, and pool testing allows Duke to save resources on testing. This process allows Duke to more efficiently screen for asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. Surveillance testing at Duke is not random, and is instead informed by prior testing results at the University. “The whole idea is to try to adapt the strategy and the people we’re testing to what we’re seeing in the data,” said Tony Moody, an associate professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine who is helping organize the pool testing system, in an August news release. Administrators announced Aug. 13 that Duke would be conducting ongoing pool testing, beginning with undergraduates living on campus and expanding to other community members. Since then, Duke has aimed for about 10,000 tests per week, Cavanaugh wrote. Duke’s most recent testing update, which covered Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, reported 14,079 tests between students, faculty and staff. Duke is also continuing its efforts to expand testing capacity, which partially explains why Duke students and faculty have been tested at varying rates. “Whether and how frequently [students and faculty] are tested depends on the likelihood of their contact with non-socially distanced and asymptomatic individuals,” Cavanaugh wrote. For some, this short, self-administered test has become a part of their weekly routine. Senior Kate Fogg, who lives off campus, usually gets tested once a week, she wrote. Occasionally, she’ll get tested twice. First-year Riya Mohan, who lives on campus, usually
in learning about the “calculus” of dating during the pandemic, which might include whether people decide to go on dates, what activities they decide to do, and whether they meet online before meeting in person. Swartz said that the idea for the project originated during discussions with second-year medical student Emily Chen, who is also on the Bass Connections team. “Prior to COVID, [we] had been interested in looking at some of the new telemedicine opportunities to get contraception,” Swartz said. “Then when COVID occurred we started talking about how access to contraception in particular might be affected by COVID, because people might have lost access to their primary care, to the clinics.” In July, when Bass Connections opened applications for pre-existing projects with additional spaces and new projects related to COVID-19, senior Clarice Hu joined the project because it aligned with her interest in reproductive health. “Last summer, I worked virtually at a pregnancy clinic, and so I was able to see a lot of the disparities in terms of access to reproductive health, and racial disparities as well,” she said. She expressed that this particular Bass Connections project combined her interests in sexual health and health disparities. Swartz then connected with Adam Hollowell, senior research associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, and Keisha Bentley-Edwards, assistant professor of medicine, to discuss how the pandemic may have disproportionate effects on sexual health among people of color, which eventually led to a conversation about students. Hollowell, Bentley-Edwards and Evan Myers, Walter L. Thomas distinguished professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine, are co-leaders in addition to Swartz.
“We started thinking about whether, in addition to the barriers to access to contraceptive care in general, whether there might be greater barriers to access among college and graduate students that exacerbated existing health disparities in reproductive health care,” Swartz said. One factor that is unique to students, Swartz noted, was that many were displaced when
gets tested twice a week. Both go to testing locations on campus. Both Fogg and Mohan are frequently on campus—so, according to Cavanaugh, they are tested more frequently than students who have no permission to be on campus and have online-only classes. Students who are feeling sick are required to report their symptoms in the SymMon app or call Duke’s COVID-19 hotline to talk to a nurse. Although students who report symptoms are tested, their tests are administered individually. Similarly, the tests administered to students who are contact traced are not part of surveillance testing and are reported separately on the weekly testing tracker. Student-athletes are individually screened and tested at frequencies depending on their sport, but their numbers are reported as part of the surveillance testing program. Athletes on the football, volleyball, women’s and men’s soccer and field hockey teams will be tested every day for the remainder of their seasons. Faculty and staff are also pool tested at varying rates based on likelihood of contact with others, Cavanaugh wrote. Between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2, the period for which Duke has reported data, the University reported 20 total COVID-19 positive tests, with 10 undergraduate cases, 5 graduate or professional student cases and 5 faculty and staff cases. Despite a low positivity rate—0.12% for students and 0.32% for faculty and staff—Duke has not slowed testing. “Testing of asymptomatic individuals is clearly a key to successful early detection and mitigation of COVID in concentrations of populations like students, faculty and staff at a university,” Cavanaugh wrote. As the semester progresses, testing will continue at the same rate or higher as Duke continues its efforts at preventing the spread of coronavirus on campus, he added.
SWITCHEROO
What are the things people are engaging in? What does that put them at risk for? jonas swartz ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY, TEAM CO-LEAD
campuses shut down in the spring, which may have variable effects on dating and sexual activity. “That may have been a disruption,” he said. “And now, as you know, there’s a real hybrid. Some people are back with their colleges and some people aren’t. And so I think there is likely a bit of diversity within the population.” Hu said that she is curious about how student experiences vary across different types of schools. “I think it’ll be interesting to see how the differences are between four-year institutions, community colleges and other types of universities,” she said. That look at student experiences at universities includes examining sexual education and access to care at Duke. “We’ll also be doing some capacity building or engaging with Student Health at different institutions to help our local community support students as they weather the pandemic and engage in certain normal behaviors,” Swartz said.
FROM PAGE 1 prefer to return to Trinity. “I started to get into computer science and math a little bit more and decided perhaps engineering wasn’t the best route,” he said. The curriculum requirements for Pratt and Trinity are vastly different. While Trinity is formatted so that students are required to take classes in various areas of knowledge and modes of inquiry Pratt requires specific subjects along with department requirements: writing, math, natural science, physics, social science and humanities, and engineering and sciences. “I think I found the Pratt curriculum a bit too rigid in terms of being able to explore,” Nair said. “I wasn’t able to take a lot of electives in Trinity that I wanted to, and that wasn’t too appealing to me because I liked being a little bit more well-rounded in that respect and not being hardcore engineer.” Nair applied to transfer out of Pratt at the end of his sophomore year, starting off his junior year back in Trinity where he originally started. Nair described the process of transferring between the schools to be relatively easy, praising Duke for the simplicity of the procedure. “It was as simple as sending an email to my dean stating why I wanted to leave,” Nair said. “And most of the time if you do a good job, I think, in the first email to your dean, you can get most of the work done upfront and just not even have to meet with your dean at all.” A large part of a successful transfer process is to be fully prepared and proactive. “I had done a lot of the planning upfront,” said Nair. “I think if you’re going into these meetings and you don’t know what to do, then the deans will try to prompt you. But, I had spent some time thinking beforehand and just laid out a good reason for why I was going and later going out.” Similar to Nair, Himanshu Jain, a junior, transferred from Trinity to Pratt to Trinity. He began his first year in Trinity, interested in computer science, moved Pratt at the end of that year, and then returned to Trinity as a declared computer
Hu said locations like the Women’s Center and Student Health provide a lot of good sexual health resources, but that the information “feels a little bit all over the place.” She also feels that there needs to be a more open dialogue around abortion at Duke. According to Hu, one product that the team is developing is an infographic containing COVID19-specific information about sexual health. The team will also develop a set of guidelines to share with the Duke community. Swartz emphasized that the safest way to prevent transmission of COVID-19 was to avoid close personal contact, including sex. However, there are still ways to protect oneself should one choose to engage in sexual activity. The University of Georgia put up a list of COVID-19-related sex guidelines over the summer, with six bullet points that included recommending “solo sex, or [limiting] the number of sexual partners you have.” The school then took down the guidelines after “the information was mocked, ridiculed and criticized on social media,” UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor told The Red & Black, the school’s student newspaper. However, more comprehensive recommendations are still available. “For those who choose to engage in partnered sex, there are good guidelines from New York City, Washington, D.C. and Oregon about how to reduce your risk,” Swartz wrote in an email. “It remains important, of course, to have open communication about consent and use contraception to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.” At Duke, Peer Advocacy for Sexual Health, a student group that provides sexual health resources, also published a March column in The Chronicle with recommendations for socially distanced sexual activity. science major during his sophomore year. Jain said he originally moved from Trinity to Pratt because he “wanted to be challenged.” “I wasn’t sure about staying in Pratt, so I took courses that overlapped with CS majors. While taking [Electrical and Computer Engineering 250, Computer Architecture], I realized I didn’t like electronics that much,” Jain said. “Rather than taking these classes, I would rather take some high-level computer science classes.” That flexibility drove both Jain and Nair to end up in Trinity. “I took some history classes and realized that some liberal arts classes are fun, and I wanted to take more, but the Pratt curriculum is not flexible. Trinity’s flexibility is what made me come back,” Jain said. “I wanted more of the Duke curriculum as a whole, rather than four engineering classes back to back.” Nair also gave a word of advice for anyone considering switching between Trinity and Pratt. “If you’re a freshman and thinking about doing this, I would say absolutely do it,” said Nair. “If you’re a sophomore or a junior, that’s when it becomes a little bit more problematic where you need to really carefully plan out what you’re doing. Of course it isn’t something to be done rashly. “But if you think there is something in the other school that you want to explore that you can’t do from where you are right now, then just go check it out. And if you don’t like it, you can always come back like I did.” Despite its rarity, deans do not discourage switching between schools. “The only downside that I can think of is that the student will be having a different set of advisors every time that a switch occurs,” Franzoni wrote. Students are assigned an academic dean in the school they hope to join, to ensure they can take the courses needed for graduation. In addition, they will meet with an academic dean in the school they’re leaving. “In our (Pratt’s) case, we are interested in why students are leaving engineering and we want to have a conversation to understand that better,” Franzoni wrote.
The Chronicle
SONG FROM PAGE 1
Causing a Ruckus Duke librarian Andrea Loigman was on a multinational Zoom call collaborating on new library software when a chat from a librarian in Germany popped up: “I just saw your video. It’s so wonderful!” And then another, from a librarian in Denmark. “I don’t know how it’s getting around. I don’t know how they’re finding it … like I’m hearing from people in Europe about this,”” Loigman said. People wondered on Twitter about MicrOpaqu3’s identity. As the Library Takeout video amassed views—nearlyy 20,000 by early October— Keesecker stayed hidden. His pseudonym was a reference to tiny documents on cards called micro-opaques, read on a microfilm machine. “This song slaps and I’ve never even been to North Carolina, let alone Duke,” one YouTube commentator wrote. Another called the video “the only good that’s come out of the pandemic.” Duke students tried to find him. Sophomore Jake Heller wrote in a message to The Chronicle that he assumed the library had hired an independent contractor. To Keesecker, the whole thing was a great prank. “There’s something funny to me about being behind the scenes, causing a ruckus without ever being identified,” he said. Until an email newsletter to Duke faculty blew his cover, he intended to remain strictly anonymous. Keesecker released the song on Spotify and Apple Music on popular demand, again under
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020 | 3
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the MicrOpaqu3 pseudonym.
Big Library, Big Problems For Loigman, having Library Takeout stuck in her head was a small problem. Her team, Access and Delivery Services, returned to campus in July, before other librarians like Keesecker. Campus felt like a ghost town. Loigman had staff to protect, and her staff had books to wrangle. At any given time, Duke University Libraries has between 30,000 and 70,000 books checked out, Loigman said. When the University barred students from returning to campus during spring break, those books stayed stranded around the world. Library staff sent shipping labels to try and get them back. “It was insane,” Loigman said. “...Tens of thousands of books just showing up in boxes and in bins and in bags and in postal packages.” Still, transporting more than 800 books from a faculty member’s apartment back to the library felt like a small question next to the big one—how do you safely run a libraryy without a clue of how the coronavirus is transmitted on surfaces? Duke’s libraries occupy around 600,000 square feet, or around 15 grocery stores worth of space, librarian Dave Hansen said. This complicates efforts to restrict access to or clean the space. Also, the library usually employs more than 250 students each year. This fall they have nowhere near that number. “How do you organize a physical space
ON DUKECHRONICLE.COM Who is Tim Walsh, the former vice president for finance who recently left Duke? BY ROSA GOLCHIN | 10/09/2020 After 16 years serving Duke, Vice President for Finance Tim Walsh left the University Oct. 1.
Asian American and diaspora studies program to hire new professors BY ANISHA REDDY | 10/06/2020 Last year, the history and English departments each hired an Africanist tenure-track professor, and this year Latinx and Asian American studies will each hire two faculty members. completely differently than it was ever intended to be used—when you’ve got no money to spend to do it?” Loigman said. The answer has come slowly, in pieces, and today it means limited studyy space available to students via reservations. It means that janitorial staff sanitize the space from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. It means all the chairs in the first floor of Perkins library are shoved to the side to make way for tables covered in paper bags of books waiting for takeout. Hansen, who is a copyright lawyer as well as librarian, spends his time finding legal strategies to get textbook access to students in Durham and abroad. This includes students in China for whom some class books aren’t even on the market, or unavailable due to government restrictions. “What we are doing about textbooks is every darn thing that we can within the law,” Loigman said. What Loigman called a “staggering” level of collaboration among Duke staff to solve all these
problems has made her feel better about Duke and as an employee. She’s worked at other libraries and said she’s never seen anything like this. Keesecker goes into work in the Music Library a few days a week now, back in his office with colorful book-binding samples and book jackets taped to the walls. Naima attends outdoor preschool in a mask. Keesecker spoke to a friend and fellow composer to express some of his doubts about continuing to compose. “Does the world really need more music from an almost middle-aged white guy? Don’t we have a lot of this?” he said. But the friend reminded him to not forget about the other side of things—making music for himself. Other librarians have approached Keesecker with ideas for more music videos, but he believes in taking breaks between projects to grow as a person. He’s not pressed by the attention to write “Library Takeout 2.” The fans will have to wait.
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recess
nc latin american film festival 35th NCLAFF kicks off virtual programming, page 6
spooky, scary & safe
The best socially distanced fall activities in the Triangle, page 6
ode to colorado
Design editor Derek Chen reflects on the great outdoors, page 5
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recess Favorite fall activity?
Sarah Derris............. egging spree
Stephen Atkinson..............flu shot
Sydny Long.... smashing pumpkins
Skyler Graham........ new chapstick
Kerry Rork................raking leaves
Jonathan Pertile.......sleep at 5pm
Tessa Delgo.......... paying heat bill
Derek Chen........not nc mountains
on the cover: The Rocky Mountains in Colorado by Derek Chen
staff note Growing up I never considered myself an “outdoors-y” person. I am from Colorado, the best state for outdoors-y activities, yet as a kid I never participated in them. I never went rock climbing at the Flatirons. I never went sledding at the rolling sand dunes. And no, I never went skiing or snowboarding on the iconic Rocky Mountains. (I
know, take my Colorado ID away now.) As a child of immigrants who moved to Colorado because of job opportunity, not because of the outdoors like a decent portion of the Colorado population, I was never introduced to these activities through family weekend trips. Instead, my family weekend trips included eating free samples for lunch at Costco and smacking watermelons at H-Mart to know if they’re high quality or not (an essay for another day). I never thought much about this contrast in
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020 | 5
experience. Colorado was just a place I lived, and that was it. Well, until COVID happened. When I saw the dreaded email from Daddy Duke last semester that announced the suspension of in-person classes, I was heartbroken. As a freshman, I had just begun getting comfortable at Duke. I had found a stable group of friends I was happy with. I was getting into my groove with my coursework. And I had just gone through the iconic tenting experience and seen Duke absolutely trash on UNC. Having to spend the rest of the semester, and most likely the entire summer, back home felt like regressing. Worse still, with quarantine in full effect, any chance of eating out at restaurants, going to events, playing basketball at the rec center or even hanging out at a friend’s house was gone. Like many, I was faced with the daunting task of figuring out what the hell I was going to do with my time. After playing and watching more than my fair share of Animal Crossing, attempting and failing to learn a new skill and binge watching “Community” (a fantastic show, by the way), the thought of going out and exploring the beautiful state I live in slowly started to creep into my head. Not only was exploring nature one of the few activities approved in my state during quarantine, it also seemed like a great reprieve from the insane amount of time I had spent cooped up in my house. So, I rounded up my nature-loving friends and headed down to Monument to hike the mountains in Pikes National Forest. All throughout the Monument trip I felt at peace. There was something about being in nature that deeply satisfied me. Maybe it was the opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of civilization — to be removed from the pressures
of my summer internship and awkward Zoom meetings. Maybe it was the breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains scraping the sky to the west, the rolling foothills that stretched beyond the horizon from the north to the south and the fading city skyline to the east. Or maybe it was the cheerful chirping of birds that flew overhead, the shocking silence of nature and the sweet smell of pinewood. Regardless, that day I felt alive like I had never really felt before. I felt grounded in the present — not stressed about the past or worried about the future. I was just there enjoying life with some great people. After that day, I made it a point to continue exploring the beautiful state and the outdoors that I had brushed aside as a kid — I was going to make up for lost time. And boy did I make up for lost time. By the end of the summer, I had amassed an extensive outing list. I had hiked three 14,000 ft. mountains (known locally as fourteeners), hiked a 12,000 ft. mountain, scaled a mountainside with a rope, vacationed in a 19th century log cabin, went fourwheeling through forests, hiked a waterfall trail and more. Every single time I ventured into the mountains, or the forest or the cabin, I felt that same zen feeling. Now that I’m back at Duke and bogged down in coursework and countless Zoom meetings, I look back on this past summer in appreciation for Colorado. While North Carolina is a fantastic state in its own right, it doesn’t have the same stunning mountains, plateaus and hiking spots that Colorado does — in fact, few states in the nation do. I can’t help but fantasize about hiking the Rocky Mountains, immersed in the serene sounds of nature, good friends and the weightless feeling of simply existing. Keep waiting for me Colorado. I’ll be back soon. —Derek Chen, design editor
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campus arts
NC Latin American Film Festival examines globalization in cinema By Tessa Delgo Local Arts Editor
Going into its 35th year, the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival (NCLAFF) is offering a lineup of programming as diverse and nuanced as the region it celebrates. From Oct. 9 until Oct. 18, the annual event, which is presented by the Consortium in Latin American & Caribbean Studies at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, will offer nightly films that highlight the best of Latin American cinema over the past 35 years. As a feature of this year’s virtual setting, festival director Miguel Rojas-Sotelo, who has directed the festival since 2008, also implemented a series of academic webinars into the programming, gathering filmmakers and film scholars from across the nation for conversations around “Latin American and Caribbean Film in the Era of Neoliberalism (1985-2020).” The webinar series, which kicked off Oct. 9 with discussions on the globalization of Latin American cinema and Indigenous and Afro-Latino voices in film, will continue on for two more sessions on Oct. 10 and 17. The conversations will center on “Teaching Latin America through Film” for both university-level instructors and K-12 teachers. “What we want is [for] conversations to happen, to open up spaces to have these dialogues. That can be intercultural dialogues, interdisciplinary dialogues and intergenerational dialogues, too — lots of films are about youth, young people, these journeys,” Rojas-Sotelo said. “Road movies — plenty of road movies in which the hero has to move through a landscape and something will happen to change him. We have to move together — we are in a huge road movie, all of us, and we have to go through hardships to get somewhere. If you go along with other people, it’s much better. According to Rojas-Sotelo, the festival’s intention has always been to “show the complexity” of human experiences within Latin America and the Caribbean, a region made up of 33 countries with multitudes of cultures among them. Like many event organizers this year, Rojas-Sotelo and
the rest of his team were tasked with finding ways to maintain the integrity of the festival — including its community-building efforts — through a suddenlyvirtual format. “It’s a great opportunity because we’ve been able to open up the conversation,” Rojas-Sotelo said. “We have a number of students from Duke and UNC and a number of community members not only in North Carolina but also from New York and Washington and then Puerto Rico ... That means that our idea of building community is still there, but in another way.” The festival also aims to preserve the communal experience of movie-watching. Starting with La historia oficial (The Official Story), an Academy Award winning film that touches on ramifications of Argentina’s last military dictatorship in the 1970s, NCLAFF will stream 10 movies over the next 10 nights. In efforts to maintain some aspects of a traditional cinema outing, the organizers will not allow new attendees into the streams after the first five minutes of the movie. Additionally, they suggest attendees come with snacks and stream the films on a large screen to get a more immersive experience. “When you go to the cinema, you are in front of the screen, the screen speaks to you — you’re able to share that within yourself, but also with other people,” Rojas-Sotelo said. “That is the power of cinema — that you are experiencing something individually, but also collectively.” The hope is that recreating the immersive environment of a movie theater will encourage festival attendees to pay attention to and deeply engage with the content of the films. Rojas-Sotelo described this year’s screening lineup as “some of the most important films created in the last 35 years”. From international blockbusters to small independent documentaries, all of the selected films reflect issues that have deeply impacted Latin America over the past three decades. Prior to 1986, when NCLAFF was founded, mid-20th century Latin American cinema was largely characterized by the revolutionary Tercer Cine (Third Cinema) movement, which criticized colonial and capitalistic ideals and their manifestation in Hollywood films.
Courtesy of NCLAFF
Going into its 35th year, the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival is offering its programming virtually. “Third Cinema [was] a very independent kind of political cinema that used to talk about the people, el pueblo. It used to represent the needs of the people — it was a cinema connected to revolution,” Rojas-Sotelo said. “And suddenly, because of the opening of the markets, Latin America’s communism lulling to democracies, the economic instability, political instability, things changed. A great wealth has been built, but a great poverty has been built, too: the distance between the classes has become larger and larger. We are becoming global, film is becoming global, but at the same time some of these small stories are still there. The emergence of Afro-Latino stories, LGBT themes, female cinema — all kinds of new voices that are coming up in this wave of global cinema. That’s the kind of thing we’re looking at.” Amplifying the narratives of these “small stories”, Rojas-Sotelo noted, is especially
imperative for powerful institutions with problematic histories like Duke and UNC. “I work at Duke University and I understand that, probably without even realizing, we are part extractive industries. Our work is to go somewhere and bring back things and to then look at them . and create knowledge. We are extracting something from somewhere. We have a responsibility to give back.” Rojas-Sotelo said. “We try to be very critical about the stories that we’re trying to tell because things are not just in the past and they disappear. They come and haunt us in the present. The [NCLAFF] is always trying to pay attention to those stories. Representation is very powerful — the way we speak in powerful spaces like this … is very powerful. We have to make sure that there’s space for those voices.” The NCLAFF is free and open to the public. Films will begin at 7 p.m. and can be accessed by registering at nclatinamericanfilmfestival.org
local arts
How to (safely) celebrate the fall season in the Triangle this year By Tess Redman Contributing Writer
Since this is my first autumn at Duke, Halloween is looking very different. Normally, I’d be prepping for costume parties and taking my friend’s siblings around town trick-or-treating on the 31st. (Ok, I’ll admit, I dressed up and got free candy, too.) In comparison, my sparsely decorated dorm room isn’t quite enough to get me in the spooky spirit. Thankfully, the Triangle has a vibrant array of fall festivities of which students can enjoy all month. Perkins Orchard Paint a pumpkin at Perkins Orchard! 2020 marks the 50th season for this Durham fruit stand. For those eager to participate in the timehonored tradition of pumpkin decorating but are not keen on the art of carving, pick up a $10 kit that includes a pumpkin, paint (white, black, pink and green), paintbrushes, glitter (red, silver and gold), stickers, and googly eyes. The Orchard is open everyday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.. Perkins also offers homemade fresh-fruit sorbets and popsicles as an alternative (or addition — let’s be real) to Halloween candy. Bright Spirits Holiday Market The Bright Spirits Holiday Market is getting into the fall spirit with an autumn-themed Harvest Market. Hand-made goods and food will be sold at the outdoor market, which will be held Oct. 24 at noon in the Motorco Music Hall parking lot. As the name suggests, Bright Spirits normally runs during the winter holidays, but while no plans have been announced for this December, the Harvest Market promises to cater to your thrifty needs in the meantime. Witch’s Haunted Barn The not-so-scary, “whimsical” Witch’s Haunted
Barn at Firefly Farm is open every Saturday this month from 1-5 p.m. If you’re looking for a taste of the spooky season without the nightmares on the side, this haunted house is perfect for you! Your $15 ticket will grant your whole friend group access to the barn for a half hour. When your time slot is up, you can enjoy other activities around the farm, like petting donkeys and miniature horses or strolling through a sunflower field. Durham Zombie Lurch What’s Halloween without monsters? Friday, Oct. 23, from 6:30-8 p.m., Durham will be overrun by the undead. The 14th Annual Durham Zombie Lurch is an opportunity for Durhamites of all ages (and species — some people bring their pets!) to embrace their inner zombie and “lurch” along a mile-long route. Lurchers are encouraged to be as creative as they want to with their costumes. The route begins at Brightleaf Square, which is walking distance from East Campus. Haunted Trolley Raleigh’s Mordecai Historic Park is home to one of North Carolina’s most haunted houses. The 235year old house is said to be haunted by the spirit of a woman named Mary Willis, who allegedly died in the house in the early 20th century. On Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24, you can ride the Haunted Trolley which starts at the Park and visits other haunted locales in downtown Raleigh. Tours last one hour and fifteen minutes — starting at 6:45, 7:45, or 8:45 pm — and cost $10 per person. Haunted Hill Haunted Hillsborough Ghost Tours present the ‘Haints Misbehaving’ walking tour. Over the course of two hours, you will hear seven scary stories and visit three haunted houses in the historic North Carolina town. Every night from now until Oct. 30,
tours are being offered at 6:00 and 8:30 pm, $15 per person. Additionally, the Haunted Hillsborough Stream and Scream is an online event being held Oct. 23 and 25. The virtual tour includes stops at the Roulhac-Hamilton house and the Old Cemetery and costs $10 per group. All tours are led by Enoch Pughs, a Hillsborough resident from the 1700s. Food Truck Flix Have you been missing food trucks on campus (or, if you’re a freshman like me, wishing you had that option in the first place)? “The Triangle’s First Food Truck Cinema Experience,” may just be the mobile food fix you’ve been craving! Food Truck Flix is an organization that sponsors local food trucks at film showings in Raleigh and Durham. Similar to a drive-in movie theater, moviegoers pay $25 per car for a pass to park at the venue. Movies are displayed on one large screen, and the audio plays from a designated station on
your car’s radio. Each event features two savory trucks and one dessert truck. October’s movie line-up caters to every taste. For a spooky staple, check out Edward Scissorhands, playing on Friday, Oct. 16. If you would rather bypass Halloween altogether and fast forward straight to the holiday season, catch “Home Alone” on Oct. 24. Halloween night boasts a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” double feature as well as “Book of Life”, and animated film about Día de los Muertos, which is celebrated from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. You can order food from the Street Food Finder website or app. Autumn in the Triangle has a little something for everyone — food, crafts and happy haunts. Most of these activities are outdoors, taking advantage of the beautiful North Carolinian fall weather. Of course, masks are required to participate in anything listed above. Have a happy (and safe) Halloween!
Courtesy of Perkins Orchard
The Triangle has a vibrant array of fall festivities that students can choose from all season.
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020 | 7
october 12, 2020
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COURTESY OF THE ACC
‘THE STABLE’ FOOTBALL: SPRINTS PAST SYRACUSE WOMEN’S SOCCER: CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE STRETCH
8 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020
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FEATURE
Behind the gospel of Duke WR coach Trooper Taylor By Jake C. Piazza Blue Zone Editor
Many people have grown up with a mom, dad or older relative tirelessly repeating some cliche quote about how you’re supposed to live your life. But it’s different when Duke wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor chants one of his many sayings across the football field. Something about him makes people tune in. Taylor has quite the laundry list of quotes, but one that seems to resonate with college football players is a phrase that he learned from his father. “Don’t let your circumstance change your standard, but let your standard change your circumstance,” Taylor says, a line that can be
applicable to much more than football. That quote helped motivate Taylor to a football scholarship at Baylor and is part of the reason why he has had sustained success in the football world. He has been coaching college football for nearly three decades, mentoring many players who would eventually move on to the NFL. “When [Taylor] talks, he has good things to say. A lot of people on the team just love him,” Blue Devil offensive lineman Jacob Monk said. “When he says something, we’re all locked in to what his message is.” Bigger than a quote Taylor grew up with 15 siblings in the small town of Cuero, Texas, playing football and doing everything in his power to always make
Courtesy of Nat LeDonne/Duke Athletics
Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor joined the program in January 2019.
Offensive lineman Jacob Monk is one of the many Blue Devils who look up to Taylor.
his last name proud. His family was considered “poor” growing up, but Taylor says the people calling them poor were focusing on the wrong measures of richness. “We weren’t poor because we had each other. There was nothing but love, joy and respect in that home,” Taylor said. “I loved every minute of it. We didn’t get all the Christmas presents that everybody else got, but we sure had a good time doing it.” Cuero sits between San Antonio and Houston, and had a population of roughly 7,000 during the time Taylor grew up there. His father worked two jobs, one at a feed mill and the other at a cotton mill, from 7 a.m. until midnight with a one-hour break in between. The elder Taylor died from a heart attack at the age of 42, but 12-year-old Trooper had already learned a lifetime of lessons from his
FOOTBALL
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Courtesy of Reagan Lunn/Duke Athletics
late father. For example, what do you see when you look at a stone wall? At a glance, you may see the colors and shapes of the stone, the “glitter” as Taylor calls it. When Taylor looks at the same wall, however, he is focused on the mortar in between every single stone that holds it all together. It’s the hard work, commitment and respect that make up the “mortar” of your standards, he says. Taylor wants his players to learn that there are countless things completely out of your control, but you always have control over the way you react. “Doing right, even when things are not going the way that you think they should— you maintain your standards and watch what happens,” Taylor said. See TROOPER on Page 9
Jackson and Durant lead Stars shine as Blue Devils dominant offensive display take down Virginia Tech By Alex Jackson Assistant Blue Zone Editor
One if by land and two if by sea—there must’ve been only a single lantern in the Chapel today, because the Blue Devils were marching via the ground game. running 24 backDuke’s duo of Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant dominated in the team’s 38-24 victory against Syracuse Saturday, the Blue Devils’ first win of the season. Jackson ran for 169 yards on 30 carries, while his counterpart Durant gained 163 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries of his own. Overall, Duke recorded 363 rushing yards on 63 total carries on the day, in contrast to the Orange’s 28 yards on 23 carries. “We’re pretty confident, I would say, me and Mataeo. We feel like we can run on any team we play against and we just kept that mindset coming into this week,” Jackson said. “We just encouraged everybody on offense. We all came in with a determined mindset that we’re going to be physical and we were going to run it down their throats.” The Blue Devils were setting records left and right. Both backs set career-highs in yards and carries, and it was the first time that Duke produced a pair of 150-yard rushers in a single game in program history. Jackson and Durant aren’t the only ones who deserve credit for the success of the ground game, though. The Blue Devils’ offensive line consistently won the battle in the trenches against the Orange, and that
opened up the door for many big gains. A stat that shouldn’t be overlooked is that of Jackson and Durant’s 53 combined carries, only one went for negative yardage. In other words, it was pure dominance up front. “[Syracuse] went basically to their goal line defense to stop the run. But in every case, I thought our front was ready and we responded,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “There was a toughness to our team today that just didn’t really exist before.” The dominance of the run game opened up play-action for quarterback Chase Brice as well. Despite some inconsistency throughout the afternoon, Brice finished with 270 yards and a season-high 129.7 passer rating, with many of his best throws coming off play-action drop backs where he had time to look downfield. Saturday’s contest against Syracuse followed a successful ground attack last week against Virginia Tech in which the Blue Devils rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. It seems like Duke is on the verge of becoming a dominant run-first team, and as for Cutcliffe, he has big plans for his group moving forward. “That rotation…. We call it ‘The Stable.’ Hopefully we can get Jordan Waters geared up and he can start contributing there because I do feel we have a good chance at being a really good run football team,” Cutcliffe said. “That takes a lot of work and it’s never a guarantee, but hopefully after this day today, we’ll create the energy and enthusiasm moving forward.” If this is a trend that can continue, the Blue Devils may become a bigger threat than their 1-4 record indicates.
By Em Adler Associate Sports Editor
Duke notched a win, and it played better than the score indicates—stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Under their first 0 Friday Night Lights VT 2 of the season, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils took down Virginia Tech 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium. Duke started the match in control and maintained it for no less than 80 minutes, finishing the victory by kicking the ball around the Hokie third. Six fruitless first-half shots and several missed opportunities for the Blue Devils led to a halftime tie, but a second half in which they outshot Virginia Tech 16-1 (10-0 on goal) was simply too much for even sheer bad luck to negate. Duke has played excellently since its Sep. 20 tie against Wake Forest, and Friday’s win was no exception. Outshooting the Hokies 22-2 is one of the most brutal beatdowns in the ACC this year, and that doesn’t even convey the fact that Virginia Tech only had about three real possessions in the Duke third at all. The only thing keeping the visiting team afloat for 90 minutes was the continued breakout of true freshman goalie Alia Skinner. “[Skinner is] very good, they’ve got a good one there,” Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church said. “But tonight, I really thought, was one of our top one or two overall games…. [Goals] are going to come. They’re going to come big-time soon.”
Courtesy of Dakota Moyer/Duke Athletics
Duke controlled the match from the start.
Virginia Tech (1-6) has played like one of the worst teams in the conference so far. But this kind of dominance is still rare. Duke’s talent level was clear from the start. The first 27 minutes were mostly led by junior Sydney Simmons, redshirt senior Mia Gyau, seniors Taylor Mitchell and Caitlin Cosme and sophomore Sophie Jones, the latter of whom the announcers spent the entire broadcast declaring a “top 10 player nationally.” Mitchell and Cosme continued to lock down an entire third with only the help of nowfullback Emily Royson, and looked completely unbothered by any Hokie drives. Gyau was very good at providing the transition along the left See WOMEN’S SOCCER on Page 9
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TROOPER
of equality, particularly for Black Americans and Americans with disabilities. His younger brother has autism and Down syndrome, so disability rights hit close to home.
FROM PAGE 8
It’s easy to hold yourself to your standard at football practice, during class or when you’re with Standard on the field your parents. The real challenge is continuing to do Taylor’s words have also helped keep the what’s right when nobody else is watching. football team disciplined in following all of its COVID-19 protocols. For Monk, it all comes Standard off the field down to “how bad you really wanted to play in In a video interview with Duke football, the beginning,” and that helped him stick to the Monk said he remembers the words of team’s standard anytime temptations to break Taylor when he goes about his life as a Black safety protocols arose. person in the United States. On the field, the standard is bigger than any “Black people are treated differently than one member of the current Duke football team. whites and than anyone else in this country,” “People before us like Laken Tomlinson, Monk told The Chronicle. Ross Cockrell, Jamison Crowder—when Monk was taught by his parents that as they got here, it wasn’t cool to come to a Black person, he had to hold himself to Duke,” Monk said. “They made it cool to a higher standard than white people, one come to Duke.” example being how to conduct himself if a The burden that falls on the shoulders of police officer pulls him over. this year’s team is to always do the little things A general rule Monk follows in every the right way in order to make sure that the aspect of his life is to always make sure you Duke football standard lives on, the strength don’t let your circumstance change your to follow that standard coming from the sense standard, because if you do, “your life could of family Cutcliffe, Taylor and the rest of the go down the wrong path.” Duke coaching staff have created. The importance Monk places on keeping a “I’ve tried to make sure everybody “cool head” as a Black person in the U.S. goes hand understands what family means…. Blood in hand with the principle of Taylor’s quote. just makes you kin. Love, trust, respect, “Feelings are neither wrong or right,” commitment, hard work—that makes you Taylor said. family,” Taylor said. “And those are the To him, the real test is the way you choose standards that we try to uphold.” to act on those feelings. It’s easier than ever for players to take Taylor doesn’t repeat this quote just so his shortcuts. But to them, it’s an obligation players can have something catchy to rally to their family, both the one on the Duke around. When he sees players like Monk take football field and the one that got them on the quote and apply it to their daily lives, that Duke football field, to resist the urge to he knows he is doing his job of making his take the easier route. players better people than when they first That’s what Monk did. arrived in Durham, something that head Even before Monk met Taylor, he coach David Cutcliffe has made a priority in unknowingly followed Taylor’s message to his Duke tenure. achieve his own goal of playing football at Furthermore, Monk and Taylor both draw Duke, just like his father. a large part of their standards from their Monk’s personal standard made it possible Christian faith. for him to fulfill that lifelong dream, and now “We’re all human and should be treated he finds himself as a crucial piece to the Blue as such before anything else. I don’t care Devils’ offensive line. who you vote for. I don’t care what you do Circumstances across the board in the to hurt me,” Monk said. “I’m still going to United States are far from where they should pray for you and your safety because at the be, and it’s the words of a feed mill worker end of the day, it’s not me that should be from Cuero, Texas that just may be the key to able to judge you. It should be, in my eyes, taking the first step forward. The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation God that judges you.” “It’sN.Y. not 10018 the hand that you’re dealt,” Taylor 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, For Information 1-800-972-3550 Monk has used his platform to spread messagesCall:said. “It’s the hand that you play.” For Release Monday, March 30, 2020
Crossword ACROSS
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purebred 1 Like show horses’ 29 Sets of points, in hooves math 5 Twisted person 30 W.W. II German 10 ___ constrictor sub 13 One of the 12 31 Failing grades tribes of Israel 33 Crosby, Stills, ___ & Young 14 At full speed, in 37 Where roots nautical lingo take hold 15 Back of a horse 38 Ancient Greek 16 Persia, nowadays meeting place 39 Arts-and-crafts 17 Jules who wrote supply “Journey to the 40 Menial worker Center of the Earth” 41 Wise one 42 Unmitigated 18 Mars’ counterpart, in 43 Make turbulent Greek myth 45 Toss back tequila, 19 Cop’s canine perhaps companion 47 Direct clashes 21 What a door 51 Like the hours swings on shortly after midnight 22 Where many draftees were 52 Swimming (in) sent in the ’60s 53 Starts shooting 23 Workers with a 58 Antidrug agent, informally daily grind?
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59 What a pet may be transported in 60 Weaving machine 61 Device for recording shows 62 Many a waiter around Hollywood 63 Tiny bit 64 Consumed 65 Ones anxious to take driver’s ed, typically 66 Like venison that’s been sitting awhile
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WOMEN’S SOCCER FROM PAGE 8 side while shutting down multiple oneon-one matchups by herself. Simmons was just as excellent in the rare times she had to play defense and provided a seamless connection atop the attacking front. And there were several passes off the foot of Jones that were simply unbelievable—it almost seemed like she came into the match with money on how many no-look passes she could connect. The Blue Devils (3-1-2) spent the first half scoreless, however, because none of those players are finishers. But Duke has one of the best defenses in the ACC. That defense is going to keep the Blue Devils in every game they play, and their comfort in playing defensively is often going to create box scores that suggest they played a lot worse than they did. “[Assistant coach Carla Overbeck] has taught us how to move together, work together, play together. And it’s helped us a lot. It’s helped us all build chemistry,” Cosme said. “We all read each other really, really well. And I think that helps us a lot.” The Blue Devils are certainly younger on the offensive end, but young doesn’t mean lacking of talent. Breakout freshman Olivia Migli started at winger Friday and held up as a smart, athletic player on several drives, including one in the 65th minute that drew a foul for a penalty kick,
32 Typical London weather 34 ___ sax 35 Tallow source 36 That woman’s 38 “Yeah, I’m real sure!” 42 Puts to work 44 “Nice one!” 46 Ones named in deeds 47 Orange or grape drink brand 48 Be in store for
49 Do the honors with the turkey 50 Flurry 54 Boys’ school near Windsor 55 Tiny bit 56 Place on a Clue board 57 Award shaped like a winged woman 59 Tabby
Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.
which Cosme turned into a 1-0 lead. Fellow freshman Grace Watkins needs to develop her soccer IQ and core strength, but this is the fourth game in a row where she’s had the best pure faceup game of anyone on the field. Junior Mackenzie Pluck came off the bench for the first time in 14 months but completely took over the game for a 20-minute stretch toward the end of the match. Sophomore Emmy Duerr played only 18 minutes but was a force atop the box, including a near-perfect shot that required an all-time save effort to stop, a save which set up Duke’s second goal. “[Our young forwards] would all love to be on the field all the time, there’s no question about that…but they understand ‘team first,’” Church said. “And so they understand they have a job. When a player’s performance starts to dip, that’s when we try to make subs. And the ones that come off the bench also understand that their job is not to keep the game even— their job is to elevate the game. And so they take pride in that.” Graham and Watkins are probably the best bets among that group to develop into elite 11s, at which point Duke has a fair argument as being one of the three or four best teams in the country. Until that time, though, the Blue Devils have the stars to match anyone this side of the San Francisco Bay, and are starting to prove that they can generate the supporting production to match. Duke now begins a five-game road trip to close out the regular season, starting with a match at Boston College Thursday at 4 p.m.
The Chronicle Why we left Pratt: Trinity students make more money: ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� smitty Too easy: ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� mattyg To write for The Chronicle: ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������kolinoscopy Layout Editors : ................................................................................................................................Kyle Harvey, Yoav Kargon, Priya Meesa, Evelyn Sturrock, Jeremy Tang, Bennett David Student Advertising Manager: �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Rebecca Ross Account Representatives:................... Juliana Arbelaez, Emma Olivo, Spencer Perkins, Sam Richey, Alex Russell, Paula Sakuma, Jake Schulman, Simon Shore, Maddy Torres, Stef Watchi, Montana Williams Marketing Manager:.................................................................................................................. Jared McCloskey Student Business Manager............................................................................................... Dylan Riley, Alex Rose The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, March 31, 2020
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Crossword 31 451/2-carat gem 68 Pols with a at the National donkey party logo Museum of 69 & 70 What the Natural History first word of [Rhode Island] each long Across 38 Time in Boston answer is vis-àwhen it’s midnight vis the bracketed in Austin place in its clue 41 Impose, as a tax 42 Shopping binge DOWN 43 QB’s downfield 1 Upper-class throw [Wisconsin] members: Abbr. 46 Michael of 2 “Why do the “S.N.L.” French have only one egg 47 ___-Ball (carnival for breakfast? attraction) Because one 48 Corsage flower egg is an ___” (old joke) 51 Growth on a tree 3 Brand to use “if 54 Place for tugboats you dare wear 57 Companies that short shorts” have big market 4 When Hamlet shares [Utah] gives his “To be, 61 Drug cop or not to be” 62 Helped out soliloquy 63 Preliminary races 5 500 things in a ream 65 Furry critter in “Return of the 6 Transmits Jedi” 7 Strait-laced 66 Vehicle with 18 person tyres, maybe 8 Big name in lawn 67 Sleep problem care 9 Indian flatbread TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 10 North African city in the lyrics S I C K O B O A to the “Marines’ A M A I N R U M P Hymn” V E R N E A R E S 11 Blobby light popular in the C E D O G H I N G E 1960s-’70s A M B A R I S T A S 12 Japanese cartoon R E L L O C I style T E F F S N A S H 13 Meal with the A G O R A G L U E Four Questions S A G E U T T E R 14 ___ Army knife O I L D O S H O T S 22 “Mrs. Frisby O F F S W E E and the Rats of H O P E N S F I R E ___” (Robert C. O’Brien children’s C R A T E L O O M book) A C T O R A T O M T E E N S G A M Y 23 Large lizards of the Southwest
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PUZZLE BY PETER GORDON
26 Upper part of the mouth 27 Florence’s river 28 Person who might say “10-4, good buddy” 29 “Grand” brand of ice cream 32 Ye ___ Shoppe 33 Liveliness 34 Longoria of “Desperate Housewives” 35 Theater sect. near the stage
36 Fruity soda brand 37 Homeowner’s document 39 Phrase akin to “Darn it all!” 40 Manufactures 44 Cars for vacationers 45 Japanese noodles 49 Hillary ___ Clinton 50 Sleazeball 51 Queued (up) 52 Really impressed 53 PC spinner
54 Freshwater polyp 55 Paying attention 56 Change from artificial blond back to brunet, say 58 Prison uprising 59 Rave’s partner 60 “Leave as is,” to a proofreader 64 ___ Paulo, Brazil
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10 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020
A
opinion dukechronicle.com
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The climate consequences election
n election can be “about” a number of different things. Identity, policy, justice, conspiracy theories, voter suppression, debates, grab-a-beer vibes, whatever. Our elections are chaotic, reframed daily based on the noise of a 24-hour news cycle. But regardless of
Trump, a vocal climate denier, has chosen a scorched Earth “climate policy.” He appointed climate deniers, fossil fuel lobbyists and antigovernment activists to lead countless major agencies. Last week he appointed an active climate conspiracy theorist to head the National Oceanic
a year, hollowing out enforcement and forcing senior staff to quit. In total, Trump’s appointees rolled back over a hundred environmental regulations and censored key research energy and climate research across the government. Instead of spending stimulus dollars on unemployment relief, the Trump government gave more bailouts to the foundering oil and gas industry than any other sector. Over the past four years, generations KOCHED AND LOADED of career civil servants and scientists who have spent a lifetime fighting for environmental the reasoning that compels hundreds of millions and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one protections have watched their life’s work get of people to bubble in names, when the votes are of the primary climate research agencies. The pissed on by climate deniers gleefully burning tallied, we shall hand power to a new state and director of the EPA is a former coal lobbyist. their agencies (and our nation) to the ground. federal government. William Pendley was so radical that he couldn’t Most of Trump’s anti-climate action can As the West burns (and burns), as our cities get a confirmation vote from a Republican senate be reversed, but his judicial picks represent a and farms flood, as grim thousand-page reports after a career lobbying against all public lands. He generational change. Thanks to McConnell’s from thirteen major national science agencies still illegally ran the Bureau of Land Management, obstruction of Obama era appointments, call for urgent climate action, we have a chance the department that protects public lands, for over Trump has minted over 218 young lifetime to choose a new government. appointments to federal courts. The recent death of RBG opens the door for a third Supreme Court appointment, replacing hot take of the week the strongest environmental voice with yet another right-wing partisan. “If anyone is reading these quotes, help me. Please. I’ve been stuck in the Trump’s appointment process was dominated by the Federalist Society Chronicle office closet since last Thursday. It’s very cold in here.” (prominent on our campus as well, apparently —Mihir Bellamkonda, Opinion Editor, on Oct. 11, 2020 they have great hors d’oeuvres) and the Heritage Foundation, powerful organizations that platform climate denial with deep ties and funding from fossil fuel industrialists. The courts are already pro-corporate—in the past decade, a partisan majority decided to Direct submissions to: allow unlimited campaign donations and gutted The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor the Voting Rights Act, dramatically tilting the E-mail: or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, playing field in favor of deep-pocketed fossil fuel chronicleletters@duke.edu department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local corporations. Trump’s appointments, aggressive address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department Editorial Page Department activists unconcerned with past norms, will likely for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle continue to pull silver-tongued shenanigans and The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are Box 90858, weaken our government’s capacity to respond promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest Durham, NC 27708 to crisis. Most of Trump’s appointments are columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on Phone: (919) 684-2663 really young and could be in office until 2050, the discretion of the editorial page editor. Fax: (919) 684-4696 the year we need to achieve global net-zero to avoid cascading damages of climate change. A legal system made in Trump’s image, and that of his radical donors, could delay necessary climate policy for decades. We seriously don’t have time Est. 1905 Inc. 1993 for that. The next term will be much worse. All the MATTHEW GRIFFIN, Editor checks and norms that slowed him down are EVAN KOLIN, Sports Editor gone; the whistleblowers have been rooted out MARIA MORRISON, Managing Editor and replaced with loyalists. Many of his rollbacks CARTER FORINASH, News Editor were blocked by courts, but unfortunately, the MONA TONG, Assistant News Editor rule of law can only buy us a little time. Four more ROSE WONG, Senior Editor years means losing senior scientists with deep JAKE SATISKY, Digital Strategy Director institutional knowledge, and locking in all his SIMRAN PRAKASH, Photography Editor rollbacks. For example, the EPA is trying to pass MIHIR BELLAMKONDA, Opinion Editor a “Science Transparency” rule. Sounds neat, huh? SARAH DERRIS, Recess Editor Until you realize that they are trying to ban any CHRISSY BECK, General Manager study with de-identified data…in other words, all studies involving human health that are legally REBECCA SCHNEID, Sports Photography Editor SHANE SMITH, Sports Managing Editor obligated to protect the names of patients. JACKSON MURAIKA, Assistant Sports Photography Editor MASON BERGER, Video Editor While the daily news cycles follow Trump’s AARON ZHAO, Features Photography Editor MARY HELEN WOOD, Audio Editor BELLA BANN, Photography Social Media Editor chaotic and public damage, there are scores of NADIA BEY, University News Editor MARGOT ARMBRUSTER, Opinion Managing Editor clever lobbyists burrowed into our institutions LEAH BOYD, University News Editor NICHOLAS CHRAPLIWY, Opinion Managing Editor PRIYA PARKASH, University News Editor inflicting untold damage designed to tilt the VICTORIA PRIESTER, Opinion Managing Editor PREETHA RAMACHANDRAN, University News Editor battlefield towards industry once Trump is gone. SYDNY LONG, Recess Managing Editor WILLIAM HE, Local and National News Editor A Biden win would open up way more BEN WALLACE, Community Editorial Board Chair ANNA ZOLOTOR, Local and National News Editor possibilities. While replacing Trump RYAN WILLIAMS, Community Editorial Board Chair ASHWIN KULSHRESTHA, Health and Science News Editor appointees with literal potatoes would SHANNON FANG, Equity and Outreach Coordinator MICHAEL LEE, Health and Science News Editor be a massive improvement, Biden’s team NADIA BEY, Recruitment Chair STEFANIE POUSOULIDES, Investigations Editor has repeatedly demonstrated that they JAKE SATISKY, Recruitment Chair JAKE SHERIDAN, Features Editor understand the importance and urgency TREY FOWLER, Advertising Director CHRIS KUO, Features Managing Editor of the energy transition. Over the past JULIE MOORE, Creative Director JOHN MARKIS, Senior News Reporter four years, federal agencies, think tanks The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions and non-partisan academic groups like expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials the Nicholas Institute have written up represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors. To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 1517 Hull Avenue call 684-3811. To thousands of suggestions on how to reach the Advertising Office at 2022 Campus Drive call 684-3811. One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased for .25 at The Chronicle Business office at the address above. mobilize the federal government to tackle @ 2020 Duke Student Publishing Company climate change. In stark contrast to the mad king, Biden recently committed to
Nathan Iyer
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LETTERS POLICY
The Chronicle
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block all fossil fuel lobbyists and executives from his transition team. If Democrats have enough votes to pass legislation, they are prepared to pass some legitimately impressive climate bills. Biden’s campaign proposal includes $2 trillion in spending to both help Americans recover from the pandemic and invest in necessary large-scale infrastructure to transition our energy system over the next decade. His plan comes on top of the 600-page report from the House climate committee, written after over 100 hearings (including several Duke professors). Biden’s plan and the current legislation on the table are comprehensive and ambitious with science-based targets. Given the stakes, our proposed policies could always use more juice, but represent smart and substantial progress. It’d save a lot of lives and a lot of dollars. Even if Biden doesn’t have the votes, his political appointees would improve things dramatically. For example, federal agencies could consider the systemic financial risk of climate change. Turns out, if all our major cities are flooded, or a big enough hurricane hits both Tampa and Miami, or fires burn down enough homes, some “too big to fail” insurance companies could knock down the entire financial system like dominos. The government has powerful financial levers to assess and regulate financial risk following the 2008 Wall Street corruption crisis. In addition, the US wields incredible power to shape international finance through the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund—a Biden administration could set international standards that internalize climate risk. Yes, Republicans will continue to obstruct action at every turn, and right wing media and social media companies will continue to spread climate denial. Yes, if Biden fails to stack the courts, every one of his plans may be gutted by a partisan judiciary hand-picked by fossil fuel interests. Yes, Biden may pick a few turds as advisors who fill his ears with malarkey. But despite all the devils in all the details, Joe represents an order of magnitude of improvement from this exhausting chaos, offering an ambitious plan that may just get us through this mess if we keep a healthy fire under his presidential buns. The alternative is…rough. At the end of the day, this election is not just between two 80-year old men. It’s also about the 4,000 senior leaders responsible for overseeing a budget of ~$16 trillion over the course of 16 fiscal quarters with a staff of four million people. It’s about courts that have unchecked power to veto legislation and reinterpret laws long after both men are dead. It’s about whether our government uses the best available science to defend us with a long enough time horizon to protect our lives and our future. It’s about the emissions that will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years, and the world that will remain for the rest of human history. A Biden victory does not guarantee our salvation, and Trump victory makes things much much harder but does not eliminate all our options. Despite a pandemic and a hostile federal government, state governments, cities, and businesses have made real climate progress. Our generation is responsible for making the very last moves in the fossil fuel era and surviving the first moves of the climate change era. That work doesn’t stop after the election. If we don’t defend ourselves, who will? Nathan Iyer is a second-year Master’s student in the Science and Society program. His column, “Koched and loaded,” normally runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020 | 11
Is Duke’s motto an oxymoron?
N
ew Atheists were the first political movement I encountered online. These were the people who actively attacked Christianity, arguing that it was evil.
Dan Reznichenko COLUMN
They would find the most unflattering Bible verses possible and use them to argue that it wasn’t worth reading. Alternatively, they’d bring up the crusades, or the fact that children die, to “prove” that God is malevolent and therefore couldn’t exist. Suffice to say, their takes weren’t hot, but they made up for that with their burning passion. My introduction to this group came in 2013. Youtube had started recommending me videos with titles like “why religion is stupid.” I’m still unsure how my watch history of top forty music and Minecraft tutorials made them think I was interested, but I guess they were right. Usually, these videos featured an unkempt man rambling about the latest unpleasant thing a Christian said or did. They were fascinating—my first experience with soapbox orators. As Youtube continued to feed me this content, I went from an amused spectator to a convert. I began to uncritically espouse Christopher Hitchens’ doctrine that “religion poisons everything.” Thankfully, I grew out of this “edgy atheist” phase; I had matured, and become more skeptical of dogmatic philosophies. However, like any belief that enters your mind at an impressionable stage, it left its mark on my psyche. When I first read Duke’s motto of “Eruditio et Religio,” alarm bells started ringing. A thought came to me: aren’t knowledge and religion opposed to each other? After all, militant atheists loved bringing up Galileo, who was attacked by the church for proving that the Earth was round. Nowadays, this story lives in the back of my mind, waiting for someone to mention science and religion in the same sentence. Faith being anti-progress is another talking point I’ve internalized. Sadly, there’s a grain of truth in these accusations. Even at Duke, the Methodist church was one of former President Nannerl Keohane’s biggest opponents in pushing for LGBTQ+ inclusion. As I wondered whether religion opposed knowledge, I was back to imagining it in monolithic terms. In fact, I could’ve used
“Christianity” and “religion” interchangeably That leaves them with one option: uphold it. throughout that reflection, but I’d imagined that The example which comes to my mind is the these stories applied everywhere. I’d attribute Medieval Catholic church. Throughout Europe, this to my New Atheist experience, too. Most the clergy held huge amounts of land and had massive influence over society. They were in a comfortable rung of the hierarchy. Feudal society was horrific, though. Economic exploitation, sexism and injustice were often perpetrated—all things which Christianity doesn’t endorse. At the same time, directly challenging the nobles responsible wasn’t worthwhile. They had limited political capital, and had to choose their battles, of their commentary was based on Christianity much like any political entity. Therefore, the and, occasionally, Islam; however, they’d use churches were often limited to doing charity— that to insult spirituality broadly. I don’t think creating change within the system. They were they considered that, as a phenomenon, faith is altruistic people, feeding the poor, but unlikely far bigger than a fringe group like the Westboro to confront the extortionate nobles who made Baptist Church or the Taliban. Just as I hadn’t this charity necessary. considered that organized religion was bigger The church was, oftentimes, the major than the Methodist or Catholic churches. promoter of societal well being. Hospitals and Entertaining the thought that religion schools were frequently established by priests. might be a force for regression was disturbing. Therefore, they logically needed money and It felt like I was capitulating to ways of thinking power to continue serving the people; their that I knew to be inaccurate and crude. Even continued relevance led to a social good. Given then, I couldn’t shake the idea that this was a their privileged position, I imagine that this was feature of faith. Looking beyond my Western best achieved by maintaining the status quo. An experience, I still found more examples. Saudi end to serfdom, for example, might’ve cost them Arabia’s treatment of women, or India’s violent revenue. Therefore, if it was uncertain how a persecution of Muslims, are also related to reform would affect the church, they were likely religion. Still, I couldn’t believe that was intrinsic; to lose rather than to gain. I imagine that’s why I already knew that most religious traditions rich abbots opposed the French Revolution, were tolerant, humble and willing to learn. whereas impoverished, parish priests were one The question remained, then, of why so many of its greatest supporters. Similarly, because religion can be a shameful actions are associated, or justified, by touchstone, a powerful, shared identity, people invoking them. The answer I’ve come up with, unsurprisingly, use it when communicating, especially to justify is the corrupting effect of power. Religion an argument. Kings would often claim that they is a benevolent force, but it exists within an ruled by divine right—even Napoleon, a secular ruler, had the Pope attend his coronation. intolerant hierarchy. It’s reminiscent of the “moral person who Appeals to the Almighty are rhetorically joins a toxic organization” trope. Whatever powerful and universally used. The liberation their intentions, once the person rises high of women, or the end of slavery, were both enough, they realize that they are part of that opposed and supported on religious grounds. toxicity. Trying to change that, regardless of Your belief, or lack thereof, was never shorthand whether they succeed, will endanger them. If it for a political stance. As is the case now, religious works, they will lose the privilege they earned by people are found sides of any issue—many tolerating, then leveraging, whatever bothered progressives are extremely religious, Sam Harris, them. However, should they fail, they’ll be exiled a noted New Atheist, is rather credibly accused or lose all the social capital they’d gathered. The of being intolerant. What tied religion to opposing progress essay “Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop,” gives an insightful look into this phenomenon, is the ability of those in power to decide the specifically, in police departments. Oftentimes, narrative—they have platforms to describe upstanding people end up abandoning, or themselves. In a religious society, it’s helpful to enforcing, harmful structures. Organized posture as the side of God. Progressive policy religion, however, can’t just “abandon” the usually threatens the powerful, so it’s no surprise structure of society—it’s the difference between they leveraged faith to oppose it. Fox News’ leaving your country and flying to the moon. appeals to Christianity are more visible than a
single progressive pastor’s, but that doesn’t mean they’re the “faithful” side, not unless you’re judging by conspicuity. It is because of this hierarchy, which makes some voices far louder than others, that concept of religion seems opposed to progress. There is no inclination for Christianity to be pro-establishment; Jesus was a bit of a rebel himself. When I look at modern day examples of “religion,” either as an institution or philosophy, opposing change, I see much of the same thing. It’s either massive churches, worried about losing influence (like the Methodists at Duke), or it’s powerful people using faith as a rhetorical tool. Because they hold power and influence, their actions get more exposure. It’s like how many feminists in Saudi Arabia are Muslim, but they don’t control a mass media system that will hype up their faith. Therefore, we’re led to imagine that conflict as one between a monolithic Islam and secular thought. In fact, religion is as much a tool of opposing change as its alleged enemy, logic, is. As the prominence of secular thought began to eclipse religion, it underwent the same process. It’s now a tool of enforcing hierarchy. After all, when a Ben Shapiro type argues that healthcare isn’t a right, he appeals to reason. However, him being associated with “facts and logic” doesn’t mean his opponents are illogical liars, nor does it mean that logic is innately anti-healthcare. Similarly, many think tanks—which traffic in facts—are bought and paid for by oil executives, but that doesn’t make them the enemy of climate science either. Both logic and religion are valuable and benign, it’s a shame that they must exist in a flawed society like ours. That’s when the problems start. It’s ironic that these canonically opposed ideas both “belong” to those who oppose progress now. Their historic clash, exemplified by Galileo’s arrest, feels like a coincidence in light of that fact. Perhaps all popular ideas will be framed as supporting the status quo. We value freedom, and we’re told that most progressive policies are anti-freedom, for example. However, if we reframe our perspective, we’ll see that those ideas never took a side. So, no, Duke’s motto isn’t an oxymoron, at least not inherently. Religion and knowledge aren’t engaged in an eternal struggle, and they can exist harmoniously. If we recognize that, and how much benefit both these things can bring, it’s not only a coherent motto, it’s a beautiful one. Dan Reznichenko is a Trinity first-year. His column runs on alternate Tuesdays.
Cancel classes on Election Day, you cowards
D
uke announced on “Wednesday” Also, for the next semester, buses will that it will have a “no-meeting no longer be running between east and day” on Election Day. west campus, except for the C1, which will There will be no “meetings.” Except for continue running. “classes.” Which we must still “attend.” If you’re frustrated about lack of
Monday Monday SATIRE
Duke also asked this week that selective organizations pause planning for spring recruitment until further notice. Expect an announcement this week exempting fraternities, sororities and selective living groups from this policy because they don’t count. In other news, Duke is closing West Union. The only restaurants in the dining hall that will still be able to serve food are Il Forno, Skillet, JB’s, Tandoor, Gyotaku, Ginger and Soy, Sprout, Farmstead, CaFe, Sazón, Au Bon Pon, Krafthouse and Commons.
transportation opportunities though, don’t fret! Study Away is totally still happening! The only programs that are being canceled are the ones run by Duke Global Education and also the other ones. You’ll still be able to study away anywhere you want, so long as you don’t want to study away domestically or internationally! In the greater Durham area, the night club Shooters is remaining closed every day except for weekdays and weekends. Student performance groups, Duke just announced, are all allowed to hold auditions
so long as they are not acapella groups or theater groups or comedy groups or dance groups or any other type of group that performs or puts on performances. Duke also announced that it will be defunding the Duke police except for the salaries of the officers and all of the money that is allocated towards the running of the Duke police. This accompanies Duke’s commitment to implement a new hate and bias policy by 2089. These announcements bolster Duke’s firm, courageous and outspoken stance of taking whatever stance Stanford takes a week after Stanford takes a stance on the issue. I’m so glad that Duke is having a “nomeeting day” on November 3rd. I’m so glad that I’ll have “no-meetings.” I’m so glad that, like all of my fellow students whose bandwidths have been reduced to micrometers at every waking moment spent within this fiery hellscape, I’ll be able to “have time” to go out and vote “stress-free.” And that that will “fix our country.” And that the world will reopen because when a vaccine comes out, people will “take it.”
And that the job market will “exist” and that I will be able to get “employed” at a “job.” And when I’m asked not to google the exam questions that the tenured professor lifted verbatim from Quizlet, I’ll “comply with the Duke Community Standard.” I’m going to put on my resume that I failed “no classes” and that my GPA was “3.9” and that I attended “Yale.” And when I’m an alum and Duke asks me to donate I “will.” Because there are “no meetings”. Because I guess facts don’t matter anymore and the definitions of words are relative to whatever narrative you’re peddling. And that even a place like Duke isn’t insulated from the denial of objective truth parasitically burrowing itself into every crevice of discourse in this godforsaken wasteland. Hahaha a fly landed on his head. To the tune of “Lovefool” by The Cardigans: ♫ Monday, Monday / say that you Monday / Monday, Monday / Go on and Monday / Monday, Monday / Pretend that you Monday / I don’t care ‘bout anything but you
12 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020
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Election Day is November 3. You can vote early. You can vote by mail. You can vote on Election Day.
Go to voteamerica.com/students
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