October 27, 2017

The Chronicle

See Inside Duke clinches ACC regular-season crown Page 11

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

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UNIVERSITY

Swift residents react to not-so-swift buses

By Reeya Gupta Contributing Reporter

For the average 300 Swift resident, going to class doesn’t mean leaving the dorm and arriving to the classroom within 10 minutes. Instead, it can sometimes be longer than a 30-minute commute just to reach West Campus.

The bus schedule has been a source of complaints since the beginning of the school year, as students have voiced their criticisms in groups such as Fix My Campus, a Facebook group created by Duke Student Government members for students to post requests to fix services around campus. Complaints about the Swift Express bus included unpredictable bus schedules, long wait times, unsafe routes and general inaccessibility for people with disabilities.

Students asked about the Swift Express by The Chronicle had a variety of complaints, some of which centered on the bus schedule itself.

Despite the fact that the Swift Express, East-Science and Class Change buses all stop at 300 Swift, sophomore Calum Keeley explained that there is often “no bus at the stop, and

QUICK FIX Graduate students organize food bank for their peers

Story by Adam Beyer | Digital Content Director Selena Qian | Contributing Reporter Graphic by Jeremy Chen | Graphics Editor

See SWIFT on Page 6

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 28

For some graduate students, affording food, among other items, can be a challenge.

A new community pantry created by the Graduate and Professional Student Council aims to change that.

Housed in the GPSC House at 306 Alexander Avenue, the pantry opened in September to support the different needs of the graduate student body. Graduates can visit it Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons to pick up food, school supplies, childcare items and used professional clothing.

“When we talk about startups and ideas, they basically address a problem, and I think this does that—address a problem, which is not usually recognized very well,” said Aditya Eranki, a first year master’s student in engineering management, who volunteers at the pantry and is on the GPSC committee.

The food bank was born out of GPSC’s drive to increase support for the needs and concerns of the graduate students. Last year, the council approved the One Duke Access Fund, which gave students $200 grants for personal needs such as food, clothing or travel.

But based on the applications for the fund, the council realized more action was needed for students who may have trouble affording

We don’t record any names.

We encourage people not to feel shy about using it, especially if there’s a need.

N.C. toxicants board picks Duke professors

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food and other necessities.

“The problem with the One Duke Access Fund was that it didn’t provide a sustainable solution to food insecurity, which we consider less of an emergency and more of a chronic problem,” said Rashmi Joglekar, president of GPSC and a Ph.D. student at the Nicholas School. “Because of how strongly it was used, we thought this was a problem we wanted to address more sustainably this year.”

The fund is in the process of being restructured as an Emergency Travel Fund.

Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government affairs, emphasized that Duke’s graduate students come from a variety of financial backgrounds. He encouraged students who may have concerns to work with the financial office.

Three members of the Duke community have been picked to serve on North Carolina’s Science Advisory Board, which will examine the effects of emerging chemicals like GenX on public health and the environment.

Selected by the secretaries of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the panel consists of 16 experts who specialize in fields ranging from toxicology to engineering, and come from a variety of backgrounds, including academic institutions and the public and private sectors. According to the DEQ website, board members will act as consultants and provide guidance to the state departments on how to best manage new chemical compounds. The board’s first meeting was this past Monday, Oct. 23 in Raleigh.

“We selected top talent from a robust pool of more than 50 candidates from across North Carolina,” DEQ Secretary Michael Regan explained in a statement. “The panel we’ve assembled will provide vital long-term scientific guidance

See BANK on Page 4

See BOARD on Page 5

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AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

Pictures by Bre Bradham | Associate Photography Editor Edited by Juan Bermudez | Co-Sports Photography Editor

Mayoral candidates prepare for upcoming Election Day

By Sarah Kerman Senior News Reporter

With early voting underway and less than two weeks until the city’s municipal elections, Durham’s political action committees have made candidate endorsements.

In the mayoral race candidates Farad Ali and Steve Schewel look to be the city’s first new mayor since 2001. Thus far, Schewel has received endorsements from the People’s Alliance, Indy Week, Sierra Club, Equality North Carolina, City Workers’ Union, Muslim American Political Affairs Council and AFLCIO. Ali has received endorsements from Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, Friends of Durham, North Carolina

Sheriff Police Alliance, Rev-elution Blog and current mayor Bill Bell. Schewel emphasized the importance of both candidates networking with the city’s influential groups at this point in the race.

“Endorsements in Durham are really really important,” Schewel said. “Durham is an endorsement town and endorsements in Durham matter more than money.”

Schewel, Trinity ’73 and a member on the Durham City Council, said that the main messages he is looking to communicate to voters at this point in the race include economic prosperity, promoting Durham’s values and maintaining quality of life as the city grows. He noted his desire to maintain a “wonderful small city quality of life” as the

city grows.

“Will it be like driving around Washington D.C. at rush hour, or are we going to have a public transportation system here that really works and other alternatives to the car?” he said. “I think that’s critically important for our environment and our livability.”

Schewel explained the importance of having a comprehensive “ground game” prior to the election.

“On Saturdays and Sundays, I have volunteers going door to door for the last 8 weeks and also I have my volunteers making lots of phone calls on my behalf, and I’m sending a lot of direct mail to potential voters,” he said.

Ali, a business consultant and former city council member, noted that at this point in the

race his main focus is on making sure the city’s voter turnout is sufficient enough to represent the community’s perspective.

“We’re looking to get out the vote so that we don’t have a sample size of the population that determines who’s the next mayor or city council members but we have more of a representative sized population that determines who’s gonna represent the city,” he said. “Regardless of the election outcome you want people to vote because when they vote, their voices are heard.”

Ali noted that his campaign is focused on helping people get out to vote, including talking with groups that have large bodies or audiences See ELECTION on Page 5

Center for Health Data Sciences changes ‘stale’ name to Duke Forge

By Nathan Luzum

could think of a name that would more accurately and vividly reflect the initiative’s goals. Califf noted that Duke Forge is a particularly appropriate name because it “implies a lot of The organization formerly known as the Center for Health heat and sweat and hard work” involved in “taking structures Data Science has rebranded to become Duke Forge. that might have been fixed and not very malleable before and The initiative aims to leverage the vast amount of data melding them into something that’s different.” and information carried in the health care system to improve the lives of patients. In addition to the name change, Duke What we have today is a lot of Forge has also recently appointed five clinicians to various data in our lives and in medicine, positions within its ranks to lend their perspective to the organization’s mission. but we’re facing a lot of challenges “The purpose of Duke Forge is to deal with health data making that data actionable. in a way that leads to improvements in systems of health care delivery and the ability of people to make decisions YOUSUF ZAFAR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF about their health,” said Robert Califf, vice chancellor for MEDICINE Health Data Science and Donald F. Fortin, M.D. professor of cardiology.

The name change did not come as a surprise, he added, The fixed structures, in this case, are the enormous as the Center for Health Data Science sounded “stale” and streams of health care data that are generated each time a was merely intended to serve as a placeholder until someone patient visits a hospital or clinic, he explained. Califf added Health and Science News Editor

that recent advances in technology have made it even more vital to weld the disparate streams of information together to provide more efficient care to patients.

“What we have today is a lot of data in our lives and in medicine, but we’re facing a lot of challenges making that data actionable,” said Yousuf Zafar, associate professor of medicine. “And what I mean by [actionable] is using that data to actually improve treatment and improve the lives of our patients.”

Zafar, one of the newly appointed clinical associate directors at Duke Forge, explained that his research as a medical oncologist has shown him firsthand the difficulty of integrating a large amount of health data. He added that one potential goal of Duke Forge would be to make cancer treatment more affordable by combining the electronic health records and insurance data for patients who were treated for cancer. Such a dataset could then enable physicians to better estimate the cost of a treatment and See FORGE on Page 4

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HEALTH AND SCIENCE

Duke alum creates FreeWill app to aid in estate planning

By Claire Ballentine Towerview Editor

For most people, the idea of financial planning is downright intimidating, requiring expensive legal fees and tough decisions. But a website developed by a Duke alum is working to make that process easier.

Helen Zou—Pratt ‘13 and currently pursuing an MBA/ MA at Stanford University—co-founded FreeWill, a platform that streamlines estate planning and encourages charitable donations. Users are able to develop a legally-binding will at no cost, saving them both time and money. It also includes a tool that makes it more simple to leave behind gifts for nonprofits, charities and research institutions.

“Estate planning can be really complicated,” Zou said. “We broke that down into something easy and digestible.”

She explained that the website asks users if they want to leave money for nonprofits and lets them designate how much or what percentage of their assets they want to leave. Once they create their will, they can print it out and have two witnesses sign the document to make it official.

After only a year of operation, FreeWill has already amassed 1,700 users who have agreed to donate more than $30 million to charities.

The platform generates revenue through partnerships with nonprofits who buy customized versions of the will-making process and pay an annual subscription fee. FreeWill sends them notifications when users have made donations, allowing the nonprofits to track gifts and reach out to donors to thank them and build relationships.

The paying nonprofits are also displayed on the site as See FREEWILL on Page 6

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 | 3

Wellness Center provides dental services

By Xinchen Li Contributing Reporter

Students who seek dental services no longer have to go off campus anymore.

A new dental office opened early this month on the first floor of the Student Wellness Center. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Students can schedule appointments online or by phone.

“Many students on campus do not have much access to dental care,” said John Vaughn, director of student health. “I think [a dental office on campus] will provide useful service to our student body.”

The Duke Student Medical Insurance Plan does not cover dental services, Vaughn said. Previously, students who sought dental care would receive services at discounted rates at local dentists’ offices through a dental savings program.

“We didn’t have dental facilities on campus before,” Vaughn said. “Students [who needed dental care] would come to us and we would provide them with a list of dentists in the community that they could go to.”

The new dental office operates under Campus Smiles, a program sponsored by the private dentistry company Dent-Well, Vaughn said. Under the dental savings program, See DENTAL on Page 5

Sujal Manohar | Recess Photography Editor The first floor of the Student Wellness Center is the location for a new dental office which opened earlier this month.

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BANK FROM PAGE 1

Selena Qian | Contributing Photographer Students, faculty and staff donate to the pantry, which also receives funding from the Graduate School.

“Duke’s stipends and other forms of compensation for graduate students are very competitive compared with our peer institutions but individuals have different family circumstances,” he said.

The Council developed its pantry concept the summer prior to opening its doors this semester. Some of the funding for the pantry comes from the Graduate School, whereas other items are donations from students, faculty and staff. The organizational team is also seeking other funding streams and plans to put donation boxes around campus.

The team researched what food pantries usually stock in an effort to make its purchases useful to students cooking balanced meals. Joglekar noted that childcare items are also available for students with families.

Approximately 12 graduate students from across a variety of academic programs help run the pantry, Joglekar said.

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Evanki said that as an international student, he realized that food insecurity could be a problem. Students who are from other countries may not have the same resources as their peers, or may struggle financially in the United States.

“I even find myself being in need of a solution for this at times,” Evanki said. “There are days where [the pantry] could help, so I think if more people could recognize this effort then that would definitely help.”

Shomith Mondal, a first year master’s student in biomedical engineering, also volunteers at the pantry. He noted that being a graduate student without a regular source of income has affected his spending on food.

“I would definitely encourage people to use the [pantry],” Mondal said. “We don’t record any names. We encourage people not to feel shy about using it, especially if there’s a need.”

Selena Qian | Contributing Photographer Approximately 12 graduate students from across a variety of academic programs help run the pantry.

FORGE FROM PAGE 2 make prices more affordable.

Another possible avenue for Duke Forge to pursue would be to use data to identify the most promising clinical trials for each patient, Zafar explained.

“A lot of the clinical trial eligibility criteria is based on not just the patient’s cancer diagnosis, but also a lot of the potential biomarkers that might have been collected on the patients,” he said. “That data is not often readily available.”

Califf also emphasized the concept of “digital phenotyping” and how developments across cell phones and electronic watches can enable researchers to monitor patients outside of a clinical setting as well. Health information collected outside the hospital is important, he added, because the average person spends less than one percent of their time in a hospital or clinic.

“Most of what determines your health—that is how functional you are and how long you live—would be things that are not occurring in a clinic or a hospital, the decisions that you make every day and things that you get exposed to in everyday life,” Califf said.

Moving forward, he explained that Duke Forge was looking to grow by partnering with Duke faculty and staff rather than continuing to bring new people into the organization.

He expressed interest in working with the Duke Clinical Research Institute and the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in addition to undergraduate programs such as the math and computer science departments.

Megan Clowse, associate professor of medicine and the other clinical associate director of Duke Forge, noted that she looked forward to working as a “liaison between clinicians and data analysts to help these two groups speak the same language.”

Zafar explained that he was interested in joining Duke Forge because of frustrations he encountered in his research and a hope to change the status quo in the health data sciences.

“What motivated me to become involved is that I see every day in my clinical practice and in my research the limitations of the way our data is structured today,” he said.

“What I’d really like to do is work toward making that data more actionable.”

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BOARD FROM PAGE 1 on how to best protect public health and the environment from emerging chemical compounds.”

Richard Di Giulio, Sally Kleberg professor of environmental toxicology, is one of three board members with ties to the University. Di Giulio, who is also the director of the Superfund Research Center, noted that the panel will address “hot button issues” this year, such as concerns over GenX—described by the DEQ as “a man-made and unregulated chemical used in manufacturing nonstick coatings” which was found in Cape Fear River—as well as hexavalent chromium and coal ash contamination.

“I think the DEQ and DHHS do sincerely want input and

DENTAL FROM PAGE 3 students without private dental insurance will be eligible for a basic dental care package at the dental office, which costs $129 per semester.

“Dentistry is a very expensive and particular expertise in healthcare,” said Dent-Well President Charles Lusk. “Therefore, it usually does not make much sense for a university to try to [provide this service] on its own but [instead]

outside advice because they’re dealing with controversial topics, so they want good science brought to bear,” Di Giulio said, commenting on the relationship between the state departments and the advisory board.

The DEQ and DHHS secretaries also appointed John Vandenberg—adjunct professor in the division of environmental sciences and policy. Vandenberg is also director of the Research Triangle Park Division of the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Assessment.

“The focus of the board is on environmental concerns, related to water quality, air quality and land contamination,” Vandenberg said. “We’re trying to evaluate if the evaluations done by the state are consistent with what we’re aware of and familiar with, and to help them [utilize] the most informative science to support their decisions.”

to partner with outside experts.”

The program aims to provide affordable dental services for university students and employees, Lusk said. Compared to private dental clinics, Dent-Well can purchase material and equipment at lower prices because it operates at a larger scale and aims for long-term profits.

Vaughn said he hopes providing dental care at a lower price will benefit international students on campus. Unlike domestic students, they usually cannot access dental services here through their family insurance plans.

ELECTION FROM PAGE 2 who can be influential in getting out to vote. He applauded the city for having buses run for free on election day in order to assist people in getting to the polls. He also mentioned that the city’s long-term strategic planning effort is aided when people have the opportunity to participate.

“There’s so many important issues that lie before us that we need to have leadership that can be competent and compassionate and also just really understand how to put

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 | 5

The third member with a connection to Duke is Woodhall Stopford, assistant professor of community and family medicine.

Stopford was also on the previous Science Advisory Board since 1990, serving for eight of those years as chairman.

Board members will meet again Dec. 4. in Wilmington, N.C. to hear in person the public’s concerns about the Cape Fear River water quality issue caused by GenX, Di Giulio noted.

Vandenberg indicated that the board hopes to recognize and address the individual “concerns of communities” regarding exposure to GenX. However, he explained that the advisory board can only make recommendations to the state government, and that it is up to individual departments to act on their advice.

“There’s certainly interest in what we are doing,” he said.

“Time will tell in terms of what the state actually does.”

Lusk said the program will be attractive to students because it provides high quality services by dentists who are experts, at the lowest possible price.

The office will provide comprehensive dental care services such as X-ray examination, dental cleanings and extraction, Lusk noted.

“Dental care is just like education,” Lusk said. “You don’t just want the cheapest, but [also] the best.”

Having a dental office on campus will benefit students who have dental emergencies as well, Lusk mentioned. Although

things together and collaborate,” he said.

The election represents an opportunity for Ali to become the city’s third African American mayor, who explained that the call to vote resonates in a deeper way because of the historical exclusion of African Americans and women from the voting process.

“You gotta remember I’m an African American male right.

People died to vote, people lost family members, people were put in jail,” Ali said. “There’s a lot of things that happened to people who could not vote to get this right. That’s what’s on my heart.”

In addition to the mayoral race, Durham will elect three

scheduling in advance is recommended, dentists on call will accommodate walk-ins and emergencies.

Sophomore Mikaela Li said she believes having a dental office on campus may be convenient for students who seek relevant services. However, she does not think students will make use of this resource unless they run into an emergency.

“Most American students have their own dentists,” Li said. “International students like me often find dental services [in the United States] too expensive, even with the discount.”

city council members. DeDreanna Freeman, who received 48 percent of the votes in the primary, will face incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden—with 43 percent of the votes—in the Ward 1 race. Mark-Anthony Middleton who received 42 percent of the vote in the Ward 2 primary will face John Rooks Jr. In Ward 3, who won 31 percent of the vote. Vernetta Alston, who received more than half of the votes in the primary, is up against Sheila Huggins.

The election day polling site for students who live on campus is W.I. Patterson Recreation Center on Crest Street.

Early voting continues until Saturday Nov. 4, with Election Day on Tuesday Nov. 6.

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SWIFT FROM PAGE 1 students are forced to walk down the hill to Campus Drive to catch a C1 East-West bus in the morning.”

However, there is little point in attempting to catch the C1 in the morning, Keeley noted, as it is often full of first-years and unable to pick up any additional passengers.

Sophomore Tommaso Bucci complained on Fix My Campus about violations in disability accommodations. He explained that his roommate had trouble with the bus system, as some buses had broken wheelchair ramps and vans had no wheelchair access whatsoever.

“The situation has gotten a little better now, as they have now sent out a big bus for the last few days. I just wish it hadn’t taken two month to resolve,” he said.

Because the Swift Express stops running after midnight, some students returning from West have to take the C1 and get off on Campus Drive before walking up the hill to reach 300 Swift.

“Sometimes I come back from the library around 1 a.m. It is really scary walking up the hill on Campus Drive in the pitch dark with no security guard around,” said sophomore Giselle Vargis. “I think this should be changed especially since there have been unfortunate

Aaditya Jain | Associate Photography Editor The Swift Express bus has received student criticism for inconsistent arrival and departure times.

incidents in the same area last year.”

In Nov. 2016, an individual reported that she was sexually assaulted and robbed by a male suspect while walking down Swift Avenue at 10 a.m. Samuel Hasty was arrested in Dec. 2016 in connection with the sexual assault on Swift and a robbery in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

Students also said that the TransLoc Rider app—which tracks Duke busses in real time—has been very hard to use around the 300 Swift stop.

Many students have even posted screenshots on

FREEWILL FROM PAGE 3 suggested charities to give donations, which Zou said increases the number of gifts they get. Users can also select an “other” option and type in the charity of their choice.

So far, the website has about 20 partners including the Texas Children’s Hospital and Project HEAL, which focuses on helping people suffering from eating disorders pay for treatment. Since partnering with FreeWill, Zou noted that Project HEAL has received increased traffic on its digital platforms and raised more than $1 million in pledges.

“A lot of it is making it simpler, easy and free,” Zou said.

“How do you take something complex and scary and boil it down into something that people can find enjoyable and easy to understand?”

She noted that FreeWill has worked with attorneys across the country to examine state laws about wills, allowing the platform to capture variations in regulations in different places.

For more complicated estate planning, users can make a draft will, including their desired charitable donations, and then work with a lawyer, which still helps streamline the process. It can also recommend qualified attorneys near users’ homes.

Fix My Campus showing the bus appearing in random locations on the map.

“Sometimes no estimate is shown or it is shown as if the bus is in the middle of nowhere,” said junior Andres Isaza. “I do like how the bus waits for a few minutes though at the stop and goes from West and back, but it would be helpful to know exactly when.”

Sophomore Vinit Parekh, a co-director of Fix My Campus, said he and his team are working to fix problems with the

The idea for the website came about when Zou’s friend Patrick Schmitt, also a grad student at Stanford, was trying to write a will for himself and wanted to leave most of his money to charity but found the process to be difficult.

“We realized there was a huge opportunity around philanthropic giving,” Zou said. “How can we mitigate the loss to charities that happens when people aren’t thinking about giving in their will?”

Zou and Schmitt along with another Stanford graduate student researched the startup space and legal regulations before launching the website. They now have two full-time employees and a group of four to eight helping out part time.

Zhou’s noted that she did not always plan to start a business.

She studied biomedical engineering at Duke and planned to go to medical school but then decided she did not want to spend the rest of her life doing research.

“I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to,” she said. “Being a doctor you influence one life at a time. I wanted to see if I could do that on a larger scale.”

She then joined Capital One as a senior strategy associate and later a product manager, which she used as a launch pad to learn more about business.

Zou explained that FreeWill is important because it helps eliminate the reluctance around writing wills. Many people do

Transloc Rider app and address the issue of inconsistent arrival and departure times. He added, however, that they would not be able to make decisions regarding expanding the bus schedule so that it runs for the entire day— as opposed to taking a break from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.—or adding another bus.

Even when the bus does show up, however, many times the Swift Express will not pick up students waiting at a stop, or the driver will tell people to get off the bus since there are too many people, said sophomore Esther Kwarteng.

“Once I was at West and the bus just didn’t stop for us,” she said. “It just let the passengers get off and rushed away.”

Students also raised concerns about contradictory communication from the drivers. Certain drivers requested the bell to be rung so the Swift Bus would stop at Swift, whereas other drivers specifically emphasized not to ring the bell.

Sophomore Ehime Ohue noted that there are now signs posted on the bus explaining whether the driver prefers the bell to be rung or not. The situation is still “weird,” he added, because “we should not have to ring a bell to stop at Swift, especially because that is the only place the bus is going.”

“Honestly, I feel like boarding the Swift bus is like having to plan for the Robertson Bus,” said sophomore Matt Garside. “Going to class should not be that difficult.”

not want to think about their deaths or meet with lawyers. Some also assume death is a long way off and don’t see the incentive to write a will now.

“Everyone over 18 should have a will,” Zou said. “It’s a financial best practice of being ready for anything.”

Schmitt noted the potential for FreeWill to tap into an underutilized source for philanthropy. Although 90 percent of Americans make a donation to some cause once a year, fewer than six percent include charitable gifts in their estate plan.

“When people do estate planning, they’re rarely prompted to do charitable giving,” Schmitt said. “If you don’t ask people about a certain thing, they’re much less likely to do it.”

FreeWill also helps users make sure their finances are in order and take care of their friends and family after the users die, Zou explained. On the website, users can designate possessions or funds that they want to leave behind for certain individuals.

Moving forward, Zou said she wants to reach out to more nonprofits to get them on board and serve as a resource to their donors. Their goal is to raise $100 billion for charities.

Schmitt added that he thinks FreeWill will be successful because of its brilliant team and the fact that most people do want to donate their money to good causes.

“People are fundamentally interested in changing the world,” he said. “They just need a clearer path to doing so.”

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Sports

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 | 11

THE BLUE ZONE

BASKETBALL PLAYER PREVIEW: JAYDA ADAMS sports.chronicleblogs.com

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WELCOMING THE CHAMPS

Duke hosts reigning Division II national champions for annual exhibition at Cameron Indoor

By Ben Feder Staff Writer

For the first time in nearly eight months, the Blue Devils will see people other than their teammates on the other end of the court.

As is tradition, Duke’s first exhibition game to kick off its 2017-18 season will come against NWMSU the reigning Division vs.

II national champions, Northwest Missouri Duke State, Friday at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor FRIDAY, 7 p.m.

Cameron Indoor Stadium Stadium.

There may be a bit of rust to start off the game for one of the Blue Devils’ youngest squads ever, with more than half the team comprised of freshmen. For Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the exhibition contest will give him an idea of the players he can lean on as the season progresses, and he said he would rather put them in front of a full stadium than scrimmage another Division I team in an empty building, per NCAA rules.

“You can’t simulate crowd,” Krzyzewski said.

“There’s certain kids—especially for this team— I’d rather have them playing in front of a crowd and see how they respond.”

Earlier this week, Krzyzewski tipped his hand on the starting lineup for Friday’s matchup, which he said will include four first-year players.

The freshman quartet is likely to be comprised of Trevon Duval, Gary Trent, Jr., Wendell Carter Jr. and Marvin Bagley III, and Krzyzewski will have

Sujal Manohar | Recess Photography Editor

Gary Trent Jr. will likely be one of four Blue Devil freshmen in the starting lineup Friday along with senior captain Grayson Allen. plenty of film to diagnose how his latest batch of five-star recruits performs in their first test against collegiate competition.

With Carter and Bagley likely starting, sophomore and former top-20 recruit Marques Bolden will come off the bench for the second straight season, as senior captain Grayson Allen will occupy the last spot in the starting lineup.

But Bolden should see plenty of time on the court, especially against a Bearcat squad whose

tallest player is 6-foot-8.

In recent years, Krzyzewski has limited his rotation to a maximum of just eight players, with just two frontcourt players seeing time off the bench. With Bagley—who was voted ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year this week—and a fellow top-five recruit in Carter occupying the top two forward spots to start the season, Bolden will have to take advantage of his minutes to start the season to prove to Krzyzewski that he can handle

the center position, potentially allowing Bagley to shift to small forward in a bigger lineup.

Perhaps the biggest question that has been left unanswered is how the Blue Devils will manage their guard rotation. Since having Tyus Jones on the 2014-15 national championship squad, Duke has had unreliable options at point guard, and with Duval, Trent and star senior Grayson Allen destined for heavy minutes, Krzyzewski will have to find someone to take the pressure off the trio early in the season.

There have been concerns about Trent and Duval’s shooting from the outside. Although Trent made three of his five shots from beyond the arc in the Blue-White scrimmage, the Columbus, Ohio, native has never been known as an efficient 3-point threat, and Duval enters the season with a shaky jump shot as well.

If the Blue Devils want to use a bigger lineup with Bolden, Bagley and Carter on the floor, they will need some outside shooting to space the court. Two freshmen who might not get much playing time in the regular season—Alex O’Connell and Jordan Tucker—have proven more than capable from 3-point range, and should get chances to showcase their skills against Northwest Missouri State.

But unlike most Division II champions, the Bearcats return their key players. Duval and the rest of the Duke backcourt will have their hands full against 2016-17 Division II Player of the Year Justin Pitts, who averaged 20.9 points and 5.1 assists per game last season.

See M. BASKETBALL on Page 13

WOMEN’S SOCCER

McDonald’s late goal wraps up perfect ACC slate

By Meredith Cash Staff Writer

Sanjeev Dasgupta | Sports Photography Editor

Junior Kat McDonald drilled a shot off the goalkeeper’s arms and into the back of the net in the 87th minute.

Nobody’s perfect, but No. 2 Duke is really, really close.

The Blue Devils have not lost a game since Aug. 18. They have won 17 consecutive contests and finished their regular-season ACC slate without a blemish to shatter previous program records in both categories.

They have scored DUKE 1 41 goals to their 0 opponents’ eight to UVA earn 12 shutouts in an 18-game season, and have rightfully been considered one of the top teams in the nation heading into the postseason.

Winning its third ACC regular-season championship and first since 2011 with a 1-0 victory against No. 10 Virginia at Klöckner Stadium Thursday night was certainly a feat in and of itself, but this accomplished Duke squad has its focus on chasing perfection and collecting some more hardware along the way.

“Obviously winning the ACC regularseason championship was incredible, but that was just step one,” said junior Kat McDonald, who scored the game-winner in Thursday’s contest. “Our next step is to win the ACC tournament, and obviously we want to follow it with the national championship.”

McDonald broke through with just 3:41 remaining on the clock to put the Blue Devils in the lead. After Kayla McCoy slashed down the left flank and cut into the 18-yard box, she sent a hard ball across the front of the goal and into the six-yard box, where a sprinting McDonald fell to her knees to punch the ball past Ivory and into the goal.

“Kat scored a big goal at West Virginia and scored another big goal here, and you’re just so happy for a player like that, because you know how hard she’s worked,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “She’s not the most athletic player we have, but she’s probably the one with the most heart. She has worked her See W.SOCCER on Page 13

12 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017

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FOOTBALL

Duke run game searches for spark vs. Hokies

By Mitchell Gladstone Sports Managing Editor

Just more than two years ago, Duke played one of its most memorable regular-season contests in recent history at Virginia Tech.

But gone from the Blue Devils’ roster is quarterback Thomas Sirk, whose 25-yard pass and subsequent two-point conversion heroics led the visitors to a quadruple-overtime win.

So too are all five Duke players who caught a pass in that game.

If the Blue Devils have any hope of overcoming the 13thDuke ranked Hokies this vs.

No. 13 time around, the 15.5-point underdogs VT will need to lean on SATURDAY, 7:20 p.m. an entirely new group Lane Stadium as they return to Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. Duke will travel to Virginia Tech for a 7:20 p.m. contest Saturday, as the Blue Devils are looking to snap a four-game losing skid and earn just their second ACC victory of the season.

After claiming the Victory Bell in Chapel Hill

Charles York | Contributing Photographer

Daniel Jones showed signs of life in the second half last week against Pittsburgh.

four weeks ago, the Duke offense has mustered only 13.5 points per game. Outside of a relatively consistent rushing attack that remains in the top half of the conference, not much is clicking for the Blue Devils.

So when it comes to fixing Duke’s offensive woes, it starts at the top, with a man who has worked his magic on offense for the last four decades and is in danger of going winless in October for the first time in 10 years in Durham.

“It starts in staff meetings, in review of previous games and in preparations,” Blue Devil head coach David Cutcliffe said. “I always script the practice face and what we’re studying, doing and the direction we’re going to go. It’s meant that you take a fine-tooth comb through every detail.

“It’s human nature when things aren’t going well to pull out the fine-tooth comb. I don’t have any complaints about the way we’ve practiced or worked. I don’t want people to think that. We’ve got outstanding coaches and outstanding young men. But you know what something can always be? Better.”

The biggest improvement for Duke (44, 1-3 in the ACC) this weekend will need to take place under center. Redshirt sophomore Daniel Jones showed flashes of his early-season success last Saturday against Pittsburgh when he threw for two touchdowns and 272 yards— but also completed less than half his passes for the second time in three weeks.

Still, if the Blue Devil quarterback can help his team manage the game, sustain drives and capitalize on scoring chances— Duke is converting on just 79.3 percent of its red-zone opportunities—the possibility of a third straight win in Blacksburg is not out of the question. “[How to sustain drives] is a complicated question, but I think the answer doesn’t have be complicated,” offensive tackle Evan Lisle said.

“We just need to stick to what we do best. We’re a great running team, and as the offensive line, we just have to pass protect. If everyone does their job, I don’t think we should have an issue.

It’s just been little things here and there that are keeping us from these victories.”

Despite turnover in recent years with

Charles York | Contributing Photographer

Running back Shaun Wilson will try to get more involved against a stingy Virginia Tech run defense that gives up just 112.1 yards per game. the retirement of longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster has remained a constant in Blacksburg. Although Foster’s unit has held strong for most of this season, the Blue Devils have been able to exploit Virginia Tech (6-1, 2-1) on the ground each of their past two matchups.

Last fall, Duke ran 45 times for 227 yards and three touchdowns. The year before that, the Blue Devil ground attack was just as successful, as Duke leaned heavily on its running backs once again, tallying 32 carries for 179 yards and a score.

The Hokie rush defense, however, has surrendered only two touchdowns all season, and opponents are averaging 112.1 yards per game on the ground versus Virginia Tech thanks to a talented front seven led by 2016 second-team All-ACC linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

Saturday night, something’s got to give.

“We’ve got to get more yards in the run game,” co-captain Austin Davis said. “You never want to get behind in the chains because

it forces us into passing situations, and defenses know what you’re going to do. We’ve got to do a better job getting five, six yards a carry so we’re not limited in things we do.”

On the other side of the ball, run stopping will be an equal priority for the Blue Devil defensive line and linebacking corps after an unusually poor performance against Pittsburgh.

Missed tackles and wide-open gaps gave Panther running backs Darrin Hall and Quadree Ollison plenty of space to rack up 336 rushing yards—108 more than in any other game this season. Just like on offense, it will be a battle of the trenches as Duke looks keep at least part of a balanced Hokie attack in check.

“Everything has to be better,” senior defensive tackle Mike Ramsay said. “We have to learn from those mistakes, but as far as taking it to the practice field, we just need to be better.

We have to work harder at it, make sure we’re more locked in and focused.”

Michael Model contributed reporting.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Blue Devils tabbed as heavy favorite to win ACC Staff Reports The Chronicle

For the second straight year, Duke is the odds-on favorite in the ACC. The Blue Devils were picked to finish first in the conference by a vote at the ACC’s media day Wednesday, earning 57 of 69 firstplace votes. Last year, Duke got 85 of 91 first-place votes before slipping to fifth place during the season. North Carolina, Notre Dame, Miami and Louisville are expected to be the Blue Devils’ toughest challengers, rounding out the top five.

Senior Grayson Allen and freshman Marvin Bagley III were preseason first-team All-ACC selections, with Allen picking up 60 votes and Bagley earning 26. Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson, North Carolina’s Joel Berry II and Georgia Tech’s Ben Lammers joined the Duke duo on the first team.

Bagley was the overwhelming pick for ACC Rookie of the Year, getting 58 of 70 votes. None of the Blue Devils’ other highlytouted freshmen were on the ballot. And after Allen was the favorite for ACC Player of the Year last October but saw his production drop as a junior, he enters this season with slightly lower expectations, finishing tied for second with nine votes to Colson’s 49 in Player of the Year voting this time around.

Berry also had nine votes.

The preseason All-ACC second team featured Miami’s Bruce Brown Jr., Quentin Snyder and Deng Adel of Louisville, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Boston College’s Jerome Robinson.

Duke will finally put the hype to the test against another team in its first exhibition game Friday, when it is set to host defending Division II national champion Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m.

Bre Bradham | Staff Photographer

Marvin Bagley III earned 58 of 70 votes for preseason ACC Rookie of the Year and was also a first-team All-ACC pick.

The Chronicle

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W. SOCCER

a corner kick in the 60th minute, but junior Montana Sutton’s header flew just wide of the goal. After twenty minutes of deadlock, McCoy—who leads the team with 10 goals on the season—had a chance of her own on the other end. The Lincolnwood, Ill., native found herself one-on-one with Cavalier netminder Laurel Ivory, but could not slip her shot into the back of the net.

But when McCoy sliced into the box again, she was able to find her teammate for the finish.

Church and his squad will have little time to celebrate their regular-season accomplishments, as they will host eighthseeded Boston College in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Sunday afternoon. Duke will

FROM PAGE 11

Sujal Manohar | Recess Photography Editor

Alex O’Connell will get a chance to earn more playing time in the exhibitions.

M. BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 11 “They’ll be good,” Krzyzewski said.

“They’ve won. They’re champions, and we’ve always had good games [against the Division II champions].”

Pitts also has classmates Chris-Ebou Ndow and Brett Dougherty at his disposal.

Both big men have been staples in the starting lineup the past two seasons, and Ndow averaged an impressive 12.5 points and 6.7 boards per game last year.

In the end, Ndow and Dougherty should not have the size to match up with Duke’s frontcourt, which boasts six players taller than 6-foot-8. But do not expect the Bearcats to go down without a fight.

“It’ll teach our guys a lesson I think,” Krzyzewski said. “Hopefully not too big of a lesson.”

butt off and we’re really lucky to have her with our program.”

Although the Blue Devils (17-1-0, 10-0-0 in the ACC) ultimately did not need Thursday night’s win to clinch the ACC regularseason crown, their pursuit of perfection in conference play did not come without a fight from the Cavaliers. Virginia (10-4-4, 5-2-3) came out in full force, holding Duke without a shot on goal in the opening period and forcing the Blue Devil defense into some tough positions before heading to the locker room scoreless at the half.

Freshman Taryn Torres nearly put the Cavaliers on the board in the 34th minute, blasting a shot from just outside the sixyard box off the right goalpost, where it spun across the front of the net before it was cleared from the box.

But soon after that scare, the Blue Devils wrapped up the ACC regular-season title— just not of their own doing. Notre Dame goalkeeper Lexi Nicholas made a remarkable leaping save on a North Carolina free kick in the 110th minute of overtime to finish in a draw, officially putting the Tar Heels, who sat just behind Duke in the ACC, at least one point behind the Blue Devils in the final standings.

“It feels surreal to have won the regular season, especially the way we’ve done it,” Church said. “We’ve gone 10-0 in the league with 17 straight wins. In the end, we had three straight road games with Virginia— one of the best programs in the country—to finish it off. That’s unbelievable. How it’s all unfolded is really unbelievable.”

Both teams brought a different level of firepower to open the second half.

Virginia had a promising opportunity on

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look to carry its regular-season success into the postseason after becoming the first team since Virginia in 2013 to complete the ACC gauntlet unscathed.

With their fifth game in two weeks and a mountain of pressure on the horizon, the Blue Devils will need to recover quickly and focus on the next task ahead of them. Some coaches might be concerned about the quick turnaround, but Church has no reason to doubt his team’s ability to rise to the challenge given its accomplishments thus far.

“I know this team, and when it’s time to play and it’s time to compete, they’ll be there,” Church said. “They’ll be ready to play. It’s an incredible group that just has a great desire to be a great team.”

Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. Goalkeeper EJ620 Proctor leads a Duke defensive unit 10018 that shut out 12 of its 18 regular-season For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 York Times Syndication Sales Corporation opponentsThe andNew gave up just eight goals.

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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

The Chronicle

14 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017

Making a deal with the Blue Devil

T

his week, The Chronicle reported that Project Wild—a popular pre-orientation program for incoming first-years—had been suspended this year after 23 students were cited for trail blocking and public nudity on a previous trip. Although the twoweek wilderness experience will be reinstated after a probationary period, the details of the revelation have stirred controversy among members of the Duke community. This particular incident echoes a common conflict groups and individuals often find themselves within the insulated Duke bubble: tension between being accustomed to Duke’s rules while also being subject to the penalties of actual laws outside of campus. Today, we evaluate this fine line between being liable to the university and being bound by the law that governs the world outside the Gothic Wonderland.

Organizations on campus often learn that whether or not they are subject to legal repercussions from local governments, Duke is almost always involved. Last spring, The Chronicle published an article detailing a long quasi-legal battle AEPi fraternity had with the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) regarding an underage drinking incident at one of their off-campus fraternity houses.

While there was much complexity to the situation and the ensuing battle with OSC, the fraternity—despite violating Durham policies and being off campus—was judged by the Duke standard.

“Me too, at Duke. Happens to motivated, assertive, strong, intelligent women too.”

—Amanda Montgomery (T’94) on Oct. 20’s editorial, “Not just ‘me too,’ but ‘we need’”

LETTERS POLICY The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local address.

Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department for information regarding guest columns.

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In many ways, Duke feels like its own municipality, subject to its own rules and stipulations. Within our walls, we are generally overseen by our own own police force, our own conduct system and, until recently, our own emergency medical services. Operating within this quasilegal government can feel surreal for students. Given the insulated nature of the University, a Duke-based conduct system may seem like one that is best equipped to approach a situation with a holistic understanding of a student’s situation, theoretically leading to a more fair

Editorial Board result. This system is not without flaws, however. Actually, many argue that this system is entirely flawed—it grants the school far too much power. With Resident Assistants and Honor Council, a “jury of peers” takes on an even more literal meaning when all of these representatives are being chosen from a relatively small student population.

A quasi-legal system with no oversight allows a private university to set its own rules, to modify and to bend them at will. Still, the system has its benefits. The largest benefit being that, generally, it provides insulation from the harsher consequences of the outside world.

Hundreds of miles off-campus at Pisgah National Forest, the 2016 cohort of Project Wild acted outside

of Duke’s legal protection. Most likely, on campus, public nudity would have led to group sanctions but little individual repercussions. As evidenced by Duke’s previous handling of student misdemeanors like Greek life infractions, student groups that break rules while on campus can often be punished by administrators in lieu of any particular students facing actual legal repercussions.

While the fairness of this is up for debate, it does signal a sense of legal invincibility privileged towards Duke students in the face of such judgements.

We are so accustomed to living in a legal bubble of sorts that tacitly accepts some level of underage drinking and other forms of “criminal” activity. Possession of marijuana and other drugs, underage drinking or distribution to minors and petty theft of laptops and money are crimes that individuals outside this bubble have had their lives ruined for committing. We must have a better understanding of this privilege and realize that OSC hearings are guided by a completely different set of principles than those of our criminal justice system.

Intentionally or unintentionally, we find ourselves as beneficiaries of a campus-wide pseudo-legal system with an interest in protecting us for the sake of the University’s reputation. Therein lies the central conflict. We will not always have this safety net, and while we cannot be blamed for using it, we should at least be mindful of it, especially when we venture off campus.

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L

ast Tuesday, as sunlight glittered across the pristinely green lawn of Abele Quad, shouts of gibberish echoed throughout the gothic arches of West Campus. Shrouded in long, black robes and sunglasses, young men powered forward determinedly on a path that made little sense to an outside observer.

An older woman stopped me as I trounced my way into West Union. “What are they doing?” she asked, almost fearfully.

She had good reason to sound afraid of the mechanical movements of the men on the Quad. They appeared to be

Leah Abrams CUT THE BULL almost cult-ish, and yet, nobody seemed to give them a second look. I explained to her—like the good tour guide that I am—that they were just students here who had been tapped to join a secret society. This was a component of their initiation.

But my explanation left me thinking about this process that I had so quickly taken for granted. After only a few semesters at Duke, it already seemed an entrenched fact of life that secret societies were organizations that came with power and connections. And it seemed an equally interminable fact that only men could join.

Of course, a careful examination of the history of Duke’s secret societies seems only proper before placing judgement.

And so, my investigation led me deep into the Rubenstein archives and into the roots of these ancient organizations.

Over the course of Duke’s life, it has been home to five known secret societies. The earliest of these organizations was called “The Tombs,” a selective group birthed in 1903 that required members to wear bells around their ankles for unknown purposes. Obviously, secret societies have always been serious about glamorous costumes.

Ten years after the birth of “The Tombs,” Duke’s best known secret organization honored its first Septemvirate— class of seven. The men chosen for the Order of the Red Friars were meant to be the best and brightest men of their year, holding positions in the Chronicle, IFC, and Student Government; in special cases, even outstanding graduate students were tapped. Red Friar alumni include some of Duke’s most esteemed: Richard Nixon (of Watergate fame), William Wannamaker (of Wannamaker dorm fame). The young men were not only privy to the support of a top group of students, but they were also given access to the Board of Trustees, key administrators, and high-level Duke alums in the professional world. These men sought to shape University policy and influence the general direction of student life at Duke.

Though it is easy to criticize the patriarchal nature of this organization, it’s worth mentioning that an all female counterpart also sprung up in 1925. This society, the Order of the White Duchy, developed a structure that mirrored that

of the Friars, but arose with the specific intent of honoring seven women in each class. These women represented leaders on the women’s campus who would plan events, get together intermittently, and provide a powerful community for each other. Yet, they lacked the access to key university stakeholders signature to the Friars. The Duchy, like Duke’s other secret societies, had a strict and secretive process under which it tapped its new members. Once initiated, these women called each other “ducklings” and met at their secret office, “the pond.”

Both the Red Friars and the White Duchy ultimately voluntarily disbanded in the late 60’s, as increasing public opinion attested to the elitist selection measures of both groups. In the time since, neither organization has had a significant presence on campus, save for the many alumni who continue to donate. Yet, who are the black-robed men marching on the quad? To what society do they belong?

As it turns out, one secret society remains. Little is known about the Old Trinity Club, yet its sustained presence on campus is clear through active annual demonstrations on and before LDOC and during the fall semester. Each spring, its new members are tapped from the rising senior class, and its current members are rumored to include Grayson Allen and other campus celebrities. Historically, the Old Trinity Club has been much more private than its fellow societies, perhaps contributing to its ongoing presence. Consequently, I cannot rely on archival records or reports, but it seems clear by the faces on the quad that the organization recruits only men.

What alumni bases or special receptions is this group privy to, if any? From the outside, it is easy to speculate about grand meeting rooms and private parties, but in reality, the group may be more focused around public displays in sunglasses and black robes than campus leadership. Regardless, it is worth asking: where are the women? Today, unlike in the times of the Duchy’s and Friars, our University is not split into a Women’s College and an all-male University; rather, our student body includes various shades and perspectives of all genders. Why does our most elite, or at least our most secretive organization not reflect that range?

Secret societies may be secret, but they are not above our common standards of morality and respect. The very founders of Duke’s most known societies eventually succumbed to the notion that we had no space for such elitist mechanisms on our campus. And yet, for unknown reasons, those elitist processes are still in place today in 2017. Their operators should question their own purposes, and decide whether or not they are actually contributing meaningfully to Duke’s community.

In the end, I may just be bitter that, as a woman, I will never have a chance to be tapped for the Old Trinity Club throughout my Duke career. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend the last of their four years here wearing bells around their ankles, hanging with their fellow “duckies,” or pacing across the quad enveloped in the cozy privilege of a dark robe?

Leah Abrams is a Trinity sophomore. Her column, “cut the bull” runs on alternate Fridays.

The Chronicle

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Letter to the editor

T

he Chronicle article published on Oct. 23 outlines the suspension of Duke University’s Project WILD from organizing a preorientation trip in August 2017 on the grounds that our organization engaged in public nudity and restricted trail access to fellow forest visitors.

This is true. Project WILD, both staffers and participants, engaged in public nudity on a “sliding rock” at the Cove Creek Campground in August

The Project Wild Community LETTER TO THE EDITOR 2016. During the “naked run,” P-WILD stafferswere stationed at both ends of the trailhead that led to the sliding rock, in an attempt to prevent strangers from disturbing our privacy. As we had reserved the entire campground through which the trail passed through, we believed that we had a right to do so.

While doing the naked run, a woman attempted to cross the trail that ran by the waterfall. Some of our staffers asked the woman to wait while we got our clothes on and she, rightfully so, became agitated and called the forest rangers. She told the forest rangers that students were restricting trail access and the rangers arrived with no knowledge of the nudity.

When they arrived, they witnessed the nudity and randomly chose 23 people, participants and staff, to cite. Public nudity is usually a misdemeanor charge, but we had experienced staffers that worked with the rangers to give the upperclassmen citations, rather than misdemeanors, and let first year participants off with a warning. No one was injured or hurt in this incident. The US Forest Service then placed P-WILD on a 1-year probation due to past grievances, such as disturbing other park users, not using bear cans, crowding public places, and the recent restriction of public trails. Although the public nudity charges did not help our case, they were individual citations, not a citation on P-WILD itself. The Chronicle inaccurately portrays the reasons why we were placed on probation from Pisgah National Forest.

What The Chronicle article entirely fails to mention or explain, however, is why P-WILD engages in nudity in the first place, and the fact that this is a tradition that has its roots in the program’s very founding. This was not a one-time exercise in rebellion or youthful freedom, as many reading the article may have assumed. Instead, we believe that an introduction to platonic nudity is an event that can have a lasting positive and formative impact on the first-year students who choose to participate in it. The exercise was not, and had never been, a spectator event.

Participants are specifically told not to engage in the activity if they are only doing it to look at and judge the bodies of their peers. Instead, the activity is much more about introspection, liberation and self-respect. In a society where even the most natural and nurturing act of breastfeeding is demonized as indecent, and in a college environment where students constantly grapple with insecurity about their own bodies, Project WILD provides a truly safe space for participants to temporarily forget about these damaging perspectives. It facilitates the development of a more positive body image, enhances respect for the self and for peers, and allows us to be comfortable in our own perfectly good skin. This is something that we as students are not told nearly enough times throughout our college experience.

Unfortunately, due to the severe ramifications of the events in August 2016, and because we as leaders of P-WILD realize that the true value of the

program lies in its student-run organization, we have since decided to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards intentional public nudity on all P-WILD trips from March 2017 onwards.

Furthermore, the way in which the Chronicle presents our “solos” is wholly misleading.

The number one priority of Project WILD is the safety of its participants, and the solos accomplish this in every way. Participants are given the choice whether or not to participate in them, and face no consequences or judgement for deciding not to. In the past, it was an undisturbed and undiscussed trademark of the program that participants were not given food during their solos unless they specifically requested it. Beginning with the August 2016 trip (note: this was decided on before the nudity incident and before we were placed on probation, a fact not nearly delineated enough in The Chronicle article), after a serious discussion within the organization, we decided to provide three meals a day to every solo participant even if they asked not to receive food. We believed, due to the growing prevalence of eating disorders, that giving participants who may suffer from these disorders (many who have them either do not acknowledge it or are unwilling to share it) the option to go without food for an extended period of time would trigger behaviors and attitudes towards food that would be detrimental to their health. Having such an experience before starting at Duke can have potentially lasting adverse impacts on mental and physical health.

What is also important to note, and yet another instance of oversight on part of The Chronicle’s investigative team, is that P-WILD is not the only organization to engage in solos. P-WILD was started as an organization that was heavily modeled after the North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS). NCOBS also provided their participants with a solo experience, and it is an activity that has carried on into the present.

The goal of solos is not as a survival exercise, but instead as a meditative one. It gives participants the opportunity to be truly alone with their thoughts and to independently decide the content of their day. They are able to do anything: to meditate, exercise, relax, write, draw, but most importantly to think. So rarely throughout our experience as Duke students are we able to detach from daily life for an extended period of time without distractions, and this is exactly why solos are vital. They have the potential to fundamentally alter our perspectives of the world around us, and how we interact with people and technology.

Since our probation, we have reformed our program to better adhere to the guidelines set by the Forest Service that we violated in years past, and have pushed ourselves even further to improve the very content of our program.

Since our probation began, we have installed a service component to every future trip and further emphasized deliberate and thoughtful conversations regarding mental health, gender roles and privilege in the wilderness.

Both the University and the Forest Service have been pleased with the changes we have implemented and we are back in good standing. Our number one priority has been and always will be the safety of our participants. We will continue to work to ensure that students have a safe, meaningful, and memorable experience with the community that we all love so much.

We implore anyone, current and prospective students, parents, faculty, staff, and administrators with any resting questions about P-WILD to directly contact us so that we may sit down and have a civil discussion.

Thank you.

Have something to say?

Submit a letter to the editor on www. dukechronicle.com.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 | 15

Existentialism, meditation, flatulence I

t was 10 in the morning. I was sitting at a desk in the Friedl building. I was doodling in the margins of my notebook.

Oh, and I was having a major panic attack. Why, you ask?

Two words: Owen Flanagan.

Don’t get me wrong, Professor Flanagan’s existentialism course is easily my favorite class that I have taken at Duke so far. First off, he may be the smartest

Sami Kirkpatrick CUT THE BULL person I have ever met. The dude casually canceled class because he had to fly to the Vatican sit in a meeting with the Pope. He engages texts by the likes of Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Camus in a way that gets my brain racing like nothing else before. I’ve never been more personally invested in a class.

And so, Professor Flanagan, please understand that what I say next comes from a place of utmost respect.

You f*****d me up.

I walked into your class a bright-eyed boy excited to experience life’s endless wonders. Two months later and I’ve been turned into a nihilistic shell of a human being.

Nora Ephron writes in ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ “When I get a new book, I read the last page first. That way, if I die before I finish I know how it comes out.”

I remember when I first watched that movie thinking that was the craziest thing I had ever heard, but now with each day I sympathize more and more Billy Crystal’s. Death is no longer a fleeting thought that floats in and out of my mind.

I spend hours. I spend days.

As time passed this became somewhat of a major issue. I would obsess over death, the meaning of life, aging, you name it. I would loop these questions over and over again in my mind, searching for answers I was never going to find. It was only when I noticed it starting to have a profound effect on my general happiness and motivation that I decided I had to do something about it.

So I made an appointment at student health. In this consultation appointment, I was introduced to a handful of resources on campus that might be useful and together with a counselor decided to sign up for a meditation class called Koru.

Three weeks later, sitting in my first Koru class, I learned very quickly that meditation was not my strong suit.

Our instructor had told us to close our eyes, breathe deeply and clear our minds of any distractions. I tried to do this, I really did, but my mind kept racing: Crap, I still haven’t watched the ‘Curb’ episode from this week. Is Mel Brooks still alive? Is Kylie actually pregnant? Why does the Daily Mail Snapstory care so much about that girl from ‘Modern Family’? Did I leave my keys in the room? Oh, and God is dead and nothing matters. Can’t forget about that.

As the class went along we learned a number of new techniques, but none of them seemed to help. In the following week we were instructed to meditate for ten minutes every day, using one of the techniques we had learned in class. Every day I would try, and every day my mind would race in the same way. I was starting to think that maybe meditation wasn’t the answer.

I went into the second week of class highly skeptical and about ready to quit if things didn’t improve soon. Little did I know that I was about to be blessed with a mid-October miracle.

About 2 minutes into our first meditation, a gaseous bubble the size of a volleyball began to form in my lower gut. My choice to try the new redder chicken at Tandoor for lunch was coming back to haunt me. It was the kind of gas that leaves you feeling like Violet Beauregarde after chewing Willy Wonka’s blueberry pie gum. The situation was dire.

But I was stuck. Letting it out was not an option. I was sitting in a completely silent basement in extremely close proximity to people I barely knew. Getting up and going to the bathroom wasn’t an option either, as I feared any sudden movement would compromise the entire operation.

Slowly I came to terms with the true severity of the situation at hand: I would have to hold in this fart for the entirety of the hour and 15-minute class.

What followed was a long and grueling individual battle comparable perhaps only to that movie where James Franco has to cut off his own arm. At times I thought about giving in, about letting it all out and accepting the humiliation just to escape the pain. But in those moments I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and put all of my focus on that gas bubble, willing it to stay inside of me.

Sure, my stomach let out moans periodically, but I needed to block those out too because all of my focus needed to be on the gas bubble and the gas bubble alone.

And low and behold, I made it. I left the class with a sense of immense pride, but it was only after I had gotten the chance to release the fart that I came to realize exactly what I had accomplished.

For the entire class, all I thought about was the fart, nothing else. Does that mean I achieved true enlightenment? For that hour and 15 minutes, was my mind not completely at peace?

It may not have been what Buddha intended, but my experience with the fart completely revitalized my outlook on meditation. I now know that tranquility is achievable, it’s just a matter of me putting my mind to it.

And from now on, I’ll make sure to always eat the redder chicken at Tandoor before going to existentialism, just in case.

Sami Kirkpatrick is a Trinity sophomore. His column usually runs on alternate Wednesdays.

16 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017

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