Towerview April 15, 2015

APRIL 2015 | VOL. 16 | ISSUE 6

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TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

TOWERVIEW

CONTENTS

APRIL 2015 - VOL. 16 - ISSUE 6

CONTENTS TOWERVIEW STAFF

CARLEIGH STIEHM

MADHAV DUTT

05

BEST DESSERTS IN DURHAM

06

THAT TIME I...

08

‘ADDERALL MAKES WORK FUN’

Towerview staff tries out the best after-dinner delicacies.

Paid to cuddle.

How Duke students use the drug some liken to academic steroids.

DANIELLE MUOIO

12

DUKE FORWARD How Duke planned for its largest campaign following a recession.

DANIELLE MUOIO & SAMANTHA NEAL

16

FROM KANYE TO...DILLON FRANCIS? The evolution of Duke’s Last Day of Classes concert, for better or for worse.

SID GOPINATH

ELYSIA SU, EMMA LOEWE AND BRIANNA SIRACUSE

YIYUN ZHU

AMANI CARSON-ROSE

21

STATE OF THE ARTS

26

PHOTO ESSAY

28

JEREMY LIPKOWITZ, PH. TEA

31

FINAL EXAM

Duke’s efforts to expand the arts on campus.

A retrospective look at the arts at Duke.

A graduate student’s plan to open Durham’s first teahouse.

Duke Chapel beware: meet the Duke senior who is a professional in the art of parkour.

ON THE COVER ILLUSTRATION BY ELYSIA SU Step 1: The LDOC issue. Think big.

Step 2: How many Grammy winners can we squeeze onto one cover?

Step 3: Grammy winners have played LDOC? All I can remember is Dillon Francis.

Step 4: You can remember Dillon Francis?

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

letter

towerview ’

the chronicle s news and culture magazine

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF daniel carp and danielle muoio

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ELYSIA SU ELIZA STRONG HAILEY CUNNINGHAM BECKY RICHARDS CARLEIGH STIEHM

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS amani carson-rose, hailey cunningham, madhav dutt, sid gopinath, danielle muoio, samantha neal, carleigh stiehm, yiyun zhu

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS hailey cunningham , lesley chen - young , sophia durand , darbi griffith , sam jactel , emma loewe , khloe kim , mike ma , brianna siracuse , elysia su , emily waples , yiyun zhu

CONTRIBUTING STAFF hailey cunningham, carleigh stiehm, emma baccellieri

GENERAL MANAGER ADVERTISING DIRECTOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR OPERATIONS MANAGER DIGITAL SALES MANAGER

Chrissy Beck Megan Haven Barbara Starbuck Mary Weaver Megan McGinity

@TowerviewMag

dukechronicle.com/ towerview

Towerview Magazine

towerviewletters@ gmail.com

Towerview is a subsidiary of The Chronicle and is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors.

To reach The Chronicle’s editorial office at 301 Flowers Building, call (919) 684-2663 or fax (919) 684-4696. To reach The Chronicle’s business office at 103 West Union Building, call (919) 684-3811. To reach The Chronicle’s advertising office at 2022 Campus Drive, call (919) 684-3811 or fax (919) 684-8295. Contact the advertising office for information on subscriptions. Visit The Chronicle and Towerview online at dukechronicle.com ©2014 The Chronicle, Box 90858, Durham, N.C. 27708. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior, written permission of the business office. Each individual is entitled to one free copy.

from the editors

Dear readers, Goodbyes are overrated.

It imposes a finality. Maybe in a month we won’t climb the stairs to 301 Flowers to start production. Or to bicker about whether our late-night meal in the office should be Cook-Out or buffalo wings.

But getting teary-eyed as we bid goodbye to the sports hall’s beer bottle collection and Towerview’s questionable couch seems like a lot of effort for very little gain.

We think it’s because there is more to us working here then us actually being here. It was never so much about the newspaper as it was about us. Our personal growth that happened outside of academics and our dorm rooms and mainly between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.

It was starting as a health and science reporter writing about sea turtles or as a naive sports reporter hoping to rack up as many bylines as possible and making our way, slowly and maturely, to campus leaders. It was seeing someone eviscerate an early byline in a letter to the editor or forgetting about attorney-client privilege midway through an interview with a lawyer, and sticking with The Chronicle regardless of the embarrassment.

It was seeing how much we didn’t know and how much we could know and catering our college experience to learning everything in between. It was sacrificing trips abroad and friends’ birthday parties, placing ourselves at the center of national controversy and yes—even potential lawsuits—to really become a part of The Chronicle.

This isn’t to say that our time at Duke has been atypical. Just like everyone else, we’ve enjoyed sunny spring days on the Plaza, screamed our heads off at basketball games and attended more than a few wild parties. We’ve laughed and learned, loved and lost over the course of four years as we’ve been built up and struck down within the pressure cooker that is the Gothic Wonderland more times than we can count.

But on top of all that, we’re glad to say we think we’ve gotten a little extra out of our Duke experience. That’s the type of thing that can only come from intimate pow-wows with campus leaders and future professional sports stars, trips to China and front-row seats at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

At the end of it all, we’re eternally grateful for what this organization has given us the opportunity to accomplish over the course of the last four years. And while at the surface it’s easiest to look at the stacks and stacks of newspapers we’ve produced, the hundreds of bylines we’ve authored—what truly stands out are the stories. Not the stories we’ve written, but the stories behind our greatest successes and failures.

So as we prepare to say goodbye to Towerview, and Duke, emotional goodbyes are hardly worth our time. Our classmates may all be going our separate ways next year, but our experiences are coming with us.

DANIEL CARP 4

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

DANIELLE MUOIO

best desserts in

Durham

Whether you’re looking for an after-class pick-me-up or a Durham dessert destination, we’ve got you and your sugary cravings covered. So get out of your dorm room and explore everything Durham has to offer—from cupcakes to donuts.

Rose’s Meat Market and Sweet Shop Small in size and limited in parking and seating, Rose’s is not short on the charm. With a mix of simple and complex treats, the pastry display and stocked freezer are straight out of your childhood dreams. Our favorites? The morning bun, macaroons (so many flavors, so little time) and ice cream sandwiches. But don’t feel daunted by the array of options in front of you because you can’t make a poor choice. Thanks to this eatery, living in Durham is at least 10 percent better.

DaisyCakes

Monuts

By this point, we all know that the new Monuts location on 9th Street is wonderful.

We also know that their classic Apple Cider donut and more creative Maple Bacon Bourbon donut are heavenly by definition. Not only is it a great spot for dessert, but stop by for a morning mimosa or savory egg sandwich for a satisfying Sunday brunch as well.

Known for their cupcakes, this bakery and cafe in downtown Durham also serves up brunch, lunch and a pastry case full of delectable treats in a cute and cozy atmosphere. If the pastry gods bless you, the unbelievable s’mores cake will be in stock.

But you can’t go wrong with a red velvet cupcake (spongy cake, creamy yet light frosting) or a pop’t art (warmed flakey shortbread with preserves). DaisyCakes also offers great gluten-free options.

Runners Up Scratch Bakery (pie, pie and more pie) and Parlour (so good that it makes our list, even when closed for renovations).

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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THAT TIME I...

STORY BY CARLEIGH STIEHM

paid to cuddle

EMMA LOEWE

I

t was a Thursday afternoon in March when I set foot in Durham’s very first cuddling studio, Cuddle Time For You. I had first heard of the new snuggling destination about a month prior, and was immediately turned off by the idea.

I have never been a particularly touchy person. Cuddling up with former boyfriends or love interests was tolerable and generally pleasant, but I was never one to engage in physical contact between friends.

While all of my friends felt compelled to hug each other at every reunion, I hung back—no less happy but far less touchy.

My anti-touching nature has always been a source of confusion for my mother.

She takes every opportunity to remind my sister and me—who is equally opposed to unnecessary cuddling—that we were given ample and loving hugs as children. But the familial hug just isn’t for me, and the platonic cuddle couldn’t be further from my list of desirable afternoon activities.

Even I found myself perplexed as to how I had come to find myself willing walking into a professional cuddling studio with the intention of jumping into bed with my cuddler—or provider, as Cuddle Time For You owner Jeff Everson prefers to call them.

It started as a crazy hypothetical idea and morphed into a challenge by the hug-

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prone staff of The Chronicle. Naturally, I accepted and found myself researching which cuddler I felt I could spend an hour spooning.

It was easy to identify qualities I wasn’t looking for in my first professional cuddling experience. I didn’t want to cuddle with a man; I know they would be professional, but something about that idea just didn’t sit quite right with me.

That left five qualified cuddling female professionals to choose from. I had to hand it to Cuddle Time For You, the options really spanned the spectrum of ages and interests. It was clear that they wanted to give clients choices to maximize their level of comfort.

But once I saw Jule’, I knew that my search was over. In her profile, Jule’ described herself as a “retired College Professor/Librarian/Web Designer with a Graduate degree from UCLA.” Cuddling with a librarian? Sold.

The Cuddle Time For You offices were located inconspicuously in an office park, and from the outside, one wouldn’t know it apart from more mundane businesses that surround it. But the inside is markedly different than any office space I had ever been in. With deep, light-blocking curtains, the back half of the office is consumed by two large bedrooms, complete with a night

table and queen sized, surprisingly comfortable, bed.

Everson explained to me that he wanted clients to feel at home in the space to allow for ultimate relaxation. From the carpet to the soft leather love seat in the waiting area, the entire office is designed to mimic the comfort of a personal apartment.

Before entering the bedroom with your cuddler, or provider, clients are required to pay, sign the terms of agreement and have their driver’s license scanned. All cuddlers undergo background checks and sign confidentiality agreements, but personal privacy is maintained by never exchanging last names between cuddler and client—or as I like to call it, cuddlee.

Everson then thoroughly reviews the list of what is not allowed during the cuddle—most importantly of which is anything sexual. He provided me with a convenient diagram of areas that cannot be touched on neither the client nor the provider that depicted thick black bars of both persons’ chests, groin, butt and lips.

After all the formalities are out of the way, it is time to get down to the cuddling. Jule’ led me to the back bedroom and kindly explained to me that there were five pre-approved cuddling positions, but that we could try any modifications that that we were both comfortable

with. After deciding on the conversation-friendly “luxury lounge” position to kick us off, I sat on the bed and took off my shoes. Jule’ got into position.

And that is when I froze.

Up until that point, all of the cuddling was just hypothetical, a concept, a joke.

But then right before my eyes, there was a woman there that wanted to provide me with a service that I had paid for, a service that was intended to comfort and relax me, and I felt frozen.

It reminded me of one time in middle school, or maybe it was high school, where I was playing spin the bottle. I landed on a boy I had really wanted to kiss, but the moment the bottle stopped spinning, my mind started racing, and I felt like I completely forgot how to move. But Jule’ gently reminded me of how to get into the position, and I laid my head in her lap. Before too long, she was stroking my hair as we were chatting about the new dog she was rescuing. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and to my surprise, I quickly found it relaxing.

If it sounds strange to have compared my experience pulling the trigger to cuddle with a professional to kissing a crush I had as a teenager, it’s simply because I

have nothing else to accurately compare the situation to. Inherently, cuddling, even with a paid professional, is an intimate act for me. It is bodies on bodies, and it is personal. That is why Cuddle Time For You is in business—people need physical contact, they need to feel loved. Everson said the majority of clients are middle-aged men, some struggling with pressures from work, others from other countries with no family in America.

Human contact—physical, emotional and verbal—Everson explained is essential to the human experience. In just the few weeks since they have opened, Cuddle Time For You has already had clients from Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University—overwhelmed by stress, some of these students just needed to be listened to. He expected even more collegiate clientele around finals week.

My experience was comforting and pleasant. We tried out all five of the approved positions, and chatted happily through the first 50 minutes of my hourlong session. I am a listener by nature, so I enjoyed asking Jule’ questions about her daughters, dog and former life as a

librarian.

For the last 10 minutes of my session, however, Jule’ suggested we practice “conscious mindfulness.” I wasn’t totally sure what we were supposed to be doing, and I think I accidentally fell asleep for a few minutes, but I still enjoyed the suggestion.

I appreciated that Jule’ was interested in learning more about the science of relaxation and touch stimulation. She mentioned that she was going to a conference to learn about the benefits of cuddle and touch. Anyone that takes their work and care of others that seriously is alright in my book.

All in all, I found my first professional cuddling experience kind of fun.

For a non-toucher like me, it was almost an adventure into the unknown. It was relaxing and so interesting to talk about her life. I definitely didn’t leave feeling as though I had wasted an hour, quite on the contrary, I felt very much like I had made a connection, relaxed a little and even gotten in a quick catnap.

Would I do it again? I just don’t know, but it’s certainly an experience I would recommend to seasoned cuddlers and novices alike.

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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‘adderall makes work fun’ HOW DUKE STUDENTS USE A DRUG SOME LIKEN TO ACADEMIC STEROIDS

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TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

STORY BY MADHAV DUTT PHOTO BY ALEX DECKEY & DARBI GRIFFITH

S

tudents are getting desperate. It’s hell week, when every class seems to have midterms, papers, and projects that seem to overlap. Circle the library at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. and witness zombie-like students drag themselves through midterm and paper prep surrounded by empty Red Bull bottles. It’s the kind of academic intensity one may expect at Duke, but living through it is a whole different ballgame.

Case in point: hell week sucks to the point where blue pills the length of a fingernail may seem like the only option for survival. When it comes to handling Duke’s rigorous academics, some students will turn to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder medication like Adderall to make it through the night.

It’s enough of a problem at Duke that the Office of Student Conduct changed the Duke Community Standard policy on the unauthorized usage of prescription medication—particularly drugs used to treat ADHD— in 2011.

In the past, the use of such drugs without a prescription was considered a violation of Duke’s drug policy, however since 2011, unauthorized drug use is also considered cheating.

At the time the change was made, Stephen Bryan—associate dean of students and director of Student Conduct—told The Chronicle that students were the driving force behind the policy change.

“There is a perception—if not actuality—that Adderall abuse is rampant on campus,” Bryan said in a 2011 Chronicle article.

“Enforcement is difficult, and the students who proposed this addition recognize this.

They wanted to at least symbolically make a statement.”

I decided to start my voyage to trace the prevalence of these drugs on campus with students. This turned out to be an illustrative example of just how easy it is to find Adderall. At 1 p.m. I sent a Facebook message to a couple of friends to see if they knew anyone who used the psychostimulant. Twentyfive minutes later, I had a list of more than a dozen people who could discuss their Adderall habits.

‘ADDERALL MAKES WORK FUN’ Freshman Lindsay* uses Adderall almost every week to help her finish paper assignments. She asks a friend with a prescription to procure the drugs who Lindsay describes as usually “nice enough to give it to you for cheap or free.”

“I feel laser sharp when I use it, like I can literally do any assignment,” she said. “I do not

feel any smarter. It just gives me extreme motivation to get over that studying hump.”

According to a 2009 study led by David Rabiner, associate dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and professor of psychology and neuroscience, 9 percent of the student body illicitly uses ADHD medication like Adderall, Ritalin or Concerta. It was this study that sparked conversations in the Office of Student Conduct Advisory Group, which eventually led to the 2011 drug-use policy change.

The study, which surveyed 3,047 students at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, found that 20 percent of users had taken ADHD medication more than 10 times in the past six months.

A July 2008 study led by Rabiner that examined more than 3,400 students in one public and one private university in the Southeastern United States found that the primary motivator for using ADHD medication was “to concentrate better while studying,” with 41.4 percent of the respondents saying they use ADHD medication for this reason. Approximately 74 percent of respondents said they never use ADHD medication to get high.

Although Lindsay uses Adderall on a regular basis, some students opt to reserve ADHD medication for special circumstances.

Mark*, a sophomore, said he can count the number of times he has used “Addy” on both of his hands. He has used the drug to study four times, but has also used it “a number of times” to party.

“It’s pretty easy to get, you just have to ask around a little bit, text a few friends. So many people are prescribed it nowadays, and it is not that expensive either,” he said.

When asked how the drug made him feel, Mark responded that though the desire to procrastinate still remains, he is able to resist temptations more easily.

“The desire to get on Facebook or Reddit is still there, but it is much easier to say to my-

self, ‘No. You’re working right now. Continue working,’” he said. “I normally have a lot floating around in my head and Adderall helps me really bring all my ideas and thoughts into an organized and focused order.”

Adderall is not a “miracle drug” he said.

One needs to have a desire to focus for the drug to make an impact. In addition to helping him focus, Mark added that he also enjoys painting and drawing while on Adderall.

“My ideas flow onto paper much more cohesively,” he said.

Mark is not the only student who turns to Adderall for non-academic reasons.

Junior Ben* said he began using Adderall in high school and mostly takes it just to get high.

“I was a little more impulsive then and would do stuff like that on whims. I found that I enjoyed it not just because it keeps you up or let’s you party, but because there’s a certain confidence attached with the use,” he said.

“You could liken it to the extreme excitement and undefeatable feeling of a cocaine user. I just feel like my most calm and confident self.”

Freshman Shaun* has used Adderall twice for schoolwork and said he got it from a dealer on campus. He added that there are “plenty of dealers” for Adderall at Duke.

All of the students interviewed said it was easy to procure pills; most obtained them through friends, one through “a dealer.”

Fifty-five students reported getting ADHD medication from a student with a prescription, and 50 reported getting it from a student who did not have a prescription, according to Rabiner’s 2008 study. Seventeen had reported purchasing it from a student without a prescription and only one reported that they had stolen ADHD medication from another student.

“For me Adderall makes work fun, which is also the unique danger that I see in it,” Shaun said. “After doing it even once, you notice a difference when trying to work without Adderall. For me it’s just a long, intense TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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caffeine rush.”

Rabiner’s 2008 study found that non-medical ADHD medication use was more common among caucasians, males and members of the Greek system. Self-reported GPAs were lower among non-medical users and concerns about academic performance were higher.

When I asked these students whether they felt their usage of ADHD medication was unfair to students who actually need it, I received a wide range of answers.

Shaun disagreed with the concept that his usage would be characterized as unfair, implying that the prevalence of Adderall usage speaks to larger issues of academic structuring.

“No, I do not think it is unfair because if it is open to everyone, people can equally access a brain boost,” he said.

Mark also did not see an issue with using Adderall.

“I’ve always struggled with focusing and my attention span to some degree, and the drug helps me when I feel I need the help,” he said.

“My use doesn’t affect others using the drug in any way, so why should it matter to them?”

Not all students agree with that sentiment, however. Lindsay said that she does find using Adderall to be unfair.

“Honestly, I do feel that it is unfair. My ex

actually had ADHD and he always complained about how nothing worked for him to help him study,” she added.

When asked whether they would use it after college, all of the students interviewed said they believed that they could function at an optimal and efficient level without it. Additionally, all the students interviewed said when it came to ADHD medication, they preferred Adderall.

THE DOWNSIDES Lindsay made a special point of mentioning the side effects of Adderall, noting that she feels “extremely irritable when coming down.”

Director of Student Health John Vaughn said that stimulants like Adderall are generally considered very safe, but that mild side effects include raised heart rate and blood pressure, decreased appetite, sleep disturbance and jitteriness.

Bryan said any student found responsible for using Adderall without a prescription would face at least disciplinary probation.

“While we hear Adderall is abused, we have rarely handled a case of its improper use over the last few years,” Bryan wrote in an email March 24. “As you might imagine, this is a difficult situation to identify.”

Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek noted that

a change in academic culture could explain why Adderall usage is popular among students.

“My observation is that students study more today than they used to,” she said. “They, in many ways, are more deliberate about their academic choices and their academic plans. I think for some there is a higher level of stress associated with these plans.”

Wasoliek added that a shift in mindset regarding work ethic could explain the desire to turn to ADHD medication.

“I also think there is, in the mind of not just many students but people in general, the belief that effort should equate to outcome,” she said.

“If that doesn’t happen then there’s a higher level of frustration. Sometimes the choices they make as a result of that are poor, and out of desperation.”

She added that this shift in mindset could cause students to turn to drugs out of distress.

“Many individuals at points in their lives are motivated to do things they probably wouldn’t do otherwise because of a goal they are attempting to achieve,” Wasiolek said of Adderall usage. “Students sometimes get desperate.”

Speaking for myself, as much as I want to say I wouldn’t use it, I can’t. *Editor’s note: sources names were changed because they broke the Duke Community Standard.

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STORY BY DANIELLE MUOIO PHOTO BY ELYSIA SU

F

ollowing the 2008 economic downturn, Duke was tasked with the challenge of starting its most ambitious capital campaign, utilizing a strategic plan from a different economic time.

In September 2012, Duke announced the start of Duke Forward, its second and largest capital campaign to date. As part of the campaign, the University aims to raise $3.25 billion by June 30, 2017.

Duke Forward sets aside different goals for each of Duke’s 10 schools, athletics, the libraries and “University-wide priorities.”

Duke Forward also has fundraising goals for three campaign themes: boundaries not included, blazing new paths and fueling uncontainable ideas.

The University’s first capital campaign—Campaign for Duke—concluded in 2003 after raising $2.3 billion. When the campaign launched in October 1998, the University set a goal of $1.5 billion, which was raised to $2 billion in November 2000.

Duke Forward, howev- How Duke planned for its largest campaign following a recession er, differs from Campaign for Duke in buildings—we built buildings to enable tive goals” due to the 2008 economic both number as well as scale. Whereas the scholarly goals of the University,” he downturn, said Bob Shepard, executive Campaign for Duke was more specific in said. “The second thing is it’s a pretty director of development. nature—in that it largely sought to raise fast changing world—it’s very hard to “We are not going to raise the overmoney for each of Duke’s schools— identify hard targets.” all goal for the campaign,” Shepard said.

Duke Forward is more thematic.

He also added that it is important to “We want to support schools to work at Former Provost Peter Lange, profes- structure a campaign in a way that both underfunded priorities.” sor of political science, said the thematic accommodates the interests of donors In September, the University will nature of Duke Forward is in line with and of the University. Having thematic raise campaign goals for schools that the University’s campaign goals. goals helps accomplish this goal. have met their goals ahead of schedule.

“The first [reason] is that [President When it comes to numbers, Duke Shepard said the Divinity School, NichoRichard Brodhead] and I and [Executive Forward is the University’s most am- las School of the Environment and Duke Vice President Dr. Tallman] Trask always bitious campaign yet, though many libraries were the first to cross their set agreed we didn’t build buildings to build of Duke’s 10 schools set “conserva- campaign goals.

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BY THE NUMBERS So far, Duke has raised $2.5 billion overall. In Fiscal Year 2014, which lasted from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, Duke raised $290.1 million in total cash and $250.4 million in new commitments, which qualifies as new pledges and outright gifts. Duke has witnessed greater success so far in Fiscal Year 2015, with total cash gifts increasing 10 percent from this point last year to $317.8 million and new commitments increasing 30 percent to $329.9 million.

The average age of donors who give $1 million or more is 60, however, Duke Forward is hoping to reach out to younger alumni, noting that getting recent graduates in the habit of donating will help Duke down the road, Shepard said.

“The campaign relies on people younger than 60,” he added.

Duke Forward aims to have 70 percent of gifts toward Duke Forward’s overall goal of $3.25 billion come from gifts of $1 million or higher, Shepard said. That means having 500 donors give gifts of $1 million or higher, but Shepard noted that the campaign is currently on track to meet this lofty goal.

When planning Campaign for Duke, 50 percent of donations came from individuals and 50 percent came from corpo-

rations or other entities. For Duke Forward, the University is hoping to grow the number of gifts from individuals to 60 or even 75 percent.

When it comes to Duke’s signature initiatives, Duke has raised $25.5 million for the arts, $71 million for Bass Connections, $14.4 million for energy, $35.6 million for Global Health and $37.7 million for innovation and entrepreneurship.

SETTING GOALS Duke was planning on launching a capital campaign prior to the economic downturn, however after the 2008 financial crisis the University cancelled a campaign launch altogether. When discussions regarding a campaign launch began again, Lange and President Richard Brodhead thought a conservative campaign would be the best route.

“When the president ran that idea out to some of our key constituencies they said, ‘No, don’t do that. If you’re going to have a campaign, you have to go for it—be ambitious, things will turn around,’” Lange said.

Still, in some respects, Duke erred on the side of caution. Shepard noted that many of Duke’s 10 schools set conserva-

tive goals as a result of the downturn.

Representatives from the Divinity School, Graduate School and Pratt all said their initial goals—of $80 million, $20 million and $161.5 million, respectively—were conservative.

Shepard and Trask noted that there has been some concern about whether the Graduate School will reach its goal, however, the school has made progress after receiving a $7.5 million gift from the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment in spring 2014.

Sandy York, development director at the Graduate School, said the Graduate School has raised $14.36 million thus far.

“The reality is—and we expect to hit the $20 million mark—is it’s still going to only scratch the surface to fully fund our Ph.D students on 12-month fellowships,” said Paula McClain, Dean of the Graduate School.

Only in the past few years has the Graduate School tried to brand itself as its own school, McClain said. She noted that the recent addition of Graduate School mugs and shirts in the bookstore is indicative of this effort. As a result, this is the first time the Graduate School has attempted to raise funds as its own school instead of being lumped in with CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY ELYSIA SU

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“

When the president ran that idea out to some of our key constituencies they said, ‘No, don’t do that, if you’re gonna have a campaign you have to go for it—be ambitious, things will turn around.’” —Peter Lange another school such as the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

McClain added that the career paths graduate students enter may not always be the most lucrative, which can hinder their ability to provide large donations.

“In some instances, our alums might not have [as much] financial capacity because of the careers they might have gone into as [the alums from] the Fuqua School of Business,” she said. “But what we want to develop is just giving a little, the habit.”

Richard Hays, dean of the Divinity School, noted that the Divinity School faces a similar challenge.

“It’s a particular challenge for the Divinity School because many of our alumni don’t make a lot of money,” he said.

“Some part of our significant donations come from people who are not alums of the school, may not have any previous connection to Duke at all, but learn what they do through our alumni.”

Hays added that “the money is rolling in” for the Divinity School and that they just recently raised more than $85 million, exceeding its original goal by $5 million.

When asked whether the January controversy surrounding the Chapel call-toprayer had affected donations, he said he

had only heard of one donation actually being pulled—a $250,000 scholarship.

“We do sometimes hear about that.

The whole world we work in, the kinds of people in faith communities, is a very complicated world politically,” Hays said.

Clarke said that because Pratt plans on increasing its initial conservative goal of $161.5 million to $200 million this April because of the success that it has seen. Pratt has raised $160.75 million thus far.

The Law School’s goal of $85 million was realistic, said David Levi, dean of the Law School, adding that they have raised 88 percent of their goal.

“When we started the campaign we were coming out of a very big recession in this country and the legal economy lagged and went into recession later,” he said. “In one sense that has made some people more tentative about their own financial condition, but also exposed needs as well for higher education.”

Levi added that the Law School has “outperformed” its original ambitions.

Kelly Brownell, dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy, said Sanford’s goal of $75 million is ambitious.

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13

“It’s ambitious, but we want to be ambitious,” he said. “We want to make Sanford the best school of public policy it can possibly be.”

Sanford has reached 68 percent of its total goal with $48 million.

Representatives from the Trinity School of Arts and Sciences and the Nicholas School of the Environment classified their campaign goals as ambitious but realistic.

Dean of Trinity Laurie Patton said Trinity has raised $343 million of its $435 million goal.

The Nicholas School was the first of Duke’s schools to surpass its original goal. Kevin McCarthy, associate dean of development and alumni relations at the Nicholas School, said they have raised $57 million of its $55 million goal.

The Fuqua School of Business has raised $72 million toward its $100 million goal.

“Our total raised thus far surpasses the original estimates of what we would be capable of raising during Duke Forward, and we are confident that our alumni and friends will help us reach $100 million by 2017,” Hank Woods, associate dean for development and alumni relations at Fuqua, wrote in an email March 23.

Duke Medicine has an overall goal

of $1.2 billion for the School of Medicine, School of Nursing and Duke University Health System. The School of Medicine has raised $845 million toward its goal of $970 million for the School of Medicine.

“I think the campaign goal is definitely achievable, and I would like to see us exceed it,” Nancy Andrews, dean of the medical school and vice chancellor for academic affairs, wrote in an email March 31.

FUNDRAISING A DOWNTURN

AFTER

Capital campaigns are not directly related to strategic plans, however, they can guide the fundraising priorities of a capital campaign, Lange said. In 2000, the University commenced planning for a strategic plan that was launched in 2006 known as “Making a Difference.”

Making a Difference, which was slated to raise $1.3 billion, launched signature programs such as Duke Engage and completed the Financial Aid Initiative, among other milestones. But not every initiative in Making a Difference was executed. A main priority for the 100-page plan was the complete overhaul of Central Campus to create what would have been known as New Campus.

The Board of Trustees approved

CHRONICLE GRAPHIC BY ELYSIA SU

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Phase I of New Campus in the summer of 2008. Phase I included the construction of dining, residential and study spaces as an extension of West Campus, according to a 2008 Chronicle article.

“The new Central Campus was a very expensive proposition. We never got full costs in, [but] it would probably be $700 to $800 million,” Trask said. “To do anything we needed enough done in the first phase for something to be there, which I’m guessing [would have been] $400 million.”

The 2008 financial crisis squashed any hope of starting the New Campus project though.

“It was too much to put into a $3 billion campaign when there are other pressing priorities,” Trask said.

Lange echoed a similar sentiment.

“You have to spend a lot of money or none—it wasn’t like you could do it in little pieces,” he said. “When the money shrank, then the amount you would have to devote to that project would squeeze out too much else, so you’d be left in a situation where you could do Central Campus but wouldn’t have money for the other things you want to do.”

The 2006 strategic plan was then renewed from 2008-10 while the University was planning for Duke Forward.

Provost Sally Kornbluth said new priorities emerged during this time period, though New Campus was left out of the equation.

“The 2006 plan permeates everything we know today about Duke,” she said.

“Fundraising is there to fulfill promise of that plan.”

Kornbluth said she “doesn’t see New Campus being revisited anytime soon in terms of a strategic planning goal.”

The University is currently in the preplanning phase prior to launching a new strategic plan.

“When you make investments, there’s always a tradeoff,” she said. “New Campus was envisioned at a time where resources were more abundant.”

Although the University plans to use money from the capital campaign for the creation of new buildings, this is different than channeling resources toward New Campus.

“It’s a little different from envisioning New Campus from scratch,” Kornbluth said.

The University is investing in new capital programs such as an Arts Building, said to cost approximately $35 million in a 2014 Towerview article, as well as a new engineering building.

Trask said the new engineering building will provide more lab space for students in the Pratt School of Engineering as well as the Trinity School of Arts and Science physics department. The Board of Trustees will vote to approve the building Fall 2015. He expects it will require $35 million from alumni.

“We have internal money earmarked for building or money that has come through the university for the strategic needs of school,” said Chris Clarke, Pratt’s associate dean for development and principal gifts. “We have some anchor gifts that will drive that particular initiative once it is announced.”

The campaign still has two more years to fully realize its goals. There are several areas the University particularly hopes to strengthen.

“The biggest disappointment to date is that we thought we’d have more for the endowment and more for financial aid than we do today,” Trask said.

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from kanye to... dillon fr

STORY BY D CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

I

t’s the most anticipated day of the year from the moment students set foot on campus and thus has become the most scrutinized event at Duke.

Throughout the course of the year, at least five hours a week are dedicated to organizing the day-long event. All together, approximately 150 hours are spent planning the four-letter celebration that signifies the end of another year and the start of summer: LDOC. LDOC, or the last day of classes, as an event has only existed since 1997. At its inception, LDOC existed under the purview of Campus Council, the equivalent of house council, in which a member from each quad on Campus Council was allowed to join the committee to plan the event. In 2011, Duke University Union absorbed LDOC—now one of DUU’s 13 programming committees is responsible for the event.

The LDOC committee, unlike the rest of the DUU committees, requires an application for prospective members due in September followed by interviews with the committee chairs.

This year, 12 LDOC committee members were selected through a competitive process that rejected nearly 90 percent of applicants.

“Having a smaller, selected committee helps with efficiency and creates more passion

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TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

and accountability within the members,” current LDOC co-chair David Soled, a sophomore, said.

Sophomore Anton Saleh, also current LDOC co-chair, added that the current committee has been efficient and reflects the diversity of student music tastes.

One of the biggest selling points on the LDOC application is the allure of leaving behind a legacy by bringing the next big artist to campus. The list of past performers that later became award-winning artists speaks for itself—Steve Aoki, Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore and, most notably, Kanye West.

Y E E Z U S W A L K S . . . PA S T THE CHAPEL Seeing these well-recognized names as former LDOC headliners may be a bit misleading. When LDOC booked Kanye West in late 2003, the then-up-and-coming rapper and producer had only released a few singles and would not drop his debut album, The College Dropout, until the lineup was announced in February 2004.

“We wanted to try to find an artist that would resonate with the student body,” Mark Pike, Trinity ‘04 and then-LDOC co-chair.

“[West] started getting a little bit of radio play in the fall and people were pretty excited for his album to drop. We knew we might be able to get him within our budget.”

When the chairs first proposed bringing the rapper to campus, West could be booked for approximately $15,000, Pike said. Advisors were hesitant to book the then-relatively unknown rapper and delayed approval. After learning that West’s booking price had gone up, Pike and his co-chair convinced their advisors to sign him.

The final price tag for West’s LDOC performance was $31,500. According to Variety, a Kanye West gig now costs upwards of $400,000. West would go on to win 21 Grammys and become an undeniable, selfproclaimed pop culture icon, making him the most globally successful artist to perform at Duke. “[West was] a complete professional and played a great show,” Pike said. “Luckily, Kanye West was way undervalued.”

Pike recalls 2004 LDOC and his interactions with West as some of his fondest memories at Duke.

“We ended up hanging out in the hallowed halls of Page Auditorium after the show,” Pike wrote in an email March 27.

rancis?

DANIELLE MUOIO & SAMANTHA NEAL PHOTOS FROM CHRONICLE FILES “He asked me about my classes and if I was graduating, which was kind of ironic given his hit album titled ‘The College Dropout.’

I can’t quite remember, but I think I invited him and his crew to Armadillo Grill or Cosmic Cantina after the show, but they politely declined.”

Dilated Peoples was scheduled as West’s opening act, but the rap trio had to withdraw a few days before the show. Offered in their place as an opening act was one of Kanye’s touring artists who had yet to release an album but would later win nine Grammys— John Legend.

The committee scored Legend for $3,000, but a Legend show now costs more than $150,000, according to Variety.

Even the most legendary of LDOC performances faced some student backlash.

In a 2005 Chronicle article, then-LDOC chair Matt Greenfield, Trinity ’05, said of the next year’s selection process, “Snoop Dogg was not considered because of the flop that Kanye West was last year.”

Pike said West played a relatively short set due to his lack of released material at the time.

“I’m sure not everyone was happy with the show,” he said. “[But] my friends still

talk about seeing Kanye perform in front “I am very shocked that that happened,” of Duke’s chapel.”

Higgins said in a 2007 Chronicle article. “I’m ‘L DO C TELLS TH E STORY surprised he accepted the offer if he felt that way.”

OF DUKE’ Despite the significant budget hikes that year, the lineup “failed to elicit widespread enFrom artist cancellations to budget isthusiasm.” sues, planning and executing LDOC is rarely During the late 2000s, two consecutive smooth sailing. Still, tracing LDOCs of years LDOCs went over budget, necessitating loans past reveals the highs and lows of Duke’s linefrom DUU. LDOC in 2008 cost $25,000 more up history. than the anticipated budget when the commit“LDOC tells the story of Duke,” Soled astee brought the Roots after Lupe Fiasco canserted. celled.

Interestingly, the Roots had performed LDOC acts in previous years were prone at LDOC in 2002 when Pike was also a chair. to cancellations. In 2008 The Roots replaced The committee in 2009 had a $115,000 Lupe Fiasco, and LDOC 2011 lost the Catabudget—less than the previous year’s—to racs to an award show appearance and booked bring Ben Folds, Gym Class Heroes and Girl Ludacris instead. B.o.B. substituted Redfoo as Talk.

Due to some unforeseen costs such as the headliner in 2012 because Redfoo hurt his Folds’ request for an additional grand piano back and could only perform at a limited numand tuner, the committee exceeded their budber of shows. get by $17,000, requiring the first ever use of “I don’t think that’s an LDOC thing—it’s an DUU “emergency funds.” overall music culture thing,” Soled said.

Freshman Soren Chargois, a member of Since 2004, the total budget (then just shy the LDOC committee, said the artist budget of $70,000) has steadily risen. is $100,000.

LDOC co-chairs Soled and Saleh According to a Chronicle article in 2006, the outright denied that number and said it was total budget for 2007 LDOC reached $145,000 false.

When asked whether the artist budget by increasing student activities fees and increaswas higher or lower than $100,000, they deing DUU allotment. This move was done to clined to comment.

Soled and Saleh also dematch the budgets of end-of-year concerts of clined to comment on the budget of previous peer institutions. years.

LDOC 2007 brought rapper Common and Besides budget changes, LDOC has transJason Mraz to campus as headliners. This seformed the most in regards to daytime prolection stirred some controversy after the comgramming. mittee discovered that Common criticized the Previously, LDOC only featured a concert Duke men’s lacrosse team at Emory Universiwith a two or three big name performing artists, ty’s end-of-the-year concert in 2006—the same according to a 2010 editorial in The Chronicle. year as the Duke lacrosse scandal.

In 2010, LDOC became more of an all-day Common incorporated into his act the line, festival and the concert was just one compo“I’m the boss, f--- those boys from Duke lanent of the day’s events.

This was also the first crosse” at the Emory concert. year that LDOC was closed to the public and Beth Higgins, LDOC chair at the time and students had to wear wristbands.

Trinity ‘07, said she had not been aware of the “The assumption is that the LDOC comincident when the committee booked Committee just picks the artist,” Saleh said. “There’s mon.

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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always a lot more there than people think that happens with programming.”

More activities during the day mean a safer LDOC because they reduce the culture of binge drinking, Soled noted. Last year’s LDOC saw a three-year low in EMS calls with only six total calls and few alcohol-related incidents.

“It was hard to walk through West Campus without getting involved in something,” said junior Evan Reilly, 2014 LDOC co-chair, about the daytime events.

Some students are not aware of the daytime events or unable to participate because of class.

“I did not know that was offered,” said junior Jordan Ly, referring to LDOCs daytime offerings.

LDOC 2014 brought Dillon Francis as a headliner with opening acts Youngblood Hawke and Skizzy Mars. Spencer Brown, a student DJ, was unable to perform due to sets running long and additional time needed to set up the stage. Many students were not familiar with these artists and thus the concert did not generate widespread enthusiasm.

“Last year I had no clue who any of the artists were so it was hard to get as excited about the music,” said junior Cori Hayes. “I honestly don’t have any fond memories of the actual concert other than Dillon Francis not introducing himself and then pulling the cord in the middle of a song.”

Reilly admitted that Francis was not the committee’s initial top pick. He also confirmed that Diplo was among the artists initially considered for LDOC and revealed that several offers to artists were rescinded.

“Students think that the artist that comes to perform is always the top choice and that’s not always the case because not all artists perform on college campuses,” Reilly said. “Artists have busy schedules and often it comes down to prices and availability, and that doesn’t always work out.”

Reilly noted that both scheduling and budget constraints were issues when setting up last year’s lineup.

“When it came down to doing research and talking to agencies [Francis] was our top choice and was available for a reasonable price,” Reilly said.

Last year’s LDOC featured the tagline “Best for Last,” which led students to believe that Bruce Springsteen might be a surprise final performer because his daughter attended Duke.

“We came up with the [tagline] before we even released the lineup. That was really just us brainstorming an LDOC committee saying,” said senior Kenny Johnson, also LDOC co-

well.” chair for last year.

Saleh and Soled said the committee was “I’m glad we didn’t have Yik Yak last year,” successful in booking their first choice artists.

Reilly said.

“We were pretty realistic,” Saleh said. Soled L D O C T O D AY chimed in, “no concessions were made.”

“The artist will appear on your screen in 3, Of all the acts performing at LDOC, Mis2, 1.” terWives is the artist that Saleh and Soled noted Cue a dark screen and scrolling message and will likely blow up in the recent future. one can get a sense of the hype behind a video Artist selection is generally finalized durreleased by the LDOC committee Feb. 3 that ing the Fall with brainstorming sessions during many believed would announce the LDOC meetings. LDOC advisors Jerrica Washington lineup. The LDOC committee received a lot and Jessie Stellini are responsible for reaching of backlash for teasing the student body with out to the artists’ managers about costs and promise of the lineup. handling contracts.

The anonymous social media app Yik Yak The LDOC committee uses the Spring to exploded with hate messages and direct in- plan events for during the day. Popular daytime sults hurled at Saleh and Soled. In addition, the activities, such as the Chapel Climb, the Silent LDOC email account was flooded with hate Disco, Massages on the Quad and the K-Ville mail, even from graduate students. Nonethe- Barbeque, are set to return April 22, but Saleh less, Saleh and Soled stand by their decision to and Soled revealed that new events will also be release the video. on the docket.

“I personally think it was a success,” Soled “Every year’s [daytime programming] is said. “It was the biggest thing talked about on changing based on the year before where kids campus, and that’s what we wanted.” are getting injured,” Saleh said. “We bring dayHe also said that he received some positive time programming to the quad, so we get kids feedback about the video and believes that the out of their rooms, drinking.” majority of students were more excited about The difference in the lineups of peer instiLDOC after its release. tutions is rooted in the fact that most require A similar hype video was released in 2012 students to pay for admission and some events but without the same theatrics of Saleh and are open to the public. LDOC is a free event, Soled’s video, which included dramatic music covered by student fees, open only to Duke and used Cameron Indoor Stadium as a back- students. drop.

“It’s funny, I looked at Rites of Spring at “Because of the video, we amplified that Vanderbilt and their headliner is T-Pain,” Soled we were chairs and emphasized that we were said. “They’re charging students for T-Pain the face of LDOC,” Soled said. “I think for my who we’re bringing for free.” personality and Anton’s personality it works out Rites of Spring actually lists T-Pain as its

SAM JACTEL TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

19

third headliner. Vanderbilt University’s two-day end-of-year concert features Young the Giant, Chance the Rapper, T-Pain, Portugal the Man, RAC, The Lone Bellow, Matoma, Daniel Ellsworth and The Great Lakes and Louisa Wendorff.

Funding for Rites of Spring comes from student activities fees as well as ticket sales.

Unlike at Duke, Vanderbilt students have to pay $30 for entry and faculty and staff must pay $35. Additionally, the concert is not just reserved for students and faculty. The general public can buy a pass for $50 or a single, day ticket for $30.

“From a pricing standpoint it definitely helps cover the costs which means we can up our budget a little bit,” said junior Kern Vohra, chair of Vanderbilt’s Music Group, which plans Rites of Spring. “It also makes it less exclusive but we get more people. It’s a whole vibe thing.”

Selling tickets adds to the general pot of money the Music Group can use for Rites of Spring or its fall concert, Commodore Quake.

Quake usually features fewer, bigger headliners. Pasts artists since 2007 have included Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dog, Passion Pit, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and Ludacris.

The general public can buy Quake tickets in

advance for $40 or the week of for $50.

Vohra declined to comment on the budget for Rites of Spring or Quake, but said that because Quake usually features fewer artists in exchange for one major headliner, the budget allocation process is completely different than Rites of Spring.

“Because we are building it up from top down all the prices are completely different,” he said. “So don’t have to blow $150,000 to 175,000 on one artist, but with Quake you’re willing to do that.”

Rites of Spring as a tradition has been around since 1971, but the first year on record that Rites of Spring hosted artists is 1986.

Vohra compared it to a “mini Bonnaroo.”

“When it was first getting built out in the day it was really a two-day artist show,” Vohra said. “Over the years it has built out to an eightto-12-, 14-or-15-artist show and expanded to a two-day festival.”

The Music Group tries to cater both to Nashville and the general student body when selecting artists. It can be difficult to book artists at Vanderbilt because every major artist usually passes through Nashville once and may not feel incentivized to return again for Rites of Spring.

“Steve [Aoki] played October 2013 and then

came back to play Rites of Spring—thats a decent amount of space where it works,” Vohra said. “But if you have people coming in February, would people really buy tickets to come see them again? Theres a lot of saturation.”

Vohra said there has been a “pretty solid reaction” to this year’s Rites of Spring artist lineup.

“Obviously the internet is a mean place— Yik Yak notwithstanding,” he said. “So you have the vocal minority on there thats always displeased with something but I think, in general, students are happy with it.”

At Cornell University, undergraduate students can attend the end-of-year concert Slope Day for free, however graduate students must pay a fee. Alumni and guests can also purchase tickets to attend Slope Day. Like Vanderbilt, Cornell also uses student activities fees to fund the concert in addition to ticket sales.

Junior Garrison Lovely, executive chair of the Slope Day Programming Board, declined to comment on how much is spent on talent, but noted that $18 dollars is taken out of each students activities fee. With roughly 14,000 students, it means at least $250,000 is spent on the entire event, which does not include ticket sales or money left over from previous end-of-year concerts.

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state of the arts

STORY BY SID GOPINATH PHOTOS BY CONTRIBUTING STAFF

CATHERINE FARMER

A

longside its peer institutions, Duke is starting to encourage the development of the arts. But before one can even start to examine where the arts are at Duke, it is pretty important to look around the nation.

“The momentum we are seeing here is part of a national movement where universities, for a variety of reasons, are prioritizing the arts and making them more visible,” said Eric Oberstein, associate director of Duke Performances, referring to what has been called the “Creative Campus Movement.”

A one-year task force at Harvard University created a Report of the Task Force of the Arts, which discussed the role of the arts at a research university, the number of practicing artists in faculty and how to think of the relationship of arts within and beyond the curriculum, among other topics.

Princeton University is also making an effort to critically assess the arts. Princeton is building an entire “arts district” to facilitate the evolution and development of the arts on campus. The district will include restaurants, public amenities and new university arts facilities.

Director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald also mentioned that Stanford University has a “fully articulated” arts initiative available on their website.

“The rationale they’re using is that creativity and the skills that you learn in the making of art are skills that will serve you as an entrepreneur or a scientist or a software engineer,” he explained.

In the quickly flourishing cultures of apps and startups, innovative and visual thinking is placed at a premium. An arts degree can now be extraordinarily valuable in the professional world.

“You look at most of the top universities in the country, and they’re emphasizing their strengths in the arts as one of their priorities.” explained Amy Unell, Trinity ‘03, assistant director of Duke in Silicon Valley.

Clearly, universities nationwide are seeing the value of an arts education and trying to expand curriculum and resources to support the arts. Duke has made strides in developing the arts. However, it is necessary to look at the barriers the University still has to overcome.

SOCIAL CULTURE Students who are extremely passionate seem to be frustrated by the lack of support for the arts within Duke’s social culture. This could have to do with the fact that Duke has not typically been known as an artistic university.

“People who come to the campus then

hear and feel that culture, and they tend to want to gravitate to the predominant culture on campus,” said Rodney Wynkoop, director of Duke Chorale and director of Chapel Music. “So people who weren’t big basketball fans become avid. People who had an interest in the arts see it marginalized, and they think that’s the way to be.”

As a result, Duke’s art culture can seem pushed out of focus.

“The daily art culture here is pretty behind the scenes,” said junior Dylan Gleit, member of the student band Mobius, which is signed at Small Town Records. “I believe that’s because the arts are physically isolated from the rest of campus.”

That is indeed a massive point of discussion across campus at all levels. Almost everyone that was interviewed for this article mentioned a lack of facilities and rehearsal spaces as a major concern moving forward. In fact, there are preliminary plans for a new building dedicated entirely to arts spaces on Campus Drive.

Wesley Hogan, director of the Center for Documentary Studies, added that it is important for the administration to emphasize the arts within Duke’s core curriculum.

“Art as a way of knowing...is something that Duke has really begun to embrace,” she said.

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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KHLOE KIM “We’re really good at science and medicine and technology and engineering, as well as the social sciences. We’re less good at looking at art as its own unique way of knowing and understanding the world.”

Recent administrative initiatives have sought to address the issue of integrating an arts perspective alongside more traditional ones. Vice Provost for the Arts Scott Lindroth referred to DEMAN Weekend and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate as examples.

“It just seems to create a kind of institutional backing to something that had been more of a co-curricular or extracurricular event,” he said.

Lindroth also pointed to the week-long Arts Festival held each fall—recognized by many students due to the pianos placed around campus­— as an example of what is a more engaged culture.

“I think out of that came a more activist culture among the students in terms of the arts,” he said This activist culture is getting an extra administrative push this year from the #artstigator movement, which seeks to engage students in fun and creative artistic learning opportunities and slowly shift the campus culture towards one that focuses even more on integrating the arts into the Duke experience.

“You have to create a social culture around your event that people want to attend,” Sam Morton, a sophomore and current President

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of Small Town Records, said. “People...expect to be there with friends, see people that are their friends, expect to have an experience.”

PRE-PROFESSIONAL CULTURE The emphasis on pre-professional courses of study have also detracted students from pursuing the arts.

“There’s a nationwide perception of Duke and its strengths in medicine and scientific research,” Lindroth said. “Trying to get under that spotlight...is a challenge.”

As a result, students are often shocked to hear about Duke’s many alumni who have found success in artistic careers.

“You hear about these Duke people who ELYSIA SU

are directing this musical or helped create the Hunger Games...that shocks people,” junior Andrew Jacobs, duArts A Cappella Council Chair, said. “But when you hear that someone from Duke has won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, everyone is like ‘Okay. Stereotypical Duke.’”

Events like DEMAN Weekend and this year’s ArtCon have sought to address the perception that there is a lack of jobs in artistic fields for Duke graduates.

Although students may come to Duke solely to study the arts in the near future, it is “on track” to attract students who are “artsinterested,” which is also extremely important, Greenwald said. “[Duke is] not a conservatory for any of the arts,” said Thomas DeFrantz, professor of dance. “Can you learn something about the arts, come engage in it and figure out that after Duke you want to go on in the arts somehow?

Yes, you can. If you want to leave Duke after four years and become a professional painter or spend a few years as a professional dancer, that’s maybe possible, but it’s not really what Duke is about.”

Because Duke doesn’t have to cater purely to students looking to pursue professional arts careers, nor is it a conservatory, the University has a lot more flexibility to experiment with interdisciplinary programs.

“I think interdisciplinary education is definitely just, across the board, Duke’s strength.

You don’t really see that at other universities in the way you see it at Duke,” said junior Pranava Raparla, vice president of advocacy for duARTS. Student engagement is critical if Duke hopes to generate excitement for the arts in the future.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

So then, the question stands: How can Duke artistically engage students who are presented with so many varied and interesting opportunities?

“It baffles me that some people are so passionate about the arts, but they don’t want to incorporate it into their academic life,” said Jacobs.

There seems to be a general confusion among those involved in the arts about why other students don’t engage in a variety of ways.

“There are a lot of people out there on campus who claim to really love music and claim to listen to music all the time and say that it helps them get through the day,” Gliet said. “Yet, I don’t feel like all of these people who claim all of these things actually show up at the events.”

At the same time, though, Gleit is quick to acknowledge some of the successes that the arts have seen. Specifically, he points to the amount of merchandise and clothing worn around campus related to the arts.

And he has a point. Once the sun is out, it is nearly impossible to walk around campus without seeing someone in a Small Town Records tank.

But why is it that, with so many opportunities available, students still don’t seem to go to performances or events or exhibits?

“Our workload is really hard. So much time has to be dedicated to doing homework and engaging with your classes that at the end of the day, you just aren’t interested,” said junior Sharrin Manor, the general manager of WXDU, a radio station that is part of Duke University Union.

As someone who is very engaged with the arts scene on campus, Manor expressed particular frustration with the lack of student engagement.

“I think it has to do with a personal connection. You have to take obligation out of it,” said Wendy Hower, director of engagement and marketing at the Nasher.

Maybe members of the Duke community do indeed want to enjoy these experiences, but not all of them have found that “spark” yet. So how can more people be put in contact with art?

“I think defining the arts more broadly and more inclusively, that allows people to feel like they have more of a stake in the arts,” Raparla said. “So I think that’s the first thing. The second thing is reducing those barriers to entry is just providing more low-commitment opportunities.”

He went on to explain that not every Duke student can do a degree program or take a class

EMILY WAPLES in the arts. But maybe it is just enough to go to a short, 30-minute jam session in the Small Town studio or enjoy a performance on the Bryan Center plaza.

Wynkoop agreed that the only way to improve the arts was to get more of the community engaged.

“If you want the arts to thrive, you have to reach more critical mass, a higher percent of the population,” Wynkoop said.

The arts culture at Duke is by no means perfect, and student engagement is certainly not perfect, but there is a lot to be grateful for when looking at the arts from one step back.

It may be a long road, but efforts are certainly being made to engage more students.

ADMIN EFFORTS “I think [administration] is doing a great job.

I definitely don’t think they’re neglecting the arts, and I definitely don’t think they’re being lazy,” Jacobs said.

He went on to praise the administration’s support of duARTS and their events, such as the Arts Festival. He also specifically referenced Unell and her efforts to connect students with alumni and post-graduation opportunities.

To Bill Fick, visiting assistant professor in visual arts, the administration is doing an excellent job refocusing the University’s vision on a bright and culturally rich future after growing Duke in more traditional ways.

“I think the University...felt like it was going to focus on medicine and the professional careers,” Fick said, admitting that this was purely his own hypothesis.

The very existence of Lindroth’s position as Vice Provost of the Arts, which was created

in 2007, seems to exemplify this evolution and shifting of focus.

“We went through a long planning process of how we were going to do a new [arts] campus and Campus Drive and so forth,” said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask.

“The recession of 2008 basically clobbered the plans for the Campus Drive big development. So we have been trying to figure out what instead what could we do to create those spaces in smaller increments rather than one grand slam.”

These smaller increments have included Smith Warehouse, as well as the Nasher and the Arts Annex. The planned Arts Building will also be a very significant step in that direction.

“There has been a lot of administrative push. I think they have a lot more people advocating for the arts in the administration, which has been really cool,” Morton said.

He said that he can’t think of an instance where an arts group has wanted funding and been unable to get it from the administration.

“I would like to frame it as a matter of principle, that a strong arts education is an important part of anyone’s education,” Lindroth said.

He acknowledged that students may not be looking to major in the arts, but administration still wants to provide them with the “arts experiences” for which they are looking.

“I would like to see a clear, comprehensive vision for what the arts should look like at Duke,” Raparla said. “And by comprehensive, I mean something that includes not just academic and curricular interests but...just across the board anyone who could potentially have a stake in the arts.”

He identified the word “potentially” as beTOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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you were looking to apply to med school or were looking to apply to law school.”

By all accounts, it seems that the guidance available now is miles ahead of where it was when Aresco was searching for jobs, and that was less than a decade ago.

Ross Wade, assistant director of the Career Center, focuses on Duke students who want to pursue careers in the arts.

“I really think that we’ve done some great stuff here, and I think that there is more great stuff to do,” Wade said. “I think the biggest challenge for [the Career Center] is finding the right format for students to engage with employers.”

With the arts, a classic career fair or series of on-campus interviews doesn’t work as well as it does with other career paths. Wade suggested more informal events, panels and networking opportunities to connect students with alumni.

According to Wade, if students hear proof POST-GRAD GUIDANCE that success can be achieved in the arts, it feels “I think that Duke’s primary involvement much more possible and encourages them to at with the arts has been academic and sort of least give it a shot. just engagement with art for art’s sake,” said senior Kelsey Richards, co-chair of the Nasher FACULTY DEPARTMENTS student advisory board.

DeFrantz noted that the faculty has become With the evolution of DEMAN weekend stronger in the arts. and other alumni networking opportunities, Lindroth added that this could be why more this does seem to be gradually changing. Cer- arts-oriented students are coming to Duke. tainly post-graduation guidance has come a “We’ve been able to make a number of very long way. important faculty hires in arts departments,” “When I graduated, I had no guidance Lindroth said. “And that allows them to pursue whatsoever,” said Brett Aresco, Trinity ‘09, a their missions with more energy.”

New York-based-actor. “When I was there, In addition to the sometimes undefined there were always career fairs that had represen- relationships between student organizations tatives from big corporations or finance. There and the faculty departments that could support were even sort of these structures in place if them, there are also a few smaller conflicts ocing particularly important, saying that there are many students who could have a stake in the arts if a clear vision was developed that included them.

Manor also mentioned that she hoped to see more engagement between the administration and student leaders.

“I’m sure that [the administration] knows the people playing on the sports teams. Why don’t they know the leaders in the arts community as well?” she questioned.

She suggested something as simple as arranging dinners between members of administration and student arts leaders to understand the needs of arts organizations better.

With the suggestions of more collaboration across all levels in the future, administration’s efforts could be refined and focused even more to address the needs of students, faculty and the entire artistic community at Duke.

DARBI GRIFFITH

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curring within faculty departments. A big one, particularly for visual arts, is the philosophy of how the arts are taught.

Some departments, like visual arts, opt to teach the theory behind the practice of art, rather than teach a specific artistic skill. This largely has to do with the way Duke’s classes are scheduled, Fick said. A two-and-a-half-hour block of time once a week is hardly enough time to teach the practice of a visual art form.

Other departments deal with this problem differently.

“My classes are all hybrid classes,” said DeFrantz. “Everyone doesn’t want to be an artist.

Some people really do want to study the arts and find ways to interpret and analyze them.”

In regards to this issue, Hogan said that one of the the Center for Documentary Studies’ most popular classes is their analog photography class.

“What I think it shows is that people are really hungry to get their hands on something, and the tactile nature of analog photography and going into the darkroom is really exciting for people,” she said. “I wish we had the capacity to offer a lot more production courses of all kinds.”

This tension between teaching the theory of art and teaching the practice of art is one that requires a conscious decision by each department to address.

Additionally, some faculty may feel that the title of professor of the practice places those faculty members below the normal, tenuretrack Professors in terms of respect and rank.

“One of the problems is that artists that teach and have MFAs are Professors of the Practice,” said McAuliffe. “I agree with the Dean that it will help in 10 years time if MFAs are treated as serious professionals in their own right.”

She compared Duke to Northwestern University, where everyone who is a professor and has an MFA is eligible for tenure.

MIKE MA “We shouldn’t have a two-tier system. One thing it does is that it pitches the arts at a different level as far as the institution is concerned,” she said.

Students, however, are attracted by the prospect of learning from someone working in the field they are interested in.

“It’s great to have people who are working in the field because that’s the only way you learn,” Jacobs said. “People need to be out in the field or working with people who are out in the field and seeing how the things they are learning in the classroom are being applied to real life.”

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MOVING FORWARD Duke is at a very important crossroads as the University looks to the future. There is the potential for the arts at Duke to become a real centerpiece of the culture and a part that draws new talent to the community. But to get there will require some serious effort from all of the very passionate members of this artistic community.

Aresco made the very important point of how Duke should make sure to foster the arts “in a way that is inclusive and not so serious.”

The arts have the potential to be a safe and wel-

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coming space for all to collaborate and enjoy.

“The place certainly feels a lot more artistic than it did 20 years ago,” Trask said.

That in and of itself is a good sign. Massive progress has been made in the past years.

“I would hope that the arts become a real centerpiece for Duke alongside the excellence in Public Policy and pre-med and obviously athletics,” DeFrantz said.

Lindroth shows no signs of slowing down either. A big focus for him seemed to be getting more arts-inclined students to Duke. As he talked, he mused about the possibilities of an arts scholarship and other ways to identify artsinclined students.

“There is an energy on campus now that is not fueled solely by the departments or by my office,” he said.

That energy is something that, if harnessed, could take Duke ‘s art offerings to some truly incredible places. The State of the Arts at Duke is certainly not in a bad place. In fact, it is arguably in a very good place.

But it is going to take a very concentrated effort from as many members of the Duke community as possible to ensure that Duke arts continues to improve and become something which we can all continue to be very proud.

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ARCHIVE PHOTOS FROM CHRONICLE ARCHIVES, DUKE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES AND THE CHANTICLEER

jeremy lipkowitz, Ph. Tea

W

hen I met Jeremy Lipkowitz, he was holding a glass of warm matcha tea at the Hummingbird Bakery off of East Campus.

Lipkowitz, a fourth-year Ph.D student in genetics and quantitative microbiology, has grand ambitions for the future of the Sangha Teahouse, a stand at the Durham Art and Food Truck Market that he owns. He hopes to turn it into a brick-and-mortar tea house this summer. The stand, which you can find in downtown Durham on Saturdays, sells a wide array of loose-leaf teas.

His idea of building a tea house started “as just wanting to sample everything and wanting to try all the teas.”

He said his house is currently filled with “shelves and shelves of really highquality tea.”

After listening to him share his passion for tea, I decided to check out the Sangha stand at the market. Right across from the taco truck, a couple girls were lining up before the blackboard that listed the Sangha market menu and

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waiting for a cup of Lipkowitz’s most popular tea, a delicious coconut matcha latte.

Lipkowitz and his two assistants were busy preparing the matcha powder, stirring the mix and calculating the milk-to-tea ratio. The drinks were delicately prepared and elegantly served.

After finishing my first cup of the iced coconut matcha latte, I could not help coming back for another one because of its special taste.

Following his graduation from the University of California-Davis, Lipkowitz said he was really depressed despite his various successes. Top of his class and captain of a sports team, he was very accomplished on the outside, but on the inside he felt something was off. He realized that all his accomplishments had ultimately failed to bring him happiness.

Lipkowitz said his inability to find happiness largely had to do with the fact that his interpretation of happiness was wrong.

STORY BY YIYUN ZHU PHOTOS BY ELYSIA SU

“So often we strive to achieve things and think that if we don’t achieve them, we are failures or that we won’t be happy,” Lipkowitz said, explaining the Buddhist philosophy of not attaching oneself to specific outcomes. For him, the key is to strive to achieve things without getting addicted to the outcome.

His new philosophical outlook sparked his interest in starting a tea house. He hopes that the brick-andmortar shop will allow him to live in the moment and spread kindness to others.

He envisions the tea house to be a peaceful place, where a customer walks in and instantly feels calmer. Patrons could expect a lot of natural wood, a couple exposed bricks, some plants and hints of earth-toned colors, accompanying the calming smell of tea leaves.

In addition to the tea shop—where customers could sit down for a cup of tea or an hour of genuine and spontaneous conversations—there is also going to be a yoga studio that offers classes and meditation workshops. Be-

sides being a tea connoisseur, Lipkowitz is also an avid meditator who hopes to teach others to embrace the present moment. Having taught meditation at Duke for three years, he ties his passion for meditation closely with his desire to start Sangha Teahouse.

Hoping to learn more about the man pursuing his Ph.D in tea, I asked Jeremy what his favorite kind of tea was. Surprisingly, he said that he does not have a favorite, that his preference changes from day to day.

“Each tea is so unique, and they just fit different types of emotions,” he said.

At the current moment he prefers matcha because of the energy it provides, but he also enjoys the savory taste of oolong. When he is feeling grounded, he likes drinking pu’erh because of its earthy taste.

Choosing the collection of tea to sell at the tea house, however, could be a little daunting for him because there are many varieties. There are the Dragonwell, Silver Needle, Japanese matcha, Taiwanese Oolong, Yunnan Pu’erh, and many other kinds of tea for him to choose from for a menu of just 10-15 tea drinks.

“It is very subjective,” he noted about the process of sampling teas with importers from Japan, China and India.

It does not take long to notice the shortage of good authentic tea places in Durham. This contrasts with the growing population of tea-lovers in the area,

ELYSIA SU

which was part of the reason why Jeremy wanted to start the tea house.

“You can go to Whole Foods or Harris Teeter to get tea bags,” he said, “but if you ever open a bag of Lipton tea and look at it, literally it is just granulated dust, versus really high-quality tea you can see the leaves and you can see the freshness.”

He added that there are only two to three places in the entire Triangle that sell high-quality tea.

“What you get from high-quality tea versus teabags is a thousand times more flavor, a thousand times more nutrition and antioxidants, and overall a much more pleasant experience,” he said. “We are gonna be the spot in Durham that offers those kinds of tea.”

The future tea house will most likely

YIYUN ZHU

not have Wi-Fi, Lipkowitz added.

“We want it to be more about the community, about being in the present moment,” Lipkowitz said, explaining that his vision for the Sangha Teahouse contrasts with the typical environment one finds in a coffee shop where people are typing away with their headphones on. The isolation from social media and the bombardment of information is a true interpretation of the term Sangha, which translated from Sanskrit means a community of monks who meditate together.

Lipkowitz prefers to enjoy his tea using different kinds of teaware. His favorites are the gaiwan, a lidded bowl used for the infusion of tea leaves, and the yixing pot that is traditionally used to brew tea in China. He plans on teaching people how to make tea when he opens his shop.

“Part of the fun of doing tea in the traditional method is the action of pouring water into the tea, seeing the leaves expand, and smelling the aroma, because it is a very sensory experience that makes you really come into the present moment and get out of your head,” he said.

Getting out of your head embodies what Lipkowitz’s teahouse is meant to represent. His hope is that the Sangha Teahouse will play a key role in spreading kindness to Durham tea enthusiasts.

“Happiness is something you cultivate from within, but I used to believe that happiness was outside of me, like accomplishing things, getting friends and proving myself,” he said.

But Lipkowitz changed his mindset TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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after taking a trip to India after college, which completely changed his outlook on life. He started to meditate every day as a way of training himself to be happy. The cultivation of happiness, for him, is the essence of meditation.

“You sleep better, your immune system is stronger, you have better relationships with your friends and better romances,” he said.

Unlike most fourth-year Ph.D students, Lipkowitz has no intention to pursue a career in the academic world.

He realized that he is not that passionate about science and thinks that the academic world “has no emphasis on kindness and compassion.” One of his favorite quotes is from the philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “When I was young I used to admire intelligence. Now that I am old, I admire kindness.”

“Intelligence does not mean anything,” Lipkowitz said. “You can be the smartest person in the world but if you are evil, you are just a very smart evil person.”

Building the tea house and hosting mediation workshops mean much more

to Lipkowitz than the Ph.D program, as he believes the ills of the world mostly arise from the people’s inability to deal with their emotions in a healthy manner.

He noted that the difficult and most important part about meditation is learning to be with oneself. Friends, Facebook, emails and Instagram distract people from being in touch with

themselves. They also serve as outlets for people to resort to when feeling depressed instead of actively confronting their problems. The mental habit of turning to outlets like social media, food and sex, in his opinion, gives rise to problems like addiction and violence.

“If everyone just meditated a little bit, the world would be a much more peaceful place,” he said.

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DAVID IVEY: the final exam Meet senior David Ivey—a sponsored Parkour athlete. Parkour athletes use only their own athleticism to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, which can include running, vaulting oneself off walls or swinging. Although it is usually done in urban locations, Parkour can be practiced anywhere, and athletes seek to see their environment and the art of navigation as constantly evolving. It began in the French military in the 1980s, and in the last 20 years it has become an increasingly popular recreational activity and competitive sport. The Chronicle’s Amani Carson-Rose sat down with David to discuss balancing academics with Parkour.

BY AMANI CARSON-ROSE The Chronicle: How did you get started?

David Ivey: Eight years ago I stumbled upon a Parkour video on YouTube. I was amazed by the guy’s ability to run, jump and flip, but I convinced myself that I could never do these things because I was overweight and unathletic. For six months I just let myself daydream about how cool it would be if I could do Parkour. I realized that what was stopping me wasn’t my body but my mind and what I was telling myself. I called up my friend and began trying out the easy movements we had seen in the videos.

TC: How did you get a sponsorship?

DI: I’m sponsored by American Parkour, which is based in Washington, D.C. I got to know the people running the company well, and I am very involved with organizing Parkour meet-ups there.

TC: How does Parkour fit into your life and busy schedule?

DI: Parkour is typically a big part of my life just because I enjoy doing it so much. It’s the first thing I want to do whenever I have free time. At this moment I have to fit my training time around school, which can be difficult to manage.

TC: How does being at college affect your training?

DI: My experience has been that college has not been conducive to my training. The workload can be pretty heavy which can really cut down on my time to train. The architecture, as beautiful as it is, doesn’t provide me with a lot of interesting areas to train, but the worst part is that there are very few peo-

LESLEY CHEN-YOUNG

ple on campus who train. Not having a training partner at a similar level makes it hard to progress because I don’t have another set of eyes to discover new challenges and no one to help push me to train harder.

The saving grace for me was when I got to study abroad in Madrid last year. Madrid provided me everything for Parkour that Duke didn’t—a thriving community, amazing locations and enough time to have a life outside of work.

TC: How do you handle anxiety when doing Parkour?

DI: I think an important part of Parkour is accepting that I am human in that I can’t train until exhaustion every day. Some days I’m physically and mentally ready for the demands of the challenges I want to confront and others I’m not. Being able to identify and accept when I’m in the correct headspace and physically ready for trying new challenges and when I’m not is crucial.

If a challenge that I’m considering is making me extremely anxious I typically leave it alone, tackle similar challenges that help me prepare for the anxiety-inducing one and later I face it again once I’m ready. I also like figuring out and rehearsing how to react in case something goes wrong. After this preparation the most important thing to do is fully commit to whatever action I decide to take.

Hesitation and self-doubt are normal reactions in the face of fear but the moment you take on a challenge you have to leave those things aside. Failing to trust yourself and not sticking with your plan is one of the easiest ways to get hurt.

TC: What about physical health and staying safe?

DI: The most important part to staying healthy is being smart while training and knowing what your body is capable

of handling and what it can’t. As long as you practice good training habits—not trying challenges far beyond your skill level and giving your body time to recover after workouts—it isn’t especially hard to stay safe while training.

TC: What keeps you going?

DI: I enjoy how I feel while moving. Our bodies were made to move and they reward us when we let them do what they evolved to do. Also, overcoming my fears when I’m trying new challenges is an amazing feeling, as is watching your friends do the same.

TC: Have you faced, witnessed, or been made aware of discrimination within the Parkour community?

DI: I can’t speak entirely to that. What I can say is that I and most of the other practitioners of color that I have talked to have experienced discrimination but, as far as I know, only from people outside of the community. The most worrisome situation of this happens when dealing with the police.

There are many stories about practitioners of color having guns drawn on them by aggressive police officers or being otherwise threatened. Until the police stop treating all people of color as criminals first and citizens second we’ll continue worrying about police brutality.

TC: How do you expect to be involved with Parkour after graduation?

DI: I’ll have a lot more time to focus on my training. Soon after graduation I’ll be going back for two months to do Parkour with a friend. I don’t plan on seriously pursuing Parkour professionally. My impression is that there aren’t enough opportunities offered to live entirely off Parkour. Beyond teaching or owning a gym it seems like the vast majority of pros have to work some other job to make ends meet.

TOWERVIEW MAGAZINE

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