Wednesday, February 26,2003
Wintry mix High 34, Low 30 www.chronicle.duke.edu Vol. 98, No. 107
The Chronicle I 1
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WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 26, 2003 � PAGE 3
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THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
DSG postpones runoff plan By MOLLY NICHOLSON The Chronicle
JANE HETHERINGTON/THE
DAVID MARKS, A JUNIOR, studies in Rick’s Diner Tuesday. After opening last fall, the 24-hour diner has drawn students from across campus to an area of campus that previously did not have its own dining facilities.
New campus eateries maintain success By MEGAN CARROLL The Chronicle
Club sandwiches, biscuits ’n’ gravy, gingerbread lattes and Swiss chocolates have all become necessary items in students’ diets this year with the opening of Rick’s Diner and the Blue Devil Beanery, and the new eateries have shown
they are here to stay. Even though the early going was rough for these two locations—Rick’s unexpectedly, yet temporarily, closed three days after opening and the Bean-
ery experienced other early troubles—they have flourished since the beginning of the year. Rick Lynch, Rick’s Diner and Catering owner, said the two businesses are more successful than he had ever imagined. “We serve on average about 600 [people] in the restaurant and about the same at the coffee shop,” Lynch said.
“We’re real pleased with the amount of activity we’ve had, and the response from the students and Duke University
Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst said Rick’s is more successful than he thought it would be and said he is approaching their upcoming contract talks optimistically. He also called Lynch a good business partner who listens to the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee. “Rick has been responsive... [andl is taking suggestions to heart,” Wulforst said. “Who would have ever thought
as a whole.”
See NEW EATERIES on page 10
With less than one week to implement a new voting system for the upcoming Duke Student Government executive elections, members have decided to postpone any major changes until next year. Instead, presidential candidates will need a plurality by 10 percent, increased from the usual 6 percent plurality, to win. DSG legislators narrowly approved an amendment to the election bylaw two weeks ago that would require a majority vote for a candidate to win the presidency and Instant Runoff Voting. That system would have had students rank the presidential candidates according to preference. Using those rankings, IRV would have redistributed votes—beginning with the candidate with the least votes—until a candidate earned a majority. However, after consulting the Office of Information and Technology, DSG officials decided there was not enough time to implement IRV for the execu-
tive elections Tuesday. “I’m really glad with the decision because I was tentative from the beginning,” said DSG Attorney General William Fagan, a senior who will overSee DSG ELECTIONS on page 8
Campaigning from L.A., Sacks envisions active campus This is the third story in a five-part series profiling this year’s candidates for Duke Student Government president. By SEEMA KAKAD and KEVIN LEES The Chronicle
Mike Sacks wants to be a rock star. He’s studying in Los Angeles this semester, working at Interscope Records as director of publicity for Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst. He plays bass guitar in a band and has written music since discovering his love of it as a child. He also has three goals for Jr *
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next year—two ofwhich revolve f around music. A “I want to find a girl who likes the rock and roll, get a recording contract and change Duke’s climate for the better,” he said. Sacks, by the way, is also running for Duke Student Government president on an unconventional platform striving to revolutionize the campus climate. “Duke is so type-A. It needs to chill out,” said Sacks, calling the campus a nimbus ofapathy. In fact, his slogan is “F-ck Apathy.” Sacks, who until this semester served as Class 0f2004 president, hopes to take advantage of the new quadbased residential structure to boost campus activity.
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As vice president of Bassett Dormitory’s house council his freshman year, he brought baby pools and watermelons to East Campus. He further boasts that before arriving on campus, he organized an e-mail list of Class of 2004 members—a list that has become institutionalized for incoming freshmen ever since. This year, he used class funds to pre-pay vendors—from Wimpy’s Grill to Vertical Edge rock climbing—and printed stickers for juniors’ DukeCards so they could get discounts at those venues. “I want to bring something to students on every7 nice day, have some sort of student group in their quads, shoving it down their throats that there’s something to do,” he said—pointing to everything from step shows to a capella concerts. “The same time, same place, every7 week,, until students see it, respect it, recognize it .and accept it Sacks said, slamming his fist on the table at every7 point, in a rage of excitement. The challenge for Sacks is to convey that enthusiasm from 3,000 miles away; no candidate has ever successfully run for president from another campus* Sophomore Margaret Mash, his campaign manager, has taken a prominent campus role, filling in for Sacks during the campaign and communicating his ideas to students.
this week that the situation of Jesica Santillan has had minimal impact on organ donations so far. See page 4
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See SACKS on page 8
JANE HETHERINGIOWTHE CHRONICLE
MIKE SACKS hopes to use his experience in organizing Class of 2004 events to encourage more student interaction.
Randall Robinson, an author, lawyer and civil rights activist, spoke Tuesday in what organizers of Black History Month called a keynote event. See page 5
The University's new website, which officials said is easier to navigate than the former one, was unveiled Tuesday after a month of feedback from the public. See page 6
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